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Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1667 | - 1667: Burial in Woollen
First act enacted requiring all burials to be in woollen in an effort to protect the wool trade from imports of silk cloth.
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| 2 | 1672 | - 1672: Declaration of Indulgence
Enacted by Charles II.
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| 3 | 1678 | - 1678: Burial in Woollen
Act re-affirmed requiring all burials to be in woollen in an effort to protect the wool trade from imports of silk cloth. An affidavit signed by the parish clerk was required to be made attesting to such burial. A fine was levied for failure to comply with the Act. Eventually, during 1814 this Act was repealed.
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| 4 | 1689 | - 1689: Act of Toleration
Enacted by William and Mary this Act gave everyone freedom to worship at their choice, Roman Catholics excepted. Few registers of dissenters exist prior to this time.
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| 5 | 1690 | - 1690: United Brethren
Presbyterians became closely affiliated as the United Brethren.
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| 6 | 1694 | - 1694—1706: Parish Register Taxation
A short-lived Act was passed whereby a tax of 2/- was levied on each birth, 2/6 for a marriage and 4/- for a burial. In order to assure that tax was collected, the incumbent was to be notified of any births within 5 days whereupon he was to receive a fee of 6d for recording them in the parish register. Bachelors and widowers were also taxed. The tax was rescinded in 1706.
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| 7 | 1696 | - 1696: Association Oath
This oath was a loyalty oath embodied in the "Act for the better security of his majesty's royal person and government" pledging loyalty to the Sovereign was administered to holders of public office following the discovery of an attempt to assassinate William III and was reminescent of the 1584 Association. Subscribers were to "heartily, sincerely, solemnly profess, testify and declare, That his present Majesty, King William, is rightful and lawful King of these Realms", and promised to revenge the King's death should an assassination attempt prove successful. Under the Act of Parliament only officeholders were required to swear the oath. In some parts of the country the rolls were also subscribed by most residents of substance. Many rolls for 1696 are located in The National Archives among the Chancery records (class mark C213/68-92). Other rolls can be found at the county record offices as part of the Quarter Sessions series.
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| 8 | 1700 | - 1700: Non-conformists
Onset of many Baptist and Independent meeting houses. Roman Catholics still prohibited from worshipping, buying or inheriting land
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| 9 | 1702 | - 1702: Abjuration Oath
This Oath was required to be signed by all holders of public office pursuant to an "Act for the further Security of His Majesties Person, and the Succession of the Crown in the Protestant Line", declaring that "our Sovereign Lord King William is Lawful and Rightful King of this Realm" and abjuring "any Allegiance or Obedience" to the young James III. Following the death of William III a further Act was passed amending the text of the oath to account for the change of monarch.
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| 10 | 1707 | - 1707: Act of Union
United Scotland with England and Wales to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
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| 11 | 1710 | - 1710: Records of Apprentices
From the year 1710, whenever a boy was apprenticed to a trade a stamp duty had to be paid, and these records of the binding of apprentices survive to provide the name of the apprentice, that of his father or widowed mother, and his master, as well as his parents' abode. Churchwardens and overseers of the poor were empowered to apprentice to husbandry any child under the age of 16 whose parents they judged unable to maintain him. If a master could be found in a neighbouring parish, this form of apprenticeship was often a convenient way of getting rid of a pauper child, because the apprenticeship conferred settlement after a period of forty days. "Husbandry" for a boy and "Housewifery" for a girl, simply meant being a servant on the land or in the house: later, in the industrial revolution, it might mean life in the mill, or even down the mine.
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| 12 | 1711 | - 1711: Register Pages to be Ruled
An order was made to the effect that all register pages were to be ruled and numbered. The order was widely ignored and clerks continued to record in their registers without the benefit of guiding ruled lines while neglecting to number their entries.
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| 13 | 1715 | - 1715: Oath Act
"An act for the further security of his majesty's person" (1 George I, c. 13) required holders of certain public offices to take the oaths of allegiance, supremacy and abjuration as defined in that Act first binding the swearer to "be faithful, and bear true Allegiance to his Majesty King George" and the second, ostensibly an anti-Catholic oath, condemning as "impious and heretical, that damnable doctrine and Position, That Princes excommunicated or deprived by the Pope" could be deposed or murdered by their subjects or any foreign power.
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| 14 | 1720s | - 1720s: Moravians
Arrived in London and Oxford.
