Geographical Note and Social context and new years day change

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: England
Surnames/tags: Gregorian calendar Clandestine marriages history towns villages

Historical descriptions of family domicile at birth, explanation of Clandestine Marriages, and of the effect of the change of calendar on DoB in registers of birth.

Contents 1 Geographical Note and Social context 1.1 Milton Abbas 1.2 Aller 1.3 Bodmin 1.4 Bridgewater 1.5 Brenchley 1.6 Calne 1.7 Calstock 1.8 Caythorpe 1.9 Chiddingstone 1.10 Claypole 1.11 Colwall 1.12 Cowden 1.13 Crewkerne 1.14 Croydon 1.15 Denton 1.16 Deptford 1.17 Edenbridge 1.18 Evershot 1.19 Eynsford 1.20 Farnborough 1.21 Folkestone 1.22 Fulbeck 1.23 Halsted 1.24 Hinton St George 1.25 Horsham 1.26 Hundleby 1.27 Knockholt 1.28 Landreath 1.29 Lingfield 1.30 Lyndhurst 1.31 Luxulyan 1.32 Malvern 1.33 Margate 1.34 St Marylebone 1.35 Mereworth 1.36 Muggington 1.37 Mutrix 1.38 Naughton 1.39 Norton Canes 1.40 Penshurst 1.41 Pitney 1.42 Portsmouth 1.43 Ringwood 1.44 Saxlby 1.45 Skellingthorpe 1.46 Sleaford 1.47 Shepton Mallet 1.48 Snodland 1.49 Spondon 1.50 St Dominic 1.51 St Germans 1.52 St Kew 1.53 St. Martin's in the Fields 1.54 St Minver 1.55 St Pancras 1.56 St Peter in Thanet 1.57 Sundridge 1.58 Sydenham 1.59 Syston 1.60 Tywardreath 1.61 Walworth 1.62 Wendron 1.63 Willesden 1.64 Witham 1.65 Woolwich 2 Clandestine Marriages 3 The change from Julian to Gregorian calendar

Geographical Note and Social context

Milton Abbas

Geographical Note and Social context: The referenced to Milton Abbas are misleading, as Milton Abbas had not been built at this time.
Milton Abbas was originally called Middleton, that is middle tun the middle farm or hamlet. In 1252 the villagers of Middleton were granted the right to have weekly markets. The people were also allowed an annual fair.
In 1521 a grammar school was founded in Middleton. However, the school closed in the late 18th century. (The Lord of the Manor had it moved to Blandford Forum).
In 1539 Henry VIII closed the abbey and sold it to John Tregonwell, Nevertheless, the little town continued to thrive. In the 18th century, Middleton had a population of about 500. It had 3 inns and a brewery. In 1674 almshouses were built in the village.
In 1752 the manor was sold to Joseph Damer (1718-1798), who later became Earl of Dorchester. In 1771 he decided to build a new mansion Damer decided to remove the existing houses in the town because they spoilt his view, in the 1780s he demolished the existing cottages and replaced them with new ones further away. He also moved the almshouses. The new settlement was renamed Milton Abbas. . From https://localhistories.org/a-history-of-milton-abbas/

Aller

Geographical Note and Social context: A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 3. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1974.
The ancient parish of Aller. The parish lies 2½ miles west from Langport and 9 miles south-east from Bridgwater. It stretching 4½ miles from north to south, 2½ miles from east to west, but is only ⅓ mile in breadth at the edge of King's Sedgemoor in the north. The boundary to the south and southwest is formed by the river Parrett. The high ground in the parish known as Aller hill lies on the Keuper Marl along its eastern limit, but most of the parish, comprising the 'moors', lies on the alluvium. In addition to the Cary and Parrett the 'moors' are drained by a complex system of rhines, the construction of which dates from the 14th century.
The original settlement was probably made on Aller 'island', where the parish church also stands, but the village developed along the lower slopes of Aller hill. By the later 16th century much of its present area was already built up, further expansion being restricted by the open arable fields, the 'moors', and the steepness of Aller hill.
Arable land within the parish was largely restricted to the Keuper Marl. Early meadowland was more scattered. Open meadows known as Landmeads lay along the western edge of the North field and in the South field. The remainder of the parish, comprising the low-lying 'moors', was devoted to pasture. Aller wood lies between the former North field and Wood Lane on the upper slopes of Aller hill. In 1676 a decoy pool was made in Aller moor by five tenants. The lord gave materials for its construction and allowed those tenants royalty for fowling over the 'moor'. In return they were to stock the decoy and render a quarter of all birds taken.
There were 124 communicants in the parish in 1548. ^[1]

Bodmin

Geographical Note and Social context: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850 A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
BODMIN (St. Petrock), a parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Trigg, E. division of Cornwall.
During the civil war in the reign of Charles I., the town, which had no permanent garrison, was alternately occupied by each party, till, in 1646, General Fairfax finally took possession of it for the parliament. After the Restoration, Charles II. visited the place on his journey to Scilly, and humorously declared it to be the most polite town through which he had passed, “one-half of the houses being prostrate, and the remainder uncovered.”
The parish comprises 4586 acres, whereof 330 are common or waste. The grammar school was founded by Queen Elizabeth, who endowed it with £4. 13. 8. per annum, payable out of the exchequer. About a mile to the west of the town are some remains of the hospital of St. Lawrence,, who were incorporated by Queen Elizabeth in 1582, from whom they received the grant of a market, and two fairs,
The town is situated on a gentle elevation rising out of a vale, between two hills, almost in the centre of the county: it consists of several streets, the principal of which is a mile in length; it is well paved, and the inhabitants are amply supplied with water.^[2]

Bridgewater

Geographical Note and Social context: A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 6, Andersfield, Cannington, and North Petherton Hundreds (Bridgwater and Neighbouring Parishes). Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1992.
The borough and port of Bridgwater lies in an irregularly shaped parish through which flows the tidal river Parrett. It lies c. 18 km. by water from Bridgwater Bay. East of the river the parish is on low-lying alluvium c. 6 metres above sea level nearest the river and 12 metres on the north-eastern boundary at Horsey. West of the river alluvium runs across Stock moor in the south and along the Durleigh brook between Hamp and the town, both of which lie on ridges of marl. Bridgwater's marl has two small areas of terrace deposits of valley gravel, which were used by the 16th century and until the 18th for building work and streets. Lime was dug in the south-east corner of the town near the 'quay above the bridge' in the 17th and 18th centuries, and a kiln was in operation near Lyme Bridge by 1497.
Ships presumably discharged their cargoes on both sides of the Parrett. Old and new quayswere mentioned in 1616. Work was done on Back Quay, the old Langport slip, between 1697 and 1701, and c. 1712 a new quay was built on the east bank. Mr. Darby's new quay had been built on the west bank, north of the old quay, by c. 1730. An Act of 1794 enabled further improvements. The port had no official customs house but c. 1724 the duke of Chandos was planning to build one, finished in 1726. Improvements, concerned the lower reaches of the river, but its course from Bridgwater Bridge upstream came under private Acts passed in 1673 and 1699 to improve the navigation to Taunton.
As can be expected of a port, Bridgewater was well provided with inns and taverns, in 1686 the town's inns offered 143 beds and stabling for 246 horses. In the 1720s there were said to be over 120 houses selling ale and cider in the town and by 1748 the town was divided into three divisions for licensing purposes when there were just over 50 licensed houses and a single coffee house. A census taken in 1695 suggested 2,200 or more inhabitants for the town and 600 for the rest of the parish. In 1801 the total population was 3,634, ^[3]
By the 15th century the cloth trade was well established and was the mainstay of the town’s prosperity, exporting woollen cloths from various parts of Somerset. At the beginning of the 18th century, the cloth trade enjoyed a further boom before falling victim to the industrial revolution, which moved the centre of commercial and industrial activity northward towards the sources of cheap power. As Bristol grew in importance the port and town of Bridgwater declined and into a long period of stagnation. The commercial manufacture of roofing tiles and bricks and improvements to communications helped the town grow in the 19th century. ^[4]

Brenchley

Geographical Note and Social context: During the 17th century, the area between Brenchley and Horsmonden, boasted one of the largest Wealden Iron Works and employed over 200 men.
With the demise of the Iron industry, the area turned to agriculture with extensive orchards and hop fields. ^[5]

Calne

Geographical Notes abd Social context: From The Beauties of England and Wales, vol. 22, by John Britton,et al (Verner & Hood), 1814
CALNE is a market and borough town of great antiquity, situated near the centre of the hundred to which it gives name,
The staple manufactured produce here is broad cloths and kerseymeres. The market day is Tuesday, weekly, and there are fairs on the sixth of May and the twenty-second of July. A branch of the Wiltshire and Berkshire Canal comes into the town.
1898
Calne within the last twenty years has been greatly improved in the appearance of its houses, and the cleanliness of its streets. It is watered by the small river Marlan, which runs through the centre of the town, and drives several fulling and grist mills. The market-house and town-hall is a commodious building, as is also the free-school, in which thirty boys are taught
The town is lighted with gas , and supplied with water obtained from rock springs in the parish of Calstone Wellington. A reservoir has been constructed to supply the mills which would otherwise have suffered. A scheme of sewerage was carried out about 1880; and has since been altered and improved
In the neighbourhood are a number of springs, sufficient in their united strength to turn several corn mills, and which, with other streams, constitute the head of the river Calne or Marden, which flows through the centre of the town and joins the Avon near Chippenham.
There are seven nonconformist meeting houses and chapels.
The soil is chiefly sandy, except in the valleys, which dip into the Oxford clay. A bed of the coral rag containing a coarse kind of freestone is worked in the town, and affords a tolerably good building stone: The land in the district is chiefly in pasture, but not entirely so, there being a considerable portion of the sandy soil under the plough. Wheat and beans are grown on the heavier portion, and barley and roots on the lighter. The area of Calne Within is 356 acres; the population in 1891 was 3,495. ^[6]

Calstock

Geographical Notes and Social Context: The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868 "CALSTOCK, a parish in the middle division of the hundred of East, in the county of Cornwall. Tavistock is its post town. It is pleasantly situated on the borders of Devonshire, on the banks of the navigable river Tamar, across which is a ferry, and is crossed by the Tavistock canal. Granite is the prevailing rock in the neighbourhood, and there are mines of copper, tin, lead, and manganese. The Tamar contains abundance of salmon trout. Calstock is a port subordinate to the port of Plymouth. There is a mineral spring near the church. In this parish is Cothele, or Cotehele, a fine Tudor house, with a Quay and warehouse on the Tamar.
Mining was important in Calstock from Mediaeval times, with the Duchy mining silver. However the industry did not peak until the late 19th century, which made Calstock a busy port. The rapid population boom due to the growth of industry led, in 1849, to an outbreak of cholera.
^[7]

