GRO Marriages

[Phoenix]

Does anyone know if there are plans to allow digital images of marriages?

I realise that the financial model is probably less viable than that for births or deaths, but it would be so useful.

[Olde Crone]

Isn't there something about the Church "owning" most marriages? (And not being willing to make it easy for people to see them?) That would mean that only civil marriages could be digitised and the complication of sifting out is possibly too much, for too little gain.

OC

[kiterunner]

But many church marriage records have been digitised and are available online already.

[Olde Crone]

Kate

Yes, indeed they have, but I THINK (I don't know) that permission was granted by the Archbishop concerned. I'm thinking of the way LDS extracted records were obtained originally.

OC

[Olde Crone]

It's down to lack of funds! So says a Rootsweb thread.

OC

[Phoenix]

That seems par for the course. Thanks, OC.

I think Civil Registration would trump the Established Church for marriages post 1837, but agree re other church records. The fact that the bishops of Durham and Exeter would not allow the Mormons to film their records gave me a very good grounding in research, as I had to visit record offices (and a lot of churches!) to see the registers.

[Olde Crone]

Huh, I remember the years BEFORE I knew about LDS records! Painful inch by inch searches at far flung record offices and churches. A long-suffering Vicar's wife tipped me off in the end.

OC

[Phoenix]

Lol! When I joined the SoG, they had two microfiche readers for the CFI. Crammed in a corridor, while the members' room had large, comfortable armchairs.

The church where Richard Cole was a vicar zealously guards its records still, but I imagine most are in complete agreement with your vicar's wife. In Lincolnshire, some vicars are in charge of over 30 churches.