Parish registers are a vast, important but widely scattered archive. They are essential to the family historian, providing the only written record of the vast majority of our ancestors who left but three brief mentions - a baptism, a marriage and a burial.<BR>This guide to parish registers, now in its third edition, and covering England, Scotland and Wales, is a vital, time-saving tool that has become universally known as 'the genealogist's bible.'<BR>The Atlas includes the famous county 'parish' maps, which show pre-1832 parochial boundaries, colour-coded probate jurisdictions, starting dates of surviving registers, and churches and chapels, where relevant.<BR>Topographical maps face each 'parish' map, and show the contemporary road system and other local features, to help deduce the likely movement of people beyond the searcher's starting point.<BR>The Index lists the parishes, with grid references to the county maps. It indicates the present whereabouts of original registers and copies, and whether a parish is included in other indexes. It also gives registration districts and census information.