Family history

The West Sussex Record Office is the main centre for family history research in the county. 

Click on any of the sections listed below to obtain further information about the many types of record we hold which will help you with your research. For a list of helpful websites please see our Useful Links page.

• An introduction to family history
  How to commence your family history research at the West Sussex Record Office

• Bishops Transcripts
  By 1598 it had become the recognised practice for the incumbent to send to the Bishop a copy of the years' entries in the parish registers. These copies are known as Bishops Transcripts.

• Census Records
  Since 1801 a census has been taken every ten years to the present day, except for 1941 during the height of the Second World War. Find details of West Sussex censuses that the Record Office holds.

• Directories
  County directories, developed around the beginning of the 19th century, provide lists of the wealthier householders and tradesmen of each parish together with other related information.

• Genealogists' guide
  Interest in family history is still growing at a breathtaking rate - and so are the sources for researching it. To keep pace, the popular Genealogists' Guide to the West Sussex Record Office has made its fourth appearance.

• General Register Office Indexes 1837-2004
  West Sussex Record Office holds microfiche copies of the GRO indexes for England and Wales 1837-1997. The indexes, consisting of 24,000 microfiche, are an essential source for tracing a family tree back to 1837 when the registration of births deaths, marriages and deaths became compulsory.

• International Genealogical Index
  The IGI is one of the most useful tools available to the family historian working on the 16th to 19th century period. This index has been compiled by the Genealogical Society of the Mormon Church, as a tool to help their members trace their forbears.

• Marriage licences
  Information concerning marriage licences, affidavits and bonds held in West Sussex Record Office.

• Microfiche order form
  Before filling out this order form check which fiches you wish to order by consulting the list of parish registers on fiche.

• Nonconformist Registers
  Nonconformity, dissention from the Church of England, only began to gain legal acceptance in the 17th century, no records go back further than the middle of that century - the starting point of the Quaker series. Find out about the Nonconformist registers we hold.

• Parish Register Transcripts
  Modern indexed transcripts of West Sussex parish registers have been produced by the Parish Register Transcripts as part of an ongoing programme.

• Parish Registers
  Parish registers are the basic resource for the family historian before 1837 with the parish church having recorded baptisms, marriages and burials, and from 1754 onwards banns.

• Parish Registers on microfiche
  Details of all the parish registers available on microfiche at the West Sussex Record Office.

• Poll books and electoral registers
  Poll books were introduced in 1696, when sheriffs were first required to compile records of polling in county elections. Usually divided by parish, they list the name of each voter and the candidate for whom he voted.

• Poor Law Records
  Poor Law Records 16th Century to 1835 Poor Law Records come from a crude Welfare system and can provide invaluable information about your ancestors

• Soldiers that died in the Great War and the Second World War
  Compiled from official casualty lists and originally published by the War Office in 1921, this CD ROM record comprises 80 separate parts, covering every regiment and corps of the British Army. Approximately 635,000 soldiers are listed.

• Wills and other Probate Records
  Details of wills and other probate records held in West Sussex Record Office.

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