Author Archives: miltonabbashistorygroup

We are planning a three day exhibition May 23 – 25 2020. We are busy researching the Old Town of Milton Abbas, and now have most of the relevant records transcribed. However there are a few wills, removal orders, settlement … Continue reading →

We are just transcribing some bills, vouchers or receipts for Milton Abbey Estate for labouring work. These are answering some questions such as the names of the labourers and how much they were paid, but raising more – the list … Continue reading →

St James Church holds a Christmas Tree Festival every year to raise money for children’s charities. June McAvoy very kindly donated and decorated this tree on behalf of our history group. Merry Christmas to all our readers!

The archives at Winchester College are very important for the history of Milton Abbey prior to the surrender in 1539. We were fortunate to contact the archivist who gave us access to photograph some of the key documents in this … Continue reading →

We have just been given the original of this document. It is now transcribed and available for members to share. Her name is spelled Charlotte Vatcher in the document, and Charlotte Vacher on the reverse. John Sturmy is named as … Continue reading →

From an analysis of the names occurring in the Churchwarden’s Accounts 1750 – 1752, it seems clear that it was mostly children and a couple of housemaids who were being paid for catching vermin. These came from many of the … Continue reading →

This excellent book uses pre-Reformation Churchwardens Accounts to show what life was like for the people of the parish, including rural parishes in the 14th, 15th and early 16th centuries. How the parish worked as a community, including of course … Continue reading →

We are now working on transcribing Book 3 which covers the years 1818 – 1830. The way of accounting has changed from previous books – here the entries still include about 20 people being paid monthly on out relief, but … Continue reading →

This 5 second video clip occurred in the middle of the BBC Countryfile program broadcast 1 Sep 2019. It had nothing whatsoever to do with the rest of the program which concerned evacuees of Word War 2. We would love … Continue reading →

This is the longest, oldest, and certainly the most tedious will that we have ever transcribed. One of our transcribers has single-handedly completed the mammoth task of transcribing the 19 pages of tightly spaced, 16th century legal writing. We owe … Continue reading →