Caythorpe

Geographical Notes and Social context: In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Caythorpe like this:
CAYTHORPE, a village and a parish in the district of Newark and county of Lincoln. The village stands near the Grantham and Lincoln railway, 9 miles N by E of Grantham; and has a post office‡ under Grantham, a r. station, and a fair on the second Friday after Good Friday. The parish includes also Friston hamlet.
Acres, 4,210. Pop., 822. Houses, 178. There are a Wesleyan chapel, and charities £7.^[8]
Geographical Note and Social context: "CHELSFIELD, a parish in the hundred of Ruxley, and lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, in the county of Kent, It is situated on the high road between London and Seven Oaks. . Here are National schools for both sexes, partly supported by contributions. There is a small endowment for for the benefit of the poor; also six almshouses and six acres of parish land. [Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 ^[9]
The ancient parish of over 3000 acres included the hamlets of Pratts Bottom and part of Green Street Green. with the hamlets of Maypole, Bopeep and Well Hill, Chelsfield is on very high ground, and the village nestles in the shelter of a little fold of the Downs. Pubs and beerhouses were always a feature of village life, the Five Bells in the village centre the Bopeep in the hamlet of that name, and the Kent Hounds and the Rock and Fountain at Well Hill.^[10]

Chiddingstone

Geographical Note and Social context: CHIDDINGSTONE, or Chydingstone, a village and a parish in Sevenoaks district, Kent. The village stands in the Weald, on the river Eden, contains interesting specimens of old gabled timbered houses; The parish includes also the hamlet of Little Chiddingstone. Acres, 5, 975. The Chiding Stone, figured by Grose, and the subject of curious tradition, is a weather-worn mass of sandstone, about 18 feet high. Wild boars anciently haunted the surrounding tract; and are commemorated here in the names of Boar Place and Boreshill. ^[11]

Claypole

Geographical Note and Social context: In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Claypole like this:
CLAYPOLE, a parish and a sub-district in the district of Newark and county of Lincoln. The parish lies on the river Witham and the Great Northern railway, and has a station on the railway, and a post office under Newark-Acres, 3, 370. Pop., 774. Houses, 144. There are chapels for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists. The Newark workhouse is here.^[12]

Colwall

Geographical Note and Social context: The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868
"COLWALL, a parish in the hundred of Radlow, in the county of Hereford, its, post town. It has a station on the West Midland branch of the Great Western railway. It is situated on the western side of the Malvern hills, under the Herefordshire Beacon. Part of the parish is in hops. The charities amount to £33 per annum, and there are free schools for both sexes. "
Colwall was also known to be the home of the Malvern Water bottling factory. In 1890, a local family entered into a contract with Schweppes to allow them to build a bottling plant, which was constructed 2 years later.
"EVENDINE, a hamlet in the parish of Colwall and county of Hereford, 4 miles N.E. of Ledbury. It is situated at the foot of the Malvern hills. Here are extensive limestone quarries, in which many fossils are found." ^[13]

Cowden

Geographical Note and Social context: Cowden
This parish, wholly within the Weald, is but little known, being situated in a deep soil of clay, very wet and miry. The village stands on a rise, though at a small distance only from the river, which here forms an elbow round the south side of it, where it turns a corn-mill; A fair is held here on the feast of St. Mary Magdalen, now on the second of August, for cattle and pedlary ware. Extract from Hasted's History of Kent published in 1797^[14]
Crippenden Manor, built around 1607, once belonged to the ironmaster, Richard Tichbourne. br/> In the reign of Henry VIII, the iron master dammed up the stream, known as Kentwater, at Scarletts to create ponds for the supply of power to the iron furnace. The iron industry fuelled the furnaces with wood and, therefore, had an impact on the areas woodlands as it did employment in the village.^[15]
The ponds still exist alongside Furness lane, albeit much reduced in area.

Crewkerne

Geographical Note and Social context: A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 4. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1978.
The Town of Crewkerne lies within a large parish on the southern boundary of the county and hundred. The town lay below the eastern end of the Windwhistle ridge, in a coombe just above the 200 ft. contour, sheltered from the north-east by Bincombe Hill, possibly the 'cruc' which gave the town its name. The church occupies a position at the end of a small plateau above the town centre very like that of South Petherton. To the north and east of the town the gentle contours on the heavily faulted Yeovil Sands and limestone generally falling towards Merriott and the Parrett, provided the main stretches of meadow land, concentrated at Furringdons in the north-east. The complicated geological formation of the Windwhistle ridge, including clay, flints, chalk, and greensand, provided a source for stone, sand, lime, marl, and clay for farmers, builders, and brick makers.
The extent of the three open arable fields in Crewkerne manor had been diminished by inclosure by the late 16th century, and the process continued into the 19th century, evidently by private agreement. Those fields were worked only by the tenants of the manors of Crewkerne Magna and Parva. In 1839 the parish was almost equally divided between arable and grass, with 132 a. of wood.
During the early 18th century clothing appears to have continued as the dominant industry in the town, with textile mills in 1730 and 1740. Sergemakers occur regularly between 1720 and 1761 a dyer, two linen-weavers, and a woolbroker in 1704, a haberdasher and hosier in 1724, a bodice maker and worsted-comber in 1726, and a woolcomber in 1765. Other trades represented include an engraver in 1701, a basket maker, silver-wire drawer, and rope maker in 1704, a tanner in 1727, and peruke makers in 1730 and 1751. There were prominent tallow chandlers and soap boilers between 1704 and 1764.
Girth-web weavers had come to the parish by 1698 and the allied manufacturers of webbing, sailcloth, hair-seating, and later shirts eventually came to dominate the 19th-century labour market. The first factory was probably established in 1789 at Viney Bridge. A bleaching or 'bucking' house was built there, and the same firm had a spinning house in Hermitage Street. In 1797 there was a 'linen and woollen girth web manufactory'. By c. 1797 other miscellaneous trades and manufactures had developed in the town, including maltsters, vintners, clockmakers, a printer, a breeches maker, ironmongers, and three butter factors.
By the end of the 16th century the market was held every Saturday. There is mention of sheep markets for ten weeks in the spring of 1749, and there were 37 butchers and 49 traders in the stalls, both in the market place and under the market house, among them two bakers from South Petherton and one from Cerne Abbas (Dors.) An annual fair on St. Bartholomew's day, its date was changed in 1753 to 4 September, and in 1767 was said to be noted for horses, bullocks, linen drapery, cheese, and 'toys'.
Crewkern parish was well supplied with watermills, records survive of 10 in the 18th C, mostly grtist mills, one converted to weaving webbing, and two paper mills.^[16]

Croydon

Geographical Note and Social context: Croydon is a market town, situated ten miles south of London. The parish is very extensive; in the Conqueror's Survey, it is said to contain twenty plough lands, and is now supposed to be about thirty six miles in circumference. The arable land exceeds the pasture in a great proportion: a considerable part of Norwood is in this parish. In the Survey of 1646, it is described as being "830 acres, in which the inhabitants of "Croydon have herbage for all manner of cattle, and mastage for swine without stint." Shirley Heath Common is said, in the same Survey, to contain 300 acres; Croydon Heath 340 acres. The soil, as may be supposed in so extensive a parish, is very various.
The town of Croydon had a market on Wednesdays, as early as the reign of Edward I. , and a fair which began on the eve of St. Botolph, and lasted nine days. Another market on Thursdays, was granted to Archbishop Reynolds, by Edward II and a fair on the eve and morrow of St. Matthew. A third market upon Saturdays, the only one of the three now continued, was granted by Edward III., and a fair on the Feast of St. John the Baptist. Of the fairs, the two last only are now held.
The small river Wandle, which falls into the Thames at Wandsworth, has its source in this parish, near the church. The whole of its course is not many miles, yet there are few rivers on whose banks a more extensive commerce is carried on.^[17]
The Manor, known as Croydon Palace from 1600, was the first of several Archbishop’s dwellings on the route between Lambeth and Canterbury. The buildings had an administrative function for the collection of rents and served as a civil and ecclesiastical court. The layout of the estate including the fishponds can still be traced in the present day street pattern.
The small town flourished through its connections with the Archbishop, but its low-lying position made it prone to flooding and general dampness. In the early Middle Ages the centre of the town shifted from the area around the church to higher and drier ground to the east.
Croydon’s first market was established, within a triangle now formed by Surrey Street, the High Street and Crown Hill. After the medieval period the market place filled up with buildings, and a web of narrow alleys.^[18]
Geographical Note and Social context: "Cudham is an extensive parish and widely-scattered village, in Ruxley Hundred, lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, and Union and County court district of Bromley, west Kent, situated west of the high road from London to Seven Oaks. The area is 5,869 acres. Here is a wood 2 miles long. The soil clayey, with great quantity of flint, but very fertile; and the population, in 1851, was 897. The church of St Peter and St Paul is an old building of flint and brick, with a steeple rising from the centre. There is a chapel for the Wesleyans, and National schools, erected in 1851, which are supported by voluntary contributions."^[19]

Denton

Geographical Note and Social context: Denton is a small parish stretching in a long, narrow strip from west to east, and measures about a quarter of a mile across from north to south. These long, narrow parishes would seem to represent the division of the marsh (fen) by Turchil. ( He apparently added a narrow strip of marsh (fen) to Caldecote, Denton and Stilton and so brought them into contact with the mere. Ermine Street runs north and south near the centre of the parish. The village, about a mile west of the Ermine Street, is situated towards the western end of the parish. The church is in the middle of the village and near by are a few late 17th-century cottages. The soil and subsoil are Oxford Clay with some gravel, and the chief crops are wheat, barley and peas.
From https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hunts/vol3/pp151-154

Deptford

Geographic notes and Social context: In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Deptford like this:
Deptford.-- parl. bor., consisting of the par. of Deptford St Paul, Kent and Surrey, on Ravensbourne rivulet and river Thames, 1575 ac., pop. 76,752. Deptford has engineering works, some mfrs. of earthenware, soap, and chemicals, and, in the neighbourhood, excellent market gardens.
The old naval dockyard was discontinued in 1869, it was converted into a foreign cattle-market. The royal victualling-yard, the most important in the kingdom, is still maintained. The corporation of Trinity House have at D. an hospital for master mariners.^[20]
In 1730, Dept-ford was divided into two parishes, distinguished by the names of St. Nicholas, and St. Paul. The Parish of St. Nicholas, which includes the old town, lies mainly along the river Thames, and the combined parishes have now a population of about 60,000 souls.
According to the author of "Le Guide de Etranger à Londres," published in 1827, which draws attention to its Royal Marine Arsenal, where cables, masts, anchors, &c., are manufactured,. He mentions also the Red House to the north of Deptford, the "grand depôt of provisions for the fleet," burnt down in 1639, and again in 1761. The town at that time numbered 17,000 inhabitants. There were for many centuries, corn and other mills situated on the Ravensbourne in its picturesque windings through Deptford and Brockley,
The dockyard was closed in 1869. Shortly afterwards the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act, 1869, required a place for the sale and slaughter of foreign animals. The Corporation of the City of London purchased the greater part of the old dockyard for the site of the new market. In December, 1871, it was opened under the title of the Foreign Cattle Market. It survived until 1913 This enterprise provided employment for many in Deptford both men and women, mostly on a casual basis.^[21]
===Derby===  Geographical Notes and Social context: In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Derby like this:
Derby.-- cap. of co., parl. and mun. bor., and market town, Derbyshire, on river Derwent. 3450 ac., pop. 81,168 (the parl. bor. was extended in 1885); 5 Banks, 6 newspapers. Market-days, Tuesday and Friday. .
D. occupies a position nearly in the middle of England, and is the centre of the Midland Rly. system, containing its head offices and principal workshops. It has a grammar-school on an old foundation, schools of science and art, and a town and county infirmary; it also possesses a recreation ground, free public swimming baths, a free library, and museum buildings, all presented by Mr M. T. Bass. D. has silk-mills -- the first silk-mill in England was ejected at D. in 1717 -- elastic web-works, sparworks, and ironworks, and it has been long celebrated for its porcelain. ^[22]

