General Chat

Many years ago I took my daughter to see the registers of birth death and marriages
But have now been told they are no longer available to view.I know of course that Somerset House was closed and archives were moved to Kew but not where or even if they are available to physically seen.
CAN ANYONE SHED SOME LIGHT PLEASE.

The originals are now in an archive in Dorset and unlikely to be under public gaze anytime soon. I Don t know where the St Cath index ended up.

A lot of researchers believe one or more of the following none of which are true.

1 the freebmd and ancestry versions of the gro register are the same
2 there are no errors or missing records in the GRO index except trans errors
3 the data on the orig bmd certs is correct
4 from the introduction of a computerised index in the 1960s errors were eliminated; far from it plus there is a small but sig element of fake records.

A visit to Kew will only produce the same copy you can buy online. from 2006 online certs are not available.

Good luck

According to GOV.UK

You can also search for index reference numbers for free at:-

Library of Birmingham
Bridgend Local and Family History Centre
City of Westminster Archives Centre
Manchester Central Library
Newcastle City Library
Plymouth Central Library
The British Library (you’ll need to register first)

These are the only complete copies of the full sets of index reference numbers. They’re on microfiche.

View index reference numbers locally:-

Some of the index reference numbers are available at local libraries, archives and other locations.

The GRO records moved to the Family records office mydleton street London and were held in big ledgers there that could be searched for the gro records

Spent many trips there and just across from there the London Metropolitan Archives for parish records ,workhouse records etc

The records office hasn't closed but the gro ledgers have been removed and archived and not available now

I have a recollection of having to go to a building on corner of Aldwych/Kingsway many years ago, I had to go and order birth certs for hubby and me, for passport appications.

Liz

That was St Catherine's house - spent many a happy hour there.

i thought they had all been moved to Kew

Wherever they are they are archived and not available to search as many companies have them transcribed now online

Later bmds that arent online will be at the local register offices

The ledger indexed records at St Catherines House were the Somerset House public access ones,they were transfered to Aldwych in 1970 when SH closed that department,,,,,,,later the index ledgers were moved to ,Family Record Centre in Mydleton St. and since its closure they have been archived,because by then most local archives had the indexes on fiche at least from 1837 to 1983,,,,some only to 1910.,,,,,,,,,by the mid 1990s 1837.com were the first to put the indexes online,1837 to 1983, in time later were added,and by the change to findmypast years included to 2006......

I took part in a fund raise to buy the full indexes of 1837 to 1983 back in 1986 to 1990 and the cost then was.£10,000.!....the set BDM.