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- This project arose from a desire to create a database of Catholic (papist) burials in Anglican churchyards which would receive data from crowdsourcing.
- This website is a point of contact for family historians who may wish to contribute burial register entries they stumble across during their research.
Background
Catholics were banned by law from having their own places of worship until 1791 (Catholic Relief Act). After this Act, Catholic missions had to be registered to become legally recognised as places of worship. All marriages had to take place, under the Hardwick Marriage Act 1754, in the Anglican parish church in order to be recognised for legal purposes. All deceased people had to be buried and the only suitable place available would again have been the Anglican parish church. Catholics had no automatic right to this and had to have the permission of the vicar, who did not always give it. Even if the vicar allowed it, the deceased was often buried rather secretly in a neglected part of the churchyard without a marker. The burial may have been recorded in the church register and it is always worth researchers looking. After 1829 Catholics increasingly used their new legal freedoms and built churches. If there was enough land they may also have set up a graveyard, but for many new Catholic missions this was not possible. In 1832 the Reform Act changes in local government administration allowed Catholic marriages and births to be registered without the local Anglican vicar’s permission. When municipal cemeteries were established in a locality, burial became easier for all non-Anglicans. As soon as these became widely available they were divided into separate areas for different denominations, faiths or those without a religious affiliation. Legislation in the 1850s and 1860s forced the closure of most urban churchyards in the interests of public health but sometimes, even today, Catholics will use their Anglican churchyard, if allowed, as they find the setting more spiritual. The result is that many Catholic ancestors remain ‘hidden’ in Anglican registers.
This project seeks to discover hidden Catholic ancestors
Catholics were banned by law from having their own places of worship until 1791 (Catholic Relief Act). After this Act, Catholic missions had to be registered to become legally recognised as places of worship. All marriages had to take place, under the Hardwick Marriage Act 1754, in the Anglican parish church in order to be recognised for legal purposes. All deceased people had to be buried and the only suitable place available would again have been the Anglican parish church. Catholics had no automatic right to this and had to have the permission of the vicar, who did not always give it. Even if the vicar allowed it, the deceased was often buried rather secretly in a neglected part of the churchyard without a marker. The burial may have been recorded in the church register and it is always worth researchers looking. After 1829 Catholics increasingly used their new legal freedoms and built churches. If there was enough land they may also have set up a graveyard, but for many new Catholic missions this was not possible. In 1832 the Reform Act changes in local government administration allowed Catholic marriages and births to be registered without the local Anglican vicar’s permission. When municipal cemeteries were established in a locality, burial became easier for all non-Anglicans. As soon as these became widely available they were divided into separate areas for different denominations, faiths or those without a religious affiliation. Legislation in the 1850s and 1860s forced the closure of most urban churchyards in the interests of public health but sometimes, even today, Catholics will use their Anglican churchyard, if allowed, as they find the setting more spiritual. The result is that many Catholic ancestors remain ‘hidden’ in Anglican registers.
This project seeks to discover hidden Catholic ancestors
