Search the Marriages Indexes

Users' Guide to the Marriage Indexes

  1. What areas are covered by the indexes?
  2. What information is contained in the indexes?
  3. How do I order a marriage certificate?
  4. Can I see the original records?
  5. Why are the reference numbers different from the national marriage indexes?
  6. Why can't I find a marriage in the indexes?
  7. What should I do if I find a mistake in the indexes?
Go Back

1. What areas are covered by the indexes?

Our aim is to eventually cover all marriages which took place in Yorkshire between 1837 and 1950 and beyond.

These records are now held at many separate register offices:

The registration districts in Yorkshire have changed considerably since 1837, and very few records are now held at the offices where they were initially registered.

For full details of all the churches, chapels and register offices included in the database so far, see the Coverage of the Marriage Indexes page, which also shows the years for which the records have been indexed. Because there are separate sets of records for each place of marriage, the dates covered will vary, although eventually all the indexes should be complete for the years 1837 to 1950. More information will be continually added to the database, and the latest additions will be noted on the Updates page.

Return to top of page

2. What information is contained in the indexes?

From the indexes, you can find out:

(a) The Names of the bride and groom, as shown in the registers. Sometimes a name may be spelled two or more different ways on the same register entry, in which case each variant is separately indexed. This same also applies to double-barrelled names, so that 'Jeffrey Johnson Smith' would normally appear as 'Smith, Jeffrey J.' and 'Johnson Smith, Jeffrey'.
(b) The Year in which the marriage took place. In some cases only a range of up to five years is indicated at present because of the way in which the indexes were originally compiled, but exact years will be provided wherever possible.
(c) The Church, Chapel or Registrar's District where the marriage was solemnised. Until 1898 only Church of England, Jewish and Quaker places of worship were entitled to maintain their own marriage registers. All other non-conformist and Roman Catholic marriages had to be conducted in the presence of a registrar, and are therefore listed as 'Civil Marriages', together with all those conducted at the local register office. After 1898 non-conformist and Roman Catholic churches were allowed to keep their own registers and celebrate their own marriages, and so from that date the records for marriage are much more fragmented.
(d) The Register Office in Yorkshire which now holds the records. There have been a large number of boundary changes between districts since the start of registration in 1837, and as a result many records have been moved around.
(e) The Reference Number for the marriage entry, which can be used to order the marriage certificate, and which should be identical for the bride and groom. Please note that this is only applicable at the register office which holds the records, and is of no use anywhere else.

Please bear in mind that until recently the main purpose of these indexes was to supply certified copies of entries in registers. They were therefore written to help the registrar find an entry on information supplied by the applicant for the certificate. Consequently, they do not always provide information in an ideal form for family historians.

Return to top of page

3. How do I order a marriage certificate?

If you find an entry you are interested in, it is possible to order a marriage certificate, which is a copy of the full entry from the original register. This normally contains the following information for both bride and groom:

Applications for certified copies of the marriage entries should be made to:

OfficeAddressPayments to:Credit Cards
East Riding East Riding Registration and Celebratory Services
Walkergate House
Walkergate
Beverley
East Riding of Yorkshire
HU17 9BP
UK

General:01482 393600

  No
Bridlington Bridlington Register Office
Town Hall, Quay Road
Bridlington
East Riding of Yorkshire
Y016 4LP
UK

General:01262 422662

  Yes
Hull Hull Register Office
The Wilson Centre,
Hull City Council,
Alfred Gelder Street,
HU1 2AG
UK

General:01482 300 300

Hull City Council Yes
Harrogate The Register Office,
Bilton House, 31 Park Parade,
Harrogate,
North Yorkshire,
HG1 5AG
UK

General:0845 034 9482

  No
Pocklington Pocklington Register Office,
Burnby Hall,
Pocklington,
York,
YO4 2QQ
UK

General:01759 303614

  Yes
York York Register Office,
56 Bootham,
York,

YO30 7DA
UK

General & Phone Orders : 01904 654477

York City Council Yes
Darlington Darlington Register Office,
Town Hall
Feethams
Darlington
DL1 5QT

General: 01325 406400

Darlington Borough Council Yes
Redcar Redcar and Cleveland Register Office
Westgate
Guisborough
Redcar and Cleveland
TS14 6AP
UK

General:01287 632564

  Yes
Durham Durham Register Office
Cockton House
35 Cockton Hill Road,
Bishop Auckland,
Co. Durham,
DL14 6HS
UK

General:01388 607277

  Yes
Barnsley Barnsley Register Office
Town Hall
Church Street
Barnsley, South Yorkshire
S70 2TA
UK

General:01226 773085

  Yes
Wakefield Wakefield Register Office
Wakefield Town Hall
Wood Street
Wakefield
West Yorkshire
WF1 2HQ
UK

General:01924 302185

Wakefield Council Yes
Bradford Bradford and Keighley Register Office,
City Hall,
Centenary Square
Bradford,
West Yorkshire,
BD1 1HY
UK

General:01274 752151

Bradford Council Yes
Leeds Leeds Register Office,
1st Floor West,
Merrion House,
Merrion Way,
Leeds,
LS2 8BB
UK

General:0113 222 4408

Superintendent Registrar Yes
Dewsbury Dewsbury Register Office,
Dewsbury Town Hall,
Wakefield Old Road,
Dewsbury,
West Yorkshire,
WF12 8DG
UK

General:01924 324733

  No
Huddersfield Huddersfield Registration Office,
Huddersfield Town Hall,
Ramsden Street,
Huddersfield,
HD1 2TA
UK

General:01484 221030

  No
Pontefract Pontefract Register Office,
Town Hall,
Pontefract,
West Yorkshire,
WF8 1PG
UK

