Category Archives: Overseers of the Poor

Milton Abbas Poor House

Posted on September 10, 2025 by miltonabbashistorygroup

©Bryan Phillips Sep 2025 I was reading the latest issue of The Local Historian August 2025 about ‘Galloping’ Head, a man who had been appointed Assistant Poor Law Commissioner for Kent in 1834. It was his job to meet all the … Continue reading →

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The Hawkins family of Milton Abbas

Posted on August 21, 2024 by miltonabbashistorygroup

©Bryan Phillips Aug 2024 Want to know more about the lives of people who once lived in Milton Abbas? Do you have BARNES, HARVEY, HAWKINS, HAM, MITCHELL, or STANDFIELD ancestors? Our member Clive Barnes gave a presentation to the Milton … Continue reading →

Posted in family history, local history, Milton Abbas, occupations, Old Town of Milton Abbas, Overseers of the Poor, Parish Registers, records | Leave a comment

The Lives of Ordinary People

Posted on June 23, 2024 by miltonabbashistorygroup

©Bryan Phillips Jun 2024  A recent article by Ruth Goodman in Who Do You Think You are? July 2024 p20 asks why the educational curriculum for history is full of Hitler, Napoleon, and Britain’s kings and queens. Where are the … Continue reading →

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Drowning of William Ridout in Bournemouth

Posted on June 5, 2024 by miltonabbashistorygroup

©Bryan Phillips June 2024 The Ridout or Rideout family had been living in Milton Abbas for at least 150 years and occur frequently in our Records including prison admission, Overseers of the Poor, Settlement Examinations, when a young Willian Ridout … Continue reading →

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One Place Studies

Posted on May 8, 2024 by miltonabbashistorygroup

©Bryan Phillips May 2024 If you have an ancestor who came from Milton Abbas at any time in the past going as far back as 1317 then you are in luck! We have already done the research that you need … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Churchwardens, document, Dorset, family history, local, local history, Milton Abbas, Old Town of Milton Abbas, Overseers of the Poor, Parish Registers, social history | Leave a comment

Overseers of the Poor Accounts

Posted on December 15, 2023 by miltonabbashistorygroup

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 … Continue reading →

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Dark Days of Georgian Britain

Posted on June 3, 2023 by miltonabbashistorygroup

I have just finished reading this book. I have to say that it was one of the most difficult books I have ever read – not because of its difficulty, erudition or academic depth – but because of the sheer … Continue reading →

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Justice and Milton Abbas

Posted on February 9, 2023 by miltonabbashistorygroup

Following a recent talk on Dorset Justice of the 17th century a number of questions were raised. The Dorset Record Society book volume 14 ‘Dorset Quarter Session 1625 – 1638’ is a transcription of the earliest surviving Order Book for … Continue reading →

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Six Little Girls Dressed in Blue: Lady Caroline’s “Spinning School”

Posted on April 21, 2022 by miltonabbashistorygroup

Clive Barnes writes: On September 7 1789, six village girls walked up to Milton Abbey mansion house to meet King George III and his wife, Queen Charlotte. When the queen returned to Weymouth with “the K”, as she referred to … Continue reading →

Posted in Damer, family history, local history, Milton Abbas, Overseers of the Poor, social history | 2 Comments

What a treasure!

Posted on February 14, 2022 by miltonabbashistorygroup

Overseers of the Poor Account Books It is six years ago when I was in Chris Fookes’ shed that I first saw three original Overseers of the Poor Books. They had somehow been saved by the Fookes family of Milton … Continue reading →

Posted in Dorset, history, local history, Overseers of the Poor, transcription | 1 Comment