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Church of England Nationwide digital churchyard mapping project begins

 

The Church of England has announced the digital mapping of all its churchyards.

The first of 19,000 churchyards will be surveyed as part of a Church of England project to create a free digital map of every grave and feature in every churchyard in the country.

The ancient church of St Bega on the shores of lake Bassenthwaite in the Diocese of Carlisle is the first churchyard to be scanned by surveyors using sophisticated laser equipment, as part of the national programme.

 

A new website will go online next year giving free access to the map which is expected to be of special interest to local community groups, conservationists, and those researching family history. The website will also enable the charting of biodiversity and green technology.

The Church of England has partnered with Cumbrian-based surveying company Atlantic Geomatics who will use back-pack mounted laser scanners to quickly and accurately map churchyards. They will also photograph all the visible headstones.

There are around 19,000 Anglican burial grounds in England, and the ambitious scheme will aim to digitally survey the majority over the coming seven years. Data on burials will be combined with other information, such as the National Biodiversity Network Atlas, to present the most complete picture of churchyards to date.

The project will come at no cost to parishes or dioceses in the Church of England and parishes will have free access to the map through a new web-based record system which is set to launch in Spring 2022. There will also be the option to subscribe to additional services.

Substantial funding for the programme has been given by Historic England, with the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Caring for God's Acre supporting the pilot phase, as well as support from genealogy research websites, all of which has allowed the basic service to be made available to parishes free of charge.

Use of the latest surveying equipment and bespoke software built by Atlantic Geomatics has made the national-scale survey a possibility for the first time. Operatives will aim to survey around nine or ten sites a day using back-packmounted laser scanning equipment, GPS and cameras. Taking tens of thousands measurements every second the surveyors will then process the data to create accurate maps of each churchyard.

Bishop Andrew Rumsey, who is a lead Bishop for church buildings said: “This impressive national project will make a huge difference to those researching family history, as well as easing the administrative burden on parishes.

“It will improve management of burial grounds, and make information more fully accessible than ever before, supported by additional services by subscription for those wishing to go further.

“It will soon be possible to visit almost any Anglican burial ground in the country and see in real time the location of burial plots. For those researching at distance in the UK or overseas, the digital records will place detailed information from churchyards at their fingertips.”

 

Church by church, and diocese by diocese, it is hoped that the all Anglican churchyards will be surveyed over the next seven years. As well as capturing details of burials, the online interactive map will detail biodiversity in churchyards, including ancient trees and plant-life, as well as green technology such as solar panels.

More information

National Graveyard Mapping Project

 

Source URL:

https://www.churchofengland.org/media-and-news/press-releases/nationwide-digital-churchyard-mapping-project-begins

 

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New Unique Searchable Parish Records for Norfolk

TheGenealogist releases Norfolk Parish Records

 

Some of the records reveal the parents of illegitimate children

 

TheGenealogist has released over half a million new parish records for Norfolk into their Parish Records collection. In addition to containing the uniquely transcribed records of Baptism, Marriages and Burials with images for over 250 parishes, these records also include some fascinating Bastardy bonds, Examinations, Warrants and Orders. With this release family historians will be able to find the details of ancestors baptised, married and buried as well as those that had children born out of wedlock in this East Anglian county. 

 

The Outcast. Richard Redgrave

 

The new data will allow the family history researcher to discover:

 

  • Over half a million individuals in records
  • Names of parents of illegitimate children 
  • Images also reveal the names of people standing guarantor for the father
  • The baptism, marriages and burials of ancestors in Norfolk


These fully searchable records are transcribed from the original records and linked to the images from the Norfolk Record Office. This release covers the parishes of:

Acle, Alby, Antingham, Ashby with Oby, Ashby With Oby and Thurne, Ashill, Ashwellthorpe, Ashwicken, Aslacton, Babingley, Bacton, Banham, Barton Bendish All Saints & St Mary, Barton Bendish St Andrew, Bawsey, Beechamwell, Beighton, Billingford, Billingford with Thorpe Parva, Billockby, Bixley, Blickling, Booton, Boughton, Bracon Ash, Bradfield, Brancaster, Braydeston, Breccles, Bressingham, Brinton, Brundall, Buckenham, Bunwell, Burgh next Aylsham, Burgh St Peter, Burlingham St Edmund, Burnham Deepdale, Burnham Thorpe, Burnham Westgate, Caister St Edmunds & Trinity, Caistor St Edmunds, Calthorpe, Carleton Rode, Castle Rising, Caston, Catton, Chedgrave, Cawston, Chedgrave, Clippesby, Colney, Congham St Andrew, Corpusty, Croxton, Denton, Dersingham, Diss, Dunston, Earlham, East Bradenham, East Carleton, East Dereham, East Harling, East Lexham, East Tuddenham, East Walton, East Winch, Eccles, Edgefield, Edingthorpe, Elsing, Erpingham, Felthorpe, Fersfield, Flitcham, Flordon, Fordham, Forncett St Peter, Foulsham, Framingham Earl, Framingham Pigot, Fundenhall, Gayton, Gayton Thorpe, Gaywood, Gimingham With Trunch, Gissing, Glanford, Great Bircham with Bircham Newton and Bircham Tofts, Great Dunham, Great Fransham, Great Poringland, Great Snoring, Great Witchingham, Great Yarmouth, Great Yarmouth St Nicholas, Grimston, Griston, Guestwick, Haddiscoe, Hales, Hapton, Hardley, Hardwick, Hassingham, Heacham, Heckingham, Heigham, Hellington, Hethersett, Hilgay, Hingham, Hockering, Hoe, Holkham, Honingham, Horning, Horsford, Horsham St Faith, Howe with Little Poringland, Hunstanton, Ingoldisthorpe, Ingworth, Itteringham, Kempston, Kenninghall, Ketteringham, Kilverstone, Kirby Bedon, Knapton, Lammas with Little Hautbois, Langley, Limpenhoe, Lingwood, Little Barningham, Little Walsingham, Little Witchingham, Loddon, Ludham, Marham, Marlingford, Mattishall, Merton, Metton, Mintlyn, Morton on the Hill, Moulton, Moulton All Saints & St Michael, Moulton St Mary, Mulbarton, Mundesley, Narborough, Needham, New Buckenham, Newton Flotman, North Creake, North Elmham, North Lopham, North Pickenham, North Tuddenham, Northwold, Norton Subcourse, Norwich Lakenham, Norwich Pockthorpe St James, Norwich St John de Sepulchre, Norwich St Margaret and St Swithin, Norwich St Mary in the Marsh, Norwich St Peter Parmentergate, Old Buckenham, Oulton, Pakefield, Paston, Postwick, Pulham St Mary the Virgin, Quidenham, Redenhall with Harleston & Wortwell, Ringland, Ringstead St Andrew, Rockland St Mary with Hellington, Runcton Holme, Runton, Saham Toney, Salhouse, Sandringham, Saxthorpe, Sedgeford, Sharrington, Shelfanger, Shelton with Hardwick, Shingham, Shipdham, Sidestrand, Skeyton, Snetterton, Snettisham, Somerleyton (Suffolk), Southrepps, Southwood, Sparham, Sporle With Palgrave, Starston, Stiffkey, Stoke Holy Cross, Stow Bardolph, Stow Bedon, Stradsett, Stratton Strawless, Strumpshaw, Swaffham, Swannington, Swanton Abbot, Swanton Morley with Worthing, Swanton Novers, Swardeston, Tacolneston, Tasburgh, Tharston, Thetford St Cuthbert, Thetford St Mary, Thetford St Peter, Thompson, Thorpe By Haddiscoe, Thorpe Episcopi, Thorpe Market, Thurlton, Thwaite, Tibenham, Titchwell, Toft Monks, Toftrees, Tottenhill, Tottington, Trowse, Trunch, Tuttington, Upper Sheringham, Wacton, Warham, Watlington, Watton, Weeting St Mary With All Saints, Wereham, West Newton, Westacre, West Tofts, Wheatacre All Saints, Wickmere, Wighton, Winfarthing, Witton, Wolferton, Wolterton, Wood Norton, Wood Rising, Woodbastwick, Wormegay, Worstead, Worthing, Wreningham and Wretton.

 

Read TheGenealogist’s article: Tracing Illegitimate ancestors online 

https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2019/tracing-illegitimate-ancestors-online-1127/

About TheGenealogist

 

TheGenealogist is an award-winning online family history website, who put a wealth of information at the fingertips of family historians. Their approach is to bring hard to use physical records to life online with easy to use interfaces such as their Tithe and newly released Lloyd George Domesday collections. 

 

TheGenealogist’s innovative SmartSearch technology links records together to help you find your ancestors more easily. TheGenealogist is one of the leading providers of online family history records. Along with the standard Birth, Marriage, Death and Census records, they also have significant collections of Parish and Nonconformist records, PCC Will Records, Irish Records, Military records, Occupations, Newspaper record collections amongst many others.

 

TheGenealogist uses the latest technology to help you bring your family history to life. Use TheGenealogist to find your ancestors today!

 

 

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