If you are interested in researching your family through our Parish Records you will find that most of them, except for the most recent, are kept in the Diocesan Archive in Worcester.

If you wish to access them you can do so by calling or writing to:

 County Hall Record Office
Spetchley Road
Worcester WR5 2NP
Tel: 01905 766352

Although the records at St Mary’s Old Swinford go back to as early as 1602 they are not all kept at the church.

If you are looking for any records of:

baptisms between 1602 and 1889 or

burials from between 1602 to 1884 or

marriages from between 1602 and 1877

then you need to visit the record office at Worcester.

The registers are in 46 volumes with parcel numbers for each volume. You will need to ask for accession number 9150

We do have copies of 3 volumes of these records which are volumes 12 &13 which contain marriages between 1780 and 1813 and volume 6 which contains baptisms and funerals between 1768 and 1800.

If you are looking for any registers of:

marriages, between 1877 and 1994 or 

baptisms between 1889 and 1972 or

burials between 1884 and 1933 or

register of graves between 1930 and 1957

then these are also held at the records office in Worcester.

You will need to ask for accession number 14267

Any records from these dates to the present day are held in the safe at St Mary’s Church.

To access the records we hold in the safe you would need to make an appointment to meet with a member of the church staff who will assist you as much as they can.

Copies can be made of any records if you need to record evidence.

The Parish Office is open every day from 9.00 – 12.00 noon and the church is also open on a Saturday morning between 10.00am and 12.00 noon when staff will be available to help.

The contact details for the Parish Office are 01384 441003 or e mail st.mary.os@btconnect.com.

It should be noted that the graveyard is very large and in parts very overgrown. It is always advisable to seek help before attempting to find a grave and the following points should be noted:

1. Not all graves are marked with headstones.

2. Many inscriptions are badly worn and/or illegible.

3. Many graves have been damaged or have fallen over time.

4. In the past, the layout of burials was random with graves often being cut across or through other plots.

5. The churchyard here is very ancient with burials dating back over 900 years.

6. The burial registers do not always list where graves were sited.

If you wish to visit the graveyard you are most welcome to do so. Strong footwear is recommended - be prepared for a bit of a scramble!

In 1989/90 a survey of the graveyard was carried out by The Family History Society in association with the Birmingham and Midland Society for Genealogy and Heraldry.

If a grave has any kind of inscription on the headstone then it will be recorded in this survey. 

The survey resulted in the production of a detailed map of the graveyard, with inscriptions and a description of all the graves and including the memorials inside the church.

A copy of this document is held in the Parish Office

To trace a relative you will need to start at the index to identify the person then you should  be able to reference the grave on the map. The survey is not totally complete but has the vast majority of graves recorded.

Item	Description	Price
War	War memorials This is a list of the names which appear on the War memorial at St Mary's: 1914-1918 Ernest Adams                 &... More Info>> Item # War
churchyard	St Mary's Churchyard The present northern gateway, wall and approach path to the church were the gift of Mr Ernest Stevens in 1930. An ancient lychgate once graced the front of the church, the parish stocks awaiting their... More Info>> Item # churchyard