Published OoP Accounts books are as rare as hen’s teeth. I remain astonished by this fact since not only are they a name rich source for family historians but they are also a prime example of showing the living and working conditions of ordinary people. They can be used by both family and local historians to tell the stories of how families moved in and out of poverty, in and out of the parish, what illnesses and accidents they had and lots more besides.

The following are the only published sources that I have found so far. Please let me know if you know of any others –

Hooton Pagnell 1767-1820

Chalfont St. Peter, 18th century

Ashwell, Hertfordshire, 1676-1722 and 1753-1769

Paris Garden, Southwark, 1608-1671

and not all of these are fully transcribed, most just giving some titillating extracts, and only one recently published.

The Milton Abbas Overseers of the Poor Accounts 1771-1836 are a continuous record of the payments to named individuals every four weeks, both regular and extraordinary payments are recorded and the reasons for the payments throughout this critical period in our history. Our transcriptions deserve to be published in full. Please contact us if you would like to help.

©Bryan Phillips Dec 2023