Kendal Parish Records

[BridgetM]

Does anyone know why there are no Kendal parish records from 1630-1679?
Thanks,
Bridget

[FELLSMAN]

is it that they were lost at the time of  cromwell  and the civil wars and when quakerism started in the 1650's. I know i'm having similar difficulty with my search for family members in the kirkby stephen area inthe mid to late 1600's .After these times outlying parishes were all registered with the main church at kendal for quite a long period

cheers fellsman

[sillgen]

Hi
Have you asked at Kendal Archives Office?   They are supposed to have the records from 1558-1953 according to my copy of Phillimore.  The IGI should have coverage then too.
Andrea

[BridgetM]

I have asked at the record office--I'm in Kendal this week--but they don't know why.  I was wondering if there'd been a fire in the church--but the Civil War sounds like a good explanation.
Bridget

[jillruss]

I've often wondered about this as well.

Have you asked them if there are any Bishops Transcripts which might fill in the gap?

I would love to get access to them too - at the moment I can't get any further back with my Troughton branch!!

Jill

[BridgetM]

Hi Jill,
I think there are Bishops Transcripts for a couple of the missing years, but that's all.  Apparently, the missing records were last seen in the early 1800s; no one knows where they might be now.  But at least we know they did at one time exist, so perhaps they'll turn up!

(I'm using wills to try to bridge the gap.  I have my direct line of the Machells documented back to the 1650s, but, unfortunately, there's a gap between 1620 and 1675 when my Machells didn't leave wills, so I'm researching wills of all the people who lived in the same places as my Machells--a very expensive and time-consuming approach!)

Bridget