Secular and Church of England Records

Saturday 27 March 2021 at 2pm GMT

A talk on Secular and Church of England Records where Catholic ancestors can be traced, generally for going against the Establishment. Les Mitchinson will refer to the Recusant Rolls, Chancery Records, Ecclesiastical Court Record, Churchwardens’ Presentments, Assize and Quarter Sessions and Anglican records during the penal times when the practice of Roman Catholicism was illegal. Early Catholic records are scarce because to make and keep them could put at risk the lives of priests and those to whom they ministered if such documents were found by the authorities.

 Les Mitchinson, DipGen, is Director of Education at the History Institute of Heraldry and Genealogical Studies, amongst his other responsibilities and interests. He is a graduate of this Institute. His earlier career was in the Royal Navy.

 If you would be interested in joining us online for this talk, then please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You will in due course be sent a link for Zoom. If you do not have Zoom it is easy and free to download it to your device. Simply search for Zoom on your search engine and follow the instructions. We hope you will want to join us for what promises to be an enlightening talk.

Catholic Family History Society

Looking for your Roman Catholic ancestors? The Catholic Family History Society can point you in the right direction. Society members receive Catholic Ancestor, our journal, three times a year containing members' own researches and a wide range of helpful articles. An Annual Day Conference is held in October. Volunteers around the country transcribe early Catholic Registers, and these are offered free to current members when published. They may also be available at your local Record Office or public libraries. Non-members can also purchase these and all past publications.Please use the menu bar at the top of the page to explore this site.

 You may be new to family history, you may have some experience, you may be an old hand; whatever the case we will welcome you as a member and do our best to help you in this fascinating pastime. Click here to join us.

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