Buckland Newton

Arranged according to the Gregorian Calendar, with the Julian year indicated to the left of the forward slash (/) in those years when the Julian Calendar, which ran from March 25th to March 24th, was in use (i.e. prior to 1752, 1751 being the transition year).

Until 1738, Parish Registers were supposed to be kept in Latin. From the Civil War onwards, this rule was respected more in the breach than the observance. Buckland Newton is an exception, with extensive use of Latin up until 1737. It is, however, erratic, swapping back and forth between English and Latin every few years. The standard of the Latin is also variable, making interpretation more challenging. I have therefore translated the Latin entries into English. Those entries with an 'L' shown before the date were orginally entered in Latin.

NB: Translation of christian names into English is problematical in some instances. For example, Jacobi was the Latin version of James, but was also occasionally used in its own right for Jacob, while Elena could mean Eleanor or Helen. Sometimes clerks used dog Latin and their ad-hoc latinisation of English names provides a clue. Where there are no such clues and a name could be translated in a variety of ways, I have chosen the most common alternative. In the 19th Century, certain Latin names (e.g. Maria for Mary and Matilda for Maud) became names in their own right. I have translated these names to the English equivalents that would have been used at the time.

From 1778 to mid-1802 two copies of the Parish Register were kept, one in the same volume used up until that point in a variety of hands and another in a separate book in a single hand and with consistent (mis-)spelling. I have called the 1778-1802 version the preliminary register and the other version the official register. Judging by certain errors in the official register (such as 1793 entries being duplicated in 1794 and the occasional merging of two entries in the preliminary register into one entry in the official register) it appears that entries were first recorded in the preliminary register and then copied over, using the spelling preferences of whoever was doing the copying, providing the opportunity for additional errors to creep in. The preliminary register generally contains extra details and often additional entries, although there are a couple of entries in the official register that do not appear in the 1778-1802 version. This, coupled with spelling differences makes it difficult to reconcile the two at times.

Translation involves choices, and the Parish Register is in any case difficult to read in places, so readers are invited to use this transcript as a guide only and to consult the original at the Dorset History Centre.

MISCELLANEOUS ENTRIES INSERTED BETWEEN ENTRIES ON 14 JAN 1655/6 & 25 MAR 1656 Whereas and for as much as … children borne and baptised within the parish of Buckland Newton have been ommitted to the Register and now beinge newly informed by theyre parents of the time of theyr Baptisms have nowe been registered each man's chyldren (herein) altogether and have definitely noted the daye and yeare of the Baptism of Each one of them: accordinge as I have been informed by theyr parents