17th and 18th Century spelling

Posted on June 29, 2017 by miltonabbashistorygroup

After transcribing the Churchwardens, and Overseers of the Poor books the spelling and language are of interest – there was no dictionary to standardise spelling – so people just wrote as they heard and spoke; there are words which the meanings have been lost, for example ‘reddinge’, a ‘gannett’ for the great bell, ‘tweske’, ‘fellet’ and ‘fetchet’. We are guessing that the fetchet is a polecat or ferret, but we have no idea what the others may mean. Can any of our readers shed light on these words?

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Overseers of the Poor Books

Posted on June 28, 2017 by miltonabbashistorygroup

A big thank you to our transcribers who are adding to the history of Milton Abbas. And a big thank you to one of our members who has allowed us access to these nearly 250 years old stories.

The Overseers of the Poor Books are a vital source of information for us. They give the names of those people receiving relief, and how much, and the names of the people who were paying rates and how much they paid.

It is helping us with the family histories of those who were living here in the 18th century.

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The language and spelling are also of historical interest, and give an insight into the education, who could read and write, who was handling large sums of money, and who were the given responsibility for seeing to the needs of the poor.

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Exhibition St James Church

Posted on June 24, 2017 by miltonabbashistorygroup

We have a semi-permanent display in the south aisle of St James’ Church, Milton Abbas. Alongside the display is a Visitors Book so that those interested in the history of Milton Abbas or having ancestors from here can leave there contact details.

We have made some useful contacts this way.DSC_0140

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Magnetometry survey

Posted on June 24, 2017 by miltonabbashistorygroup

DSC_0366This morning Josie Hagan from Bournemouth University carried out a magnetometry survey around St Catherine’s Chapel. We look forward to seeing the results.

The earthworks surrounding St Catherine’s Chapel are a mystery, and several legends have built up around them. One of these is that it was an encampment of King Athelstan and his army before they went to fight the most important battle in England’s history – the Battle of Brunanburh in 937 where he defeated the combined Danish, Scottish and Strathclyde forces.

Or it might be a yard surrounding the chapel.

This survey may shed some light on what is under the ground.

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Milton Abbas Street Fair, 29 July 2017

Posted on June 22, 2017 by miltonabbashistorygroup

crowds2We are busy planning our exhibition.

One of our ideas is to show the “gossip” of times long ago – those stories which would have made the tabloid press today.

Another will be highlights from the Churchwardens Books from the 17th century. There are interesting tales of the Civil War, the Commonwealth, and the Restoration as they affected life in the rural parish of Milton Abbas.

Details to follow.

Hopefully see you there.

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Exhibition 16 – 17 Sep 2017, Reading Rooms, Milton Abbas

Posted on June 22, 2017 by miltonabbashistorygroup

We are planning our exhibition for September. This will show some of the history we have discovered in the past year.

The exhibition will be free to enter for residents of Milton Abbas and our history group members. It is our chance to engage with the community and show what can be achieved.

This will probably include some extracts from the Churchwardens Accounts 1771 – 1780 which are being transcribed. These show how a rural village reflects the changes which were taking place nationally, including the devastation of diseases such as smallpox, and the methods used to control them, and the enormous costs involved. we also know how much individual rate payers were paying and how much was spent in each poor person.

More Churchwardens Books will be transcribed by then and we can be sure there will be more interesting happenings in 17th century Milton Abbas

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Posted on June 22, 2017 by miltonabbashistorygroup

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Posted on June 22, 2017 by miltonabbashistorygroup

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