Researching the Clergy

On the 2nd May VCH volunteers attended a training event focused on researching the clergy. This event, held at Carlisle Archive Centre, followed the recent launch of the latest task for VCH volunteers, to gather the names of Anglican clergy for each parish.

The session was run by Dr Jane Platt, honorary researcher at Lancaster University, who is herself a VCH Volunteer and editor of The Diocesan Book of Walter Fletcher, Chancellor of Carlisle Diocese 1814-46 (forthcoming 2015), which will be published jointly by Surtees Society and CWAAS. Dr Platt provided an introduction to researching Anglican clergy from the eighteenth century to the present day.  Particular attention was paid to the type of records available and where you can find them. This included information in the church and grave-yard; in parish and diocesan records; and material available online. Examples of difficult cases were also discussed from Dr Platt’s own research.

Dr Platt has kindly provided some guidance notes on this subject, which are available here.