Tracing your Ancestors in Ockley & Mole Valley

When you start your search for your ancestors in Ockley Parish records, please take into account the layout of the parishes around Ockley. Several ecclesiastical parishes extend into the village and therefore records of some former residents may be found in the registers of Wotton, Okewood, Abinger and Capel rather than Ockley itself.

It is also worth noting that as Ockley is only around 1 to 2 miles from the Sussex border, and people moved regularly while looking for work, records of Ockley families (especially baptisms) often appear in the Sussex parishes of Warnham and Rudgwick.

All original Ockley parish registers and parish chest documents (such as Poor Law books, Overseers Records etc) are held in the County Record Office:
The Surrey History Centre,
130 Goldsworth Road,
Woking,
Surrey
GU21 1ND
Tel: 01483 594594
e-mail: shs@surreycc.gov.uk
Website: shs.surreycc.gov.uk

Please note: A large amount of material which can help the family history researcher is held locally in our Parish Archives. This includes:

PARISH REGISTER TRANSCRIPTS (Indexed)
Ockley
Baptisms 1539 - 1968
Marriages 1539 - 1901 (gap 1664-1669)
Burials 1539 - Current

Okewood
Baptisms 1700 - 1840 (gap 1706-1727)
Marriages 1687 - 1751 (earlier marriages took place at Wotton)
Burials 1896 - 1840; 1907 - Current

Wotton
Baptisms 1506 - 1812
Marriages 1603 - 1812
Burials 1596 - 1812

Abinger
Baptisms 1559 - 1840
Marriages 1559 - 1840
Burials 1559 - 1840

MEMORIAL INSCRIPTIONS AND LOCATIONS
St Margaret’s Ockley
Inscriptions date from 1661. The churchyard was closed for burials in the early 1900s.

St John the Baptist, Okewood
The earliest inscription is 1757 but most date from the 1870s. The churchyard is still open for interments.

CENSUSES
Copies of the census for Ockley and surrounding area for 1881 and 1891

We also have an index of names on the 1851 census.

PARISH MAGAZINES
We have a large collection of old Parish magazines with particularly good coverage of the:
· late Victorian period (1886-1901);
· 1920-30s;
· 1950s onwards.

OTHER INFORMATION
· Some details from Manorial records and Land Tax assessments
· Old maps
· Old photographs
· Local knowledge of people, properties and history.

The Parish Archives team are happy to search through these records to try to answer queries. Contact: Briony Thomas
Email : elmersfarm@aol.com

or
c/o The Parish Office
Ockley Rectory,
Stane Street
Ockley, Dorking
Surrey
RH5 5SY