RISELEY

PARISH REGISTER OF RISELEY
(1602-1812)

The oldest surviving volume dates only from 1626, and the record from 1602 is copied as usual from the "Bishop's Transcripts" which are also a great aid in overcoming difficulty in deciphering many illegible entries in Volume I, particularly the earlier part. There is no volume for the period 1747-89, and here again, to a large extent, the gaps are filled from the same source.

Perhaps the outstanding feature in the Register, certainly the most uncommon, is the cause of death, given in the Burials from 1690 to 1742. Only once before in this series has this information been provided, and in that instance for a shorter and later period.(1) John Harding was instituted in 1690: he died at the age of 87 in 1741/2. All the entries from 1690 to 1738 are in his hand, and it was he who began to enter the fatal ailments of his parishioner. The various diseases have been tabulated as follows.

The analysis gives an unpleasant picture of the economic conditions of the villagers at the period. As would be expected, infant mortality was high and consumption took a big toll. The grim presence of poverty is indicated in various items. Of the 701 record deaths, only 38 are attributed to old age.

The memoranda supply a great deal of varied information (pp. B44 - 47). Notes on the weather tell that the summers of 1715, 1725, 1735 and 1736 were very wet. There is a page devoted to the births and burials of Quakers in their own orchards.

In 1801 John Morton carried out extensive repairs to his vicarage, at a cost of £390. The good man wrote, "What is expended above £200 I freely give to the vicarage and pray God to bless my successor with health to enjoy it." As things turned out, Morton lived until 1825. His successor John Cheap took down the vicarage in 1828 and built a new one.

Joseph Rootham, carpenter, in 1807 read a public apology in Riseley church for "having wantonly and wickedly insulted and interrupted the vicar whilst attending the corpse of one of his parishioners to the grave, by bringing into the churchyard the dead body of another person who had never been baptised in any Christian communion" (p. B47). It is noteworthy that the funeral was on a Sunday.

The burials of 1667 are headed, "The year of mortality in all places, especially in country villages." From August 1657 to July 1658 39 burials are recorded. Twice the average number died at this time in the adjoining parish of Thurleigh (p. A33). In 1666 twelve people are described as "buryed of the plague." In 1631 John Harris was buried, "being 100 yeares old and better."

(1) Milton Ernest (Beds. Par. Reg., xi).
(2)The numbers in the table differ slightly from this total, because in a few entries two causes are given.

 The Riseley family names which seem to have persisted throughout the greater part of our period are: Bromwell (1614 - 1811), Clarke (1617 - 1800), Cooper (1608 - 1808), Dawson (1602 - 1809), Dickins (1605 - 1812), Litchfield (1615 - 1812), Peacock (1611 - 1810), Rootham (1604 - 1812), Smart (1605 - 1811), Tommes (1606 - 1799), and White (1605 - 1811).

The population of the parish in 1801 was 576, and in 1931 was 528; its area is 3103 acres. Although a large parish in extent, there are no hamlets, the whole population, apart from outlying farmsteads, being found in the long village street The adjoining parishes are Thurleigh, Bletsoe, Sharnbrook, Knotting, Melchbourne, Swineshead (at this period, in Huntingdonshire), and Keysoe.

The Register is contained in the following volumes:-

The following "Bishop's Transcripts" supply entries for the deficient periods in the original Register:-

No record is therefore existing for the following years (being those for which no Transcripts are extant):-

Arrangement of Entries
I.      Bap., Bur., Mar.
II.     Mar., Bap., Bur.
IV.     Bap.; Bur.

Other Parish Records
These comprise overseers' accounts (detailed disbursements), 1784 - 1830, and vestry minutes, 1802 - 34, all now deposited in the County Record Office, Bedford.

The editor gratefully acknowledges a donation from Mr. S. Allyn Peck towards the cost of publication.