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List of the Old Parish Registers

This list is based on the printed Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland which was first published in 1872. It provides a basic reference guide for identifying the dates for the births/baptisms, marriages/proclamations of marriage and deaths/burials in the Old Parish Registers (OPRs) held by the General Register Office for Scotland.

Indexes to, and digital images of, the births/baptisms and proclamations/marriages are available on the ScotlandsPeople website.

The structure of this OPR list gives the following information:-

e.g for the births and baptisms in the parish of Dunblane

for the years 1711-83 the reference is OPR 348/2

The list gives the covering dates for the events in each register volume. They are arranged across the page:

B Births and baptisms

M Marriages and proclamations of marriage

D Deaths and burials

The covering dates should be treated with caution, for although they are believed to be substantially correct, their complete accuracy is not guaranteed. Nor do they reflect gaps of periods of months or years within the OPRs.

The list also includes:

• references to indexes and transcripts which are held in the New Register House library,
  

• cross-references to appendix 1 which lists Church of Scotland records held by the National Archives of Scotland (formerly the Scottish Record Office) containing pre-1855 birth, death and marriage entries (reference CH2). The appendix is annotated to show where the National Archives of Scotland material supplements the OPRs. In most cases the General Register Office for Scotland has microfilm copies of these records, but should you wish to purchase any microfilm copies of these contact the National Archives of Scotland direct.

• RNE references. These refer to a volume(s) of the Register of neglected entries, 1801-54. This register was compiled by the Registrar General after statutory registration was introduced in 1855. It consists of births, deaths and marriages proved to have occurred in Scotland between 1801 and 1854 but which had not been entered in the old parish registers. The RNE entries are found at the end of the appropriate parish register entries.

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Index: Index of Place Names

Appendix 1: Church of Scotland records in the National Archives of Scotland (Scottish Record Office) containing pre-1855 birth, death and marriage entries.

Appendix 2: Kirk session and other material found in the OPRs.

Appendix 3: Miscellaneous records containing entries from Non-Conformist churches relevant to the OPRs.