... and before the year 1837, the following seems to apply:
"Parish records, primarily baptisms, marriages, and burials, are the best source of vital record information before the nineteenth century. Before Civil Registration began in 1837 key events in a person’s life were typically records by the Church rather than the State. Starting in the sixteenth century, parish records are some of the longest running records available."

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/grouplist.aspx?group=epr