Edenbridge

Geographical Note and Social context: Edenbridge sits on the main London to Lewes road, and hence to the port of Newhaven. Numerous coaching inns developed, and there were links to smuggling.^[23] The surrounding country was farmed the farmhouses are old-fashioned timber buildings, standing single and much dispersed. A fair is held annually in the village on St. Mark's day, April, 25, for cattle, toys, &c. Extract from [Hasted's History of Kent published in 1797 https://theweald.org/d10.asp?BookId=H03179]
Geographical Note and Social Context: The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868 "EGLOSHAYLE, a parish in the hundred of Trigg, is situated on the river Allen, or Camel, which is spanned by a bridge of sixteen arches, connecting the village with the town of Wadebridge. The parish is of large extent, and the land chiefly arable. In the neighbourhood are remains of fortifications, and of an ancient treble entrenched camp, called Castle Killibury. The Kelly rounds, or barrows, are also in this parish."
"WASHAWAY, a hamlet in the parish of Egloshayle, hundred of Trigg,." From https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/CON/Egloshayle

Evershot

Geographical Note and Social Context:In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Evershot like this:
EVERSHOT, a village, a parish, and a sub-district in Beaminster district, Dorset. The village stands near the head of the river Frome, 8 miles S by E of Yeovil; was once a market town; and has still a fair on 12 May he parish comprises 1, 409 acres. Pop., 595. Houses, 118. The property is divided among a few. Melbury Hall here, the seat of the Earl of Ilchester, is a very ancient building, partly Gothic, partly Grecian, and stands in a fine park. The living is a p. curacy, annexed to the rectory of Frome-St. Quintin, in the diocese of Salisbury. The church is very good. A grammar school has £70 from endowment; and other charities have £23.^[24]

Eynsford

Geographical Note and Social Context: The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 2. Originally published by W Bristow, Canterbury, 1797.
SOUTHWARD from Farningham lies Eynsford, sometimes written Aynsford, so named from a noted ford here over the river Darent. THIS PARISH extends about four miles from east to west, and about three miles from north to south; on the north side it reaches almost up to the village of Farningham, near to which stood the antient mansion of Sibell's; and towards the west, over the hills, by Wested-farm and the obscure and little known hamlet of Crockenhill, both within its bounds, among a quantity of woodlands. The soil is in general chalky, except towards the west, where there is some strong heavy land. The village of Eynsford, through the eastern part of which the high road leads from Dartford through Farningham, and hence towards Sevenoke, is situated near the south-west bounds of the parish, in the valley on the banks of the Darent; over it there is a bridge here, repaired at the public charge of the county. At the north end of the village, near the river, are the remains of Eynsford castle and at the south end of it the church; beyond which this parish extends southward, on the chalk hills, a mile and an half.^[25]

Farnborough

Geographical Note and Social context: FARNBOROUGH, a parish in the hundred of Ruxley, lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, county Kent. It is situated on the Sevenoaks road, and includes the hamlets of Green-street Green and Lock's Bottom. The living is a curacy annexed to the rectory of Chelsfield, in the diocese of Canterbury. The church, dedicated to St. Giles, was rebuilt in 1639, the ancient structure having been destroyed by a tempest. [Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2010]^[26]
The parish comprises 1, 412 acres. This parish lies on high ground, the soil of it is but thin and poor. The north-west part of the parish is much covered with coppice wood, among which is a hamlet, called Brasted-green. The fair is held here on September 12, yearly. ^[27] Geographical Note and Social context: Compiled from The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 6. Originally published by W Bristow, Canterbury, 1798. and other sources.
Faversham at present (1798) consists of about four hundred and sixty houses, which contain about 2500 inhabitants.
The principal shipping trade is now carried on from this port by six hoys, which go alternately every week to London with corn, amounting in very plentiful years to 40,000 quarters of different sorts yearly. Colliers likewise, of one hundred tons burthen, which supply not only the town but the neighbouring country with coals, and larger vessels, which import sir timber and iron the principal proprietors and merchants concerned in them being inhabitants of this town. Besides which, there are several fishing vessels, and others, employed in carrying wool, fruits, and other traffic The shipping in 1774, being the annual average of the imports and exports for six years, coasting vessels, belonging to this port 29, from forty to one hundred and fifty tons.
The oyster fishery which employs upwards of one hundred families , and the whole town greatly benefitted, it continued until WWII, when the grounds were leased away from Faversham.
Faversham became the centre of England’s explosive industry in the 16th century, when it first produced gunpowder. Faversham found itself to be ideally placed, with a stream to power the watermills, low lying areas in which to culture alder and grow willow for the charcoal, and a creek for importing sulphur and exporting the gunpowder. The works survived until 1930
Shepherd Neame brewery dates from 1698. Hops were grown locally, and hop-pickers arrived every September from London to work on the ripened crop.

Folkestone

Geographical Notes and Social context: Compiled from: https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~folkestonefamilies/genealogy/history.htm
In 1674 Folkestone's first school was established. This was the Free School which catered for twenty boys.
Fishing continued to be the main industry of the town at this time but this was also the beginning of an era when smuggling became almost a way of life for many of the towns people. Smuggling initially involved the illicit export of wool, and grew to dominate local economy through the 1700's and well into the 1800's.
During the 1800's major changes occurred to Folkestone as the seafront underwent major developments to enable her to become a viable harbour. Over the previous centuries the accumulation of shingle made it difficult to beach fishing boats. In 1807 an Act of Parliament was passed to enable the construction of a pier and harbour at Folkestone. By 1820 a harbour area of 14 acres had been enclosed. At this time trade and consequently population of Folkestone grew slightly.
The Folkestone Harbour Company went bankrupt in 1842 and it was bought by the South Eastern Railway Company,. With the railway came the collier boats bringing coal from the north and the beginning of the cross channel steamship service. Folkestone entered a boom time of development and prosperity. As Folkestone grew so did her reputation as a seaside resort. Although it is recorded that sea bathing machines were present in Folkestone as early as 1788 it was not until the mid 1800's, that seabathing became a major part of the town's culture and economy.

Fulbeck

Geographical Notes and Social context: Fulbeck is a parish and village. Caythorpe parish lies to the south. The parish covers about 3,800 acres. The parish is long on its east-west axis and narrow on the north-south one, extending west to the River Brant and east almost to Ermine Street. The parish includes the hamlet of Sudthorpe near the south end of the village. In 1871, there was a year-round spring, called Holywell, just a mile east of the village, and, near the western edge of the parish was a chalybeate spring.
The village of Fulbeck lies on a slight rise and a creek, The Beck, flows westerly in to the River Brant from just outside the village.^[28]
At the enclosure of 1805 the land was farmed by two men, Thomas Capp with four fields, and William Capp with nineteen, eleven of his own and eight owned by the lord of the manor.^[29]
In 1885 Kelly's Directory recorded that the chief crops grown in the area were wheat, barley, seeds and turnips, and that the village had both a Wesleyan and a Primitive Methodist chapel. .
===Greenwich===  Geographical Note and Social context: The Environs of London: Volume 4, Counties of Herts, Essex and Kent. Originally published by T Cadell and W Davies, London, 1796. described Greenwhich thus:.
Greenwich, lies in the hundred of Blackheath, being situated on the banks of the Thames, and the extraparochial hamlet of Kidbrook. It contains about 1170 acres of cultivated land: of which about 140 are arable; about 160 occupied by market gardeners; about 550 marsh and lowland meadow; and about 320 upland meadow and pasture (including Greenwich-park). A small part of Blackheath, adjoining to Greenwich town and park, is in this parish. The soil, except in the marshes, is, for the most part, sand and gravel.
Greenwich has a market twice a-week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The profits of this market being vested in Henry Earl of Romney, were given by him, in 1700, to the Royal Hospital^[30]
Monarchs were regular visitors. A palace was created in 1447 by enclosing the park and erecting a tower on the hill now occupied by the Royal Observatory. It was renamed the Palace of Placentia or Pleasaunce . The palace was completed and further enlarged by Edward IV, and in 1466 it was granted to his queen, Elizabeth.
Subsequent monarchs visited the area regularly, and Greenwich was to come to be known as Royal Greenwich leading to the developement of the town and the Royal eststes.^[31]
Greenwich has long been home to a Royal Charter Market which was originally assigned to the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital on the 19th December 1700 for 1,000 years. It was opened on 3 September 1737 with about 60 stallholders.
As part of a drive to clean up the river frontage and to bring Greenwich's buildings up to standards more in keeping with the Royal Hospital (now the Old Royal Naval College), the market was moved to its current position and the first cobble stones laid. Three roofs were built to protect the market from the elements. In 1831 the market contained traders selling meat, fish, eggs, butter, poultry, fruit and vegetables. On its periphery lay peddlers selling goods such as china, glass and earthenware. There wereslaughterhouses for cattle and stables for horses.^[32]
Greenwich marsh, on the penninsula in a bend of the Thames to the east and north of the Royal Borough long remained rural. At the end of the seventeenth century a large building, by any definition ‘industrial’, was established on the west bank of the marsh. This was a Crown establishment and it marks a change in the way the Marsh was exploited. In 1694 the Principal Officers of the Ordnance Office told the Treasury that they needed money for new ‘Powderhouse’ where gunpowder could be delivered by the manufacturers, then tested and distributed as required.l. The site chosen for the gunpowder depot was on the West Bank of the Marsh Latterly, fthe Government inspectors decided that the Greenwich Depot should be moved to Purfleet. The last powder was delivered in 1768 and the depot closed soon after. As the eighteenth century progressed there were signs of the arrival of new industries. There may have been a bleachinghouse and tenter field before 1770 ^[33]
As a flood prone peninsula, the North Greenwichmarshesarea remained undeveloped until the 19th century, when industrial development swept the area. With good access to the river for importing and exporting goods, it became a thriving home to rope making, cable making, and the manufacture of soap, linoleum, gas and other industries. The first cable to span the Atlantic was manufactured in North Greenwich, and Alcatel still manufactures international cable at Enderby's Wharf.

