BAPTISMS
“ Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for
of such is the Kingdom of God.”—S. MARK, x, 14.
January 5......Eugena Sarah, daughter of Thomas Theodore and Emma Shingles,
Bream’s Woodside, collier.
January 12....Frederick Harold, son of Edward and Lucy Thomas, Aylburton Cottage,
groom and gardener.
January 26....Caroline Daisy, daughter of Henry and Sophia Rudge, Bream, collier.
January 30... Sam Charles, son of William Anthony and Elizabeth Mary Thomas,
Bream’s Eaves, collier.
BURIALS
“ Here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.”— Heb.,
13, 14
January 5.......John Lee, Whitecroft, aged 34 days.
January 20.....George Jenkins, Bream’s Woodside, aged 69 years.
January 26.... Alice Saturley, Bream’s Eaves, aged 8 months.
January 30.....William Jenkins, Clement’s End Green, aged 40 years.
SPECIAL NOTICES.
January 22.... DEATH OF QUEEN VICTORIA.
February 2.....Feast of the Purification.
February 2.... Queen Victoria’s Funeral at Windsor.
February 3.....Septuagesima Sunday.
February 10...Sexagesima Sunday.
February 17...Quinquagesima Sunday.
February 20...Ash Wednesday.
February 24...First Sunday in Lent.
February 24.. Feast of S. Matthias the Apostle.
DEATH OF QUEEN
The Nation mourns the death of Victoria, her greatest of Queens and Sovereigns
who died at Osborne on Tuesday, January 22nd. The Parish Church is draped
in black, and there is but little colour observable in the Village. Solemn
Memorial Services are being held in all Churches, and the simple, humble-minded
hymns that Queen Victoria loved are being sung. Of her it may be truly said,
that she served God in her generation; to us also this is equally possible
in the humbler sphere in which our lot is cast: of her may we all learn to
serve God truly in that state of life unto which it has pleased, or shall
please, Him to call us.
THE NEW CENTURY
A watch night service was hold. at the Parish Church on December 31st, at half
past eleven o’clock, conducted by the Vicar; at twelve o’clock
a knell of nineteen strokes on the bell was rung, during which the congregation
remained on their knees in private prayer; to commemorate the passing away
of the nineteenth century. The new century was ushered in by the chanting
of “Te Deum Laudamus” and twenty joyful strokes upon the bell.
At ten o’clock on New Year’s Day—the Feast of the Circumcision
of our Lord—the Holy Communion was celebrated as the churches dedication
of herself to God for the coming years. The Years offerings were for the
new bell which is to be hung shortly in memory of Thomas Batten, the late
parish clerk and sexton.
SCHOOL ENLARGEMENT FUND
The amount published in September, 1900 .. .. .. £375..1..1
Appropriated from School Account, with
His Majesty's Inspector's consent, being
the available Balance in hand on May 1st 1900 .. ..£41..11..7
Profits of Mr Mullan's Children's Entertainments
on Dec. 20, 21, 1900............................................£10..2..11
Profit of Miss C. Cook's Entertainment on
January 2, 1900 .....................................................£3..14..9
_________
£430..13..4
The builder's contract was for £467. Some £15 worth of the work,
however, cannot proceeded with until the whole drainage scheme has been taken
in hand, but there are some extras, and the amount, as re-adjusted stands at £457..4s..6d.,
of which £410 has already been paid. From these figures it appears that
the debt on the fund today is £26..11s..2d. The architect's fees, however,
will have to be paid in full in addition to this. On the whole the result is
very satisfactory, and the Manager's will now proceed with the drainage and
offices, which they are compelled to undertake by pressure from the Sanitary
Authority and the Board of Education, as well as by the urgency of the matter.
E. F. E.
HISTORICAL FACTS
This month we deal with the Bream Church Registers, which are not, however,
of course so interesting in themselves as those of Newland Church.
The Marriage Register dates from 1855, when Bream was made a separate Ecclesiastical
District, the first entry being signed by John Baverstock, the first incumbent.
The Burial Register dates from 1827, when the old Chapel and lower Churchyard
were consecrated, the first entry being signed by Henry Poole, who was then
vicar of Parkend and curate of Bream.
The regular Baptismal Register dates from 1813, the first entry being signed
by George Ridout, who was then lecturer at Newland. This book is chiefly interesting
on account of a gap of more than three years between entry No. 343, which bears
date April 21, 1822, and entry No. 344, which bears date November 6, 1825,
during which period the old Chapel was undergoing restoration, which almost
amounted to re-building, at the hands of the Rev. Henry Poole, the great church-
builder, and was apparently in an unfit state for the administration of Sacraments,
though it appears, from the stone in the Nave gangway of the Church, that Thomas
East, of York Lodge, was buried at that time, presumably in the family vault
within the old Chapel (May, 1823). Where the children of Bream were christened
during this those years remains uncertain; probably some were taken to Newland
and others to Parkend and the record of the rest is lost. In thinking of Henry
Poole's Restoration one cannot help feeling thankful that he rebuilt the Chapel
on the old lines and retained so much of the old work instead of taking it
down altogether and building an octagon Church according to the debased fancy
at this time.
An old Manuscript Register exists, dating from 1751. It is chiefly a record
of Baptisms, and was evidently kept by the Clerk (not the Curate) for local
purposes, and sent over to Newland frequently to be copied into the Register
of the Parish Church. There is an odd entry, dated 1795, which shows the Churching
offerings, which had hitherto by custom amounted to eighteenpence, were then
reduced to one shilling, the explanation of which circumstance is probably
this, that in older days the offering was by custom divided into three parts,
of which the Vicar of Newland took one, but from 1795 the Vicar of Newland
gave up his right and the reduced offering was divided into two parts between
the Minister and Clerk of Bream, and this custom remains in force still, though
no Vicar of Bream has ever appropriated these offerings for his own use, but
always given them to the poor. At any rate, the year 1795, seems in some sort
to mark an epoch in the declining influence of Newland here, and the greater
independence of Bream. On the last page of this Register are found certain
entries of burials inside the old Chapel in the last decade of the eighteenth
century.
It seems quite clear from the Church Registers, at Newland and Bream, that
from the year 1560, when the Newland Registers commence, down to 1855, when
Bream was made a separate Ecclesiastical District, Bream was part of Newland
Parish and under the control of the Vicar and Vestry of Newland.
It will be seen that the earliest certain indication of the existence of the
Chapel of Bream in the Newland Register is under the date of 1752 - "Paid
for Bread and Wine at Breem 1/1." And the date of the first entry in the
old Manuscript Register of Bream is 1751. And it is worthwhile to remember
these dates, as they coincide with the date of an increase of the Endowment
of the old Chapel.
The question of Endowments must be left now, as it seemed best to deal with
all the Registers first, and exhaust their evidence before proceeding to other
things. It should, however, be remembered that, though the evidence quoted
from the Registers does not carry the old Chapel back beyond 1751, yet we have
other clear proofs of a much earlier date, which we hope to give later on.
It is also quite possible that further research at Newland might reveal further
matters of interest.
Now, however, we leave the Registers, and propose in our next article to give
some account of the Monumental Stones in the Church, and of the families to
which they belong, as this will carry back the history of the Chapel nearly
90 years.
E. F. E.
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