What the Diocesan Archive holds

The Diocese of Shrewsbury archive is held at the Curial Offices, 2 Park Road South, Prenton, Wirral CH43 4UX. Founded in 1851 by Pope Pius IX, the diocese is approaching its 175th anniversary, and its archive is the working memory of that mission. The collection includes:

• Bishops' correspondence from the foundation of the diocese onwards, including the papers of Bishop James Brown.
• Parish files covering property, faculties, clergy assignments, school links and significant pastoral events.
• Sacramental registers from closed parishes, transferred to the diocese when a church ceases to function as a parish.
• Property records, including conveyances, faculties and Quinquennial reports.
• Diocesan administrative papers, including chapter records, finance committee minutes and education department files.
• Photographs, plans and a small collection of liturgical books from churches across the diocese.

The archive does not hold civil records, parish baptism registers from currently functioning parishes, or material from religious communities. For a baptism certificate from an open parish, contact the parish directly. For genealogical research into a religious order, write to that order's mother house.

Who can request access

Access is by appointment only. The archive is not open to drop-in visitors. Requests are considered from:

1. Researchers working on a defined academic or local history project.
2. Family historians with a specific question, normally about a deceased relative.
3. Parish priests, parish secretaries and finance committees needing information from their own parish file.
4. Solicitors and surveyors acting on a property matter for the trust.
5. Authors and journalists working with the Communications Director.

How to apply

Send a written request, by email or post, with the following details:

• Your full name and contact details.
• Your reason for the request, in two or three sentences.
• The specific people, parishes, dates or themes you want to research.
• Whether you have permission from any living person whose records may be involved.

Email the request to curia@dioceseofshrewsbury.org with the subject line "Archive enquiry". Postal requests should be addressed to The Archivist, Diocese of Shrewsbury, 2 Park Road South, Prenton, Wirral CH43 4UX. The Curial Office switchboard is 0151 652 9855.

The Vicars General, Canon Jonathan Brandon and Canon Michael Gannon, hold delegated responsibility for archive decisions on behalf of Bishop Mark Davies.

Closure periods

The archive applies a default thirty-year closure to administrative records, in line with practice across English diocesan archives. This protects living people, current pastoral matters and sensitive correspondence. Some categories carry longer closure:

• Sacramental records of living people are restricted indefinitely under the Code of Canon Law and UK data protection law. A baptism record will not be released to a third party while the person baptised is still alive, except by certified extract to the person themselves.
• Personnel files for clergy are closed for one hundred years from the date of birth.
• Safeguarding files are closed permanently to general researchers and held under the diocesan safeguarding policy.

Where a record falls inside a closure period, the archivist may be able to provide a written summary that protects the privacy of the people involved.

What to expect at your appointment

Appointments are usually offered between 10am and 4pm on a weekday agreed in advance. You will be met at the Curial Office reception and shown to a small reading room. Pencil only, no pens. Phones are permitted for photography of single pages with the archivist's agreement. There is no charge for a standard half-day appointment.

If you need to refer to the archive in published work, the standard citation is: "Diocese of Shrewsbury Archive, [collection], [reference]". Drafts that quote at length should be sent to curia@dioceseofshrewsbury.org for sight before publication, in case any sensitive material has been included by mistake.

Copies and fees

Photocopies and digital scans are provided at cost. Certified copies of sacramental records carry a small fee that supports the upkeep of the archive. The diocese, charity 234025, gratefully accepts donations from researchers whose projects benefit from extended access.

For any question not answered here, write to curia@dioceseofshrewsbury.org.