Number of marriages recorded 1558-1853
The above chart shows the number of marriages recorded at Frome St John the Baptist
from the earliest surviving registers through to 1853. There are some noticeable gaps in the
late C17 - not just missing years but also years with less than expected number of entries.
It is presumed (with some circumstantial evidence) that the availability of ministers who
had been ejected, during the civil war or after the restoration, is a major factor in this
discrepancy.
Inevitably this means that tracing families back through the latter part of the C17 may
be difficult unless there are other relevant records such as wills, property deeds etc which
can identify successive generations.
In the period from 1754 (Hardwick Marriage Act) to 1800 we know that just over half of the
marriages recorded within the Frome Hundred (Beckington, Berkley, Cloford, Cranmore, Elm, Frome,
Laverton, Leigh, Lullington, Marston Bigot, Mells, Nunney, Orchardleigh, Rode, Rodden, Wanstrow,
Whatley, Witham Friary and Woolverton) took place at Frome St John the Baptist.
After 1837 there is a decline due to the advent of civil registration and the number of new
churches within the town where people could also marry.