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| 15 | 1723 | - 27 May 1723: Loyalty Oath Act
Oath Act
"An Act to oblige all Persons being Papists..., and all Persons... refusing or neglecting to take the Oaths appointed for the Security of His Majesty's Person and Government..., to register their Names and real Estates" (9 George I, c. 24, as defined in the previous act of 1 George I c. 13). The Act required "every Person and Persons" aged 18 years and older to swear loyalty oaths to King George by 25 December 1723. Those who refused to take the oaths were to registers their names and real estates by 25 March 1724. Individuals who refused to either swear their allegiance or register their property risked forfeiting their estates. The oaths administered were those of allegiance, supremacy and abjuration. A large proportion of these oaths were recorded at courts of Quarter Sessions.
- 27 May 1723: Catholic Taxation Act
"An Act for granting an Aid to His Majesty by laying a Tax upon Papists" was designed to raise the sum of £100,000 through a tax imposed upon all Papists aged eighteen years and over, and was in addition to the existing double land tax already imposed upon Roman Catholics. The Act detailed the amounts to be raised from the Catholic communities in each English county. Those liable to pay the additional tax were defined as anyone who refused to take the oaths of allegiance, supremacy and abjuration as embodied within the 1715 Oath Act. It was designed to deter Catholic powers on the continent from supporting any future attempts at restoring the Stuart monarchy by highlighting the potential impact upon Roman Catholics in Britain.
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| 16 | 1733 | - 1733: Official Language - English
English adopted as official language for public records. Until this date, legal documents were in Latin.
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| 17 | 1740 | - 1740: Wesleyan Religion
The Wesleyan religion was formed but most did not break away from the Church of England until 1780s.
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| 18 | 1741 | - 1741—1837: Protestant Dissenters' Registry
A registry for Protestant events was set up at Dr. Williams Library in London, closed 1837 with 50,000 entries.
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| 19 | 1742 | - 1742: Moravian Split
Moravians split and some became the Congregation of Unity of Brethren.
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| 20 | 1749 | - 1749: Protestant Episcopal Church
This church came into existence.
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| 21 | 1752 | - 1752: Change to the Julian Calendar.
Change to the Julian Calendar.
(24 Geo. II, c. 23)3 September became 14 September. In the middle of the 18th century, two changes were made in the English calendar. The first, moved the official start of the year from 25th March to 1st January, so changing January, February and March from being the last three months of the old year to the first three of the new year. The second, by "losing" eleven days from September, was from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian, bringing England into line with the rest of Europe where the Gregorian system had been used since 1582. As the new system was adopted by some before its official introduction, great care must be taken in transcribing extracts containing dates in January, February and March before 1752. The correct procedure is to transcribe the dates in both Old Style and New: 2nd February 1603 Old Style, should be shown as 2nd February 1603/4.
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| 22 | 1753 | - 1 Jan 1753: Hardwicke's Marriage Act
Commencement of the provisoes of Hardwicke's Marriage Act. The most significant contribution to family history research comes with the commencement of the provisions of Hardwicke's Marriage Act, or, an "Act for the Better Prevention of Clandestine Marriages," which was proposed by Lord Hardwicke and passed during 1752. The first and foremost important point in research that comes directly from the operation of this law is that every marriage, other than those of Jewish or Quaker faith, had to be performed at a parish church of the Church of England. Marriages were not permitted at chapelries of the Church of England unless special dispensation had been granted to that chapelry. Therefore, when looking for marriages that occurred between 1 Jan 1753 and 1 July 1837, when the then new provisions took precedence over marriage ceremonies, you can be assured that the couple had to marry a Church of England parish church. Again, the only exemptions were those allowed to Quakers and Jews to permit them to marry within their own places of worship.
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| 23 | 1763 | - 1763: Marrying Age Raised
Minimum age for marriage set at 16 thereby raising the previously accepted age for marriage of girls from 12 to 16 and of boys from 14 to 16. Individuals under the age of 21 years still needed the consent of their parents to a marriage before the marriage would be permitted to proceed. On marriage records individuals that are over 21 often have their age listed as "full age" rather than an exact age.
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| 24 | 1778 | - 1778: First Catholic Relief Act
First Catholic Relief Act to relieve the burden of followers of that faith.
