08:54 Mar 20, 2017
In England and Wales there is a physical, original register of marriages which is signed by the bride and groom and witnesses. These are held at a local level. Then, certified copies of the registers are made so that the information is available at a regional and national level. Anyone requiring a copy of a "marriage certificate" (as it's unofficially known), whether it's their own certificate needed for bureaucratic reasons or another certificate to be used for genealogy, is most likely to apply to the national General Register Office rather than the regional Registry, so the "certified copy of an entry" is taken from a "certified copy of a register" and not from the original register.
The same applies to births and deaths: there are local registers and there are certified copies of those registers used at a national level. The system came into effect in 1837. Prior to that there were only registers of baptisms, marriages and burials maintained by individual churches, but those registers were copied and sent to the local bishop, so the "Bishop's Transcript" could be consulted at a regional level without the need to visit a specific church. |