- 1538 - Inception of parish registers of baptism, marriage and burial.
- 1751/52 - Change from the Julian to Gregorian calendar, with the year beginning on the 1st January rather than the 25th March.
- 1754 - Hardwicke’s Marriage Act, making it illegal to marry without the publishing of banns, and thereby halting the proliferation of ‘irregular’ marriages.
- 1813 - Introduction of pre-printed registers of baptism, marriage and burial.
- 1834 -Poor Law Amendment Act, creating groups of parishes entitled ‘Unions’, and Union workhouses to cater for the impoverished.
- 1837 - Commencement of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths.
- 1840 - Non-conformist registers deposited with the Registrar General.
- 1841 - First national census returns with names, thereafter taken every ten years.
- 1857 - Grounds for divorce increased and the process made far easier to pursue.
- 1858 - All wills and administrations to be dealt with centrally by the Principal Probate Registry.
- 1918 -Women first allowed the vote, though only if aged 30 or over. In 1928 this was lowered to 21.
- 1926 -Legal adoption of children formalised.
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