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| 25 | 1783 | - 1 Oct 1783: The Stamp Act
23 Geo. Ill, c. 71: Tax of 3p per entry instituted which was to be paid on every entry of a birth, christening, marriage or burial. Some churches and parishioners refused to record their vital events - baptisms and marriages. Some families took their children to be baptised, or marriages to be performed, to parishes that were sympathetic to the burden that had been placed on them by the government. The levy was collected directly by the incumbent of the parish and he was allowed to retain 10 percent as a commission.
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| 26 | 1785 | - 1785: The Stamp Act Extended
Provisions in this act were extended to non-conformist events.
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| 27 | 1791 | - 1791: Second Catholic Relief Act
Permitted the conduct of ceremonies and the registration of churches and priests.
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| 28 | 1794 | - 1794: The Stamp Act Repealed
The Stamp Act was repealed.
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| 29 | 1800s | - 1800s: Congregationalists
Independents became known as Congregationalists.
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| 30 | 1801 | - 1801: First census
Taken for statistical reasons only, but a few returns that give names have survived from 1801-1831 and are usually to be found stored in the parish chest of a parish.
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| 31 | 1813 | - 1 Jan 1813: Rose's Act
Commencement of the provisoes of Rose's Act "for the better regulating and preserving of Parish and other Register of Births, Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials in England" (52 Geo. Ill, c. 14), had the effect of requiring the Church of England rites of baptism, marriage and burial to be recorded in a completely new and uniform manner. Baptisms were to include the occupation of the father, or mother, as the case warranted, as well as the place of residence of the parents and the name of the cleric performing the ceremony. Occupation and place of residence, although not seeming to be of much significance can greatly aid in keeping families of similarly named parents in proper relationship to their respective children. Burials were to begin recording the age of the deceased, the name of at least one parent if the deceased was a child, the occupation and place of residence of the deceased, or in the case of a child the occupation and residence of the child's primary parent. Again, the name of the cleric performing the ceremony was added. Marriages were to be recorded in a precise format that was supposed to allow for the stipulation of the bride and groom's respective marital status at the time of the marriage and their respective places of residence. To the marriage entry was added whether the marriage took place by banns or licence and the signatures of two witnesses along with the signatures of the parties to the marriage. And, again, the name of the cleric performing the marriage was also added. All of these tiny pieces of information - clues to relationships - can assist one in researching their family history.
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| 32 | 1829 | - 1829: Catholic Emancipation Act
This Act ended all statutory religious, political and social persecutions of Roman Catholics.
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| 33 | 1832 | - 1832: Reform Act
Gave the voting franchise to many more people and introduced electoral registers.
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| 34 | 1834 | - 1834: Poor Law Amendment Act
The commencement of the second period of poor relief in England and Wales. The old parish system of poor relief was abolished and the first Boards of Guardians of the poor was introduced.
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| 35 | 1837 | - 1 Jul 1837: Civil Registration
The start of the General Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages in England and Wales.
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| 36 | 1841 | - 1841: First Nominal Census
This census was the first to require the names of all members of a household to be recorded along with a generalized statement of place of birth and the provision for the rounding down of ages over 15 by 5 years to the nearest 0 or 5, e.g. a person aged 59 was to be recorded as aged 55 and a person aged 23 was to be recorded as aged 20. Occupation was also included but no relationships of the individuals within a household to the head of the house was made until 1851. The nominal census returns continued decennially to 1911 being the latest census to be released to the public arena.
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| 37 | 1859 | - 1 Jan 1859: Principal Probate Registry
The Registry was established and the jurisdiction of proving Wills and granting of probates was removed from the ecclesiastical courts to the District and general Probate Registries as of 1 January.
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| 38 | 1860s | - 1860s: Christian Revival Society
This Society was formed by William Booth.
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| 39 | 1872 | - 1872: Secret Parliamentary Elections
Until this date, poll books were considered to be public records, revealing how a person had voted.
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| 40 | 1875 | - 1 Jan 1875: Amendment to Civil Registration
This amendment made registration of births, marriages and death compulsory, imposed a penalty for late registration and no longer permitted inclusion of a father's name on the birth certificate of an illegitimate child unless that father was present at the registration of the birth.
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| 41 | 1878 | - 1878: Salvation Army
Christian Revival Society changed its name to the Salvation Army.
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| 42 | 1899 | - 1899: Methodist Marriages
Official Methodist marriage registers were first introduced.
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| 43 | 1910 | - 1910: Lloyd George's "Domesday"
An Act that imposing a duty on the increase in value of land when sold creating millions of records required for the full and proper administration of the Act.
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1888 - 1965 (76 years)