NONCONFORMIST RECORDS

Scope and Content

Records of Nonconformist churches in Flintshire, 1800-2008, including registers, 1807-2001, of Calvinistic Methodists, 1818-1983; Wesleyan Methodists, 1840-1989; Independents, 1834-1891; United Reformed Church, 1921-1937; Congregationalists, 1861-1957; Baptists, 1807-1837; Presbyterians, 1966-2001; accounts, correspondence, trustees' and meeting minutes and other records relating to nonconformist churches, including pew-rent books, Sunday school records, annual reports, newsletters, and photographs, 1843-2001; deeds and related records, 1850-1995; and books, 1815-1956.

Administrative / Biographical History

Within the county of Flintshire, a number of nonconformist denominations existed from the 17th century onwards. These groups included Calvinistic Methodists, Wesleyan Methodists, Independents, the United Reformed Church, Congregationalists, Baptists, Presbyterians and Primitive Methodists. The early Nonconformist registers are mainly records of baptisms, since many dissenters used the Church of England for the registration of marriages and deaths. From 1837, the state took control of the process of registering births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales for all religious denominations, and Nonconformist registers were recorded with the Registrar General.

Arrangement

Arranged into deposits relating to individual nonconformist churches, chapels and / or circuits, of various denominations.

Access Information

Data Protection Act restrictions will apply to any items less than 100 years old that contain personal information as defined by the Act.

Note

Please order documents using the alternative reference number (where provided).

Other Finding Aids

A hard copy of the catalogue is available in Flintshire Record Office.

Archivist's Note

Compiled by Richard Burman for the ANW project and extensively amended by Elizabeth Pettitt and Steven Davies of Flintshire Record Office. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Flintshire Record Office, Schedules of nonconformist records; Hey, David, Oxford Dictionary of Local and Family History, (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1997).

Conditions Governing Use

Usual copyright restrictions apply.

Appraisal Information

All records deposited at Flintshire Record Office have been retained except SubCollection N/24 (permanently withdrawn).

Accruals

Accruals are expected

Related Material

Microfilms or photocopies of further registers of nonconformist churches in Flintshire and Denbighshire are Flintshire Record Office MF and NT. See also P (Parish Records).