Now Live: 4 Major U.K. and Ireland Collections — Passenger Lists and Nonconformist Vital Records
We’re excited to announce the release of four major historical record collections from the United Kingdom and Ireland, now available on MyHeritage. These include United Kingdom and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878–1960, United Kingdom and Ireland, Outgoing Passenger Lists, 1890–1960, England & Wales, Nonconformist Births and Baptisms, 1660–1848, and England & Wales, Nonconformist Deaths and Burials, 1665–1837. Together, these collections offer powerful tools for tracing migration, uncovering religious heritage, and exploring vital family events that may not appear in mainstream sources.
Each collection includes high-quality scanned images and a searchable index produced by MyHeritage from original documents at The National Archives, London.
Search United Kingdom and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878–1960
Search United Kingdom and Ireland, Outgoing Passenger Lists, 1890–1960
Search England & Wales, Nonconformist Births and Baptisms, 1660–1848
Search England & Wales, Nonconformist Deaths and Burials, 1665–1837
With this update, MyHeritage now offers 692 historical record collections from the United Kingdom, containing over 2.1 billion records — making it one of the largest and most valuable online resources for U.K. family history research.
United Kingdom and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878–1960
This collection includes 15.7 million records of passengers arriving in the United Kingdom (and Ireland until independence in 1922) from ports around the world between 1878 and 1960. Each record documents an individual’s arrival into the country and typically includes the passenger’s full name, date of birth, current residence, intended residence, date and place of arrival, place of departure, and the name of the ship.
While the collection begins in 1878, many of the earliest records from 1878 to 1888 were destroyed by the Board of Trade in 1900. The surviving records from this early period are especially rare and valuable.
In addition to immigrants and returning residents, the collection also captures short-term visitors and transit passengers. Because ships were required to submit passenger lists at every U.K. stop, even those not intending to stay often appear in the records.
This collection is particularly useful for locating individuals who may not appear in other sources — such as those who fell between census years, left home temporarily, or migrated in stages. Whether your ancestors were arriving for work, travel, or to begin a new life, these records provide valuable insights into their movements and circumstances.
United Kingdom and Ireland, Outgoing Passenger Lists, 1890–1960
This collection contains 23.5 million records of individuals departing from ports in the United Kingdom (and Ireland until independence in 1922) between 1890 and 1960. Records typically include the passenger’s name, date of birth, current and intended residence, date and place of departure, place of arrival, and the name of the ship.
These lists are a vital resource for understanding emigration patterns from the U.K. and Ireland, particularly to destinations such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and South Africa. For many families with ancestors who left the British Isles in the late 19th or early 20th century, these records may contain the only surviving documentation of their departure. These passengers include many continental Europeans, especially Scandinavians, who commonly passed through the U.K. en route to destinations like the United States and Canada.
Together, the incoming and outgoing collections represent the entire surviving set of U.K. and Ireland passenger lists for this time period, offering a comprehensive view of travel into and out of the country across 8 decades. They provide detailed, global context for millions of family journeys.
England & Wales, Nonconformist Births and Baptisms, 1660–1848
This collection features 5.1 million records of births and baptisms for individuals who were not members of the Church of England. Spanning nearly 200 years, it covers a wide range of religious groups known collectively as Nonconformists, including Baptist, Presbyterian, Unitarian, Wesleyan, Congregational, Moravian, Methodist, Independent, Catholic, and New Jerusalemite denominations.
Records typically include the child’s name, date and place of birth, date of baptism, and the names of the parents. In many cases, the religious denomination is also noted. This information offers important clues about family beliefs, practices, and affiliations.
These records are especially helpful when Anglican parish registers are missing, incomplete, or not relevant to a family’s religious background. For some individuals, especially from Nonconformist communities, these may be the only surviving records of birth or baptism.
At various points in history, marriages were required by law to take place in Church of England parishes — but births and deaths often went unrecorded elsewhere for those outside the Anglican faith. This collection helps fill that gap, especially for groups more likely to migrate or live outside the religious mainstream.
England & Wales, Nonconformist Deaths and Burials, 1665–1837
This collection holds 1.4 million records documenting deaths and burials recorded by Nonconformist religious groups in England and Wales over more than 170 years. Like the corresponding birth and baptism collection, it includes records from a wide range of denominations outside the Church of England. In many cases, these are the only surviving records of a person’s death or burial, especially in communities that did not register events through Anglican parishes.
Entries usually include the name of the deceased, date and place of death, date and place of burial, place of residence, and — in some cases — the age at death. Some records also include the names of parents or spouses.
These records help fill critical gaps in family history and offer a more inclusive view of the past, especially for families from minority religious communities who may otherwise be difficult to trace in traditional sources. As with other Nonconformist groups, many individuals in this collection were more likely to migrate due to religious pressures, making these records valuable for tracing movement across borders.
Examples
The United Kingdom and Ireland, Outgoing Passenger Lists, 1890–1960 collection makes it possible to track an individual’s movements over time by linking multiple journeys. For example, Alfred Hitchcock appears in several records across different years, allowing his travels to be followed across decades.
In 1937, Hitchcock is recorded traveling from Southampton to New York aboard the Queen Mary, aged 38 and listed as a director, accompanied by his wife Alma Reville, their daughter Patricia, and his close collaborator Joan Harrison.
A 1949 record lists him as a motion picture director, departing from Southampton with his last U.K. residence at the Savoy Hotel, London, and his residence already recorded as the United States.
In 1955, Hitchcock appears again traveling from Southampton to New York, listed as a film director, with his permanent residence in the United States and a U.K. address at Claridge’s Hotel, London.
Together, these records, along with additional passenger list entries for Alfred Hitchcock in the collection, show how passenger lists can be linked to reconstruct an individual’s life and movements over time.
The England & Wales, Nonconformist Births and Baptisms, 1660–1848 collection includes records for Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, born on August 30, 1797, in St. Pancras, Middlesex. She would later become known as Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein and a central figure in 19th-century English literature.
Two versions of her birth appear in the collection, reflecting how Nonconformist records were sometimes registered in multiple formats. One lists her full name, while another uses the shorter Mary Wollstonecraft — both tied to her parents, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, and both confirming her roots in a dissenting family.
Her presence in the collection illustrates how Nonconformist registers preserve the early lives of individuals who shaped British intellectual and cultural history, often in places where traditional Church of England records fall silent.
Accessing the collections
Searching these collections on MyHeritage is free. To view full records or save them to your family tree, you’ll need a Data, Complete, or Omni subscription. Learn more about subscription plans here.
If you have a family tree on MyHeritage, Record Matching technology is already working to uncover new discoveries. MyHeritage automatically compares names and dates in your tree with individuals in these new collections and alerts you to any potential matches — helping you find travel records, religious registrations, and life events you may not have known existed.
Start exploring today
These four new collections significantly expand MyHeritage’s U.K. historical record offerings, with detailed original documents covering migration, birth, baptism, death, and burial across centuries. Whether your ancestors left the British Isles, returned home from abroad, or practiced their faith outside the Church of England, these records may hold the missing pieces of their story.
Explore the collections today and uncover new chapters in your family’s past.
