Explore our England Family History Research page for help tracing relatives in England. There, you'll find lists of record collections, histories, tips, and genealogy resources available for England on Ancestry. 

For help with research in Scotland, visit our Scotland Family History Research page.

Searching all records in the UK

Search UK and Ireland or Wales records

Or,

1. From any Ancestry page, click Search tab and choose All Collections. 
2. In the search fields under Collection Focus, click the drop-down menu and select UK and Ireland or Wales.
3. Enter information and click Search.
4. On the left side of the results page under Record Location, choose Europe > then United Kingdom.
5. From the list of results, click View Record beside a record.

Finding records in the UK by collection

Search UK records

Or,

1. From any Ancestry page, click Search tab and choose Card Catalog. 
2. On the left, under Filter by location, choose Europe > then United Kingdom (if you don't see it, click show more to expand the list of locations) > and then Channel Islands, England, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Scotland, or Wales.
3. At the top of the left side in the Keyword(s) field, enter a keyword (like “parish,” “birth,” or “London”) and click Search.
4. From the list of results, select a record collection.
5. Enter information and click Search.
6. From the list of results, click View Record.

Birth, marriage, and death records

Original birth, marriage, and death records are not public or available online. Use Ancestry to find indexed information, and then, with that information, order a copy of the certificate from the original repository. For help finding an index's original repository, see Source and Collection Information.
 

1. Go to www.Ancestry.co.uk.
2. Click the Search tab and select Birth, Marriage & Death, including Parish.
3. Under Featured data collections on the right, choose an England and Wales data collection.
4. Enter information and click Search.

Parish records

Parish records (primarily baptisms, marriages, and burials) are the best source for finding vital records in England before the nineteenth century. Before England began keeping records for its citizens (civil registration), important events in a person’s life were recorded and saved by the Church. Churches in England (and throughout the United Kingdom) began keeping records in the early sixteenth century.

In Scotland, parish records are more complete and begin earlier than civil registrations. Our database of Scottish Parish Registers contains birth, christening, marriage, death, and burial records.

Begin your research in our largest parish and court records from England database. These historical records date back to 1399 and continue through to 1795. You can find more of these record types (we have over 120 collections for England) in the card catalog.

Other useful links

• England, Select Births and Christenings
• 1911 England Census
• England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index
• England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005
• England, The National Roll of the Great War, 1914-1918
• UK, Outward Passenger Lists
• British Army WWI Pension Records
• Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms
• 1901 Scotland Census
• Scotland, Select Marriages
• British Army WWI Service Records