[WED]Methodist Church

[Mathew Ducket]

In The Wedmore Chronicles, (occasional Wedmore Parish Magazines bound in two
volumes, 1 1881-7, 2 1889-1898), the editor, The Rev. S J Hervey, records
baptisms, marriages and burials recorded in all churches in Wedmore Parish
for 1881 to 1887. In an article in The Chronicles, he heavily criticises the
ministers of the non conformist churches for their failure, to keep proper
records in earlier years. I have failed to find anything of use in the
records office in Taunton, although there are a few records for some
parishes, but there is no legal obligation on the free churches to hand over
their records. My informal soundings suggest that the early records for
Wedmore were either never made, or were perhaps destroyed. I have some
"holes" in my Duckett records, which look as though they may be due to
support of a church other than the Church of England.
The other option is to apply to the Registrar in Weston super Mare (Wedmore
is in the old Axbridge Registration District) for a certified copy of a
certificate (births, marriages & deaths after 1837) , this will cost 6
pounds Stirling. To do this you will need to know roughly what you are
looking for (names, dates, occupations, address and any other useful
information). The registry will do a limited search of the index for you
free of charge and indicate if there is an appropriate record, but they will
not release this information unless you ask for a certificate, so this could
be costly. Other parishes especially to the south of Wedmore may be in other
Registration Districts and Bridgwater or Taunton Registration Offices may be
more appropriate.
Address:  The Superintendent Registrar, North Somerset Registration
District, 41 The Boulevard, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. BS23 1PG.
The presence of a grave stone often depends on the wealth of the individual
or his heirs if he or she has any. For example there are 32 Duckett burials
in Theale from 1835 to 1927, but not one grave stone.
Matthew Duckett.