PARISH MAGAZINES FOR FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH

It is thought that the first regular parish magazine was published at the beginning of 1859 for the parish of St Michael's, Derby and it was designed to counterbalance commercial publications. It was a sixteen-page periodical entitled The Parish Magazine containing general interest articles but always with a moral attached. The Parish Magazine initially covered only fifty-four parishes but it quickly expanded to over two hundred churches, each parish including their own local news pages.

Many parishes opted to issue periodicals produced entirely within their own community and did not include any outside material. As most magazines were dependent on volunteers, they often varied in format depending upon local circumstances. In some parishes the magazines were not always produced regularly, so there may well be gaps in coverage. Sometimes if insets were included, they might have been “historic” having originated at a different date from the magazines.

Most parish or church magazines relied on locally written material of variable quality. Throughout their existence many magazines were redesigned, renamed or relaunched to reflect the changing circumstances within a parish. The print process used also varied over the years with most early magazines being printed using movable type methods. From the early years of the twentieth century other processes were used including Gestetner duplicating machines; this was a much cheaper alternative although it often meant a reduction in quality and lack of images which in turn may have affected the survival of magazines within an archive because of deterioration.

Sometimes groups of parishes within a rural deanery would produce a combined magazine with contributions from each parish or village. Some adopted newspaper-style formats and delivered them to every household in the parish irrespective of religious allegiance. As inter-church cooperation grew in popularity after World War Two, ecumenical magazines were published jointly in association with local nonconformist denominations and Roman Catholic congregations.

Copies of surviving parish magazines can usually be found in county or diocesan record offices alongside other parish records. They can often also be researched in a local library although their holdings tend to be the publications produced within the last decade or so. Unfortunately, not all parishes have preserved long runs of their publications but some early copies of parish magazines may be available online on church or chapel websites. Some collections remain in private hands or in the hands of local church stewards, as is often the case for the nonconformist denominations. Some parishes had their annual sets of magazines bound up each year often including an index and this has helped their survival. There are also a number of very early parish magazines which have been reprinted as facsimiles and these too can be accessed in local studies libraries or via local history societies.

From the early 1860s Church of England dioceses issued publications with a variety of news and educational articles, the first one being from the Diocese of Lichfield. Likewise a number of Roman Catholic dioceses and ecclesiastical denominations overseas, as well as missions, did the same. During the Victorian era, publications were often named the Diocesan Gazette or Diocesan Magazine. From the early 1900s many dioceses began to produce monthly news bulletins for inclusion as inserts within the local parish magazine. Format and titles were sometimes changed to reflect the needs and circumstances of the church.

There was also a gradual increase in the use of engravings or photographs in the parish magazines. The production of many parish magazines was paid for by local supporting businesses in return for advertisements appearing in each edition. However, the detail and quality of information in magazines tended to deteriorate from the late 1930s onwards, perhaps due in part to the advent of the Second World War and to the decline in congregation numbers generally.

Most parish magazines were full of names of local people; this provides a valuable source of information for family historians.

A parish magazine normally contains religious articles, community contributions and parish notices - importantly including the births, christenings, marriages, deathsand burials which have occurred in the preceding month. The recording of the christenings would also include the names of parents - and sometimes giving the maiden name of the child’s mother. Marriage information may be supported by a report of the service. It has been known for lists of wedding presents to be included too. For funerals information about the grave location and a list of mourners is sometimes given. All this information helps us to relate back to formal and vital documentation. Dates given in the magazines are generally accurate. Sometimes biographies are included alongside funeral and burial details. for the more prominent members of the parish.

Alongside this information there are lists of candidates for confirmations which usually took place once or twice a year depending upon the size of the parish. Details of the parish clergy and churchwardens are listed in most of the publications as are the schedules of church services, Sunday schools and so on. 

Information and reports of church activities and events form a good proportion of content of magazines; this allows a researcher to find out how their ancestors were involved in the village. Reports of fetes, garden parties, youth groups, sports teams, choir and bell ringers usually feature prominently. Some magazines also carried reports of non-church events which took place in the community such as penny readings, talks, magic lantern shows and Christmas festivities.

The business of the parish or chapel is also given so there will be reports of church council or vestry meetings, amounts of weekly offerings, churchwardens' summary accounts and other informatin.

Most parish magazines carried information about Sunday school attendance and prize-giving for those who achieved certain religious standards. Reports of Sunday school outings and treats were also recorded.

Many church magazines also published summaries of weekly sermons and other spiritual guidance together with articles of local interest from parishioners, correspondence from associate missionaries and in times of war communications for parishioners serving in the military. Most parish magazines also recorded the deaths on active service of parishioners - often with a short obituary and photograph usually in uniform.

If your ancestor had a business within the parish, they may well have supported the parish magazine by taking out advertisements. Many magazines have two or three pages of card type adverts covering a variety of disciplines. If your ancestor was a trader then it maybe they took out an advert.

As many schools were associated with the church there are also reports and information about the events at school such as appointment of new schoolmaster or mistresses, pupil successes, examination results, attendance levels, reports of school board meetings and even details of building condition.