Halsted

Geographical Note and Social context: The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 3. Originally published by W Bristow, Canterbury, 1797.:
HALSTED lies on high ground among the hills. It contains about nine hundred acres of land, of which about eighty are wood. The soil is either chalk or a stiff clay, much covered with flints. The church is situated about half a mile westward from the high London road, leading through Farnborough towards Sevenoke, at the distance of about eighteen miles from London, on which is a hamlet called Lock's Bottom. The village of Halsted stands about a mile south-eastward from the church; southward of which the parish is bounded by a large coppice wood, reaching almost as far as Madamscott-hill, the whole of it is rather a lonely unfrequented place, having nothing further worth mentioning in it.^[34]

Hinton St George

Geographical Note and Social context: A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 4. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1978. .
The hill-top (hēa-tun) village of Hinton St. George occupies a prominent position on a north facing scarp at the north-western corner of Crewkerne hundred. It lies in the centre of its roughly rectangular parish, which is nearly 2 miles long and just over a mile wide. Most of the parish lies on Yeovil Sands, providing arable, meadow, and pasture in the northern valley below the 250 ft. scarp and forming an undulating terrain to the south. Clay and limestone are revealed by a fault bisecting the southern half of the parish. Bricks were made in the parish in the 17th century, and Brick Kiln Close survived as a fieldname near the southern boundary in the late 18th century, There seem to have been at least three stone quarries in the 14th century, Park quarry and Keeper's quarry were still being used in the early 19th century, together with others at Crimbleford Knap and Stockbridge. Marl was dug in the parish in the 17th century. Water rising in Hinton park drove Hinton mill on the Lopen border. .
Before the end of the 18th century the village consisted of regular tenements lying either side of a single street. Its eastern end, where several roads converged, was known as Townsend by 1716. North of Townsend, but perhaps once including it, was a green. At the western end of the village stood the church and the manor house. There were at least three inns in Hinton in the late 17th century. During the 17th century there were flax, flax yarn, hemp, and looms, to a flax dresser in 1682, and to a worsted comber in the 1690s, and 'linmen' occur c. 1760 and just after the turn of the century. There is otherwise the usual collection of plumber, maltster, blacksmith, tailor, and carpenter, with such additions as cooks, gardeners, and a barber who owed much of their livelihood to employment in the Poulett household and estate. There was also at least one shop.
A carrier living in the village in 1635 (fn. 169) travelled to London each week until the 1650s, (fn. 170) and a Hounslow waggoner was buried there in 1636. The south-west of the parish has probably always been wooded, and Fursyempnet implies other previous vegetation. Moorland attached to the Forde abbey holding in Craft perhaps refers to the higher land on the southern boundary. ^[35],.
Hinton St George used to hold cattle fairs and many cattle were brought in along the droves of South Somerset. A fair was held annually on St George’s Day until the late 1940’s. The wide village main street is a legacy of those former days when drovers herded their cattle into the village.
The Almshouses were situated near the church and dated from 1648. The present Almshouses in Gas Lane date from 1872 and were provided by the 6th Earl Poulett and his aunt, Lady Augusta.
The school was built in 1850 but there is evidence that the Poulett family provided education for the village children from 1776.
Written by Bill Newey on behalf of Hinton St George Parish Council^[36]
 

Horsham

Geographical Note and Social context: Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex. Various on line sources describe the towns importance in the start of the 17th C, housing the south Sussex Gaol, and regular Assizes.
The local iron industry was running down by the start of the 17th C , but charcoal burning, to fuel a glass making industry was causing concern, so that it was raised in Parliament in 1615 and consideration was even given to banning the use of wood in glass furnaces.

Hundleby

Geographical Notes and Social context: In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Hundleby like this:
HUNDLEBY, a village and a parish in Spilsby district, Lincoln. is a pleasant place.—The parish includes Twentylands, 1 mile S of the village; and has 243 acres of allotment in the West Fen. Total acres, 1, 228. Pop., 704. Houses, 126. ^[37]
Although Hundleby is only a mile from the small town of Spilsby, there was a time when Hundleby was the town and Spilsby its adjoining hamlet. . Like so many places in Lincolnshire, Hundleby is predominantly an agricultural community but it has boasted its own industries, notably a flourishing brickworks and brewery. Hundleby had five shops of its own in 1856, including a shoemaker, a tailor and a baker, and two inns. There were also three joiners, a builder, a wheelwright and a nurseryman working in the village, along with a surgeon and a law clerk. No less than eight farmers lived within the parish. ^[38]

Knockholt

‘Geographical Note and Social context:' In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Knockholt like this:
KNOCKHOLT, or NOCKHOLT, a village and a parish in Bromley district, Kent. The village stands on high ground, is a straggling but pleasant place; and. has a post office under Sevenoaks. The parish comprises 1, 683 acres.
Pop., 617. Houses, 133. A clump of very old trees, called the Knockholt beeches, is on a lofty hill, and is visible at long distances around. There are a Wesleyan chapel, an endowed school, with £50 a year.^[39]
Until relatively recently, they depended largely on agriculture and of the 290 males in the village at the 1851 census, 77 were agricultural workers. There were 11 farmers, supported by ancillary trades such as blacksmiths and saddlers, and of the 1,701 acres in the parish, 1,668 comprised woodlands, pasture and arable land.
In 1820 there were 83 dwellings in Knockholt, though there was a steady rise to about 240 over the next 90 years, a nearly threefold increase. ^[40]
===Kensington===  Geographical Notes and Social context: Queen Victoria was born at Kensington Palace in 1819. At that time the population of Kensington amounted to some 12,000 souls, and was already growing fast. By 1901 it exceeded 176,000, having multiplied itself over twenty times during the preceding century..
The ancient parish to the north of Kensington High Street, together with those parts of Kensal New Town and Kensington Palace Gardens were incorporated into the Royal Borough of Kensington on its formation in 1900. This area measures a mile or less in breadth and two and a half miles north-westward to Kensal Green.
The inhabitants of Victorian northern Kensington included all ranks of society, from the dukes on Campden Hill and the great men of commerce in Kensington Palace Gardens down to the pig-keepers of the Potteries and the laundresses of Kensal Green. The great majority of them belonged to the middle classes. The existence of a middle-class required many local services for its maintenance: a substantial amount of unskilled or semi-skilled employment. In Kensington Registration District more than one in every six of all women aged over twenty years were servants, the vast majority of whom 'lived in'. By 1876 the commercial section of the local directory contained over 2,500 entries for northern Kensington, made up of no less than 220 different trades. The public houses and the shops for the sale of food, clothing and household goods, were distributed throughout the whole area, but there were also a number of other trades, such as those of launderer, cow keeper, cab proprietor and job master, which were heavily concentrated in the poorer areas, chiefly around Golborne Road and (particularly in the case of the launderers) Bramley Road and Kensal Green. There was manufacturing industries, the makers of pianos, umbrellas, hair, plumes, bird-cages and sound-boards for harmoniums, etc. A substantial amount of local labour was engaged in providing the day-to-day services (chiefly in the fields of food, drink, clothing, household equipment, laundering, domestic service, jobbing building and transport) required for the maintenance of the middle-class residents. Pockets of cheap labour, such as those to be found in Kensal Green, Notting Hill Gate or the vicinity of the Potteries, were in fact a necessary adjunct of a predominantly middle-class Victorian suburb, and had a vital function to perform within it.^[41]

Landreath

Geographical Note and Social context: The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868 "LANREATH, a parish in the hundred of West, county Cornwall. It is situated on a branch of the river Fowey called Herod's Foot, and contains the lakes of Ball and Trebant. The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in agriculture. Lime is burnt. The soil is clay upon a subsoil of killas. Some of the land is fertile, but the greater portion of inferior quality. The church, dedicated to St. Marnarch, It contains a curious Norman font,. The register dates from 1555. Cattle fairs are held in the third week after Shrove Tuesday, 2nd May, and 18th November."^[42]
===Lewisham===  Geographical Note and Social Context: The village of Lewisham is situated on the road to Bromley, and extends nearly a mile in length. The church, which stands about the centre of the village, is not far from the six-mile stone. About two thirds of the cultivated land are arable. The woodlands are about 200 acres, the waste on Sydenham-common, Blackheath, &c. nearly 1000. There are about fifty acres of nursery ground, and there are about forty cultivated by market gardeners. The soil is various, principally loam, clay, and gravel.
The village developed northward with the coming of the railway in 1849. At South-end is a mill, formerly knife-blades, it is now a mustard-mill. At Lewisham is a mill for making cloth without weaving,. These mills are upon the Ravensborne, which runs through the parish, and the village, from south to north. At the five-mile-stone from London, there is a bridge over it.
A considerable portion of Blackheath is in this parish. In the year 1682, Lord Dartmouth obtained a grant of a market, to be held twice a-week upon Blackheath and two annual fairs, now held only on the 12th of May, and the 11th of October. The market has been for several years discontinued; the fair is held for cattle . From The Environs of London: Volume 4, Counties of Herts, Essex and Kent. Originally published by T Cadell and W Davies, London, 1796. ^[43]

Lingfield

Geographical Notes and Social context: A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1912. >
Lingfield is a village and a parish which occupies the south-eastern corner of Surrey, adjoining the county of Kent on the east. It measures nearly 3½ miles both ways, being roughly square, and contains 9,191 acres. The northern part of the parish is on the Wealden Clay; the southern half, which includes Dormansland, Chartham Park and Felbridge Park, is on the Hastings Sand. Several streams run through it, converging to form the Eden River, which flows by Edenbridge in Kent into the Medway. The water-meadows by the river are noted for their hay. When Manning and Bray wrote, the hay and the aftermath were the property of various farms in the parish, the produce of small strips being apportioned to each. (fn. 1) These authors speak also of the extensive commons, but are said to have overestimated their acreage, as they certainly do that of the parish, which they call 10,000 acres. The southern part of the parish is in the old iron district. A forge and a furnace 'about Copthorne and Lingfield' were owned by Lady Gage in 1574, (fn. 11) and Clarke's pond and Cook's pond may have been heads for water power to work hammers. Iron ore is still very abundant in the Hastings Sand. The parish was and still is for the most part agricultural.^[44]>

