Nature of Source
Records of French and Low Country Protestants who fled persecution from their own governments. French Protestants had enjoyed relative freedom of worship in France guaranteed by the 1598 Edict of Nantes. Many fled France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 by Louis XIV who considered them a source of potential rebellion. Within a few years, more than 400,000 Huguenots fled France to settle in England, Prussia, Switzerland, South Africa, Holland and America. It is estimated that 80,000 alone settled in England.
Earlier in 1536 an edict urged the total destruction of the Huguenots and in 1562, 1,200 were killed at the Massacre of Wassy. In 1572 over 8,000 Huguenots were massacred in Paris in what is now known as the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre.
Many Huguenots registered baptisms, marriages and burials in Anglican parish registers. The Huguenots did not have their own burial grounds, so burial ceremonies had to take place in Anglican churches. However, some were buried in nonconformist burying grounds such as Bunhill Fields. Huguenots will appear in the post 1837 civil registration BMD registers but they also had their own chapel registers. The Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland has transcribed and published all the surviving chapel and church registers.
The Huguenots brought with them many skills so look for apprenticeship records, livery company records and trade associations. Look for the Royal Bounty payments made to French Protestants and other charitable records. Look for chapel membership records, character references known as Témoignage which was a certificate enabling an applicant to join another church and the consistory (church court records).
Many Huguenots anglicised their names to assimilate into English society, so difficulties can arise trying to determine whether a person was of Dutch or French origin. Women kept their maiden name after marriage.
Also see
Denizations
Immigration Records
Lists & Certificates of Aliens/Arrivals
Naturalisation Papers
Netherlands Research
Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy
Registers of Aliens
Returns of Aliens
Sacrament Certificates
Where Found
Huguenot Society of Great Britain & Ireland (The society, established in 1885, is dedicated to the preservation of Huguenot history in Great Britain and the publication of Huguenot records. The society is especially noted for their Quarto series of publications available on CD ROM since 2004 which includes parish registers from French protestant churches, registers of poor relief institutions, transcriptions from denization and naturalization records and lists of aliens resident in London extracted from tax returns. Please note that the transcribed records deal with all foreigners entering Britain and not just French protestants fleeing persecution. The Society’s annual journal ‘Proceedings‘ details Huguenot history with back numbers, 1885 to 2007, available to Huguenot Society members on the internet. ‘Huguenot Families‘ published between 1999 and 2008 contains features of interest to family historians with numbers 1-20 available on CD-ROM and a list of contents for issues 1-20 available online)
Huguenot Library (Based at UCL, the library houses the holdings of the Huguenot Society and contains many books and material dealing with the history of the Huguenots in Great Britain and Ireland)
The National Archives (Registers of the French churches handed in after the introduction of civil registration)
French Protestant Church of London/L’église protestante française de Londres (French Protestant registers and records available to view by arrangement)
Society of Genealogists (Copies of nonconformist registers and other nonconformist material)
Bishopsgate Institute Library (London Collection: Various holdings relating to the Huguenot community)
Canterbury Cathedral Archives (Canterbury French Church Records. The records of the French Huguenots Church in Canterbury include Actes du Consistoire, various accounts and registers, estate papers, sermons and miscellanea)
Representative Church Body Library – Church of Ireland (Irish Huguenot Archive. The RCB Library has hosted the archive of the Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland since 1993 following a deal between the two organisations. The collection is varied both in quality and quantity, with archives, manuscripts, copies of family research papers, photographs, printed books, photocopies and printed ephemera)
Period Covered
1550 – Onwards
Genealogical Value
Baptism
Date of baptism and birth, mother’s maiden name and names of godparents.
Marriage
Names of parents, father and mother including her maiden name, address, place of birth.
