Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials are held in the County Archives at Lincoln.
Under a mandate from Thomas Cromwell in the thirtieth year of Henry VIII’s reign (1538) each parish was required to maintain a record of baptisms, marriages and burials in a single book, a task that was taken over by the state with the institution of civil registration in 1837. These records constitute a valuable resource for local historians and family history researchers. Some of the material, especially in the earlier years, is difficult to read, much being in Latin, so the Pickworth Local History Group undertook a transcription of the Pickworth documents from 1538 to 1812 into the more readily accessible form presented here.
Many of the early entries appear to have been written in the same hand; this was owing to a requirement in 1597 that parish records be kept on parchment and that all entries previously made on paper be transcribed on to this more durable material.
Prior to 1751 the calendar year commenced on 25th March, so an entry for December 1750 would be followed by an entry for January 1750. From 1754 marriages had to be recorded in a book separate from baptisms and burials, and from 1812 standardised Register forms were introduced to prevent improper alteration of records.
Transcription of names:
In earlier entries Christian names were often written in their Latin form; in this transcription these are given in English: e.g. ‘Jacobus’ is transcribed as ‘James’ , and ‘Maria’ as ‘Mary’.
Surnames are often given in different spellings, even on the same page; these different spellings are kept in the transcription: e.g. ‘Everet’ is also spelt as ‘Everitt’, etc.
Baptisms are currently available and Deaths & Marriages will be added to this website later.