275 



the first page or two being all in the same hand and so carefully 

 ■Written. 



The population in these days may be somewhat imagined from 

 there being one marriage in 1587, thi'ee in 1588, one in 1589 ; 

 eleven burials in 1538, six in 1539, none 1540 or 41, none in 

 1543—1552, none in 1555—1558. 



At first the entries are extremely simple. No name of parishes 

 or parents, no occupations stated : 



" Thomas Bigge and Johan Gaye the thirtieth of January," 

 is the first maiTiage entry. 



In 1653 an Act was passed directing Registrars to be chosen in 

 every parish, to be appointed and sworn by a Justice of the Peace. 

 Anthony Druce was the Registrar in Twerton (he died in 1658), 

 hence we have, in 1656, the following entry: 



" The contract betwene Robert Smalcombe and Elizabeth Lamfer alias 

 Smalcombe was thrice published at the time appointed by the Act in the 

 Parish Church of Twiverton, they were married the 24th of November by 

 Robert Long Justice of the Peace in the presence of Anthony Druce 

 Registrar Wm. Guiding and others." 



Signs of the troublous times in the 17th century are given by 

 such evidence as the signatures of " S. Maynston, Minister, 1631 ;" 

 "N. G. Minister, 1635," neither of whom appear in the Bishop's 

 Register at Wells as appointed to the Vicarage ; or again by the 

 paucity of entries, 1642 none, 1643 one, 1644 one burial, no day 

 named and the writing in a strange hand, 1645, 1646, none, &c. 



In 1666 an Act was passed directing that no person should be 

 buried in any garment not wholly composed of wool, under a 

 penalty of £5, and another in 1678 requiring the priest to take an 

 affidavit of the relatives of the deceased person at the time of 

 interment ; hence not unfrequently we have after the entry of burial 

 the words, " received an affidavit." The first, however, in the 

 Twerton Register is in 1722. 



The entries sometimes appear to have been made most carelessly, 

 the names of childreu baptized forgotten, the names of the brides 

 omitted, or inserted afterwards, or the year put but not the day, 

 &c., &c. These are singular entries. 



1725-6 February 27th, there was interred the corps of Thomas Bletchley, an 

 old batchelor. 

 B 



