Family History & Parish Registers

Family History & Parish Registers

The main body of the parish registers - especially those more than a few years old - are looked after at the Berkshire Record Office in Reading. Although now in the county of Oxfordshire, Wantage was a part of Berkshire until the county boundaries were re-assigned in the 1970s. Consequently, the vicar is unable to service any requests for help regarding tracing ancestors in Wantage.

However, there are several support agencies in the town and on the web.

If you can visit Wantage then the two best repositories of family history and local information are the Vale & Downland Museum and the library

The museum has a vast array of local history artefacts and can put you in touch with local researchers. Look for the local history links on the main Wantage website.

The library carries several register transcripts, and a large array of local history materials. It also has a book of memorial inscriptions - which may save you some time if you are looking for a particular gravestone. Click here for opening times, and location.

The Berkshire Record Office is some 25 miles distant from Wantage. But it is the place to be if you are looking for documents which relate to the town. Details of what they hold, and what services they can provide will be found on their website.

But if you need the services of local researchers then you may care to check out the Berkshire Family History Society.

It may also be useful to know that there is a large local history section at the Oxford Central Library in Westgate, Oxford. Much useful information may also be had from the Oxfordshire Record Office, and the Oxfordshire Family History Society.

More information can be found by using a search engine such as Google and entering a search term such as ‘Wantage Parish Church Records’.