The Bath and Wells diocesan collection contains records going back to 1309. It is one of the largest and most important collections held in the Somerset Heritage Centre, though many items are extremely fragile.

The collection contains the administrative records of the diocese, the area the Bishop of Bath and Wells had ecclesiastical jurisdiction over. The diocese was set up in 909 and covers almost exactly the same area as the pre-1974 county of Somerset.

Bishops’ registers (ref. D/D/breg)

The earliest surviving register is that of Bishop John Drokensford, from 1309 to 1329. After that, the registers survive in an almost unbroken series, until the latest register held, being that of George Wyndham Kennion, from 1902-1920. The registers are chronological records of the bishops’ main administrative decisions. In the medieval period they contain entries about:

• The ordination and appointment of clergy
• The election of heads of religious houses
• Visitations
• The consecration and patronage of churches
• Granting of licences to celebrate masses
• A wide variety of other business

The later registers tend to be mainly about the ordination and appointment of clergy.

The registers have been published for the period 1309 to 1559 as volumes of the Somerset Record Society. The early registers are in Latin.

Records about visitation

Visitation was the process the bishop and his associates used to periodically seek to enforce ecclesiastical discipline. Allegations of immorality, disrepair of churches, improper conduct of services and a wide variety of other matters were ‘presented’ during the visitation. The records include:

• Act books of the diocesan courts (ref. D/D/ca)
• Clergy lists (ref. D/D/vc). From about 1530 to 1879, which list the names of parish priests
• Visitation articles (ref. D/D/va), 1840 to 1901, which are the replies from churchwardens on the state of the church and parish
• Visitation presentments (ref. D/D/vp), 1818 to 1879, which are the churchwardens’ returns on the annual visitations

Records of ecclesiastical courts

Church courts dealt with allegations about the disrepair of churches, failures of church attendance and the improper conduct of services, as well as with the correction of moral offences. The courts also heard disputes between individuals relating to defamation, tithe payments, marriage, probate and other matters. The records include:

• Act books, 1458-1917 (ref. D/D/ca), which summarise cases brought before the church courts, including cases brought by a lay person against another (instance cases) and cases brought by the church authorities against an individual (ex officio or office cases). These records are in Latin until 1733 and are usually arranged by area
• Deposition books, 1530-1754 (ref. D/D/cd), recording evidence of witnesses called to testify. These are mostly in English
• Papers in causes (ref. D/D/cp), these contain formal papers, depositions and other documents. They survive best for the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

The ordination, appointment and service of clergy

The records include:

• Bishops’ registers, 1309-1920 (ref. D/D/breg) – please see above
• Ordination papers, 1697-1974 (ref. D/D/bo), including testimonials, baptismal extracts and nominations of curates. A name index to these can be found on our online catalogue
• Presentations, c. 1550-1973 (ref. D/D/bp), which are written requests from the patron of a living to the bishop to institute a priest to a vacant benefice. A name index to these can be found on our online catalogue
• Subscription books, 1661-1903 (ref. D/D/bs), recording clerics’ public assent to Church of England doctrine
• Papers in cases brought under the Clergy Discipline Act, 1844-1973 (ref. D/D/bd). Please be aware that the records less than 100 years old are subject to restricted access under Data Protection legislation
• Benefice returns, 1815-1837 (ref. D/D/rb), which are returns for each parish naming the incumbent and curate, where relevant
• Registers of curates’ licences, 1813-1932 (ref. D/D/bc), being indexes of names and parishes
• Resignation of incumbents, 1734-1975 (ref. D/D/bres), declarations and bonds often related to the claiming of pensions, often giving reasons for resignation
• Peculiar of the Sub-Dean in the parish of Wookey (ref. D/D/psd)

The building and repair of churches

The records include:

• Bishops’ registers (ref. D/D/breg), which detail the consecration of churches
• Consistory Court act books (ref. D/D/ca), which provide information on the repair and furnishing of churches
• Faculty papers (ref. D/D/cf), from 1760, provide information and plans for many church building and restoration projects
• Inventories of church contents, 1907-1966 (ref. D/D/ri). Later inventories can often be found in the individual parish collection (ref. D/P/*)

Parsonage houses and glebe Land

The records include:

• Mortgages for the building of parsonage houses, 1780-1971 (ref. D/D/bbm)
• Orders for the repair of parsonage houses, 1872-1923 (ref. D/D/bbo)
• Glebe terriers, 1571-1693 (ref. D/D/rg), 1571-1693, which usually include a description of the parsonage house and the glebe land in a parish

Probate records

See the separate leaflet on Wills for details on Somerset wills. Other records include:

