Marriage Index
Over the past five years, I have been compiling a Shropshire Marriage Index. Primarily this is of all marriages from South Shropshire (those parishes in the Hereford Diocese) from 1538 to 1812. For some parishes the end date is 1837, and the plan is eventually to enter marriages for all parishes up to 1837 when Civil Registration began nationally. Some north-west Worcestershire parishes have been included.
The main source is Parish Registers, but where there are gaps, the Bishop's Transcripts can sometimes help. Occasionally the Marriage Licence Bonds will also provide a marriage not listed elsewhere.
More recently, I have started to list 'clandestine' marriages which appear in Church Court records, but are not noted in the Parish Registers. Many Parish Registers from Shropshire do not survive for the sixteenth and early seventeenth century. Wills often provide evidence of marriages, with surnames of sons-in-law. Evidence from this source is now being added.
There are now nearly 50000 marriages on this database. Some early marriages and most post-1754 marriages give further information e.g. names of witnesses, status of bride and groom, occupation etc. and this information has for the most part been added in the database. [Sample extract]