OPC is Michael Ambrose
Contiguous Parishes (our neighbours)
Alderholt – Cranborne (DOR) – Fordingbridge – Sandleheath – Martin – Rockbourne (HAM)
Websites of Interest
Hampshire Archives Catalogue – The Hampshire Archives Catalogue holds all the parish registers for South Damerham, plus most misc. records except Bishop’s Transcripts (BT’s).
The Parish Church of St. George
Church Officials
Vicars
Church Supported Charities and Funding
Parish Registers Held at Hampshire Record Office
Baptisms 1678, 1691, 1699-1788, 1792, 1795-1968
Marriages 1678, 1699-1837
Burials 1678, 1699-1789, 1792, 1794-1879
BTs held at WSHC 1606, 1622-1638, 1671-79, 1696, 1710-1734, 1744, 1748-1750, 1782, 1788, 1795-1836, 1839-1880
Parish History
Now within the jurisdiction of the county of Hampshire (since 1895). Known as Damerham South or South Damerham to differentiate between the two Wiltshire holdings of Glastonbury Abbey. North Damerham or Damerham North, although it does not exist; was held by Glastonbury Abbey and consisted of lands and villages around Chippenham. Thus the village itself is Damerham, but other holdings in the same catchment area would be part of Damerham South.
Church Brief for South Damerham 1721, Loss by Fire 1365 lb.
Briefs were a way for people to raise money for the rebuilding or repair of their church, or for damage after a natural disaster.
Information on the general parish history may be acquired here: Damerham Community Website (History Page)
Civil Registration
1837 – October 1932 Fordinbridge Registration District
October 1932 – Present Christchurch Registration District
Buildings and Land
Land Owners
Crime and Legal Matters
Bastardy Examinations Crime Reports 1700-1799 Crime Reports 1800-1899 Woman Assaults Neighbour 1875
Proceedings in Chancery Elizabeth I Era (1558-1603)
Hill v Moer, Ashley, Horsey, Barker & Hancocke
Education
Emigration and Migration
Employment and Business
Agricultural and Land
Apprentices
Wiltshire Society Apprentice – Joseph William Stokes 1828
Communications
British Postal Services Appointments 1737-1969
Community Services
Police
Wiltshire Constabulary 1858 James Dewey, Police Constable 1814-1872
Miscellaneous Documents
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
People and Parish Notables
Associations, Clubs, Organisations and Societies
Friendly Societies
Wiltshire Friendly Society Membership 1827-1871
Census Returns
Elections and Polls
Poll of Freeholders 1772 Poll Book 1818 Poll Book 1865
Family Notices
Inquest Reports
Sport
Taxes
Poor Law, Charity and the Workhouse
Records exist encompassing this parish in the form of Workhouse Minute books from Fordingbridge (Ham) from the 1830s onward, held in the Hampshire Archives. It contains expenditure records and little to no personal detail. Nothing from the village itself exists for poorhouse or workhouse records prior to this date.
A great record also available at the Hampshire Archives is a pamphlet entitled: “A Brief Statement of Facts; wherein, several instances of Unparalleled Inhumanity, Oppression, Cruelty and Neglect, in the treatment of the poor in the parish of Damerham South, In the County of Wilts, are considered and exposed” by the late Rev. Philip Henville (1759 – 1805) who was curate of the parish for a decade until his death. This pamphlet grants a special and unique insight into the living standards of our Damerham ancestors and relatives in the late 18th Century.
Overseers
Probate
Extract of the Will of King Eldred 955
