All registers which have been closed should be deposited on loan in the appropriate Diocesan record office. Any register whose last entry is over 100 years old should be deposited in the Diocesan record office.
Records and registers over 100 years old may only be retained in a parish following a resolution by the PCC and the Bishop's permission.
Stringent conditions for the storage of documents over 100 years old are set out in the Parochial Registers & Records Measure 1978, amended by the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 1992. The place of storage will be inspected by a Diocesan Archivist.
When records and registers have been deposited parishes should adopt a policy of regularly depositing non-current files and completed PCC and other minute books and account books.
When records and registers are deposited, a list of documents received will be sent to the incumbent and should be placed in the safe in the vestry.
The Diocesan Records Offices are:
for parishes in the City of London
Guildhall Library Manuscripts Department
Aldermanbury
London EC2P 2EJ
Tel 0202 7332 1863/1862
for parishes within the boundaries of the City of Westminster before 1964
City of Westminster Archives Centre
10 St. Ann's Street
London SW1W 2XR
Tel 020 7641 2180
for all other parishes
London Metropolitan Archives
40 Northampton Road
Clerkenwell
London EC1R OHB
Tel 020 7332 3820
