Hi Janet,
were you aware you can search the forum for previous related threads ?
There are several prior threads re William Wickenden(s?)which may be of interest:

http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=31131
http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=4214

I see MPG aka Marilyn Griffiths, one of this site's hardest working contributors, is a descendant of William so may be able to help you.
http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=25720
and
http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=4214
Follow this thread to also find Alice Wickenden.

Unfortunately FreeBMD only covers the years after 1837, so perhaps no help, but there are some TW Burials within Glos, Glamorgan & Monmouthshire with the earliest being:

Surname Given Name Age District Volume Page Transcriber
Deaths Mar 1838
Webster Thomas Merthyr Tydfil XXVI __1 AnneM

Surname Given Name Age District Volume Page Transcriber
Deaths Mar 1844
WEBSTER Thomas Abergavenny 26 3 kayoung

Surname Given Name Age District Volume Page Transcriber
Deaths Mar 1850
WEBSTER Thomas Ross 26 197 mikec

So (to my surprise at least) not as rare a name as I hoped..

Good luck!

Thanks Jeff for 'doing the links'

This is my WICKENDEN family - the Rev. W.S. Wickenden being my x Uncle - lots of research - some of which is on this forum, and records are on the FOD.

Susanna WICKENDEN was christened at Awre with Blakeney - 25 March 1787 - daughter of John & Ann (nee STEPHENS) Wickenden, Alice was her sister - christened 28 July 1793. The Rev W S WICKENDEN - William was christened 25 November 1781 - and I decend from the brother John christened 5 April 1778.

The earliest WICKENDEN in the FOD were

2 brothers John- who married Ann STEPHENS in 1777 - William - who married Sarah SAMUEL in 1785 and 1 sister Susannah who married Richard SLADEN in 1768 -

The Rev never married, but Alice WICKENDEN married James HANDS - 13 May 1841, at Awre with two family members, Henry WICKENDEN and Elizabeth Ellen (GREEN again a family name) - records on FOD.

1841 Census, Etloe, Awre -

Henry WICKENDEN - 55 , Farmer
William WICKENDEN 45 - Clergyman
Elizabeth GREEN -20 - female servant
James HANDS - 30 - Butcher
Alice HANDS - 35

This is rather a concidence!

A David ADAMS is writing an autobiography of my Rev W S WICKENDEN, and I haven't heard from him for a couple of months.

Today I've received an email and I quote

I've been rather caught up in another project, researching another local poet Richard MORSE for a book to be published soon. Ironically and confusing both WICKENDEN and MORSE were known as The Bard of the Forest, but even more bizarrely these two have suddenly become intertwined.

I have come across a magazine article that claims Richard MORSE 1811-75 was the Uncle of author " the Rev Chas WICKENDEN. If the writer means the Rev William WICKENDEN (which I think he does, since he goes on describe him as one who wrote about the Crimea) then this relationship is unlikely) WICKENDEN being born some 14 years before MORSE). But another source tells me that Richard MORSE's Uncle Philip MORSE (a) in his will dated 1854, left to his wife Susannah amongst his farming implements a "drawing likeness of the Rev. William WICKENDEN' and (b) at Philips' wedding in 1837 one of the witnesses is an Alice WICKENDEN

I note that among The Rustic's Lay's subscribers were Miss MORSE of Nass, Mr MORSE of Etloe, Mr MORSE of Awre, Mr MORSE of Newnham and Mr MORSE of Guershill-House, so the Ref obviously knew some MORSES

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The Rustic Lay's and other poems was published in 1817