Find your ancestors in Berkshire Marriages

Discover your ancestor who got married in one of 89 parishes in Berkshire, England, between 1538 and 1927. These records may reveal your relative’s name, age, spouse details, and possibly their marital status, occupations, and names of witnesses. Included in these records are those of John Lovelace, 3rd Baron Lovelace of Hurley, who married Martha Pye in 1662 and was involved in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

Each record comprises a transcript of the original marriage register. The amount of information listed varies, but the records usually include a combination of the following information about your ancestor:

  • Bride’s first name
  • Groom’s first name
  • Groom’s last name
  • Church
  • Parish
  • Place
  • County
  • Country
  • How married (by banns or licence)

Later records may include additional details. These further details may include:

  • Bride’s last name
  • Bride’s marital status
  • Groom’s marital status
  • Bride’s age
  • Groom’s age
  • Bride’s address
  • Groom’s address
  • Bride’s occupation
  • Groom’s occupation
  • Bride’s father’s name
  • Bride’s father’s occupation
  • Groom’s father’s name
  • Groom’s father’s occupation
  • Witnesses
  • Notes (including officiating minister, consent of parents)

The record set comprises over 211, 910 records from 89 parishes in Berkshire, England.

These records date from 1538 to 1927.

The vast majority of marriages were conducted by banns, with over 28,500 by licence.

Berkshire is a county in southeast England, located to the west of London. It’s known as the Royal County of Berkshire due to the presence of Windsor Castle. Reading is the county town of Berkshire.

The records

Marriage records are an essential part of researching your family history. There are records where the parents of the bride and groom are listed, and these are often the key to finding out the names of the generation before.
Occasionally, ages of the couple may be listed as "full" rather than as a figure. This was a customary way of noting that they were over the required age of 21. If the bride or groom was under the age of 21, “with consent of parents” is noted in the record.

Please note that no images are included in the records.