New church records website launches

Documents detailing cases heard in the church courts of the diocese of York from 1300 to 1858 can now be explored online.

The Cause Papers Database, available at www.hrionline.ac.uk/causepapers, has been digitised thanks to a grant from funding body JISC and allows visitors to search and view more than 14,000 records held at the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York.

The set features details of a wide range of social and religious issues, from marriages and separations to subjects that are now regarded as more secular, including taxation and professional misconduct.

“The York Cause Papers Database is a wonderful resource for family and local historians,” says archivist Paul Dryburgh. “More than 200,000 people, from places ranging from York parishes to as far afield as Russia and America, have now been catalogued. Such a rich variety of cases, including breach of faith, defamation, immorality and testamentary, gives exciting insights into the real life concerns and experiences of your ancestors.”