Dorset, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-2010

This database contains images of Church of England death and burial records in registers from parishes in Dorset County.

Parish Records

Before civil registration in England began in 1837, key events in a person’s life were typically recorded by the church rather than the state. Parish records are the best source of vital record information in England before the nineteenth century and remain an important source thereafter.

Burial Records

Historically, burials usually took place within a few days of the deceased’s death. The registers can provide

• name
• abode
• date of burial
• age
• who performed the ceremony

In 1812, George Rose’s Act called for preprinted registers to be used for separate baptism, marriage, and burial registers as a way of standardizing records. These standardized registers are included in this collection.