Genealogy Chat

From "Hampshire Now" publication

"......,interest in family history is increasing,lots of people now need copies of birth,marriage and death certificates.
In response ,the County Council's Registration Service is developing a new speedy service for copying certificates and improving the way certificates are kept.

Until now,Hampshire registers dating back to 1837 have been kept in individual registration offices around the county
This Autumn all of these registers are being brought together at the Hampshire Record Office at Station Hill Winchester,....."

What a good idea :-)

Unless they intend to accept applications other than in person, it will be less convenient for those who don't happen to live in Winchester.........

Hi,

Just a bit of extra information on the above, as I was involved in the project;
You can apply online or by telephone for HAMPSHIRE certificates at http://www3.hants.gov.uk/registration/registration-certificates.htm.
or tel. 0845 603 5637, or you can apply in person (although online or telephone is preferred - so that the staff can spend their time actually searching and issuing!).

Some of the very helpful certificate issuing staff have been transferred to the specialist small unit, so the expertise is retained.

It is true that a search will not be made without payment, but the certificate cost is refunded if the entry is not found.

As the registers are held within the Hampshire Record Office Building, it does have spin off benefits in terms of greatly improved conservation awareness, storage conditions and potential for indexing projects.

It is part of a national movement in which registration districts have merged and their archives have followed suit. Cost savings are indeed a factor, but not the sole factor.

The good points are Hampshire certificates are VERY slightly cheaper than the GRO-supplied certificates (excluding the 'priority service') at £9 each instead of £9.25.
You no longer need a specialist knowledge of which sub-office within Hampshire has which registers, they are all in the one place.
Marriage certificates (and in the near future, birth and death certificates) are produced as scanned copies of the original entries with actual signatures of witnesses / informants.

Jeff