Lyndhurst

Geographical Notes and Social context: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
LYNDHURST, a village, a parish, and a sub-district, in New Forest district, Hants. The village stands near the centre of the New Forest, 1½ mile SW by W of Lyndhurst-Road r. station, is the capital of the New Forest, and a seat of petty sessions; contains the Queen’s House, in which the Forest courts are held; has a post office under Lymington, and a good inn.
The parish contains also the hamlets of Pike Hill, Botton-Bench, and part of Emery-Down. Acres, 3,618. Real property, £5,942. Pop., 1,522. Houses, 311. The property is much subdivided.
All the area, except 3 acres, is in the New Forest; 3,265 acres being in Irons-Hill-Walk, and 350 in Rhinefield-Walk.
There are a Baptist chapel, a national school, a school endowment of £26 a year, and charities £53.
The sub-district contains also another parish, an extra-parochial tract, and large portions of New Forest in Hants, a parish in Wilts, and a parish partly in Hants and partly in Wilts. Acres, 25,723. Pop., 3,355. Houses, 708.^[45]

Luxulyan

Geographical Note and Social context: Luxulyan Parish comprises 5,354 acres. The main natural features are the Luxulyan valley with its large expanses of moorland, such as Conce, Menedew and Treskilling. The moors provided a minimal income for local people who spent time streaming tin, often during the winter when farming was at its quietest; this can be seen from the occupations given in the parish registers at the various seasons. The surface granite was used for many years, building homes, cattle sheds & barns Old corn or grist mills start with a document of 1424 for Relythian or Relidden Mill, later Bridges Mill, possibly also known as Doga (pronounced Dugga) Mill. For Luxulyan Corn Mill, later Gattys Mill, documentation starts in 1558; t Much later came Rock Mill, Wood Mill, Lestoon Mill and Ponts Mill. Although some houses and fields of that hamlet were in Luxulyan parish, Ponts Mill itself was in Lanlivery. There was also a bone mill at Lower Menedew. We have 17th century buildings at Trevillyn, Trenince, Conce, Bodwen, Medros, Methrose, Prideaux and Bodiggo; these are all listed, but there are several others of a similar age. ^[46]

Malvern

Geographical Notes and Social context: A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
Malvern, or Great Malvern (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Upton-upon-Severn, Lower division of the hundred of Pershore, Upton and W. divisions of the county of Worcester containing 2768 inhabitants.
The parish comprises 4297a. 1r. 11p. of land, exclusive of common and waste. The town is situated in an elevated, dry, and sheltered situation fronting the vale of the Severn, and is one of the most ancient and celebrated inland watering-places in Great Britain, having frequently been honoured by royal visits, The society is of the first order; during the summer months the place is very full, and often crowded. There are several excellent hotels, the principal of which are the Foley Arms and the Belle Vue, with various boarding and lodging houses. The library is a handsome building in the Italian style, a part is appropriated to a bazaar, and adjoining are baths and billiard-rooms. The purity and invigorating quality of the waters here, for the use of which the most elegant accommodation is provided, and the salubrity of the air, have long given celebrity to Malvern, as a retreat for invalids. ^[47]

Margate

Geographical Note and Social context. In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Margate like this:
Margate, mun. bor., par., and seaside resort, Kent, in Isle of Thanet, 74 miles E. of London by rail - par., 3919 ac. and 618 foreshore, pop. 18,226; mun. bor., 995 ac., pop. 16,030; 2 Banks, 3 newspapers. The place was formerly known as Mergate, meaning a passage to the sea.
The mun. bor., which received its charter of incorporation in 1857, is a corporate member of the Cinque Port of Dover. Margate is undoubtedly the most familiar seaside resort of Londoners, of whom many thousands visit the place every year. Much has been done in the town for the convenience and comfort of visitors; piers and esplanades especially have been constructed at great expense. The town is well known for its fine hotels and its hospitals for the reception of invalids. Sea fishing is the chief industry, considerable numbers of flat fish being brought to the shore. At W. end of pier is a lighthouse 70 ft. high, with fixed light 85 ft. above high water and seen 10 miles.^[48]
In addition to flatfish there was an annual fishery for prime herring, known as Margate herring, and a fishery for crab and lobster.

St Marylebone

Geographical Note and Social context: By the mid-18th century, St Marylebone had developed into a small village surrounded by pastoral fields with the adjacent pleasure-ground of Marylebone Gardens laid to the southeast. The third church building was built directly on the ground of its predecessor and opened in April 1742.
However, these modest premises soon proved too small to adequately support and serve its rapidly developing parish, which had grown from 577 houses in 1739 to 6200 houses by 1795. Thus, a fourth parish church was planned and executed in the 19th century.
After the building and consecration of the fourth parish church, the third church continued to serve its parish as a small chapel-of-ease . ^[49]
Marylebone became a fashionable place to live but also to visit. Before the redevelopment began, the bowling greens had been turned into pleasure gardens. They closed in the 1770s, by which time the gardens were hemmed in by other buildings.
During the late-18th century, the main street became the Marylebone High Street . Tradesmen included an apothecary, baker, goldbeater, hairdresser, shoemaker and watchmaker.
The Portland Estate leased pieces of land out on 99-year leases, on which builders of all types built according to plans approved by the Estate. Alongside buildings developed by private speculators were others built for the public good, like the workhouse and schools and a police station that was opened in 1821.
As well as the rich and fashionable, the Marylebone parish had its share of poverty, homelessness and associated problems. Following its demise, the Marylebone Gardens area degenerated into slums, home to the poorest and most helpless, attracting beggars and criminals. Victorian reformers such as Octavia Hill and Lady Howard de Walden began to redevelop the houses around Grotto Passage and Paradise Street from the 1860s onwards with what was effectively social housing. A ragged school for poor children was built in 1846 and clubs for poor and homeless opened.^[50]

Mereworth

Geographical Note and Social context: The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 5. Originally published by W Bristow, Canterbury, 1798. THE PARISH of Mereworth is within the district of the Weald, being situated southward of the quarry hills. The turnpike road crosses this parish through the vale from Maidstone, towards Hadlow and Tunbridge In the western part of this parish, on the high road is the village, where at Mereworth cross it turns short off to the southward towards Hadlow and Tunbridge, at a small distance further westward is the church and parsonage, the former is a conspicuous ornament to all the neighbouring country throughout the valley; hence the ground rises to Yokes, which is most pleasantly situated on the side of a hill, commanding a most delightful and extensive prospect over the Weald, and into Surry and Sussex. Towards the north this parish rises up to the ridge of hills, called the Quarry-hills, over which is the extensive tract of wood-land, called the Herst woods. The soil of this parish is very fertile, being the quarry stone thinly covered with a loam, throughout the northern part of it; but in the southern or lower parts it is a fertile clay, being mostly pasture and exceeding rich grazing land, ^[51]

Muggington

Geographical Notes and Social context: In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Mugginton like this:
MUGGINTON, a township in Belper district, and a parish partly also in Ashborne district, Derby. The township lies on an affluent of the river Derwent, 4 miles W by N of Duffield r. station, and contains a pleasant village of its own name, situated on an acclivity.
Pop., 261. Houses, 52. The parish contains also the townships of Weston-Underwood and Mercaston, and the hamlet of Ravensdale Park. Post-town, Brailsford, under Derby. Acres, 5, 324. Pop., 689. Houses, 133. There are a national school, a girls'school, and charities £65, a portion of which goes to thenational school.^[52]
From: Kelly's Directory of the Counties of Derby, Notts, Leicester and Rutland pub. London (May, 1891) - pp.268-269
The soil is gravel; subsoil, lime and sandstone. The chief crops are wheat, oats and barley, and about three parts pasture. The area of the parish is 5,324 acres ; area of Mugginton only, 2,203 acres ; rateable value, included with that of Weston Underwood, £4,542 ; the population of Mugginton township in 1881 was 194, and of the parish 501.^[53]

Mutrix

Geographical Note and Social context: Mutrix Garlinge was a small hamlet attached to a farm to the north of the railway line north of the village of Garlinge. Both are about midway between Westgate and Margate, Thanet, Kent.
Previously known as Mutterer, it had about three cottages.
From: The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 10. Originally published by W Bristow, Canterbury, 1800.^[54]
The Farm is listed in Post Office Directory of Kent (1867) and Kelly’s Directory of Kent (1890) occupied by John HARLOW, market gardener ~ Mutrix {1867} • James HARLOW, market gardener ~ Mutrix, Garlinge {1890} → Mutrix Farm Ho, Garlinge^[55]
They appear on the OS 6inch survey of 1896 – 1899. https://maps.nls.uk/view/101428782 The hamlet is so small that there are only two groups of buildings, the farm complex, and one other warren of eight buildings, of which the 1934 survey suggests three are dwellings and the rest are glasshouses around a yard, off Westbrook Road at about current houses 137 to 139. Mutrix farm was on the corner of Mutrix Gardens and Westbrook Avenue, the hamlet was midway between Mutrix Gardens and Audley Avenue.

Naughton

Geographical Note and Social context: In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Naughton like this:br/> NAUGHTON, a parish in Cosford district, Suffolk. Acres, 854. Pop., 155. Houses, 31. . ^[56]
The parish, is wholly agricultural. The land is chiefly arable.

Norton Canes

Geographical Note and Social context: "Norton under Cannock, or Norton Canes, is a small village, seated on a gentle eminence, comprising within its parish are 755 inhabitants, and 2613 acres of enclosed land, 120 acres of wood, and upwards of 1600 acres of the extensive heath called Cannock Chase. By 1666 when the Hearth Tax was assessed, 27 households were recorded in Norton and 23 in Wyrley. A further 11 households were not assessed for the tax.
Little Wyrley is a manor and hamlet, of scattered farms and a few cottages, on the Pelsall road, of Norton Canes, and near Wyrley Bank. Brownhills, a scattered village and district in this parish, near the Wyrley and Essington Canal, and the Roman Watling Street, has a station on the South Staffordshire Railway, near the south end of Cannock Chase, where there are extensive collieries.
In 1840 the Anglesey Branch of the Wyrley and Essington Canal was built while in 1858 the Norton branch of the South Staffordshire Railway was constructed to carry ‘mineral products’ from the coalfield to the South Staffordshire towns and to Birmingham. The Cannock Extension Canal was also built in the late 1850s. Further railway development saw the building of the Norton branch of the LNWR in 1879 and increased production at Conduit No 3 Colliery after 1894 was to lead to the construction of a loop to Norton Canes in 1895. [From History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, William White, Sheffield, 1851] and ^[57]

