Search Sussex Baptisms

Each record includes a transcript of the original record. The amount of information included in a record will vary, you may be able to find a combination of the following:

• First name(s)
• Last name
• Birth year
• Birth date
• Baptism year
• Baptism date
• Baptism place
• Description
• Residence
• Father’s first name(s)
• Father’s occupation
• Mother’s first name(s)

The Sussex Baptisms include more than 17,000 records from parishes across the county. For a full table of the parishes recorded, view the Sussex baptisms parish list available in Useful links and resources. The records date as far back as 1545, an excellent resource for those searching for relatives born before civil registration.

Since censuses and official birth, marriage, and death records only go back to 1837 when civil registration was instated, parish records are vital to researching your family history. The requirement for parish priests to maintain a weekly register of baptisms, marriages, and deaths began in 1538 following King Henry VIII's split from the Roman Catholic Church. A fine was put in place for failure to comply, and from 1733 onwards, entries had to be written in English instead of Latin.

These transcripts have been supplied by several family history societies including the Billinghurst Local History Society, Family Roots (Eastbourne & District Family History Society), and Tunbridge Wells Family History Society.