Beds
Family
History
Society

NEWS

For details of our Next Meeting please click here

Bedfordshire & Luton Archives Heritage Open Day - Saturday 14th September 2013

As part of our centenary celebrations this year, the Archives Service is holding an open day on Saturday 14th September as part of the national Heritage Open Days scheme.  Tours, displays and games will all be available to give you an idea of what we do here at the Archives.  It runs from 10am til 4pm.  Please feel free to come along and find our more about us!

There are also other events going on in Bedford as part of the Heritage Open Days, and the details can be found here www.bedford.gov.uk/heritageopendays .  Further details of our open day and other centenary events can be found at www.bedford.gov.uk/archiveevents .

New Bedfordshire Surnames Index CD released - September 2012

A new CD is now available from the Society, price £10; this forms an index to all the Parish CDs, or to parish records in other forms. It extends the range of the Prime CD up to 1837 for marriages and at least 1851 for other records. For details click here

New Bedfordshire Probate records published - June 2012

The Bedfordshire Family History Society is pleased to announce the publication of Bedfordshire Wills 1543-1547, the third in our series of Tudor Probate records from the Archdeaconry of Bedford. For details of how to order this and other Society publication see Book Publications.

Website updated – February 2012

The BFHS website has been static for some time while we have been transferring to a new host. We are glad to report that the new website is now updated with:

• The 2011 Publications Price List and order forms

• The full list of Parish Record CDs (see below)

Please check your Favourites or Bookmarks – a link to the Home page www.bfhs.org.uk should pose no problem, but a link to a specific web page may take you to the old site. Just delete such entries from your list, then access the page from here using the left menu or other link, and "Add to Favorites" or "Bookmark this page" to make a fresh entry.

We apologise for delay in updating the site for reasons that were beyond our control.

Bedfordshire Parish Records on CD - all parishes completed - September 2011

The Bedfordshire Family History Society has now published a Parish Records on CD for all of the 128 of the ancient parishes within the county. Each CD covers one of the ancient parishes, also used as the basis for census districts, and contains images of the transcripts of the registers up to 1812. These will replace a number of sets of records previously issued on microfiche, and in addition carry photographs of the church and village, a description of the parish from a C19th Kelly's directory, and searchable indexes of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials. Also, where available, Monumental Inscriptions from the churchyard and other burial grounds are included, and a scanned copy of the relevant book from the Bedfordshire 1851 Census Index. For more details of parishes available and prices follow this link Parish Records on CD. These CDs are listed in our publications list and also available from our Online Shops .

Pre-1852 Surnames Index CD

The Surnames CD is a consolidated surname index of all entries for baptisms and burials up to 1851 (beyond in some cases) and marriages up to at least 1837 in the Bedfordshire Parish Registers, as included on the Parish CDs. This has over one million entries with surname, forename, year, parish and event. Consequently it will give you more detail, up to a later date, than the Prime CD, including the forename and year of the event, and also indicates a baptism, burial or marriage. Entries from the marriage licences are also included for bride, groom and surety. However, the index consists of an alphabetical list of surnames, and it is up to you to search for all possible variant spellings. It can lead you to the detailed entries on a Parish CD or to the pre-1813 register transcripts in printed form or on microfiche (to order see the publications list).

Meeting Room arrangements for Members' Meetings at Mark Rutherford

The society holds monthly Members' Meetings, usually on the first Friday of the month, at Mark Rutherford School, Bedford MK41 8PX (except in August). The meetings are held in the Drama Theatre (situated at the eastern end of the school). The Drama Theatre has recently been re-decorated, and refurbished with new tiered seating and lighting; this now gives us more seating in pleasant surroundings. The Bookstall carries a wide range of books for you to purchase and the Library contains books and other material for members to loan. Both of these facilities are available at all members' meetings. Please follow the link, Future Meetings and Events for a list of our Members' Meeting dates.

Journal Indexes

Previous Journals of the Society are available on microfiche – but do they contain any articles of interest to you?  To help you, we are putting the indexes to previous volumes on the web site.  There is now available a searchable alphabetical index to those surnames referred to in articles in volumes 1 to 17.  Surname Index

Each journal volume covers a period of two years, and is available on a separate fiche.

This online surname index will exclude any substantial published name lists, such as census transcriptions for institutions or Members' Interest profiles. 

Further details of the microfiche for sale are listed in our Publications List. They may be purchased from the Society, or ordered online from our two outlets:Online Shops

Book Publications

Bedfordshire Wills 1531-1539 transcribed by Patricia Bell

This publication contains transcriptions of the Probate Registers (books 3, 4 & 5) from the Court of the Archdeaconry of Bedford, held at the Bedfordshire and Luton County Archives. It is fully indexed by Personal names, Places and Subjects. An invaluable aid for Local and Family Historians and students of Tudor England. Contains 353 wills in 230 pages.  (Click front cover to see bigger image)

It costs £8.30 including P & P in the UK and £11.10 Overseas including P & P (to order see below).

Bedfordshire Wills 1537-1545 and cases from the Archdeacon's Court

This new book contains the next batch of records (books 6, 7 and 10) from the Archdeacon of Bedford's Court which include a large number of other cases brought before the Ecclesiastical Court as well as records of Probate. These throw light on the practices of late Tudor times, but there are also many wills from this later period, following on from the previous volume. Fully indexed, this book forms an invaluable aid for Local and Family Historians and students of Tudor England. Contains 420 entries, of which 252 are full wills, in 208 pages. (Click front cover to see bigger image)

It costs £9.30 including P & P in the UK and £12.10 Overseas including P & P (to order see below).

Bedfordshire Wills 1543-1547 transcribed by Patricia Bell - new for 2012

This publication contains transcriptions of the Probate Registers (book 11) from the Court of the Archdeaconry of Bedford, held at the Bedfordshire and Luton County Archives. With full indexes of Personal names, places and subjects, this book contains 268 new probate entries in 208 pages, with in addition a lengthy introductory analysis. (Click front cover to see bigger image)

It costs £9.30 including P & P in the UK and £12.10 Overseas including P & P (to order see below).

Bedfordshire Parish Poor Law Papers 1622-1834. Reprint

This book contains a surname index of names of people that appear in surviving Bedfordshire Poor Law documents, held at the Bedfordshire and Luton County Archives. It also contains an alphabetical list by Parish of Poor Law documents that survive. The book is A5 in size and contains over 200 pages of information. (click front cover to see bigger image)

It costs £9.30 including P & P in the UK and £12.10 Overseas including P & P.from :--

We also have two online bookshops where you may buy books, CD's, microfiche and membership: Genfair and The Parish Chest.
The Parish Chest can be found by following this link.
Genfair can also be found by following this link.

Do you want to know how to get hold of a copy of BEDS. PRIME CD-ROM Bedfordshire Parish Registers Index (Master Edition)? Follow this link

Search the Bedfordshire Family History Site. Type in your word in the box below and click the button.

Brian Payne