I am currently transcribing the volumes of sextons accounts for Bromley; a neglected source in Bromley Archives.
Bromley had the consistent service of members of the Dunn family in the eighteenth century as Parish Clerk and in the nineteenth century as sextons.
The most detailed entry I have found records the fatal encounter of a horse and young 15 year old James Henry Baker who played the triangle in the 18th Kent Volunteer Band (known locally as the Rifle Band).
The Bromley Record edition of 1 September 1863 describes how as the band reached Bromley on 21 August 1863 on their return march from Blackheath they began to play as was customary in the town. Sadly they encountered a Market Gardener's horse drawn van and the frightened horse caused the van to hit James Henry Baker who was killed instantly as the van wheel passed over his head. An inquest was held on Monday 25 August 1863 and returned a verdict of Accidental Death.
The sexton's account written by Edward Dunn records the funeral of 27 August 1863 and the two death marches played as the Band marched to the parish church and subsequently at the grave side as was customary for the funeral of any member of the band.
The funeral was conducted by Reverend Arthur Gresley Hellicar and is described as "very imposing" in the Bromley Record account. The son of the master of the National School and a popular pupil and band member the funeral was large as all pupils of the National School and most inhabitants attended.
The tragedy of the death is also reflected by Edward Dunn in a marginal entry in the sexton's account which points out that the death took place on the evening before his sixteenth birthday;The Bromley Record account describes his invitation to many band members and fellow pupils to attend his birthday celebration.
The Bromley Record account refers to the impressive demeanour of the people of Bromley at this funeral and the large attendance.
James Henry had been an enthusiastic supporter of the band although not yet a a member of the 18th Kent Volunteers he had been encouraged to participate in band activities.
The sexton's account books routinely identify the relatives of the deceased and short biography with reference to occupation of former occupation as well as identifying where the burial took place in the churchyard and in later entries the name of the Undertaker responsible for arrangements. As such they are more detailed than the parish register entry of burial. The volumes are part of the parish records deposited within the Archives and my transcript will be added to the Bromley page at Kent Online Parish Clerks in due course.
© Henry Mantell Downe Online Parish Clerk 2015
Showing posts with label Reverend Arthur Gresley Hellicar M.A.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reverend Arthur Gresley Hellicar M.A.. Show all posts
Monday, 16 November 2015
Sunday, 23 November 2014
Reverend J.R.Brown Rector of Lyons County Durham
As transcription of the Bromley Kent parish registers works through early twentieth century records it is worth noting the presence in the Ancient Parish of Bromley Saint Peter and Saint Paul of the rector of Bowes (or Easington Lane) County Durham apparently on a regular annual basis.
In the marriage register for Bromley from 1895-1904 Reverend Arthur Gresley Hellicar is Vicar and John M Tamplin is curate. Other clergy from Bromley parishes conduct marriages also on an occasional basis but a regular signature of Brown appears each summer.
Both Tamplin and Brown are prone to mistakes in the register which are corrected by their initials;whether as a result of Hellicar's vigilance or the intervention of the Bromley Superintendent Registrar is seldom clear.
Brown's signature appears each August/early September from 1897 and it is intriguing why he should visit Bromley annually. He clearly is challenged by some local street names and names of people!
In the marriage register for Bromley from 1895-1904 Reverend Arthur Gresley Hellicar is Vicar and John M Tamplin is curate. Other clergy from Bromley parishes conduct marriages also on an occasional basis but a regular signature of Brown appears each summer.
Both Tamplin and Brown are prone to mistakes in the register which are corrected by their initials;whether as a result of Hellicar's vigilance or the intervention of the Bromley Superintendent Registrar is seldom clear.
Brown's signature appears each August/early September from 1897 and it is intriguing why he should visit Bromley annually. He clearly is challenged by some local street names and names of people!
Saturday, 15 March 2014
The early register of Bromley Parish and the effect of "the wars among ourselves"
As I am working through the earliest parish register to transcribe births marriages and deaths it occurred to me that although microfilm is a wonderful media for preservation it has pitfalls for the transcriber.
I have just had the experience of seeing images obtained from Derbyshire Record Office at Matlock after FamilySearch Indexing treatment of the early parish register for BLAYDON entries. Imaginatively these have been rendered as a number of names PARDONE being but one example. The comparison between a digital image from microfilm and the permitted ultra violet image of the same entry from the damaged original parish register clearly yields BLADON entries.
I work from original parish registers and have used Ultra violet lighting for many years. Microfilm is a flat one dimensional image; handling the original and being able to control light sources and magnification enables the experienced transcriber to produce a consistent transcript. FamilySearch does not seem to realise the limitations of volunteers seeing only a handful of images. It appears that the margin for error in their material is therefore increased. The search for the correct surname is fruitless; the original parish register yields dozens of results.
