The Registers Of The French Church Threadneedle Street London 1600-1752

The Registers of the French Church, Threadneedle Street, London (1600-1752)

Step through the vestry door and into the lives of your French Huguenot ancestors.

For over 150 years, the French Huguenot Church on Threadneedle Street was a beacon of hope and a sanctuary for those fleeing religious persecution in France. These were not just refugees; they were the silk-weavers of Spitalfields, the goldsmiths of Lombard Street, the clockmakers, and the bankers who would help shape the City of London. Their stories, their names, and their families are meticulously recorded within these hallowed registers.

Now, this invaluable primary source is available for you to explore.

What You'll Discover Inside:

This definitive edition presents a complete and faithful transcription of the original registers, spanning from 1600 to 1752. Within its pages, you will find:

Baptisms: Discover the names of newborns, their parents, and often their godparents, revealing intricate family networks and alliances.
Marriages: Unite ancestral couples, finding the names of the bride and groom, witnesses, and sometimes even their former parishes in France.
Burials: Trace the final journey of your ancestors, with dates that can help confirm identities and family connections.
Why These Registers are a Genealogical Goldmine:

Break Through Brick Walls: If your family trail goes cold in 17th or 18th century London, these records offer a direct line to a community that is often under-documented elsewhere.
Primary Source Evidence: This is not a secondary summary. It is a direct transcription of the original entries made by the church ministers themselves, providing unparalleled authenticity.
Discover Your Ancestor's Community: More than just names and dates, these records place your family within a vibrant, resilient, and influential community. Understand the world they inhabited and the people they knew.
Potential French Origins: While not always present, some entries include the ancestor's original French town or province, a priceless clue for continuing your research across the channel.
Echoes in the Alleyways: Myths & Legends of the Threadneedle Huguenots
The area around Threadneedle Street is steeped in history, and the Huguenot community, with its secretive and tight-knit nature, naturally gave rise to its own folklore. As you delve into these registers, you may be tracing more than just names—you might be touching the edges of these local legends:

The Legend of the Silversmith's Hoard:
One of the most persistent legends is that of Pierre LeRoy, a master Huguenot silversmith. Fearing a new wave of anti-Protestant sentiment in the early 18th century, Pierre supposedly melted down a portion of his exquisite silverwork and hid the ingots in a secret vault beneath the church itself. The story goes that the key to its location is not a physical object, but a cipher hidden within the pattern of names and dates in the marriage register for the year 1712. To this day, some historians and treasure hunters pore over the records, convinced that a fortune lies waiting, guarded by the ghost of its creator.

The Ghost of the Silk Weaver:
Walk down the narrow alleys near the old church on a foggy night, and you might hear the faint, rhythmic clatter of a loom. Local legend speaks of the ghost of Elodie Dubois, a young silk-weaver from Spitalfields. She was famed for her revolutionary designs, which she claimed were revealed to her in dreams. After her tragic and untimely death from a fever, her spirit was said to be restless. It is believed she returns not in sorrow, but in inspiration, etching fleeting, beautiful patterns onto the fogged windows of the old buildings—a final, ethereal gift to the city that gave her refuge.

The Whispering Stones of Threadneedle Street:
It was said among the Huguenots that the very stones of their church had a unique property. They believed that the fervent, whispered prayers of families still trapped in persecution in France could be "heard" by the stones in London. These prayers would then resonate, guiding new refugees through the confusing streets of the city directly to the safety of the church on Threadneedle Street. While a myth, it speaks to the powerful bond and hope that defined this extraordinary community.