UK answers please - How far back do parish records go?

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Question:

My family took their name from the village they hailed from!. There are three villages of this name in England, but since I have traced my family back to an Oxfordshire town in the early 1700s, I’m hoping it’s the Oxfordshire village that my family is from!. The village with my name happens to lie only 10 miles from the village I KNOW my ancestors were living in in the 1700s!. I know that families didn’t move far in the 1600s, so the chances are higher than being from Hampshire (for example)!.

I understand surnames were first used in the 11 or 12 century, but I don’t think parish records go back this early, so I’m not looking to have any luck there, but I just want to get back far enough to show that this particular village is “our” village!.

Does anyone know how far back parish records go!? I understand that each parish is probably different, but I mean in general!. I would hate to pay for a train all the way to Oxfordshire to find I’ve had a wasted journey!

Thanks in advanceWww@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

UK answer !.
1538 !.
In 1538 Thomas Cromwell the Vicar General to King Henry VIII declared that all marriages, christenings and burials should be recorded; normally these are kept at the Parish Church!. In 1598 an Act was passed that meant these records should be copied and sent to the bishop, these are known as Bishop's Transcripts!.

The Phillimore transcripts of parish records go back as far as 1538 for some!. W!.P!. Phillimore was a genealogist who started the job of publishing transcripts of early parish records in the 1890!. These normally end in 1812 or 1837 for the range of years covered you will need to look at the details for the county your researching!.
I think if I were you I would save your train fare and have a look at the site listed below, they have got quite a few of the Oxfordshire parish records on Cd's and it's just excellent for genealogy supplies!.
http://www!.genealogysupplies!.com/Www@QuestionHome@Com

No need to travel-most existing parish records can be accessed at your local library,or that in the nearest city!.They're generally stored in micro-fiche form and require a lot of trawling through old hand written records!.
Hard to go further back than the 17th;century,changing to the Gregorian calendar threw many records out of sync;
Hope this helps,you might try Ancestry aid!.co!.uk a very helpful site!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I would agree with itsjustme but would add that you can look in the Phillimore Atlas this will tell you what Parish Records survive and where they are kept, You should be able to get a copy of this book at your local library or if not email me and I will look up the records you want in my copy!.

Good luck and good huntingWww@QuestionHome@Com

I have a recorded ancestor baptism entry, from the Registers of Braunton, S!. Devon, for a William Paine in 1550, s/o John Paine!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

They can go back to 1538 (I have a faint memory that there may have been something before that, but I'm not sure), but in my experience they don't all go back that far!. It might be a good idea to check up on your particular parishes to find out how far they go!. I don't know if this is the best site but I use www!.genuki!.org!.uk I don't know if there are advantages to going to Oxfordshire itself, but if you know that there are, then all I say is to find out when your particular parishes start!.

Interestingly, some surnames from towns, are quite concentrated in a particular location-- you can find out ratios per location, or more simply look at a map that already does that!. You might be interested in typing your name into a site (ancestry!.com has one) that makes a distribution map!.Www@QuestionHome@Com