BTs, Parish records, gaps etc. part 2 1711-1813 (Announce)

by slowhands , proud of his ancient Dean Forest roots, Monday, October 06, 2008, 22:17 (5884 days ago) @ slowhands

In 1711 an Act was passed which stated that the register books should have lines on each page to record each entry and numbered pages. This had been found to be necessary because the clergy would cram entries in often in very small writing that was almost unreadable. Although this Act was adhered to in some parishes most ignored the requirement, probably on the basis they were not going to waste empty pages in their existing registers.

In 1732 a change was demanded that entries should no longer be in Latin with Latin versions of names etc. Generally this had been abandoned in most parishes any way.

1752 was a very important date for the people of England and the recording of dates in Parish Registers. Before 1752 the year began on March 25th (usually referred to as Lady Day) and this was described as the Julian Calendar. Any event in the Parish Registers recorded before 1752 would not change the year number for entries until March 25th. The change to a January 1st start for the year had been widely introduced in mainland Europe but England had clung onto the Julian calendar. Some clerks had for some years started to record dates in the first three months of the year using the two years eg 1751/2. An Act of Parliament in 1752, known as Lord Chesterfield's Act abandoned the Julian Calendar for the modern Gregorian calendar which starts a year on January 1st. When the Act was introduced it meant that 1752 was only 9 months long since 1753 started on January 1st rather than the following March 25th. In addition the 2nd September 1752 was followed by 14th September. This was to make an adjustment to the seasons due to a basic inaccuracy in the Julian calendar that had been in use from Roman times. There was general unhappiness amongst the people at the time who though they were having their lives stolen from them by this action. When considering dates in the registers normally they are recorded in a special way to avoid confusion. For example February 14th 1743 is recorded as 1743/4. The Transcription of the FoD Registers has remained true to the original Records. Most of the records follow the Julian calendar before 1752 and the Georgian after 1752. A few entries show the double year (eg 1725/6) which suggests that for some time before the change the idea was gaining support in use .

In 1754 Hardwicke's Marriage Act came into force on March 25th 1754. This stated that marriages could only be solemnised in a parish church or chapel after the publication of banns or by a licence issued by the Bishop of the diocese. Bann books and marriage registers were required to be separate from the books containing baptisms and burials. With the exception of Jews and Quakers, marriages were required to be performed by a clergy of the Church of England. Marriage partners under the age of 21 (minors) were required to obtain consent from their parents or guardians to marry. Catholics and other non conformists married in the Church of England and their own chapel/church just to be sure the marriage was recognized as legal.The clergy may have recorded any marriages on scraps of paper then failed to record them in the new register when it finally was available. All entries from 1756 were in the new format. Where the entries show the bride and groom were of parish (shown as Of This Parish or OTP) this does not always mean the party had resided in the Parish for any length of time. Three weeks was the legal requirement for the clergy to record the party as OTP. Many conscientious clergy recorded a temporary resident as a 'soujourner'. It was also accepted practice for a marriage to take place in the bride's parish. Hardwicke's Act had far reaching effects and the arrangement to record banns was a new procedure which required banns to have been called on 3 consecutive weeks in both the bride's and the groom's parishes. The new register had four printed boxes per page in which was recorded names and parish of residence of the bride and groom. It also had the date of the marriage, the groom's occupation, the marital status of both parties and whether it was by banns or licence. For the first time signatures were required from both parties and the clergy.

In 1783 a stamp Act was passed which required a duty to be paid for every entry made into the registers. This Act was repealed after 10 years.

In 1813 the George Rose Act (The Parochial Registers Act) required the use of specially printed registers, with separate books for baptisms, marriages and burials. Baptismal entries now required the names, address and occupation or status of the parents. The address in urban areas often recorded the actual street address. In country parishes the address might simply be the village, hamlet or a farm.

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>