Churchwardens Accounts Of Bishops Stortford 1431-1785

Unlock Your Ancestors' World: The Churchwardens' Accounts of Bishops Stortford, 1431-1785

A Unique Window into 350 Years of English Local and Family History

Were your ancestors among the farmers, tradesmen, and families who walked the streets of Bishops Stortford during the time of the Tudors, the English Civil War, or the early Georgians? Now you can move beyond the names and dates on your family tree and step directly into the world they inhabited.

This meticulously transcribed and edited volume presents the surviving Churchwardens' Accounts for the parish of Bishops Stortford. Far more than just dry financial records, these pages are a living, breathing document of a community. The churchwardens were the parish officers responsible for the church building, its fabric, and its role in the local community. Their accounts reveal the reality of daily life, year after year, for over three and a half centuries.

Inside, you will discover:

Names of Your Ancestors: Find your surnames mentioned in the roles of churchwardens, as suppliers for church repairs, as rate-payers, or as recipients of parish support. This is a vital resource for placing your family in a specific time and place.

Rich Social Context: Read about the price of ale for a vestry meeting, the wages paid to a thatcher for repairing the church roof, or the cost of mending the church clock. These details paint a vivid picture of the local economy and the work your ancestors may have done.

The Community's Response to Life: Gain insight into how the parish managed its responsibilities, from caring for the poor and destitute to dealing with outbreaks of plague and maintaining law and order with a local watchman.
A Continuous Narrative: Spanning from the reign of Henry VI to that of George III, this book provides an

unparalleled, unbroken look at the history of a single Hertfordshire town through the medieval, Tudor, Stuart, and Georgian periods.

Essential for:

Genealogists with roots in Bishops Stortford or the surrounding Hertfordshire area.
Local Historians seeking a primary source for the town's development.
Social and Economic Historians studying life in an English market town.
This edition includes a comprehensive index of names, places, and subjects, making it easy to search for your family and areas of interest.

Don't let your ancestors remain just names on a chart. Add this invaluable resource to your collection and bring their world to life.