Parish Records of Tetbury
Churchwardens Volumes
P328/1 CW 2/14 is a volume dated from 1592 to 1706. As time progresses, the Churchwardens Accounts go from an annual statement on one page, to a more elaborate listing of income and expenditure. There are glimpses of Village life, for example Page 252, dated 1704, has a list of 11 wealthy persons fined an average of 5/- for being drunk, or swearing, and the 4-2-0 is distributed to 71 needy persons, most receiving 1/-
P328/1 CW 2/15 is a volume dated 1760 - 1775.
It is the annual Churchwarden's accounts, with some years showing the Poor Rate payers, and the recipients of Mr Talboy's Charity money (appears to be 40 names each year). The Vicar appointed one Churchwarden and the other is chosen by the people. This record is signed by a list that appears to be the Vestry. For example in 1760 Robert Clarke's appointment is approved by John Wight (the Vicar), Thomas Talboys, Samuel Saunders, John Saunders, Richard Stockwell, Will Tugwell, James Dalby, Ed Brown and Thos Witchell.
Overseers annual returns
P 328/1 OV 2/38 Overseers annual returns 1701 to 1720, entered in a book
Names the Overseers for the next year. There are annual lists of rate payers (230 names in 1720), monthly and rent payments and a list of extraordinary payments. In 1720, 109 received monthly payments, 12 had rent paid, and the other list included clothes for poor children, costs of Widow Purnell's lying-in, nurses and midwife 1-01-06, and payment of 1-11-06 to William Marks, for keeping the accounts and writing up the report for the year.
P 328/1 OV 2/39 is a volume dated Aug 7 1733 to 1741.
Overseers reports are dominated by weekly accounts of the Workhouse expenditure on goods. Few people are named and the main focus is materials used to provide work.
P 328a OV 2/1 is a volume of Overseers reports dated 1741 - 1749
It begins with the last six months welfare payments in 1741, of which I recorded 277 items. The 169 surnames in the Ratepayers list for 1754 is innovative, the names are listed by streets for the first time. There are 314 rates listed, and 33 deficiencies. Some are only rated for Stock, I assume they are renting their house, so only shown as 'occupier'.
I recorded most of 1742 - the 293 properties on which rates were levied for the support of the Poor and other Parish business, names of Overseers and Vestry members, and then details of 145 support payments and 100 other accounts made from the funds collected, a total of 844 pieces of information covering Sept 1741 to April 1743.
I then extracted names from Pages 118 to 390, looking for new names, selecting those involved in extra payments, and lists of Overseers and Parishioners who attended the Vestry meetings - 385 items relating to 196 people, plus Workhouse entries.
1747-8 extracted every person named - Rate payers, Welfare recipients, those involved in special payments, and those who attended meetings.
I listed 1085 references to 472 people between 1744 and 1750 (and left out many more, mostly (all, I hoped) repetitions. The notes are added to the surname records. The details got very interesting, page references are given if you decide to research your family.
P 328a OV 2/2 is a volume dated 1749 - 1759, being Overseers reports. The pages are not numbered, so my records are only dated per month. I have added numbers to the Street addresses - from 1754 the Rates are listed in streets, mostly to help sorting them. Workhouse lists ceased in June 1755, when 9 people were catered for by Elizabeth Holt, who was paid 1-15-0. In the month ending 16 Feb 1758 Sarah Parker's bastard goes to the Foundling House, cost 1-3-0, and 2 months later John White's family are in the Infirmary, cost 1-1-0 (without enough detail to now decide which family was ill). They are the first references to these places that I spotted.
P 328a OV 2/14 is 3 documents dated 12 Jan to 11 Aug 1715, being Bills from H Weston to unnamed, Esther Washfield and Mary West. The items are generally a purge 00-09, a bottle of Cephalich drops 01-00, a cordial with alkemy 02-00, purging potion 01-00, a blister, composing cordial, a plaster and Mary West's bill ends with A quart of steel wine 04-02. Esther's Bill totals 1-05-01 and Mary's Bill is marked received in full 3-00-03.
P 328a OV 2/15 is 8 documents dated 1734 - 1735, being Bills for Medical attendance
The first, dated 29 Sep 1735 concerns Susanna Archard who broke her leg, is an account from the Overseers at Estington to the Overseers at Tetbury for 11-11-11. There is a hole in the middle of the page, so I am not sure what the expenses are about.
The other seven relate to widow Elizabeth Launder, who became ill in Highworth. Tetbury Overseers were charged, and she and her 2 children were taken back to Tetbury. The bills add up to 8-18-1, for medicines, Orders, and accomodation and travel.
P 326a OV 3/1/1 is an Indemnity bond 1760, labelled 'Marriage of John Chapman'.
It is dated 27 August 1760, and the Tetbury Churchwardens and Overseers agree to pay any charges caused by John Chapman, Mary his wife and their children, while they are living in Dursley, the said parish having recently removed the Chapman family.
Settlement Records
The three sets of Settlement records are combined into three pages,
names A - L, names M - W
a combination by dates
P 328a OV 3/1/2 is a bundle of 129 documents dated 1669 - 1833, being Settlement Certificates to Tetbury
I recorded those dated to 1780
P 328a OV 3/2/1 is a bundle of 82 documents dated 1694 - 1799, being Removal Orders from Tetbury. An example of the costs Overseers paid in such cases is recorded for Elizabeth Woodward in 1747. This record has not survived.