Bromley has an original register which is a composite register in which Baptisms marriages and burials are mingled in a series of pages in a sort of chronological order which becomes more established when it is rebound into three sections in 1652.
The original purpose of the parish register was set out in 1538 by Henry VIII as part of his Reformation of the Church.Elizabeth I further ordered that a Register Book be provided in every parish to record the births death and marriages in the parish. Thus the first volume of the Bromley Parish Registers bears the title:
"The Register of Bromley in Kent,begun Anno Domini 1558,was all new bound w[ith] addicons of new leaves,Anno Domini 1652".
here the transcriber handling the volume has an immediate advantage of the context of each sequence of pages ; the microfilm view has limited context.
Also within the heading there is an entry:
Baptisms, 29 November 1558-13 January 1715
Burials, 13 November 1578-27 July 1678
Marriages,24 January 1575-31 January 1734.
The register is remarkable in recording events during the anarchy of record keeping during the Commonwealth and I know of no recorded history of conflict in the town. The baptismal register contains an entry on the only page apparently affected by upheaval.The Minister of Bromley Parish from 1640-1646 was Richard Antrobus, The year which contains fewest entry is 1644 and a 1646 entry has been inserted into a page which had been drafted for that year. The 7 leaves of the Commonwealth years baptisms are with the exception of 1644 and 1645 reasonably consistent and may represent all baptisms; in 1844 there are only 7 entries including the christening of Richard Antrobus' own son given the name Richard. The page contains an entry "this was the register in the wars among ourselves". The last months of the year maintain an order and 11 entries are recorded for the following year 1645; 1646 has 22 entries and thereafter the record appears to represent a full record of baptisms.
In 1646 Richard Antrobus was replaced as Minister. According to Lambeth Palace records on 18 April 1646 John Harvey replaced Antrobus who had presumably drafted a page for entries for 1644; the 1646 insertion of a baptism onto the 1684 page is presumably the hand of Harvey.
On 22 August 1648 Harvey is replaced by Joseph Jackson; in the same year Henry Arnold begans his ministry which runs from 1648-1662.
Bromley is unusual in maintaining greater consistency in records than other parishes in the district and therefore offers greater record sources than other parishes nationally.
I am also indebted once again to the work of Arthur Gresley Hellicar one of the 19th century long serving Vicars of the parish for his description of the contents:
"There are eleven leaves of the Register filled with Baptisms in Queen Elizabeth's reign,over 850 in all,as there is an average of 39 on each side of a leaf. The Baptisms in James I's reign fill 8 leaves(making 624): those of Charles I 7 leaves (546); those of the Commonwealth 7: and those of Charles II,12 (936)"
The transcript is undergoing several stages of proof reading to resolve some issues in the marriage register and will be available later this year at Kent Online Parish Clerks. The marriage register has some entries in the 1600's which need context to narrow the year of the event. It is interesting to see the variant spellings of the surname which becomes fixed as JEWEL[L] in different hands and to see that surnames can shift in different hands within a few years difference.
I have just had the experience of seeing images obtained from Derbyshire Record Office at Matlock after FamilySearch Indexing treatment of the early parish register for BLAYDON entries. Imaginatively these have been rendered as a number of names PARDONE being but one example. The comparison between a digital image from microfilm and the permitted ultra violet image of the same entry from the damaged original parish register clearly yields BLADON entries.
I work from original parish registers and have used Ultra violet lighting for many years. Microfilm is a flat one dimensional image; handling the original and being able to control light sources and magnification enables the experienced transcriber to produce a consistent transcript. FamilySearch does not seem to realise the limitations of volunteers seeing only a handful of images. It appears that the margin for error in their material is therefore increased. The search for the correct surname is fruitless; the original parish register yields dozens of results.
Bromley has an original register which is a composite register in which Baptisms marriages and burials are mingled in a series of pages in a sort of chronological order which becomes more established when it is rebound into three sections in 1652.
The original purpose of the parish register was set out in 1538 by Henry VIII as part of his Reformation of the Church.Elizabeth I further ordered that a Register Book be provided in every parish to record the births death and marriages in the parish. Thus the first volume of the Bromley Parish Registers bears the title:
"The Register of Bromley in Kent,begun Anno Domini 1558,was all new bound w[ith] addicons of new leaves,Anno Domini 1652".
here the transcriber handling the volume has an immediate advantage of the context of each sequence of pages ; the microfilm view has limited context.
Also within the heading there is an entry:
Baptisms, 29 November 1558-13 January 1715
Burials, 13 November 1578-27 July 1678
Marriages,24 January 1575-31 January 1734.
