where to look up gro records for romford

[mavistee]

Hi just wondering I will be visiting London from Ireland during the summer for a day and would like to look up records for Romford - where can i look them up in London without having to go to Essex

[CaroleW]

Hi

where to look up gro records for romford

You say GRO records in your subject.  Do you mean Births/Marriages/Deaths?

If so - these can be looked up online on either freebmd or a subscription site depending on what period is involved

www.freebmd.org.uk

They are also available at main libraries on microfilm or fiche

[JaneyCanuck]

As I understand it, actual records (other than the index) are not accessible to the public without paying the fee for a copy of a certificate, if that's what you were hoping to do.

[dawnsh]

Hi mavistee

The GRO provides the records on microfiche in the British Library at St Pancras or the City of Westminster Archives. These are the only places in London to see records after 2005.

You will need to apply for a readers ticket for either or both places, proof of identity and current address is required.

As previously mentioned, records pre 2005 are available online and are a more readily available source of information if you don't have an exact date or place.

Dawn
 

[lizdb]

Parish registers will be at te Essex Record Office, in Chelmsford. Well worth a visit.


If you are making the long journey from Ireland to London,  it would be worth an extra Half hour on the train to Chelmsford to be able to browse tnrough all records for Romford and neighbouring parishes.

[JaneyCanuck]

As previously mentioned, records pre 2005 are available online and are a more readily available source of information if you don't have an exact date or place.

Dawn -- the indexes are available on line, but the actual records are not, is that not it?

And the post-2005 records you refer to are also the indexes, not the records?

If something can't be found in the indexes, GRO staff (or local offices where records are held) will do searches of the records they hold for a fee, but members of the public cannot do that.

That's my understanding, anyhow. Since I'm an ocean away and haven't had to figure it out for my own purposes, somebody will correct me if I'm wrong!

So it depends on whether mavistee was wanting to search generally, using indexes, or actually do hands-on searches of the actual records (which can be done for parish records pre-1837 in the relevant offices, of course, as lizdb says).

There has been much discussion in the family history community about the fact that the GRO provides only certified copies of records, for a hefty fee, and whether it should not make records available in non-certified form / viewable on line, but it seems not likely to happen.

[lizdb]

 (which can be done for parish records pre-1837 in the relevant offices, of course, as lizdb says).

And post 1837.  Some parish registers at the ERO go up to well into the 20th century

[mavistee]

thanks for all the replies this is what i want to know
where in London can i do the following
In Dublin i can go the GRO office (register of deaths, births, Marriages) and look up the index books for the country and get a photo copy of the record showing all the details that you would get from an actual cert

thank you

[lizdb]

The indexes are now online, so you do not need to look at the books.
But to see the details on the actual cert, you have to order the cert (www.gro.gov.uk)

There is nowhere that you can see this, other than for marriages if it was a c of e church, and you look at the parish register.