P 328a OV 3/3/1 is a bundle of 125 documents being Removal Orders to Tetbury
I looked in the middle of the stack, and found Elizabeth Swinnerton's removal from London in 1782
I then recorded the first 29, which date from 3 Sep 1700 to 24 May 1774. The general impression I gained was of relatives being visited, with no means of returning to Tetbury, so help from the Overseers was invoked. There is also Samual Hopkins who ran away from Robert Jones, his master, the five Thornbury children whose father died in Parshaw, so stranding them, and Sarah Cole whose child was born in Tetbury so her home Parish of Badgeworth decided to send it back to Tetbury.
P 328a OV 3/3/3 consists of 2 pages.
The first is a statement saying John Dickerson on 6 June 1695 became an apprentice at Runwick. In 1698 he was back in Tetbury, begging and stealing.
On 4 May 1719 Grace Dickerson was found wandering, and her story was told, the disproved. Tetbury decided the family had legal settlement in Runwick, so sent them there.
The second page contains 59 names of people, whose right to be in the Tetbury-Charlton area was challenged. Most appear in my records.
P 328a OV 3/4/1 is a bundle of 74 documents dated 1700 - 1788, being Settlement examinations
P 328a OV 3/5/1 is a bundle of 25 documents dated 1728 - 1749, being Vagrants Passes
P 328a OV 3/5/2 is a bundle of 10 documents dated 1694, being Vagrants Passes
P 328a OV 3/5/3 is a bundle of 2 documents
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeship Documents at the Public Records Office in Gloucester appear to be stored in reverse date order. I have sorted all the documents alphabetically by Apprentices, with a link to the person named.
P 328a OV 4/1 is a bundle of 61 documents dated 1661 - 1698, being Apprenticeship Indentures
P 328a OV 4/2 contains 54 documents, relating to 45 Apprenticeships from 15 June 1700 to 6 Aug 1729
Also in the bundle is an Agreement dated 28 Oct 1718 that Margaret Perkins shall hold the said cottage during her life. She was buried 14 months later.
P 328a OV 4/3 contains 22 documents, most dated after 1762 to 1825.
Damaris Pinnock dated 23 Aug 1716 was unexpected. Next are for Robert Crook 19 Jan 1730, Jude Merchant 21 Jan 1735, Martha Barrett 26 Aug 1741, Robert Clarke 7 Oct 1742, Thomas Craddock 28 Aug 1762 and Abraham King 21 Sep 1762.
Bastardy Records
P 328a OV 5/1
is 68 documents relating to Bastardy. The first is dated 15 Jan 1703, a claim by Hester Higgs of Tetbury against Charles Townsend of Fairford
The second is dated 26 July 1765, the ninth is dated 15 June 1781, and the last one is dated 9 July 1834, and is the second made for maintenance by Mary Woodman on Giles Porter of Broad Somerford, Wiltshire
P 328a OV 5/2
is a bundle of 89 documents, 6 dated before 1760 and the next 28 are befor 1800, being Bastardy examinations where the woman is shown as pregnant and names the father
P 328a OV 5/3
is a bundle of 12 documents dated 1755 to 1801, being Indemnity bonds by the father to the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor, on behalf of the child and mother
P 328a OV 5/4
is a bundle of 55 documents 2 dated before 1766, the rest to 1799, being Filiation bonds, name father and mother, give child's sex and date of birth, and amount each parent is to pay the Overseers weekly for the child's support
P 328a OV 5/8
is a bundle of 8 documents relating to Hester Wright's child by John Hone
Other Records
P 328a OV 7/22 is 2 documents, a torn sheet of accounts dated 12 Apr 1699, and an Inventory of Widow Alley's household furniture dated 18 May 1826, no values are given and it is not signed.
P 328a OV 7/23 is a bundle of 18 documents dated 1709 - 1719 (6 papers) and 1792 -1817, being Orders by the Justice of the Peace, ordering Tetbury Overseers of the Poor to give Relief. The early set give 1/- a week to John Cox, Mary Bullock, Ann Buckle, Rebecka Hudson, Rebecca Avery, Mary Batting, Sarah Hosey and Sarah Saunders, the later ones about 3/-, the next is a familiar name, Sarah Chapman.
P 328a OV 7/24
is a bundle of 2 documents dated , being Workhouse records
P 328a OV 7/30
is a package of 20 documents mainly after 1800.
It contains the Agreement of the Overseers appointed on 12 Apr 1705 - Robert Marchant, John Wicks, Stephen Thomas, Thomas Rudge and John Beale.
An undated document records what a bad character was Joseph Winterson (possibly son of John, baptised 17460309) - being put in the stocks, or dunked did not stop him raiding hay racks, vegetable gardens, stealing fowls or wood, and generally being poor value in Tetbury.
There are medical certificates for Jacob Bowman (baptised 17001130, son of Edward), no date, and Catherine Blackwell (possibly mother of Robert, or his daughter Catherine born 1741), dated Dec 4, no year given, which say the person is not fit to work.
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