Penshurst

Geographical Note and Social context: PENSHURST lies in the Weald, about four miles Southward from the foot of the sand hills, and the same distance from Tunbridge town, and the high London road from Sevenoke. The soil, for the most part a stiff clay, being well adapted to the large growth of timber for which this parish is remarkable. The parish is watered by the river Eden, which runs through the centre of it, and here taking a circular course, and having separated into two smaller streams, joins the river Medway, which flows by the southern part of the park towards Tunbridge. Close to the south west corner of the park and very near to the Place, is the village of Penshurst, with the church and parsonage. At a small distance, on the other side the river, southward, is Ford-place, and here the country becomes more low, and being watered by the several streams, becomes wet, the roads miry and bad, and the grounds much covered with coppice wood, at Stone cross. In a deep hole, in the Medway, near the lower end of Penshurst-park, called Tapner's-hole, there arises a spring, which produces a visible and strong ebullition on the surface of the river; and above Well-place, which is a farm house, near the south-east corner of the park, there is a fine spring, called Kidder's-well, which, having been chemically analysed, is found to be a stronger chalybeate than those called Tunbridge-wells; there is a stone bason for the spring to rise in, and run to waste. This parish, as well as the neighbouring ones, abounds with iron ore, and most of the springs in them are more or less chalybeate. In the losty beeches, near the keeper's lodge, in Penshurst-park, is a noted beronry; (an old spelling of heronry) which, since the destruction of that in lord Dacre's park, at Aveley, in Essex, is, I believe, the only one in this part of England. A fair is held here on July I, for pedlary, &c. ^[58]

Pitney

Geographical Note and Social context: A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 3. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1974.
The ancient parish of Pitney in 1876 was said to be just over 1,303 a. in extent, (fn. 1) which included 262 a. of Pitney moor, part of King's Sedgemoor, awarded to the parish in return for its proportion of common rights in the whole 'moor' in 1795. Pitney village lies in a valley on each side of a stream flowing westwards into the Low Ham rhine. From this valley the ground rises eastwards and southwards, reaching 150 ft. along the LangportSomerton road. To the north, near Pitney wood, it reaches 225 ft., forming a spur at the end of the scarp running westwards from Somerton, overlooking King's Sedgemoor. The arable land of the parish lay on this clayey ground rising from the village. Meadow lay largely along the western boundary, on the narrow ledge between the foot of the scarp and the Low Ham Rhine (now Leazemoor Rhyne).
Until the parish was inclosed in 1807 there were three substantial open arable fields in Pitney. There is some evidence to suggest an earlier and different arrangement, implying the existence of only one field, known as Pitney field, in the 15th and 16th centuries. Commonable pasture was largely on King's Sedgemoor, but also on Leazemoor and Pitney Steart moor, in the north of the parish, and on Gore common, north of Gore Road. Parts of Leazemoor were apparently inclosed c. 1583, when the 'moor' was claimed as waste.
Pitney was an exclusively agricultural community, 66 of its 70 families in 1821 being engaged in agriculture. Trades were largely confined to those ancillary to farming, though some gloving was carried on. There were two mills, two millers regularly appeared at the manor court between 1596 and 1604. In 1605 a third miller was said to have recently erected a windmill. In 1691 Pitney Lorty manor included a water-mill and a windmill. ^[59]

Portsmouth

Geographical Note and Social context: Portsmouth, The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72]
Portsmouth town, or P. proper, comprises less than 110 acres of land and 62 of foreshore. Pop. in 1851, 9,897; in 1861, 10,346 Houses, 1,028 The sub-district is conterminate with the town. The parish includes also small portions of Kingston and Portsea sub-districts, and comprises entirely 110 acres of land and 62 of foreshore. Pop. in 1851, 10, 329; in 1861, 10, 833. Houses, 1, 119. The living of St. Thomas is a vicarage, and that of St. Mary is a p. curacy. The borough, both municipally and parliamentarily, comprises the parishes of Portsmonth and Portsea. Acres, 7,063; of which 2,030 are foreshore. The old borough was less than half the extent of the present borough; yet included Portsmouth and Portsea towns,^[60]
The first houses in Portsea were built around St Georges Square at the end of the 17th century. One of these still stands. Number 90 was built around 1690 for a wealthy merchant. By the start of the 18th-century workmen in the dockyard started to build houses on the farmland outside the dockyard. However, the governor of the dockyard was afraid the houses would provide cover for enemy soldiers if they attacked. He threatened to turn his guns on any new houses. Prince George, the husband of Queen Anne, was visiting Portsmouth. The dockyard workers appealed to him. He spoke to his wife and she gave the workmen permission to build houses near their place of work.
Bonfire Corner probably got its name because dockyard workers burned rubbish there.
In 1764 a body of men called Improvement Commissioners were formed with powers to pave and clean the streets of Portsea. a scavenger who came with a cart and rang a bell. He collected rubbish and was allowed to sell it as fertilizer.
People who lived in Portsea were part of the parish of St Marys in Fratton. . St Georges Church was built in 1754. In 1755 The Beneficial Society was formed. It was a friendly society (it provided help in times of sickness and with funerals). The Beneficial Society also ran a school for poor children.
The ‘suburb’ soon outgrew Old Portsmouth. In 1792 its name was changed from Portsmouth Common to Portsea. By 1801 Portsea had a population of about 25,000 while Old Portsmouth had only about 7,000. ^[61]

Ringwood

Geographical Note and Social context: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
RINGWOOD, a small town, a parish, a district, a hundred, and a division, in Hants. The town stands on the river Avon, It was long famous, in modern times, for good ale and for a particular sort of woollen gloves; has still two breweries, some hosiery manufacture, and steam and water biscuit manufactories; it consists chiefly of four streets, diverging from a market-place; three bridges over three branches of the Avon,
A weekly general market is held on Wednesday; a cattle market, on every alternate Wednesday; and fairs, on 10, July and 11 Dec.
The parish comprises the tythings of Ringwood-Town, Ashley, Bistern and Crow Burley, Kingston, Avon, Wattenford, Moortown, Poulner, Hop-Garden, and part of Blashford; and includes 570 acres in the Burley-walk, and 25 in the Holmesley-walk, of the New Forest. Total acres, 8,050 of which 2,809 acres are arable land, 2,321 acres permanent grass and 2,385 acres woods and plantations. Real property of fisheries, and in gas-works. Pop. in 1851, 3, 928; in 1861, 3, 751. Houses, 784.^[62]

Saxlby

Geographical Note and Social context: In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Saxilby like this:
SAXELBY, a village and a parish in the district and county of Lincoln. The village stands near the rivulet Till, and the Foss dyke navigation, The parish contains also the hamlets of North Ingleby and South Ingleby, and comprises 4, 270 acres. Pop., 1, 174. Houses, 260. The property is subdivided. Wharves for coal and corn are on the Foss dyke; and there are brickfields and a barrow. ^[63]
A family lived in a single roomed building, constructed in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire of wooden battened walls coated in mud (mud and stud), with a thatched roof made usually from reeds where available. The only stone built buildings in the village were the church, which was used additionally as the meeting house, and the residence of the Lord of the Manor; brick built workers cottages did not appear until the late 17th century. Agriculture was still based on the open field system, untill enclosure in 1804
On the edge of Saxilby is the hamlet of Broadholme. Manor Farm in Broadholme stands on the site of a medieval nunnery. The surviving estate map of 1648 was drawn up during the Civil War for the Worshipful John Buxton, the Lord of the Manor at Broadholme. He was living in the former nunnery renamed Broadholme Hall. There were seven other landlords named on the map.
Considerable improvements were made to the Fossdyke in 1672, and the Brayford in Lincoln developed into a busy port. By the mid 18th century, the expansion in both road and waterway traffic brought increasing prosperity to the village. The City of Lincoln leased the Fossdyke to Richard Ellison in 1741; the channel was restored, and re-opened in 1744. At the same time, turnpike roads were being established. A road ‘leading from Carholm Gate to Drinsey Nook, Dunham and Littleborough (Marton) Ferries’ opened in 1756, and a new drawbridge was built over the canal on Fosse (Bridge) Street.^[64]

Skellingthorpe

Geographical Note and Social Context: In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Skellingthorpe like this: SKELLINGTHORPE, a village and a parish in the district and county of Lincoln. . The parish contains also the hamlet of Swallowbeck, and comprises 6,220 acres. The manor was bequeathed, in 1693, by H. Stone, Esq., to Christ's hospital, London. Much of the land was reclaimed from a marshy state subsequent to 1835. Before the marsh was drained three were several duck decoys providing the market with wild duck. The single survival is thought to be one of the oldest decoys in Lincolnshire, and was in existence by 1693 when it was leased for a yearly rent of 16 pounds, 10 shillings, demonstrating the high income potential of the decoy. It is a significant landscape feature in a 1743 engraving of the south-west prospect of Lincoln, where it is shown to be well wooded in comparison with the surrounding treeless fen. The land around the decoy was enclosed for farmland following an Act of Parliament, and it had been the last Lincolnshire decoy in active use when it ceased being worked in 1840. ^[65][66]

Sleaford

Geographical Notes and Social Context: Sleaford is a market town and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England. It is on the edge of the fertile Fenlands. In the medieval period, records differentiate between Old and New Sleaford, the latter emerging in the areas around the present day market place and St Denys\’ Church. Granted the right to hold a market in the mid-12th century, New Sleaford developed into a market town and became locally important in the wool trade, while Old Sleaford declined.
From the 16th century, the landowners were the Carre family, who operated tight control over the town, and it grew little in the early modern period. The manor passed from the Carre family in 1688. The town\’s common land and fields were legally enclosed by 1794, giving ownership mostly to the Hervey family; this coincided with making the Slea into a canal, which connected the town with Boston, Lincoln, and the Trent navigation, and greatly promotes the trade. and heralded the first steps towards modern industry. The Sleaford Navigation brought economic growth until it was superseded by the railways in the mid-1850s
The parish has a quarry from which durable white freestone, called Ancaster Stone, from which large quantities of stone were extracted. Market Day was held on Mondays. There were 5 annual cattle fairs, held on Plough Monday, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, August 12th and October 20th. for horses, cattle, sheep, and provisions. There was also a cheese mart on October 1st. br/> From the Middle Ages, Sleaford was surrounded by three open fields known as North, West and Sleaford Fields. When these were enclosed in 1794, over 90 per cent of the 1,096 acres (444 hectares) of the open land was owned by Lord Bristol. Despite the costs of fencing and re-organisation, the system was easier to farm and cottages were built closer to fields, while the landowner could charge more rent owing to the increased profitability of the land.