The register is remarkable in recording events during the anarchy of record keeping during the Commonwealth and I know of no recorded history of conflict in the town. The baptismal register contains an entry on the only page apparently affected by upheaval.The Minister of Bromley Parish from 1640-1646 was Richard Antrobus, The year which contains fewest entry is 1644 and a 1646 entry has been inserted into a page which had been drafted for that year. The 7 leaves of the Commonwealth years baptisms are with the exception of 1644 and 1645 reasonably consistent and may represent all baptisms; in 1844 there are only 7 entries including the christening of Richard Antrobus' own son given the name Richard. The page contains an entry "this was the register in the wars among ourselves". The last months of the year maintain an order and 11 entries are recorded for the following year 1645; 1646 has 22 entries and thereafter the record appears to represent a full record of baptisms.
In 1646 Richard Antrobus was replaced as Minister. According to Lambeth Palace records on 18 April 1646 John Harvey replaced Antrobus who had presumably drafted a page for entries for 1644; the 1646 insertion of a baptism onto the 1684 page is presumably the hand of Harvey.
On 22 August 1648 Harvey is replaced by Joseph Jackson; in the same year Henry Arnold begans his ministry which runs from 1648-1662.
Bromley is unusual in maintaining greater consistency in records than other parishes in the district and therefore offers greater record sources than other parishes nationally.
I am also indebted once again to the work of Arthur Gresley Hellicar one of the 19th century long serving Vicars of the parish for his description of the contents:
"There are eleven leaves of the Register filled with Baptisms in Queen Elizabeth's reign,over 850 in all,as there is an average of 39 on each side of a leaf. The Baptisms in James I's reign fill 8 leaves(making 624): those of Charles I 7 leaves (546); those of the Commonwealth 7: and those of Charles II,12 (936)"
The transcript is undergoing several stages of proof reading to resolve some issues in the marriage register and will be available later this year at Kent Online Parish Clerks. The marriage register has some entries in the 1600's which need context to narrow the year of the event. It is interesting to see the variant spellings of the surname which becomes fixed as JEWEL[L] in different hands and to see that surnames can shift in different hands within a few years difference.
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Clergy in the parish registers of Bromley,Kent
The work of transcriptions in many volumes of a parish register is painstaking, challenging and yet it is possible to perceive something of each person who makes the record.
As I have handled material from 1578 to the early years of the 20th century I have noted various signatures in the registers.
In this blog entry I want to mention the two longest servants of the people of Bromley and place them in a context of succession.
I note that in 1603 James Dyer calls himself Curate of Bromley as a holder of the living.
In 1607 there is a signature of John Preston and in 1620 Jasper Carrow is also entered. By 1634 Richard Rathbone or Rathbourne signs. These fragmented periods of ministry are firmer when the Vestry records are considered. Henry Arnold signs the parish register 1648-1662 and there is record that he was elected at a Vestry to be Parish Minister in 1653. Simlarly the names of Stephen Grasscombe Minister1678-1681;1682 George Wilson;1686 and Edward Roman 1686 appear.
Succeeding Henry Maundrell and Samuel Bowles comes the first long serving Minister Harington Bagshaw who signs as Vicar. Bagshaw was Chaplain at Bromley College and it is common for the chaplains of the College to sign entries in the burial register. Harington Bagshaw held the College Chaplaincy from 1696-1734 and was also Rector of Woolwich. Prior to the destruction of the ancient parish church a memorial stone recorded this information. Harington and his wife Abigail had a son Thomas who succeeded his father in 1734 as Chaplain to Bromley College and remained as such for 54 years,until 1787 and was also Vicar of Bromley from 1744-1785. He was also Rector of Southfleet.
The Bagshaw's father and son bring an order to the earlier anarchy of record keeping although the burial register becomes disorganised over several pages in the period 1738-1740,before order is restored. Thomas Bagshaw was a contempary and friend of Samuel Johnson,contributing to additions to Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language published on 15 April 1755. You can read this dictionary online Johnsons dictionary online .Johnson's acknowledgement to Thomas Bagshaw for his assistance included "If many readers had been as judicious,as diligent,and communicative as yourself my work had been better". I think that this compliment might equally be applicable to both Bagshaw's service to the widows of clergy at Bromley College and the town and parish.
Thomas Bagshaw died in 1787 and Boswell mentioned that he resigned the living of Bromley parish shortly before his death.
His curate Dr.Henry Smith assumed the living from 1785 and remained Vicar of Bromley until 1818. He in turn was succeeded by a curate James Edward Newell from 1819-1826 in which year he signs the register as Minister of Bromley. From 1826 until 1865 Newell is absent from signing the register and appears to be living in retirement.
In 1865 the register is signed by Arthur Gresley Hellicar M.A. who had great influence in the expanded town and Anglican Church building;his brother acted as architect for one of the churches under construction. He arrived as curate became Vicar until his death in 1904. He was an influential figure in the town and was Chairman of the Science and Art School. He also purchased the iron church from Ryde and had it erected as a chapel of ease in Park Road on land leased for the purpose and was opened in 1872 and the parish register records imediate use. Baptisms during a period of rebuilding to enlarge the parish church seating capacity take place at St John the Evangelist, Park Road.
