West Meon, Hampshire
West Meon PR1
“St John’s Church Register”
“Baptisms 1542-1639”
“Marriages 1538-1639”
“Burials 1536-1639”
“Note:- a transcription of this, with analysis and notes, was made in Oct. 1906 by Julian C.
Rogers of The Cedars, West Meon”
“1952 – repaired and re-covered by the Public Record Office, London, by order of
(unreadable)”
_________________________________________
This is an extremely untidy register. Up to 1600 it appears to be copied from an older one.
The hand appears identical throughout, with uniform spelling and abbreviations. It is possible
that the copyist could not read parts of the original register, and either omitted them or
ascribed them to the wrong years. For example, the annual baptism numbers range from none
in 1546 to 18 in 1547, and from 11 in 1565 to none in 1566, 1567 and 1568. Similarly there
are burials recorded in 1536, 1538, 1540 and 1542, but not in the intervening years, nor
during 1552-1554, 1559-1560 and 1562-1565. Alternatively, there were years when the parish
church was not functioning for these rites.
Even after 1600, when the register seemingly becomes a contemporary record, the dates are
often uncertain. The 1604 burials apparently extended for two years, with 10 interments, but
none were recorded in 1605 or 6. The year is also uncertain in the records for 1621-1623,
particularly for burials. No burials were recorded 1640-1659, while the baptism record is
often spotty in this interval. Finally, many entries are clearly out of sequence if the given days
and months are correct. In some cases, later pages of the register were used before earlier
ones were completed.
Some years are ecclesiastical, running from Lady Day to Lady Day (25th March). In such
years, the entries from January 1st to March 24th actually belong to the following calendar
year. A corrected value “Calendar year” has been added to account for this. In these registers
the years 1536 to 1599 are mostly calendar, with rare exceptions, and the years 1600 to 1750
ecclesiastical, with rather more exceptions. The final general change to calendar years
happened within the church as a whole in 1751, a “short year” which ran from 25th March to
December 31st.
Efforts have been made to indicate lost or partial entries, but the microfiches show so many
erasures or blots and faded ink that it is impossible to be sure how many illegible or lost
entries there may be.
PR1 is almost entirely in Latin. Sometimes this has been translated in the transcription (e.g.
“uxor” = wife, “filius/filia” = son/daughter, “soror” = sister), sometimes not (e.g. “vidua” or
vid. = widow, “senex” = the elder, “virgo” = virgin or spinster)). Names have been Latinised,
which means that different case endings, as well as different spellings and contractions, occur.
Some are listed below:
Abrahami
Agneta
Alicea, Alicia
Ambrosius, Ambrosii
Andreas, Andreus, Andreae
Anna
Anthonius
Beniamini
Bethamu.
Catherina
Charolus, Carolus
Chriana
Danielis
Editha
Edmondus, Edmundus, Edmondi
Edwardus, Eduardus, Edwardi
Eleonora, Ellianora
Elizabetha
Estheri
Francisca, Frannsisca, Francisea
Franciscus, Francisci
Georgius, Georgii
Gilbertus
Gracia
Gregorius
Gulielmus, Gulielmi, Gul.
Henricus, Henrici, Hencus., Hen.
Jacobus, Jacobi
Jana
Johanna, Joanna
Joannes, Johannes, Johanes, Joannis,
Johannis, Johanis, Johes., Jo.
Joicea
Josephus, Josephi
Juditha
Lucia
Mabella
Margareta, Margaretta, Margarita
Margeria
Maria
Martinus
Mattheus
Mauda
Nathanielis
Nicolaus, Nicholaius, Nicholai, Nicolai,
Nichus., Nichai.
Petrus
Philippus
Prudentia
(Abraham)
(cf. Agnes, Annice)
(Alice)
(Ambrose)
(Andrew)
(Ann)
(Anthony)
(Benjamin)
(possibly Bartholomew?)
(Catherine)
(Charles)
(Christiana?)
(Daniel)
(Edith)
(Edmund)
(Edward)
(Eleanor)
(Elizabeth)
(Esther)
(Frances – female)
(Francis – male)
(George)
(Gilbert)
(Grace)
(Gregory)
(William)
(Henry)
(James)
(Jane)
(Joan?)
(John)
(Joyce)
(Joseph)
(Judith)
(Lucy)
(Mabel)
(Margaret)
(Margery)
(Mary)
(Martin)
(Matthew)
(Maud)
(Nathaniel)
(Nicholas)
(Peter)
(Philip)
(Prudence)
Radolphus, Radulphus, Radus.
Richardus, Ricus.
(Richard)
Robertus, Robtus.
(Robert)
Rogerus
(Roger)
Rosa
(Rose)
Stephanus, Stephani
(Stephen)
Sybilla
(Sybil)
Thomae, Tho.
(Thomas)
Timotheus
(Timothy)
Walterus
(Walterus)
Willielmus, Willielms., Willmus., Willielmi,
Willmi., Willms., Willm., Wm. (William)
West Meon PR3 (1641 to 1686)
Most of this register is in English, with a little Latin towards the end. This is a particularly
scrappy register covering baptisms, marriages and burials. Much of it would have been
written during the English Civil War, which started in 1642, continuing through the execution
of Charles I 1649 and the flight of Charles II in 1651, and leading first to the Commonwealth
and then to restoration of the monarchy in 1660.
The first page has some readable names but cannot be identified specifically as christenings,
burials or marriages. It may cover records from 1640, 1641 and/or 1642 which are otherwise
missing. The remainder of the register contains all three records, more or less mixed. There
are some significant gaps, some of which might be covered by a second, coeval register, PR4.
Until 1676, entries are frequently out of sequence by month, and quite often by year, as
though compiled from notes long after the event. After 1676 there is some degree of
improvement, but it is still very disordered. PR4 describes this as “ye old book”.
West Meon PR4 (1640/1689 to 1733)
The earliest parts of this register overlap with PR3. PR4 contains most of the 1640 baptisms,
but by 1645 these entries have become infrequent, and most baptisms are now being recorded
in PR3. PR4 is then little used until 1689
Interestingly, some of the baptisms in the 1640s are recorded in both registers. PR3 records
them in English, but PR4 records them in Latin. In these early years, the same baptism may
be recorded in both registers, usually about a week apart but over 5 weeks in one case. There
seems to be no pattern about which register holds the earlier entry. Baptism in later centuries
was often a two-stage affair where children were baptised at home (often because they were
sick) and subsequently admitted to the church, and entered twice in the registers.
West Meon PR5 (1678-1733)
This register consists of affidavits for burial and some pages of collection records (collections
for good causes). The names in the affidavits have been transcribed for interest, together with
the dates where the burial date is uncertain, but only one affidavit has been transcribed
completely, as an example. The affidavit was usually sworn a few days after the interment.
The affidavits concerned the materials in which the deceased was buried:
“Alice Park of ye parrish of Privett made oath before Mr Horspoole minister of Froxfield that
John Bud ye son of John Bud of ye sd parrish lately deceased was not wound or wrapt in or
put into any coffin lined or faced with any other materiall than what was made of sheepes
wooll only according to ye Late Act of Parliamt for burying in woollen. 18 December 1686”
West Meon PR6 (1733-1812)
This is a record of baptism, burial and marriage (to 1754 only)