• Probate and administration acts are recorded in the licence books (ref. D/D/ol), 1558-1850
• Administrator’s accounts (ref. D/D/cta), which record the expenses of administering a deceased person’s estate. These survive from the late 16th century to the early 18th century

Licences

The Bishop exercised miscellaneous licensing functions. These included:

• Marriage licences, 1574-1976 (ref. D/D/cm). These were issued to couples who did not want the publicity or delay involved in marrying by banns. The marriage licences from 1754-1899 are available online via Ancestry
• Protestant dissenters’ meeting-house licences, 1736-1852 (ref. D/D/rm)
• Licences for schoolmasters, midwives and surgeons. You can find these in the Licence Books (ref. D/D/ol)

Records of peculiars

‘Peculiars’ were places in the diocese that were exempt from the bishop’s jurisdiction for various reasons, such as being under Crown ownership. The records date from 1662 and tend to resemble the records for the rest of the diocese. The peculiars are as follows:

• Peculiar of the Archdeacon of Taunton (ref. D/D/pat), covering the parishes of Bathealton, Langford Budville, Milverton and Thorne St Margaret
• Peculiar of the Archdeacon of Wells (ref. D/D/paw), covering the parishes of Huish Episcopi, Langport and Pitney
• Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Bristol (ref. D/D/pbc), covering the parishes of Banwell, Churchill and Puxton
• Peculiar of the Chancellor of Wells (ref. D/D/pch), covering the parishes of Kingsbury Episcopi with the chapelry of East Lambrook
• Peculiar of the Dean of Wells (ref. D/D/pd), covering the parishes of Chapel Allerton, Biddisham, Binegar, Broomfield, Carhampton, Chilcompton, Dinder, Evercreech (with Chesterbalde), Mark, Priddy, Nether Stowey, Wedmore, the Out-Parish of Wells and Westbury
• Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Wells (ref. D/D/pdc), covering the parishes of South Barrow, Cheddar, Combe St Nicholas, North Curry, West hatch, Lovington, Bishops Lydeard, Stoke St Gregory, Long Sutton, Liberty of St Andrew in Wells and Winsham
• Private peculiars (ref. D/D/ppv), includes Ilminster, West Lydford and Witham Friary

Miscellaneous records collected for registration purposes

• Bishops’ transcripts (refs. D/D/rr and D/D/rra). From 1598 until about 1820 transcripts of each year’s parish register entries were sent to the bishop. They often fill in gaps in the parish registers and are available on microfiche in the searchroom
• Tithe maps and apportionments ref. (ref. D/D/rt). These were compiled as a result of the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836, and set down the tithes payable for lands in all parishes. See the Maps leaflet for more information

Further reading

• Dunning, Robert, (2008), Bath and Wells: A Diocesan Celebration (S 283.423 DUN).
• Hembry, Phyllis, (1967), The Bishops of Bath and Wells, 1540-1640: social and economic problems (S 262.1 HEM).
• Hobhouse, E., (1887), Calendar of the Register of John de Drokensford, Bishop of Bath and Wells (AD 1309-1329) Somerset Record Society volume 1 (Q Somerset Record Society).
• Holmes, Thomas Scott, (1896), The register of Ralph of Shrewsbury, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1329-1363 Somerset Record Society volume 9 & 10 (Q Somerset Record Society).
• Holmes, Thomas Scott, (1914), The register of Nicholas Bubwith, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1407-1424 Somerset Record Society volume 29 and 30 (Q Somerset Record Society).
• Holmes, Thomas Scott, (1915), The register of John Stafford, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1425-1443 Somerset Record Society volume 31 & 32 (Q Somerset Record Society).
• Maxwell Lyte, Henry C., (1934-5), The register of Thomas Bekynton, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1443-1465 Somerset Record Society volume 49 & 50 (Q Somerset Record Society).
• Maxwell Lyte, Henry C., (1937), The registers of Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1466-1491 and Richard Fox, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1492-1494 Somerset Record Society volume 52 (Q Somerset Record Society).
• Maxwell Lyte, Henry C., (1939), The registers of Oliver King, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1496-1803 and Hadrian de Castello, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1503-1518 Somerset Record Society volume 54 (Q Somerset Record Society).
• Maxwell Lyte, Henry C., (1940), The registers of Thomas Wolsey, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1518-1523, John Clerke, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1523-1541, William Knyght, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1541-1547 and Gilbert Bourne, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1554-1559 Somerset Record Society volume 55 (Q Somerset Record Society).
• Phipps, H.R., (1947), Abstracts of Bath and Wells Diocesan Records (Q 929.3 WILLS 16)
• Steig Dalton, M., (1982), Laud’s laboratory: The Diocese of Bath and Wells in the early seventeenth century (S 283.423 STI).