Burials
See Parish Registers-Burials
Further References
- Chater, Kathy. Tracing Your Huguenot Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen & Sword Books, 2012
- Currer-Briggs, Noel & Gambier, Royston. Huguenot Ancestry: Phillimore, 2001
- Dobson, David. Huguenot and Scots Links, 1575-1775: Genealogical Publishing Co, 2008
- Gandy, Michael. Family History Cultures and Faiths: How your ancestors lived and worshipped: Expert Advice to Speed up Your Search: The National Archives, 2007
- Gwynn, Robin. Huguenots of London: Alpha Press, 1998
- Kershaw, Roger & Pearsall, Mark. Immigrants & Aliens: PRO Publications, 2004
- Kershaw, Roger. Migration Records: TNA, 2009
- Reaman, George Elmore. The Trail of the Huguenots in Europe, the United States, South Africa and Canada: Genealogical Publishing Co, 2000
- Roche, Owen. The Days of the Upright: A History of the Huguenots: C. N. Potter,1965
- Thomas, Amanda A. The Nonconformist Revolution: Religious dissent, innovation and rebellion: Pen and Sword Books, 2020
- Wagner, Henry (editor) & North, Dorothy (compiler) Huguenot Wills and Administrations in England and Ireland, 1617 – 1849, and Index: Huguenot Society
- Waller, Ian H. Introducing Nonconformist Records: Explaining Nonconformist Records for Family Historians: Family History Books, 2023
TNA Research Guide: Immigration
TNA Research Guide: Naturalisation and British citizenship
TNA Research Guide: Oaths of loyalty to the Crown and Church of England
TNA Research Guide: Refugees
Websites
https://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk (The National Archives Podcast: Tracing Huguenot ancestors, by Dr Kathleen Chater)
www.huguenotsofspitalfields.org (The Huguenots of Spitalfields. This site celebrates the contribution of the Huguenots to Spitalfields and to raise funds for a permanent memorial commemorating their life and work. The site has details of walks, talks, events and places to visit)
https://nationalhuguenotsociety.org (National Huguenot Society. The society, based in America, collects and preserves historical data and relics illustrative of Huguenot life, manners and customs)
London Museum
The Huguenots in London. The Huguenots were French Protestants. Between 1500 and 1800, around 25,000 came to London as refugees. Fleeing religious persecution, they brought valuable trades, crafting luxuries in Soho and weaving silk in Spitalfields.
www.19princeletstreet.org.uk (Original home of the Ogier family and other Huguenot workshops)
www.frenchchurchcanterbury.org.uk (French Protestant Church of Canterbury: Sections include a history of Huguenot immigration into Canterbury and East Kent and a guide to Huguenot ancestral research)
www.egliseprotestantelondres.org.uk (The French Protestant Church of London)
www.cyndislist.com/huguenot.htm (Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet – Huguenot)
https://sites.rootsweb.com/~engcam/HuguenotsandWalloons.htm (Cambridgeshire Genealogy: Cambridgeshire Huguenots and Walloons)
www.exploregenealogy.co.uk/tracing-huguenot-history-england.html (ExploreGenealogy: Tracing Huguenot History in England, by Chris Nickson)
www.olivetreegenealogy.com/hug (Huguenot & Walloon Genealogy)
www.chapelssociety.org.uk (The Chapels Society: The Society seeks to foster public interest in the architectural and historical importance of all nonconformist places of worship including churches, chapels and meeting houses throughout the United Kingdom)
https://genforum.genealogy.com/huguenot (Huguenot Family Genealogy Forum)
www.thegenealogist.co.uk/researchguide/?cid=1&p=100 (The Genealogist Research Guide: Non-Conformist & Non-Parochial Records)
www.historytoday.com/archive/englands-first-refugees (History Today: England’s ‘First Refugees: Robin Gwynn examines the arrival of Huguenot French to England in the 17th century)
www.museeprotestant.org (Virtual Museum of French Protestantism: Much of the site is in English and includes a history of Protestantism in France and the rest of Europe.)
