Marriage, birth and death records
The Registration Service has custody of registers that record
births, deaths and marriages occurring in Rochdale since July 1837
when civil registration was introduced in this country.
A certified copy of records of births, deaths or marriages
occurring within Rochdale for which we hold the record, can be
obtained from the Register Office, using the contact details in the
column to the right.
For an event which happened elsewhere, contact the Register
Office for the district where the event occurred.
Information can only be released in the form of a certificate at
the cost of £7 each. Included in this fee is one five year
search, this is the year you specify and usually the two
years before and the two years following this date. As all records
are kept by date, it is most important that you be as accurate as
you can with any date provided.
When applying for a certificate the following information will
be required for us to find the correct entry:
Births
- Date and place of birth
- Full name of child
- Mother’s full name and maiden name, father’s full name
Deaths
- Date and place of death
- Full name of the deceased
Marriages
- Date and place of marriage
- Full names of both bride and groom at the time of the
marriage
For more information contact the Register Office.
Family Research
How do I trace my family tree?
The best way to start is to find out what information is
available to you from your own family. Most families will have kept
copies of old birth, death and marriage certificates. There are
other documents that may be useful. These include grave papers,
adoption papers, old school reports, family photographs and any old
newspaper cuttings. You will certainly find it informative, if you
talk to older family members who can tell you about family members
who are no longer alive. Be sure to record the information you
obtain and try and establish any relevant dates.
More information on my family
Local Register Office
All Register Offices hold records of Births, Deaths and
Marriages from 1837 for their own area. If you wish to purchase a
copy certificate, you will need to state the name, the approximate
date and place of the event. Most Register Offices will search a
maximum of five years.
If you wish to undertake a wider search of the indexes, you can
book a general search with a Register Office. An additional fee is
charged for this. This allows you to search all indexes for a
maximum of six hours. If you needed any certificates to be issued,
you would pay an additional fee for each certificate.
If you wish to undertake a search of the records at Rochdale
Register Office, please email Rochdale Register office for more
information.
Lancashire Family History Society
View Rochdale Birth, Marriage and Death indexes on the web!
Rochdale Register office is working in partnership with
Lancashire Family History Society to make all indexes records for
birth, marriages and deaths available on the Internet.
We are currently making available marriage indexes starting from
1837 and will follow shortly after with birth indexes from
1837.
More information on birth,
marriage and death records available on the website Lancashire
Births, Marriages and Deaths
Census Records
In 1801 the Government introduced a national census of the
population of this country. This has been carried out every 10
years since. This information gives details of where people lived
and worked and reflected social trends of the time.
Many of the older census records for Rochdale can be viewed at
the Local Studies section of Rochdale Library. They are located in
the Arts and Heritage Centre, The Esplanade, Rochdale.
The Government only makes census records available after 100
years. The most recent census to be released is the 1901 records.
These census records are the first to be available on the
Internet.
The 1901 Census for England and
Wales.
General Register Office - Family Records
Centre
The Family Records Centre is located at 1 Myddleton Street,
London EC1R 1UW.
Telephone: 0870 243 7788
The Family Records site aims to
help you find the government records and other sources you need for
your family history research
The Family Records Centre provides access to the following:
- Indexes of birth, marriages and deaths in England and Wales
from 1837.
- Indexes of legal adoptions in England and Wales since
1927.
- Indexes of births, marriages and deaths of some British
citizens from the late 18 century including deaths in the two world
wars.
Certificates can be purchased from any entry either by visiting
the Family Records Centre or you can place an order by telephone,
fax or post.
The Family Records Centre also has other ad-hoc records that can
be viewed on microfilm. Check with them to find out if they have
the information you may be looking for.
Deaths
1837-1974: Individual indexes for each sub district.
1975-1990: Annual printed index.
1991-to date: Annual computerised indexes.
Marriages
1837-1925: Annual printed indexes.
1926-1974: Indexed by church name only.
1975-1990: Annual printed indexes.
1991-to date: Annual computerised indexes.
Birth Death and Marriage Records
Heywood - 1837 to present day. Some General Register Office
indexes may have Heywood shown as district but the birth was in
Radcliffe area, these records are at Bury Council.
Link to Bury Council's website
Littleborough - 1837 to present day.
Middleton - 1837-1933; 1974 to present. (1933-1974 records are
held at Oldham Register Office).
Link to Oldham Council's
website
Milnrow - 1837 to present day Rochdale1837 to present day
Whitworth 1837-1974 (after this date, they are at Hyndburn and
Rossendale Register Office).
Makeup of our index
system
Births
1837-1900: Annual computerised index
1901-1974: Individual indexes for each sub district
1975-1990: Annual printed index
1991-to date: Annual computerised indexes