End of an era at Register Office
Released: 23 March 2007
One hundred and seventy years of tradition came to an end today as the last ever Wolverhampton birth was registered in a handwritten book. Registrars have used a pen and ink to record the birth of every baby in the district since 1837.
But, from Monday, the details of births will be entered into a new national computer system and then printed off for a parent to sign. A copy of the print out will be kept at the Register Office and an electronic record of the details will be transmitted directly to the General Register Office in Southport.
Parents Christopher Price and Zoe Wall, from Fordhouses, became the last people to register their baby, four-week-old Jack Oliver Michael Price, in the traditional way today. The registration was carried out by Registrar Julia Mcaliece who has worked in the register office for 28 years.
She said: “I am very sad, it is the end of a tradition and using computers won’t be quite the same.”
Proud father Christopher Price said: “Little Jack has been treated like a celebrity today and it is nice to think that we will be able to show him the press cuttings of all this in years to come.”
The new electronic system, which is already being used to record civil partnerships, will also be used for registering deaths. Marriages will continue to be handwritten for now, but they too are due to go onto the system later this year.
Wolverhampton’s Superintendent Registrar Holly Holdsworth said staff had mixed feelings about the change.
She added: “It will certainly be a big change to the way we work. We have hundreds of these books dating back to 1837 stored in the register office and it is odd to think we won’t be doing that anymore. However, this new system means that all register offices in the country will be able to transmit records quickly and simply to the General Register Office.
“When recruiting new registrars we have always specified that applicants need good handwriting. That will still apply for the time being because marriages will still be recorded by hand, but eventually they too will be done on this new system, so neat handwriting won’t perhaps be as important as it used to be. Registrars will still need to be as observant as ever to make sure the data inputted into the new system is accurate.”
Issued by the press office.