On this day in Wembury — 2 April 1611

The parish registers of Wembury record 2 April 1611 as the first entry for baptisms in St Werburgh’s Church, marking the beginning of continuous formal record-keeping of baptisms in the parish.

This date is significant because it reflects the implementation in practice of the requirement, under the Church of England, that every parish keep registers of baptisms, marriages and burials. Wembury’s baptisms begin reliably on this date; burials also have their earliest entries close by (10 April 1611), and marriages from 21 May 1612.

The start of these records places Wembury in the broader pattern of early 17th-century Devon parishes formalising their registers, following the injunctions and canon laws enacted since mid-16th century (after Henry VIII’s break with Rome and through Elizabethan and Jacobean times). Prior to this, informal or partial records (if any) may have existed, but the registers from 2 April 1611 mark the first systematic recording by name in Wembury parish.

On This Day in Wembury

2 April 1895 — Wembury Parish Council takes on the footpaths

On this day in 1895, the Western Daily Mercury reported on a Wembury Parish Council meeting chaired by Mr A. Peare.

The council elected Mr Paine of the Devon and Cornwall Bank as honorary treasurer. Concerns were also raised about the returning officer’s charges, which were considered too high. The council agreed to send the bill back for alteration.

The most interesting part of the report was about footpaths. Mr W. Sherwill proposed, and Mr W. Pursey seconded, that the council should take over the footpath leading from Down Thomas to Merrypitts. Mr J. Cane then proposed, and Mr J. Walters seconded, that the council should also take over the footpath from Knighton to the Yealm.

Both proposals were carried.

The council also agreed that the footpaths should be inspected before the next meeting.

It is a small report, but a revealing one: in 1895, just as today, Wembury’s footpaths were part of everyday local life, public access, and parish responsibility.

Source: Western Daily Mercury, Tuesday 2 April 1895.