Shepton Mallet

Geographical Notes and Social context: The town of Shepton Mallet is situated on the upper reaches of the River Sheppey, and just off the fertile shelf at the foot of the Mendips. The site gives access to the resources of both the Levels and the Mendips, including good agricultural land and sheep pastures, building stone and water power. Market and fair grants were made in 1260 and 1318. A planned urban core may have been laid out, and though no borough was ever established, the amounts of tax which were raised Shepton in the medieval period testify to its prosperity, which was firmly based on the woollen industry.
Shepton continued to thrive in the Post-medieval period, and its continued significance was underlined by the placing of the county prison there in the early 17th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries the town expanded eastward along the river, where were built the mills on which its prosperity rested. Shepton itself, and the outlying settlements, became populous, industrialised settlements. Collinson in 1791 describes an industry employing about four and a half thousand people in the valley (when the silk and crepe mills as well as the woollen mills are included). But the streets of Shepton, according to his account, were narrow and dirty.
The woollen industry was already declining by the late 18th century and this trend continued in the early 19th century. However, other industries, such as silk manufacture, brewing and cheese making, were growing to take its place. Braggs' 1840 Directory was able to describe Shepton as a neat and clean market town, and the other 19th century directories also give a picture of a town in recovery from the failure of the cloth industry. The arrival of the railways from the 1850s onwards was a boost to the town. In fact, population has remained fairly steady since 1801 (around five to six thousand), though it has expanded physically, absorbing the surrounding settlements.^[67]

Snodland

Geographical Note and Social context: The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 4. Originally published by W Bristow, Canterbury, 1798. .
SNODLAND lies on the western bank of the Medway, which is its eastern boundary opposite to Burham. The high road from Stroud to Larkfield goes through the village, which is situated about half a mile, and the church about midway from the river. It lies low, and being near the salt marshes, is not either very pleasant or very wholesome. In the southern part of the parish the stream which flows from Birling turns a paper mill here, and thence flows into the Medway, not far from which is Snodland and New-Hyth common. In the northern part of the parish next to Lower Halling, is the hamlet of Holborough, usually called Hoborow, no doubt for Old Borough, a name implying the antiquity of this place. From this low and flat country, on the bank of the river, the ground rises westward up to the range of high chalk hills, where the land becomes poor and much covered with flints.^[68]
Geographical Note and Social context: As the population of Soho started to grow in the 1670s Henry Compton, Bishop of London began fundraising in order to build a parish church , it was a further 10 years before St. Anne’s was consecrated.
In the first 50 years of its existence Soho was largely populated by aristocrats and other members of the upper and middle classes. However almost from the beginning artisans, traders and immigrants moved into the many streets of Soho, creating workshops, and it became a mixed residential and commercial district. From the mid-18th century the area went into decline and the wealthier types of people moved on. The buildings erected in Soho were built by a large number of different property speculators and builders, often of sub-standard workmanship and materials, and within a few decades were in poor condition.
Refugees began arriving in Soho almost from the beginning. The first were Greeks in the 1670s. The next group of refugees were Huguenots who arrived in the district from 1681, most of whom were craftsmen. By 1692 they had taken over the former Greek chapel in Hog Lane as well as founding five others. By 1711 the population of the parish of St. Anne’s, covering the Soho area, was slightly over 8,000, of which between a quarter and a half were French. The strong cosmopolitan nature of the area continued well into the 19th century.^[69]

Spondon

Geographical Notes and Social context: “SPONDON, a parish in the hundred of Appletree, county Derby, The village is situated near the Derby canal and the river Derwent. The parish formerly included the chapelries of Stanley, Chaddesden, and Lockhay, but these have recently been erected into separate parishes. A large portion of the inhabitants are employed in the cotton mills, and in framework knitting.
The village, situated on an eminence overlooking the Vale of Derwent, is of considerable extent, and contains many good houses. The chief produce is cheese. "
from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868 ^[70]
In 1340, a huge fire began in a malt house on the site of the Malt Shovel Inn. The fire destroyed all but a small part of the settlement. Such was the devastation the villagers appealed to the King for help, who granted the villagers exemption from parish taxes for nine months. This funded the start of the rebuilding of the village over the following 50 years.
Following the rebuilding, the village grew once more and became a predominantly farming community. Other industries also sprung up in the village, including silk glove making, basket weaving, a brick yard, a timber yard and a blacksmiths.
Spondon's boom began in earnest in the late 1700s when the canal was built through the area while the arrival of the railways in the 1840s heralded the start of Spondon's housing expansion as railway workers and senior officials descended on the village. ^[71]

St Dominic

Geographical Note and Social context: The parish of St Dominic is situated in the Deanery and Hundred of East. There are numerous small hamlets and isolated buildings in the area. Halton Quay played an important part in the economy of the parish in the 19th century when it was an important fruit growing area, and the Tamar River was the main route by which lime, sand and manure came in and fruit went down to Plymouth. As with much of the area, farming is the main industry.
Besides the Churchtown, the villages are: Cross, Burraton, Etheric (now Bohetheric), Halton Quay, and Ashton. There was a lot of good grazing land in this parish.
Most parish and church description(s) on these pages are from Lake's Parochial History of the County of Cornwall by J Polsue (Truro, 1867 - 1873)^[72]

St Germans

Geographical Note and Social context: The parish of St Germans, (Cornish: Lannaled), is situated in the Deanery and Hundred of East. The village of St Germans is on the lower reaches of the River Tiddy that eventually flows into Plymouth Sound. After the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century, the Eliot family bought the priory, which became known as Port Eliot. Originally a busy fishing port, cargos of timber, limestone, and coal were loaded onto ships at St Germans Quay. during the Victorian era.
Villages in the parish were Tideford, Hessenford, Minard Cross, Polbathick, and Bethany. Hessenford in 1834, and Tideford in 1852, were two new ecclesiastical parishes created out of this parish. In 1997, St Germans was split again to make two more parishes: St Germans and a new parish of Deviock. In consequence, the boundaries of the parish have frequently been changed due to this and various local government reorganisation initiatives.^[73]

St Kew

Geographical Note and Social context: The parish of St Kew, (Cornish: Lanndogho), (anciently called Lanow or Lanew) is situated in the Deanery of Trigg Minor and Hundred of Trigg. St Kew Churchtown is the heart of the parish. This contains the church, the old vicarage and a 15th century Inn, and has a fair on 3 April. The parish comprises 7, 514 acres. St Kew Highway is a hamlet on the main road to Wadebridge; the other villages are the Churchtown, Chapel-Amble, Tregelles, Trelill, Trewerthan, Pendoggett, and Trequite.
Compiled from several Gazetteers.

St. Martin's in the Fields

Geographical Notes and Social context: St. Martin-in-the-Fields is a parish, in the city and liberty of Westminster.
The church of St. Martin's in the Fields is situated on the northern side of the western extremity of the Strand, and derives its name from being dedicated to St. Martin an Hungarian Saint, and its addition from its former situation in the fields.
The parish extends westward along the Mall to include half of St James's park, Green park and the northern part of Buckingham House garden. North nd east of Trafalgar Square is built up, where the parish extends along the Strand, a nd from Leister Square along Long Acre.
The parish had its share of slums and squalor, Walter Thornbury, 'St Martin-in-the-Fields', in Old and New London: Volume 3 (London, 1878) wrote "At the bottom of St. Martin's Lane was a nest or rookery of narrow lanes and streets, which rejoiced in slang names, such as "Porridge Island," "The Bermudas," and the "Straits of the Strand." The names in course of time became classical, being constantly imported into the comedies of the time by Ben Jonson and other authors. From the allusions to them which occur, it is clear that they were occupied by a low lot of inhabitants, who indulged in gin, ale, and fighting. Porridge Island, especially, was filled with second-rate cook-shops. In the World, of November 29th, 1753, we find an allusion to "a fine gentleman whose lodgings no one is acquainted with," as having his dinner "served up under cover of a pewter-plate from the cook-shops in Porridge Island." The greater part of this rookery was swept away about the year 1830, but a considerable portion of the low courts remain about Bedfordbury."

St Minver

Geographical Note and Social context: The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868
"ST. MINVER, a parish in two divisions, Highlands and Lowlands, in the hundred of Trigg, is separated from the parish of Egloshayle by a stream which at high water is navigable to Amble Bridge. There is a quay for shipping corn and copper ore. A copper mine was wrought for some time, but the works have been discontinued.
"PORTHILLY, a village in the parish of St. Minver, hundred of Trigg,. It is situated on a creek in the Bristol Channel, and is a coastguard station. There is a small ancient chapel."
"ST. ENODOCK, a chapelry in the parish of St. Minver, It is situated near the mouth of the river Alan. ^[74]

St Pancras

Geographical Notes and Social context: The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868
ST. PANCRAS, a parish and extensive suburban district of London, in the Holborn division of the hundred of Ossulstone and borough of Marylebone, county Middlesex. It contains the Euston-square terminus of the London and North-Western railway; the King's-cross terminus of the Great Northern; the new terminus of the Midland Counties railway, now in course of construction. This important parish comprises 2,600 acres, lying between Maiden-lane, Tavistock-square, Regent's-park, Primrose-hill, and Caen-wood, and includes the populous hamlets of Camden, Kentish, and Somers' towns, King's-cross, and parts of Haverstock-hill and Highgate.
The parish is traversed by the Regent's-park canal, on the banks of which are numerous wharves and storehouses. Few places exhibit in a more striking manner the extraordinary increase which, within the last century, and particularly during the last twenty-five years, has taken place in the numerous districts bordering on the metropolis. it now has a population of more than 200,000, and in the magnificence of its streets and public buildings rivals the best districts of the metropolis.
The Roman Catholics and the several Protestant Dissenting churches have places of worship, the most pretentious of which is the Irvingite Cathedral, or so-called Catholic Apostolic church, in Gordon-square. There are numerous schools and charitable institutions, In this parish are also Bagnigge Wells, formerly celebrated for its chalybeate waters, St. Chad's Well, and St. Pancras Wells. St. Pancras forms a union of itself, under the new Poor law Act, and is a superintendent registry district, with St. Katherine's, but exclusive of Highgate. It is comprised within the Bloomsbury new county-court district. ^[75]
St. Pancras burial ground was closed in 1854. Prior to this date the graveyard had been the favourite burial place of the Catholic Irish. In addition, during the French Revolution the French Catholic refugees who died in London were buried here. Camden town is still a strong London Irish community. The area known as Agar Town, around Regents Canal and the Midland Railway line, and pars of Somerstown within the parries were so run down that the Midland Railway could persuade parliament that they should ne cleared to make way for the extension of the rail lines in 1866, wen they had only stood for 50 years.

