Berkshire Archdeaconry records

We are pleased to announce that we have completed cataloguing of a significant quantity of records of the Archdeacon of Berkshire, 1543-1970s (D/A4). There is a wealth of information relating to the Archdeacon’s courts role in policing morality in the 17th and early 18th century, particularly premarital or adulterous sex, whether or not this resulted in the birth of illegitimate children. Some papers were clearly accidentally omitted when the bulk of the archive was bound up into volumes in the 1930s. Perhaps most exciting are the unexpected survival of a small quantity of marriage bonds for April-November 1618, and allegations (the application for a marriage licence) for 1839, the remainder of which were destroyed by a WWII bomb. We will tell you more about marriage licences in a future blog.

Private pews to stand, sit or kneel in

A small artificial collection of deeds of property in Bray, 1694, Pusey, 1663, Reading, 1824, Speen, 1734-1779, and Winkfield, 1714, also includes one really interesting document. This is a faculty dated 1687/8, which allowed Richard Pusey, gentleman, to incorporate the site of two small seats in Pusey Church in an aisle he owned on the south side of the nave, take down the seats, and build a pew large enough for him, his wife and family to 'stand, sit, kneel and hear divine service and sermons'. Thomas Bond and Edmund Slatter, the previous occupants of the seats, were unceremoniously evicted and forced to sit in the body of the church. This is an intriguing insight into the reservation of private pews for the wealthy, which was common in this period (D/EX184).

11 beds, no bath

Newly deposited records for the parish of Grazeley, 1857-2007, include a letter from the Bishop of Oxford in 1933, stating that a potential vicar had refused the role due to the poor condition of the vicarage house, which had 11 bedrooms but not a single bathroom (D/P124B).

Records of Avington Church include plans of proposed alterations to the chancel arch by renowned Victorian architect William Butterfield, 1848; photographs taken before a restoration in 1910; papers relating to the sale of the redundant church to Lord Howard de Walden for use as a private chapel, and the continuing use of the churchyard for burials, 1978-1981; and a plan showing the location of graves (D/P11). Pangbourne parish records, 1949-2020, include parishioners’ responses to the ordination of women (D/P91).

Additional records have also been deposited for the parishes of East Challow, 1970-2006 (D/P81B); Cox Green, 2002-2023 (D/P183); Crowthorne, 1956-2022 (D/P102B); Hurley, 1966-1998 (D/P72); Reading Christ Church, 1949-2018 (D/P170); Reading Holy Trinity, 2002-2011 (D/P171); Reading St Barnabas, 1978-2001 (D/P169); Reading St Mark (D/P174); Reading St Paul, 1971-1988 (D/P177); Sulham, 1892-2006 (D/P123); Tidmarsh, 1955-2007 (D/P131); Twyford, 1969-2019 (D/P73B).

Not fit for purpose

The register of services for Wantage Church refers in March 2020 to the 'coronavirus [Covid 19] outbreak - no public worship'. Services between 19 March and 6 July were attended only by the vicar and his family. Between 22 March and 9 May these services were held in the vicarage, to comply with the national restrictions (D/P143). The equivalent register for Reading St Paul ends sadly with the note, '23/3/20 Covid-19 Pandemic Church closed, will not reopen due to not being fit for purpose' (D/P177).

Records of West Woodhay parish include a report on proposed renovations to the churchyard in the 1970s, including a list of graves to be levelled (D/P155). We have also received parish magazines for Caversham St Peter, 1989-2002 (D/P162). Digital photographs taken in 2022 of a tree planted in Waltham St Lawrence churchyard in 1655 may be viewed here, though you need to contact us in advance to arrange this (D/P141). Digital NADFAS (National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies) reports on the contents of Finchampstead (D/EX2871), East Hendred (D/EX2696), Hungerford (D/EX2713) and Winkfield (D/EX2819) Churches need special permission to consult.

New for family history

We have received the following registers of baptisms, marriages and burials, most fairly modern but of value to future generations of family historians:

Barkham: marriages, 1983-1987 (D/P13)

Charlton: marriages, 2000-2017 (D/P143B)

Crowthorne: marriages, 2013-2019 (D/P102B)

Finchampstead: baptisms, 1973-2016; burials, 1893-1992 (D/P56)

Kintbury: baptisms, 1953-200; marriages, 1982-2018; and banns, 1933-2015 (D/P78)

Newbury St George (Wash Common): marriages, 1938-1958, 2016-2019; and banns, 1937-1980 (D/P89C)

Purley: marriages, 2005-2009 (D/P93)

Reading St Paul: baptisms, 1975-2019 (D/P177)

Shaw cum Donnington: marriages, 2018-2020 (D/P106)

Wantage: baptisms, 1994-2007; marriages, 2007-2020; funerals, 1988-2019; banns, 1991-2013 (D/P143)

Burghfield Wesleyan Methodist Church, 1912-1922 (D/MS117)

We have also received a mid 20th century plan of Stubbings churchyard (D/P195).