Parish records are essential sources for family and local historians,
and Stuart Raymond's handbook is an invaluable guide to them. He
explores and explains the fascinating and varied historical and personal
information they contain. His is the first thoroughgoing survey of these
resources to be published for over three decades.
In a concise, easy-to-follow text he describes where these important
records can be found and demonstrates how they can be used. Records
relating to the poor laws, apprentices, the church, tithes, enclosures
and charities are all covered. The emphasis throughout is on
understanding their original purpose and on revealing how relevant they
are for researchers today.
Compelling insights into individual lives and communities in the past
can be gleaned from them, and they are especially useful when they are
combined with other major sources, such as the census.
Your Ancestors' Parish is an excellent introduction to this key area of
family and local history research - it is a book that all family and
local historians should have on their