www.huguenotsinireland.com (Huguenot Society of Great Britain & Ireland – Irish Section)
Online Databases
BMD Registers (Non-parochial and nonconformist registers)
www.findmypast.co.uk (England & Wales Non-Conformist Births and Baptisms. Search non-conformist baptism registers to find ancestors who did not follow the established Church of England such as Methodists, Wesleyans, Baptists, Independents, Protestant Dissenters, Congregationalist, Presbyterians, Unitarians, Quakers [Society of Friends] and Huguenots. The records are extracted from TNA series RG 4, RG 5 and RG 8 and include records from the Methodist Metropolitan registry and Dr Williams’ Library in London)
www.findmypast.co.uk (Britain & Ireland, Naturalisations 1603-1700. The records within this collection are taken from the volume ‘Letters of Denization and Acts of Naturalization for Aliens in England and Ireland, 1603-1700’, edited by William A Shaw and published by The Huguenot Society of London in 1911)
www.findmypast.co.uk (England & Wales Non-Conformist Burials. Search non-conformist burial registers to find ancestors who did not follow the established Church of England such as Methodists, Wesleyans, Baptists, Independents, Protestant Dissenters, Congregationalist, Presbyterians, Unitarians, Quakers [Society of Friends] and Huguenots. The registers include the Bunhill Fields Burial Ground. The records are extracted from TNA series RG 4, and RG 8 and include records from the Methodist Metropolitan registry and Dr Williams’ Library in London)
www.findmypast.co.uk (England & Wales Non-Conformist Marriages. Search non-conformist marriage registers to find ancestors who did not follow the established Church of England such as Methodists, Wesleyans, Baptists, Independents, Protestant Dissenters, Congregationalist, Presbyterians, Unitarians, Quakers [Society of Friends] and Huguenots. The records are extracted from TNA series RG 4 and RG 8 and include records from the Methodist Metropolitan registry and Dr Williams’ Library in London)
FamilySearch.org (Historical Records Collections for baptisms and marriages taken from the non-parochial/nonconformist registers. Non-Conformist Record Indexes extracted from TNA series RG 4-8)
www.thegenealogist.co.uk (Naturalisation and Denization Records, 1609-1960. The collection from the Home Office also includes over 5,000 Huguenot records)
https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~frpayments/history/Index.htm (French Refugees in Great Britain in the early 1700s. Names of Huguenot refugees in receipt of financial assistance)
www.findmypast.co.uk (Middlesex Marriage Index: Discover your English ancestors today by exploring 33,725 marriage records across 67 parishes in the historic county of Middlesex. The records include both Quaker and Anglican marriages)
www.findmypast.co.uk (Greater London Burial Index, 1399-1992. Search burial records across 300 parishes in the Greater London area including Anglican parishes and nonconformist registers. The record set includes the Middlesex Memorial Inscriptions, South London Burials Index 1545-1905, City of London Burials 1754-1855 [originally compiled by Cliff Webb] and Middlesex Burials 1538-1992. Also included are records from the Bunhill Fields and Spa Fields Burial Grounds which catered mostly for nonconformists)
www.findmypast.co.uk (London, Bunhill Fields Non-Conformist Burials 1713-1826 Browse. Browse this collection of nonconformist burial registers and monumental inscriptions to discover your ancestor’s age at the time of death, death date, and burial date)
www.findmypast.co.uk (Thomas Philip Le Fanu, Registers Of The French Church Of Portarlington, Ireland, 1908. The registers were originally published by the Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland in 1908 and edited by Thomas Philip Le Fanu)
www.findmypast.co.uk (Ireland, Non-Conformist Births & Baptisms, Marriages, Burials and Congregational Records. This collection is comprised of several different registers from Ireland’s non-conformist churches between 1701 and 1913 including: Down, Anaghlone Presbyterian Registers, 1839-1913; Down, Ballyroney Presbyterian Registers, 1819-1913; Registers of the French Non-Conformist Churches Dublin 1701-1831, published by the Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland in 1901; Limerick non-conformist Registers)
www.ancestry.co.uk (Manchester, Non-Conformist Births and Baptisms, Marriages and Deaths and Burials, 1758-1987. This database contains birth records from Nonconformist congregations in the Manchester area. These include Methodist, Quaker, Presbyterian, Wesleyan, URC, Congregationalist, Baptist, Unitarian, and Jewish congregations)
www.findmypast.co.uk (The Shropshire Collection, 1538-1900. The collection includes searchable transcripts and scanned colour images of Non-Conformist Shropshire registers)
Findmypast
Northamptonshire Quarter Sessions Licences, 1689-1932. Discover the names of any individual or group who wished to open a Nonconformist chapel or hold such religious services in a house or other premises and needed to obtain a licence from the Quarter Sessions.
ww3.gloucestershire.gov.uk/genealogy/Search.aspx (Gloucestershire Archives Genealogical Search: Non-conformist baptisms for some chapels in Gloucestershire. Also try searching for a named individual at the Gloucestershire Archives Online Catalogue which includes the General Personal Names Index and other specialist indexes)
CD Roms
Huguenot Society of Great Britain & Ireland (Quarto Series, Transcripts of Registers from the French churches. Pre-1800 naturalisation and denizations, church membership and administration)
The Huguenot Society of Australia (Huguenot Surname Index compiled by Cecile Ramsay-Sharp and Robert Nash. The CD-ROM contains a name index to all 61 volumes of primary records taken from the Quarto Series of Huguenots in England and Ireland, published by the Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland. The records include all the surviving Huguenot church registers for England and Ireland, as well as some wills, apprenticeship records for the Weavers’ Company, church records, and charity records)
S & N Genealogy Supplies (Various birth, marriage and death registers)
GenFair (Samuel Smiles’ The Huguenots, their settlements, churches and industries in England and Ireland. 1889 and other Huguenot parish registers from a variety of suppliers)
