The OPC is Teresa Lewis
Please Note that some documents in this section may contain entries for Marston Meysey or South Marston as there is no definitive information to pin down the correct parish – should anyone know that an item belongs to Marston Meysey please let the Co-Ordinator know
Please also check the Worton Parish Page for items sared between both parishes
Buildings and Land
Conservation and Planning
Marston Pond Planning Permission Letter 2005
Listed Buildings
Manor Surveys
Maps
Public Houses
The Plough Inn
The Plough Inn is now closed.
Taxes, Rents and Tithes
Taxes
On 10th September 1332 parliament granted Edward III a fifteenth and a tenth of the movable goods of the laity of the realm. Those with movable goods in cities and boroughs and on ancient demesne of the Crown were to contribute the tenth, others the fifteenth. Parliament had granted fractions of such goods to the king from time to time since 1283 and by 1332 such grants had become a familiar form of taxation. The grants, which were universally understood to be grants of the money value of the fractions, were not always of the same fractions and did not always distinguish the classes of taxpayers. To raise the money in 1332 the king appointed for each county principal assessors and collectors who appointed under-assessors: the under-assessors made the assessments, received the money, and transferred it to the principal assessors and collectors who paid it to the king through his exchequer. Two assessors and collectors were appointed for each county including Wiltshire, on 16th September 1332. There were 134 under assessors for Wiltshire. Lists of the movabl
es of each taxpayer were to be made by the under-assessors and summarised in a county list. No under-assessors list of 1332 survives for Wiltshire, where in many cases no more than the total value of each taxpayer’s movables, or perhaps no more than his liability for tax, may have been listed. The Wiltshire county list, compiled in the Winter of 1332-1333 and handed in at the Exchequer on 23rd February 1333, is the Wiltshire tax list of 1332. Marston Liability
Tithes
Crime and Legal Matters
Assaults
Bankruptcy and Debt
Debtors in Prison
Up Until 1869 debtors were incarcerated if unable to pay what they owed. After this date debtors who had meant to pay their debts but refused could be imprisoned for up to six weeks at a time.
Bastardy
Men who fathered children ou
tside of wedlock were pursued by the parish for the upkeep of the child. It was a legal requirement for the mother to name the alleged father who was duly summoned to appear at the Quarter Session sittings. The local magistrates would listen to the evidence from the mother, alleged father and other witnesses and a verdict would be passed. If the case against the father was proven then he had to pay to maintain his child and if he faile
d to make the payments as required by law he could face imprisonment. If the case was not proven then the mother left the courts having to face possible life in the workhouse or to find other means of supporting her child. Some of these Bastardy Examinations may be found in the document attached. Worton & Marston Bastardy Examinations 1840-1878
Directories
Gillmans 1900 Gillmans 1913 Gillmans 1914 Gillmans 1915 Gillmans 1916
Education
Children of the village would attend school at Worton
Emigration and Migration
Strays Index – The list includes those people who were born in the village of Marston but were recorded elsewhere in the various census returns and in other documents. Some of the Marston entries may refer to Marston in Highworth, Marston Meysey and South Marston but are included here where it hasn’t been obvious they belong elsewhere. Should anyone have firm knowledge that they do not belong here then please let me know via the contact us tab at the top of this page. Strays Index
Emigration Home Contact Requested 1800 – Present
Employment and Business
Villagers and their Occupations
Apprentices
Apprentice records published here may not necessarily mean that the apprentice was from the parish but was apprenticed to a master within the parish.
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
Marston Primitive Methodist Chapel was formed in 1835 and the present chapel was built prior to 1903. It holds services weekly on Sundays at 6 p.m. The Chapel is administered by the St. Andrew’s United Reform Church in Devizes. All church registers are held by the Minister, the Revd C. Cory. Tel: 01380 724264
Primitive Methodist Chapel – Census 1851
People and Parish Notables
Accidents and the Sad Cases of Suicide
In 1776, John Stone hit himself with an axe whilst chopping wood in Marston and died of his injuries.
During the late 1700’s four children under age 7 were drowned in the ditches found in and around the villages.
Associations, Clubs, Organisations and Societies
Friendly Societies
Wiltshire Friendly Society Membership 1827-1871
Census Returns Transcripts
1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921
Elections, Politics, Polls and Voters Lists
Members of Parliament
Walter Long Talks Schedule 1890
Polls
Poll of Freeholders of 1772 Poll Book 1818
Voters Lists
Family Notices
Inquest Reports
Poor Law, Charity and the Workhouse
Union Workhouse, Devizes (later Southbroom)
The Union Workhouse in Commercial Street, Devizes was responsible for “caring” for the poor of the villages of Worton and Marston. Births and Deaths occurring in the Workhouse for the villages 1853-1898
Probate
Parishioners Wills
| William Hunt Proved 1663 | Emme Long (Extract) Proved 1676 | John Saulter Proved 1575) | John White Proved 1580 |
| John Whytte Proved 1599 | John White – Written 1600 |
Probate Indexes
War, Conflict and Military Matters
The document Worton & Marston at War details some of the other war time tales concerning the villages. Included are the names and biographies (where found) of those named on the WWII memorial situated in the grounds of the village hall and on the WWI Church Memorial.
WWI
Casualties
Memorial Scrolls
Edwin John Burbidge 1918
Service Exemptions & Appeals
Exemption Tribunals Exemption Appeals 1916