London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
Local Studies Information Sheet no. 40
SOURCES FOR FAMILY HISTORY IN BARKING
PARISH REGISTERS
The parish of St Margaret’s, Barking, included Great Ilford until 1830 when the
new parish of St Mary’s, Great Ilford was created. The original parish registers for
St Margaret’s are kept at the Essex Record Office, Chelmsford. The LBBD
Archives and Local Studies Centre holds microfilm and fiche copies of the
following: Baptisms 1558-1991, marriages 1558-1991, and burials 1558-1947.
Scanned images of St Margaret’s registers from 1558 to the 1900s are available
on the Essex Record Office’s “Essex Ancestors” web pages. Follow the links
from the main search page, at:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/displayParishContents.asp
PARISH REGISTER SURNAME INDEXES
The Archives and Local Studies Centre holds the Riverside Parish series
surname index for St Margaret’s. It is on fiche and covers baptisms and burials
1813-1851, and marriages 1813-1848.
We also hold a handwritten index compiled by Robert H. Browne in 1908-9,
covering St Margaret’s baptisms 1558-1812, burials 1558-1774 and marriages
1558-1753.
ST AMARGARET’s CHURCHYARD MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS
We hold a list of gravestone inscriptions, compiled by Barking Council in 1930. It
describes many stones that have now disappeared or are no longer legible.
RIPPLESIDE CEMETERY BURIALS
The cemetery opened in 1886. We hold a list of burials from 7th October 1886 to
15th April 1902 (c.4000 names), searchable by surname. We also hold notices of
interment for Rippleside Cemetery dating from October 1886 to January 1930.
CD-ROM: “BARKING ANCESTORS”
The St Margaret’s churchyard MIs and Rippleside Cemetery burials 18861902 have been transcribed and are available in Microsoft Excel and PDF
formats together on this CD. Price £5 (£6.50 incl. postage).
LBBD CEMETERIES BURIALS (NOT INCLUDING CHURCHYARDS):
An online database covering Rippleside, Eastbrookend & Chadwell Heath
cemeteries is available, searchable by name. Clicking on the “view grave detail”
button reveals the names of everyone buried in a particular grave. Please see:
http://cemweb.barking-dagenham.gov.uk/servlet/Telesearch
Please turn over/. . .
BARKING DEATHS 1936-1954
This CD-Rom contains c.10,000 names, and includes residents of Barking who
died outside the area, for example in the London Hospital or Oldchurch Hospital.
(Please note that the information is incomplete and data must be checked against
other sources.) Please ask staff if you wish to view the CD-Rom.
CENSUS RETURNS
The Archives and Local Studies Centre holds the census returns for Barking on
microfiche/film for 1841, 51, 61, 71, 81, 91 and 1901. We also offer free access to
the Ancestry Library Edition and Find My Past Community Edition websites which
hold the census returns 1841-1911 searchable by name and place. These
websites also include the GRO birth, marriage and death indexes for England and
Wales 1837-2005.
LOCAL FAMILY HISTORIES
A large amount of family history research relating to Barking has been donated to
our collections, including family trees of some prominent Barking fishing families.
LOCAL NEWSPAPERS
Family history information found in newspapers may include birth, marriage and
death announcements, wedding reports and even lengthy obituaries. We hold
the following:
The Essex Times 1866-1888
The Barking Advertiser (later the Recorder) 1888 to 2010 (ceased publication)
The Barking Chronicle 1911 to 1941
The Dagenham Post 1928 to date
Other useful family history sources are listed on the following Information
Sheets:
Sheet 41: Dagenham family history sources
Sheet 38: Tracing the history of houses in Barking & Dagenham
Sheet 39: Internet sites for family history
It is advisable to book a microfilm or fiche reader in advance of your visit.
Please call us on 020 8227 2033 or e-mail localstudies@lbbd.gov.uk
PRIMARY SOURCES HELD ELSEWHERE
Later parishes
Additional Anglican parishes were established towards from the end of the 1920s
onward to look after the large increase in population which occurred as a result of
the Becontree estate and subsequent housing developments. Some completed
parish registers have been deposited at the Essex Record Office, Chelmsford.
For a list, please see the “Essex Ancestors” web pages, at:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/displayParishContents.asp
Archives & Local Studies Centre, Valence House, Becontree Ave, Dagenham RM8 3HT
localstudies@lbbd.gov.uk / www.lbbd.gov.uk/archives / www.facebook.com/valencehouse 09.2014