Meanwhile land for a permanent church was purchased in Park Road and a separate parish Church of St John's was created out of the ancient parish in May 1880.
The Reverend Hellicar was an antiquarian and took great care of the parish registers in his keeping, describing in great detail the contents and recording annual totals of baptisms and burials. It is of enormous value to me in transcribing the volumes to have a record of how many entries in each year my transcript should contain and the discovery of entries in unlikely places within bindings accounts for the totals that Arthur Hellicar left for me!
The preservation of records today rests in no small measure on the care of these men to maintain the records. I find it moving to note that Reverend Hellicar baptised illegitimate children privately unless the parent requested baptism with other children of the parish publicly and I note the numbers of adult baptisms and whole family baptisms conducted by him. These all suggest a man of faith, sensitivity commited to bringing others to faith in Jesus Christ.
As I have handled material from 1578 to the early years of the 20th century I have noted various signatures in the registers.
In this blog entry I want to mention the two longest servants of the people of Bromley and place them in a context of succession.
I note that in 1603 James Dyer calls himself Curate of Bromley as a holder of the living.
In 1607 there is a signature of John Preston and in 1620 Jasper Carrow is also entered. By 1634 Richard Rathbone or Rathbourne signs. These fragmented periods of ministry are firmer when the Vestry records are considered. Henry Arnold signs the parish register 1648-1662 and there is record that he was elected at a Vestry to be Parish Minister in 1653. Simlarly the names of Stephen Grasscombe Minister1678-1681;1682 George Wilson;1686 and Edward Roman 1686 appear.
Succeeding Henry Maundrell and Samuel Bowles comes the first long serving Minister Harington Bagshaw who signs as Vicar. Bagshaw was Chaplain at Bromley College and it is common for the chaplains of the College to sign entries in the burial register. Harington Bagshaw held the College Chaplaincy from 1696-1734 and was also Rector of Woolwich. Prior to the destruction of the ancient parish church a memorial stone recorded this information. Harington and his wife Abigail had a son Thomas who succeeded his father in 1734 as Chaplain to Bromley College and remained as such for 54 years,until 1787 and was also Vicar of Bromley from 1744-1785. He was also Rector of Southfleet.
The Bagshaw's father and son bring an order to the earlier anarchy of record keeping although the burial register becomes disorganised over several pages in the period 1738-1740,before order is restored. Thomas Bagshaw was a contempary and friend of Samuel Johnson,contributing to additions to Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language published on 15 April 1755. You can read this dictionary online Johnsons dictionary online .Johnson's acknowledgement to Thomas Bagshaw for his assistance included "If many readers had been as judicious,as diligent,and communicative as yourself my work had been better". I think that this compliment might equally be applicable to both Bagshaw's service to the widows of clergy at Bromley College and the town and parish.
Thomas Bagshaw died in 1787 and Boswell mentioned that he resigned the living of Bromley parish shortly before his death.
His curate Dr.Henry Smith assumed the living from 1785 and remained Vicar of Bromley until 1818. He in turn was succeeded by a curate James Edward Newell from 1819-1826 in which year he signs the register as Minister of Bromley. From 1826 until 1865 Newell is absent from signing the register and appears to be living in retirement.
In 1865 the register is signed by Arthur Gresley Hellicar M.A. who had great influence in the expanded town and Anglican Church building;his brother acted as architect for one of the churches under construction. He arrived as curate became Vicar until his death in 1904. He was an influential figure in the town and was Chairman of the Science and Art School. He also purchased the iron church from Ryde and had it erected as a chapel of ease in Park Road on land leased for the purpose and was opened in 1872 and the parish register records imediate use. Baptisms during a period of rebuilding to enlarge the parish church seating capacity take place at St John the Evangelist, Park Road.
Meanwhile land for a permanent church was purchased in Park Road and a separate parish Church of St John's was created out of the ancient parish in May 1880.
The Reverend Hellicar was an antiquarian and took great care of the parish registers in his keeping, describing in great detail the contents and recording annual totals of baptisms and burials. It is of enormous value to me in transcribing the volumes to have a record of how many entries in each year my transcript should contain and the discovery of entries in unlikely places within bindings accounts for the totals that Arthur Hellicar left for me!
The preservation of records today rests in no small measure on the care of these men to maintain the records. I find it moving to note that Reverend Hellicar baptised illegitimate children privately unless the parent requested baptism with other children of the parish publicly and I note the numbers of adult baptisms and whole family baptisms conducted by him. These all suggest a man of faith, sensitivity commited to bringing others to faith in Jesus Christ.
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