This sub sub sub fonds is divided into 2 series as follows:
The compulsory registration of dissenters' meeting houses was enforced by legislation from 1689 to 1852. The Toleration Act of 1689 (1 Wm. & Mary c.18) allowed protestant dissenters to hold meetings openly, provided that the places where the such meetings were held were registered with either the bishop (or archdeacon) of the diocese or with the county justices of Clerks of the Peace at General or Quarter Sessions. A certificate of such registration was to be issued, if requested, for a fee not exceeding 6d.
In 1812 the Places of Religious Worship Act (52 Geo.III c.155) re-enacted these conditions, adding that the consent of the occupier of premises used for meetings must be obtained; it also exempted Quakers, raised the maximum fee for a certificate of registration to 2s.6d and ordered that a list of places registered with one authority was to be certified to the alternative registering authority.
By the Protestant Dissenters Act of 1852 (15 & 16 Vic. C.36) registration was transferred from the local civil & ecclesiastical authorities to the Registrar-General. This registration was compulsory but no sanctions existed to enforce it; three years later the Places of Worship Registration Act (18 & 19 Vic. C81) replaced the 1852 Act making such registration permissive and not compulsory.
The meeting house certificate is sanctioned by the wording of the documents. These certified the establishment of a meeting house (or room or house to be used) and requested that it should be registered. The documents were usually addressed to the archbishop or his registrar, although a few of the early ones were addressed to a York inhabitant, often a tradesman, presumably a fellow non-conformist willing to undertake the registration in person. The application was signed by several persons, sometimes by the minister or local preacher, occasionally by the occupier of the house and almost always by the leading members of the congregation. The certificates, for which fees were laid down in the Acts of Parliament, were issued on request by the diocesan registry. These certificates may be found if they still exist among the archives of individual meeting houses.
A hard copy finding aid is available at the Borthwick Institute. Meeting House certificates are listed chronologically by date of registration when given; otherwise by date of application. There is a hard copy index to the places, both parishes & townships (Dissenters Meeting House Certificates, 1 volume available at the Borthwick Institute)
