Go to Surname Initial Index
 

The Parish:

St.Margaret's parish covers a large area to the East of the old town wall of Leicester, stretching, broadly speaking,  from the River Soar in the North in an arc round to the line of the Via Devana in the South.  From medieval times population movement out of the walled town was eastward into the parish, land for expansion North, South or West being unavailable.

The parish population increased more rapidly in the 19th C. as large housing development took place.  Census figures show that the parish population increased from 30,784 in 1841 to 92,929 in 1891.  Between 1861 and 1881 it increased by 37,611, two-thirds of the town's increase of 54,000 in the same period.  One could reasonably assume that up to the middle years of the 19th C  and possibly much later, at least half of the town's population lived in St.Margaret's parish.  The parish records therefore are a very important first source for researchers of Leicester family history.  It should be noted, however, that as the parish population expanded, a number of 'daughter' churches were erected and eventually licensed for marriages.  Consequently, in the last third of the 19th C, a proportion of residents of the parish were married in these newer churches and a search of their registers may bring to light a marriage not listed in the St.Margaret's registers.
 

The Transcription:

Some of the entries in the early registers in this series are not easily deciphered, a combination of a 'hand' possibly acquired in the late 18th cent. and a fine nib, often presented a problem.  In some cases I was able to resolve doubtful names by referring my guess to the parents' names in Richard Makins' Leicester Marriage Index, 1801-1837 but in others my guess had to stand, unconfirmed.   Inevitably there will be mistakes in any transcription and although all entries in my database were double-checked for typographical errors an entry could have been a  mis-transcription.

Having found a likely marriage, always check the original register entry yourself before accepting it as the marriage you were seeking.  Names of bride and groom are rarely in doubt, since they each occur twice in the original entry.  Witnesses- and place- names often present difficulties and  the following conventions have been used in the transcription and index:-

1,  Where there is some doubt about a word, the word is followed by a '?'

2,  Where a word is indecipherable, it is indicated by '???'.  For instance, an indecipherable first  name with an indecipherable surname would be rendered as ??? ???

3,  Where a place-name is an out-of-Leicestershire location, in some cases the name of the county containing the location has been added, surrounded by brackets, e.g [Hants].

Due to the various types of handwriting encountered, it is possible that similarity of letter formation has resulted in an incorrect name or occupation or even street name.  Examples of possible confusion are  the names Simpson and Timpson; Davie, Davis and Daws; Lemuel and Samuel; Burton and Barton.  Occupations which might be confused are Painter and Printer; Farmer and Farrier; Trimmer, Tanner and Tinner; Surveyor and  Sawyer.  Among street names, there are in the parish, Wilton St., Milton St. and Melton St., also Benford St. and Bedford St.  Again, always consider all the possible spelling variations of the name you are seeking including the addition or omission of an initial 'H', even Eleanor for Helena and vice versa!

In the registers the abbreviation 'FWK' is used for the occupation of 'Framework knitter'.  Also there are numerous references to 'North' or 'The North', as an address.  It is almost certain that this does NOT refer to the North of England but is a colloquialism for Northgate and/or Northgate St. Various entries in a number of the registers indicate this.  For instance, one address shows 'The North' crossed out and replaced by 'Northgate St.', another as 'B Court, The North' and a further one as '12, Northumberland Yard, The North' all of which are within the parish.

In view of all the above I would welcome information on any errors which may become apparent to users of this transcription.  To contact me about these, click here.
 

The Index:

This index lists, in alphabetical order, the surname of any person, male or female, married at St.Margarets in the period between July 1, 1837 and May 12, 1897.  Note that brides who were widows are indexed by their surname at the time of marriage.  They are not listed under their maiden name.

From the table below, click on the initial letter of the surname you require to open the index.  Search for the required surname, (always considering different spellings!).  Under each surname the first names are listed, again in alphabetical order.

Against each first name the Year of marriage, Name of spouse and the Volume number of the microfiche in which the full transcription appears are listed, separated by commas.

Full details of the marriage register entry,  which is identical to a marriage certificate, are given in the transcription.  Note that for the cost of one marriage certificate, two volumes of the transcription microfiche, giving details of 1000 marriages, can be obtained!

A	B	C	D	E	F
G	H	I	J	K	L
M	N	O	P	Q	R
S	T	U	V	W	XYZ

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