St Peter in Thanet

Geographical Note: and Social context: St Peter in Thanet, from The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
PETER (St.), a village and a parish in Thanet district, Kent. The village stands on a pleasing eminence, ¾ of a mile WNW of Broadstairs r. station, 1½ SW of the North Foreland, and 2 SE of Margate; is a member of Dover cinque port; and has a post-office under Margate.
The parish contains also the chapelry of Broadstairs, Acres, 3,312; of which 397 are water. Pop. in 1851, 2,975; in 1861, 2,855. Houses, 604.
Water-works were constructed in 1859. The church ranges from Norman to later English; comprises nave, aisles, and chancel, with W tower. The tower serves as a sea-mark. There are chapels for Baptists and Wesleyans, an endowed school with £30 a year, and charities £200.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72]. ^[76]

Sundridge

Geographical Note: and Social context: The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 3. Originally published by W Bristow, Canterbury, 1797: . The VILLAGE of Sundridge is situated on the high road leading to Westerham, which crosses the middle of this parish, as does the river Darent, in a double stream, a little to the northward of it; hence the ground rises still further northward for near a mile and a half to the great ridge of chalk hills, where it is little more than a mile in width; midway to the foot of these hills, is the seat of Combebank, the hamlet of Oveney's green, and the seat of Overden. Just below the village, southward is the church, and close by it the ancient site of Sundridge-place, on which is now only a farm-house; and about a half a mile eastward the manor of Dryhill. Southward from hence the parish extends three miles to the great ridge of sand hills, about midway there is on each side both coppice woods, and much rough ground, and the land becomes very poor. On the top of the hills is the hamlet, called Ide-hill. These hills separate the upland district from that below it, called the Weald, the part above them being distinguished by the name of Sundridge Upland, as that below it is by the name of Sundridge Weald, in the same manner as the other parishes are in the same situation. Near the foot of these hills, in the Weald where the foil becomes a stiff clay and a strong tillage land. The majority of the parrish is on chalk, so the land is well drained and mostly arable.^[77]

Sydenham

Geographical Note and Social context: Sydenham started out as a small settlement, a few cottages among the woods, whose inhabitants grazed their animals and collected wood. In the 1640s, springs of water in what is now Wells Park were discovered to have medicinal properties, attracting crowds of people to the area.
Sydenham grew rapidly in the 19th century after the introduction of the canal in 1801, and then the relocation of the Crystal Palace in 1852 . Thanks to the exhibitions and concerts subsequently held in the Palace, Sydenham became a fashionable area to live and visit. ^[78]

Syston

Geographical Note and Social context: In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Syston like this:
SYSTON, a village, a parish, and a sub-district, in Barrow-upon-Soar district, Leicestershire. The village stands near the river Wreak; carries on frame-work-knitting and some malting.—The parish comprises 1,380 acres. Pop., 1,656. Houses, 367. Gypsum is found, and formerly was much worked. ^[79]

Tywardreath

Geographical notes and social context: Tywardreath, (Cornish: Chi war Dreth), parish is situated in the Deanery and Hundred of Powder. Itr is bounded on the west by Par harbour and the River Par. The name possibly means 'House on the strand' (O.J.Padel).
The village of Tywardreath lies on the Pilgrim's Way and through which many pilgrims passed on their way to Fowey for onward travel to holy shrines in southern Europe and the Holy Land. Apart from Tywardreath, the villages are: Polkerris, Highway, Par, Polmear, Middleway Bridge, and Chapel Down. ^[80]

Walworth

Geographical Notes and Social context: In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Walworth like this:
WALWORTH, a metropolitan suburb and three chapelries in Newington parish, Surrey. The suburb lies on the London, Chatham, and Dover railway, between Southwark and Camberwell, 2¼ miles S of St. Paul's; was once a hamlet, known at Domesday as Walerode; is now all compactly edificed; contains Surrey Zoological gardens, opened in 1832, and a Botanic garden; and has a post-office‡ under London S, a r. station, a P.-police station, three churches, twelve or more dissenting chapels, a number of public schools, a female orphan home, and the Newington workhouse. Acres, 321. Pop. in 1851, 29,861; in 1861, 44,463. Houses, 6,975.-^[81]

Wendron

Geographical Note and Social Context: The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868
"WENDRON, a parish in the W. division of Kerrier hundred, county Cornwall. It is situated in a rich mineral district, and comprises the borough and market town of Helston."
"CARNMENELLIS, (or Carmenelaze), a village in the parish of Wendron,
"HELSTON, a chapelry in the parish of Wendron, it is market town, parliamentary and municipal borough, It is situated on the western side of a hill on the river Cobre, which is rendered unnavigable through the vast body of sand constantly washed up at the mouth, about 3 miles distant from Helston. This natural bank of sand forms a beautiful lake which is called "Loe Pool;" it becomes flooded at certain periods of the year, when a channel is cut through the bank for its escape, and the meeting of the two waters together form a singular and grand appearance. Helston is of ancient date, and is mentioned in Domesday Book as Henliston. It was made a mint town by Edward I
Its prosperity entirely depends on the numerous mines in the vicinity,The meat market is situated in Church-street. There is a constant stream of water passing through the street, its source being from the stone quarries N.E. of the town. An ancient custom is kept up by the young people on the 8th May, called a "foray." Market days are Wednesday and Saturday. Fairs are held on the 15th January, 1st and 15th March, Whit-Monday, 21st July, 9th September, 28th October, and 13th and 20th December."
"PENGERSWICK, a hamlet in the parish of Wendron, . It is situated on Sydney Cove,."
"PENROSE, a hamlet in the parish of Wendron, is situated near Looe Pool, on the river Hel, and has traces of lead and tin. "
"ST. JOHN'S, a village in the parish of Wendron, Here was formerly a small priory of the Knights of St. John.^[82]

Willesden

Geographical Notes and Social context: Although Willesden was the administrative centre where Births and deaths were registered, the family household, headed by Thomas W Harding resided on Apr 2 1911, at 74. Buckingham Road, Harlesden, Middlesex. The house is an end of terrace, with a bay window fronted ground floor room along side the front door which is set back in an open porch with a decorative architectural surround. The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5 recorded that:
Harlesden, a hamlet and rapidly increasing Metropolitan; district in Willesden parish, Middlesex, adjacent to the forkings of the L. & N.W.R. from London to Kilburn, Watford, and Brentford, 1 mile S of Willesden, and 1½ WNW from Kensal Green. The nearest stations are Willesden and Kensal Green, and it has several post, money order, and telegraph offices in the north-west Metropolitan suburban district. There is a court-house which is used for the Harlesden petty sessions and for public meetings, a police station, and a wharf in the Grand Junction Canal. There are Baptist, Roman Catholic, Free Methodist, Presbyterian, Reformed Episcopal, and Wesleyan chapels.^[83]
 

Witham

Geographical Notes and Social Context: In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described South Witham like this:
WITHAM (South), a parish, with a village, in Grantham district, Lincoln; on the river Witham, . Acres, 3,230. Pop., 531. Houses, 119. A preceptory of Knights-Templars was founded here in 1164. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Lincoln. The church was originally cruciform, but consists now of only nave and transept, and was recently in bad condition. There are chapels for Independents and Wesleyans.^[84]

Woolwich

Geographical Notes and Social context: In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Woolwich like this: Woolwich, parl. bor., town, and par., Kent, on river Thames, 8 miles E. of London by rail - par., 1126 ac., pop. 36,665; bor. (including also the township of Eltham and the par. of Plumstead), 8296 ac., pop. 74,963; 3 Banks, 4 newspapers. The chief feature of Woolwich is the arsenal, one of the most extensive and complete establishments of the kind in the world. It is 4 miles in circumference, and is divided into the carriage, gun factory, laboratory, saddlery, and ordnance departments. The dockyard dates from the reign of Henry VIII..
Until the arrival of the railways, the Thames was the principal artery connecting Woolwich to London. In 1834 the Woolwich Steam Packet Company greatly improved river traffic and in 1889 the Woolwich Free Ferry made it easier to live in North Woolwich and work in the Arsenal, or to live in Woolwich and work in the Docklands. The North Kent Line from London via Greenwich and Woolwich to Gillingham opened in 1849. ^[85]
The dockyard was extended in 1833 and again in the 1840s, when modern docks were built. Woolwich Arsenal and Dockyard stations opened in 1849 on the South Eastern Railway’s new line. Shops lined the main streets and Woolwich became north Kent’s principal commercial centre. Such was the pressure of expansion that growth began to spill over into Plumstead in the 19th century and later into Eltham.
The prison hulks were abolished in 1858 and the dockyard closed in 1869. Workers from the Royal Arsenal set up a buyers’ co-operative in 1868, operating at first from members’ houses in Plumstead and then from 147 Powis Street as the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society. In 1886 another group of workers established a football club, known initially as Dial Square,^[86]

Clandestine Marriages

‘’’Clandestine Marriages’’’ Marriages by a form of ceremony conducted by an ordained clergyman, but without banns or licence, and generally not in a church or chapel, usually away from the parish of the bride or groom were termed clandestine marriages. The main appeal of clandestine marriages was seemingly for reasons of cost. Other reasons for their popularity included the avoidance of the need to obtain parental consent, and also to conceal embarrassing pregnancies.
Clandestine marriages began to grow in numbers from the middle of the seventeenth century. The authorities attempted to quell this growth by introducing three parliamentary acts between 1694 and 1696. These acts inadvertently gave a near monopoly to private marriage centres outside a bishop's visitation (e.g. prisons) and to clergymen (many of whom were prisoners) who had nothing to lose by conducting clandestine, fee-paying marriages.
In 1711, Parliament passed legislation which included an attempt to deal with the problem of such clandestine marriages being conducted in prisons,. While this prevented the marriages being performed inside the prisons, which did not prevent them being conducted in other locations in the vicinity of the prisons: e.g. the Liberties (or Rules) of the Fleet, or the Mint (for King's Bench Prison). On 25 March 1754, all clandestine marriages were made illegal by Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act.
The marriages performed at the Fleet involved all classes from London and the surrounding counties, but mainly catered for artisans, farmers, labourers and craftsmen from the poorer parishes of London, soldiers (including Chelsea Pensioners), and particularly sailors. King's Bench Prison was located on the east side of Borough High Street in Southwark. Relatively few marriages were performed in the Prison itself, and by the 1740s, those marriages which had been performed in the Mint began to be held at the Fleet. The King's Bench and the Mint, because of their location, tended to attract a high proportion of couples from Kent and Surrey.
From the late 1720s, clandestine marriages commenced at May Fair, which eventually became only second to the Fleet in terms of notoriety for such marriages. Initially, May Fair marriages were performed at St George's Chapel, Curzon Street, Mayfair. Whereas clandestine marriages performed at the Fleet and King's Bench prisons and surrounding areas tended to attract the working classes, the May Fair Chapel was used by professional classes and the aristocracy.
. The need for a public record of the marriages meant that they were recorded in registers and some were produced as evidence in court cases,^[87]

The change from Julian to Gregorian calendar

Research Note: This source does not include an image of the Parish register page. As New Year's Day fell on 25th March prior to 1752, we do not know whether the baptism and its preceding birth occurred in 1 in the convention of the day, which would put it in 1 in today's convention.

Research Note: As New Year's Day fell on 25th March prior to 1752, this record date is not affected by the change from Julian to Gregorian calendar

Research Note: Examination of the original transcript indicates that this source has been corrected to the modern calendar from the original entry in 16.

Research Note: The following record was altered in the register to ascribe dates between January and March 25th from 1720 to 1721 To reflect the change from Julian to Gregorian calendar.

Research Note: Examination of the original transcript indicates that this source has not been corrected to the modern calendar from the original entry in 1, so the birth year will be 1.