General:01977 722670

  Yes
Ribble Valley Ribble Valley Register Office,
Off Pimlico Road,
Clitheroe,
Lancashire,
BB7 2BW
UK

General:01200 425786

  Yes
Doncaster Doncaster Register Office,
Civic Office,
Waterdale,
Doncaster,
South Yorkshire,
DN1 3BU
UK

General:01302 735222

DMBC Yes
Retford East Retford Register office,
Nottinghamshire County
Council Offices,
Chancery Lane,
Retford Nottingham,
DN22 6DG
UK

General:01777 708631

  Yes
Sheffield Sheffield Register Office,
Town Hall,
Pinstone Street,
Sheffield,
South Yorkshire,
S1 2HH
UK

General:0114 203 9423

  No
Goole Goole Register Office,
Council Offices,
Church Street,Goole,
East Riding of Yorkshire,
DN14 5BG
UK

General:01405 722379

  No
North Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire Register Office
92 Oswald Road,
Scunthorpe,
North Lincolnshire,
DN15 7PA
UK

General:01724 843915

  Yes
Halifax Calderdale Register Office
Spring Hall
Huddersfield Road
Halifax
HX3 0AQ
UK

General:01422 288080

  Yes
Keighley Keighley Register Office
Town Hall,
Bow Street,
Keighley,West Yorkshire,
BD21 3PA
UK

General:01535 618061

  Yes
Rotherham Rotherham Register Office
Bailey House,
Rawmarsh Road,
Rotherham,South Yorkshire,
S60 1TX
UK

General:01709 382121 X 3541/2

  Yes
Oldham Oldham Register Office
Superintendent Registrar
Chadderton Town Hall
Middleton Road
Chadderton
Oldham OL9 6PP
UK

General:0161 678 0137

  No
Kendal Kendal Register Office
County Offices,
Kendal,
Cumbria,
LA9 4RQ
UK

General:01539 773567

  Yes
Burnley Burnley & Pendle Register Off.
12 Nicholas Street,
Burnley,
Lancashire,
BB11 2AQ
UK

General:01282 436116

  Yes
Worksop Worksop Register Office
Queens Buildings,
Potter Street,
Worksop,Nottingham,
S80 2AH
UK

General:01909 535534

  Yes
Chesterfield Chesterfield Register Office
New Beetwell Street,
Chesterfield,
Derbyshire,
S40 1QJ
UK

General:01246 234754

  Yes

Family historians are requested to apply for certificates by post and not call casually at the Register Office. Whilst staff will always try to help, they do have other statutory duties to carry out every day and are often very busy with current births, deaths and marriages. Postal applications are normally dealt with promptly as they are received.

An application should include:

Do not forget to include all the information asked for in the application - the better the information supplied, the greater the chance of being supplied with the certificates required. And a stamped addressed envelope will help get the certificate back to you more quickly. Applications sent from outside the UK should enclose two International Reply Coupons with their self-addressed envelope instead of stamps.

The fee for each certificate is £11.00 and should be sent with the application. Cheques should be crossed "/&Co/". Do Not Send Cash.

Applicants wishing to pay by credit card should include in their applications the relevant details, i.e. type of card, name of cardholder, card number and date of expiry.
Please note that only the offices noted above can accept credit card payments

Return to top of page

4. Can I see the original records?

Original records of births, marriages and deaths held at register offices in England and Wales are not open to the public, and information can only be released in the form of certificates issued by the registrars.

However, for marriages in the Church of England, a duplicate set of records exists, to which the public does have free access. These registers were normally retained by the church, and those for Yorkshire have often found their way into the Yorkshire Record Office, and may also be found on microfilm at local libraries or family history centres.

Return to top of page

5. Why are the reference numbers different from the national marriage indexes?

The national indexes of marriages in England and Wales at Myddleton Place (formerly at St. Catherine's House or Somerset House) list all persons married in each quarter year from 1837. They show the name of the bride or groom, the surname of the spouse (from 1912 only), the name of the registration district (as it existed at the time of the marriage), and a volume and page number which is unique to the General Register Office and of no use to local registrars.

Every three months since July 1837, local registrars and Church of England ministers have been required to send copies of their marriage register entries to the General Register Office. For various reasons, sometimes marriages were missed, or details were copied incorrectly from the register; this can usually explain differences between certificates ordered by the GRO and those obtained from local register offices. Generally speaking, registers and indexes held by the local offices are less prone to error, and should therefore be more accurate than those at the GRO.

Return to top of page

6. Why can't I find a marriage in the indexes?

A quick glance through the indexes reveals some unusual spellings of common names, and this often explains why a marriage can be hard to find. In the early days of registration, and because of the high level of illiteracy, the bride and groom told their name to the vicar or registrar, who would spell it as he heard it. If the couple could not read or write, they would not know whether the names were being spelled consistently. For example, people looking for the Muir family may not think to look under 'Mewr', or 'Raleigh' under 'Rolli', and a degree of lateral thinking may be required.

To help overcome this problem the search pages have the ability to try to list names that sound similar but are spelled differently. Hint and tips about getting the best from the search of the indexes on this web site are available here.

If you are satisfied that a name does not appear in the indexes, then your ancestor may have travelled outside the area to be married. It was not unusual for a couple to travel several miles from their usual home to marry at a church used by their parents or other relations. The GRO indexes may be helpful in locating where they married, but please remember that a lot of records have moved around due to boundary changes between districts.

Return to top of page

7. What should I do if I find a mistake in the indexes?

Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of these indexes, it is possible that an occasional mistake or omission can occur. If you think you have found an error then please send an e-mail to: Yorkshire BMD Webmaster, giving as many details as possible.

Return to top of page