From the Registers (2)

From the Registers (2):
Baptisms and Weddings at other churches in the parish

our former 'daughter' and district churches (excluding those that are now separate parishes - St Mary Cable Street and St Peter London Docks), plus those later added to the parish (St Paul and St Mark Whitechapel)

General comments

The registers in all the churches are generally fully and carefully completed, either by a clerk (in the case of baptisms, transferring details from his 'day book' while this system continued in use) or (more so in the case of weddings) by the officiating minister.
As literacy increased throughout the 19th century, the number of spouses and witnesses at weddings who 'made their mark' rather than signing dropped; in general, there were more 'illiterates' in the Whitechapel churches, and at St Matthew Pell Street, than in the others.
Wedding couples commonly gave the same address - though this does not necessarily imply cohabitation; the may have occupied different lodgings in the same building, or used the same address to simplify the calling of banns.
Surprisingly few baptisms (particularly at St Paul Dock Street, for most of the period the most evangelical of the churches) have no father recorded.
Grooms and fathers invariably have a trade or profession recorded - though this does not necessarily mean they were actually in work; this detail is generally only given for older or widowed brides (and baptism registers did not include mothers' trade or profession until relatively recently).
Before workers had regular holidays, Christmas Day weddings were common in some, though not all, of the churches: more detail below.

Christ Church Watney Street

The first register (under the name of Thomas Stone, Superintendent Registrar of 6 Wellclose Square) records 1847 populations as 7992 males, 9732 females (total 17,724) in St Paul's District; 7.635 males, 8266 females (total 15,901) in St Mary's District, and 3721 males, 4050 females (total 7751) in St John's District - a total of 19,348 males and 22,028 females. The names of these districts relate to old divisions in Whitechapel and Wapping rather than to parish boundaries.

Overview
From the time of its opening, Christ Church had high - though quite variable - numbers of baptism and weddings (with consequent reductions at the parish church). Until 1854, this was perhaps due to the energy of its first, and well-known, Vicar William Quekett, who had spent the 1830s conducting rather larger numbers of baptisms and weddings (and funerals) at the parish church where he was Curate and Lecturer. At Christ Church, he had the assistance of his own curate - see here for details. The opening of St Mary Cable Street in 1850, St Matthew Pell Street in 1859 and St John the Evangelist-in-the-East in 1869, do not have appear to have affected numbers, nor work on the church in 1870 and 1894. Baptism numbers (which had peaked at 611 in 1860) held up well into the 1920s (with only a modest dip in the war years), before going into decline. But wedding numbers were falling from the 1870s, despite the fact that the parish was well-staffed into the early years of the 20th century, and had a very full programme of events. There is thus a much greater gap between baptism and wedding numbers than in other churches of the parish - why was this?

Points of interest

Christmas Day weddings were common until the 1920s, some years with several; for instance, 6 in 1846, 1853 and 1864, 8 in 1867, 5 in 1888 and 1911, and 6 (returning servicemen?) in 1919.
A paper pinned in the baptism registers for 1873 records that one family left for the ceremony of churching and did not return for the completion of daughter's registration. Unlike today, families did not complete any documents before the service - they just turned up!
The baptism register from July 1941 records that baptisms were conducted in the temporary church of St George-in-the-East, Christ Church being damaged by enemy action [by that time, St George's had also been blitzed]. From April 1941, weddings - though recorded in the Christ Church registers - were held at St Mary Cable Street, St Paul Shadwell, St John the Evangelist-in-the-East, settling for a time at St Paul Shadwell before moving to St George-in-the-East from 1943.

	baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings
1842	134	48	1864	487	125	1886	323	53	1908	273	18	1930	117	13
1843	294	47	1865	595	137	1887	291	40	1909	238	16	1931	114	21
1844	328	90	1866	434	143	1888	268	47	1910	237	13	1932	109	12
1845	351	116	1867	469	141	1889	274	40	1911	246	33	1933	99	10
1846	225	122	1868	349	119	1890	262	50	1912	204	13	1934	77	16
1847	376	111	1869	244	101	1891	315	42	1913	219	22	1935	83	13
1848	266	98	1870	361	107	1892	314	31	1914	246	21	1936	58	27
1849	227	106	1871	404	86	1893	308	17	1915	212	30	1937	88	13
1850	198	100	1872	373	73	1894	320	24	1916	242	27	1938	68	11
1851	190	120	1873	408	86	1895	304	14	1917	176	20	1939	66	15
1852	121	105	1874	348	91	1896	329	10	1918	150	23	1940	33	19
1853	204	112	1875	309	97	1897	334	7	1919	190	28	1941	17	7
1854	176	109	1876	300	74	1898	296	7	1920	247	26	1942	20	9
1855	325	90	1877	232	66	1899	313	14	1921	184	23	1943	12	3
1856	215	96	1878	252	86	1900	318	15	1922	219	19	1944	7	6
1857	255	94	1879	233	82	1901	332	8	1923	267	19	1945	2	-
1858	262	94	1880	201	78	1902	217	9	1924	127	19	1946		1
1859	354	102	1881	266	78	1903	301	5	1925	108	19	1947		1
1860	611	142	1882	267	64	1904	266	11	1926	129	20
1861	460	104	1883	246	54	1905	285	23	1927	89	14
1862	516	116	1884	306	46	1906	287	11	1928	104	10
1863	561	109	1885	317	58	1907	304	15	1929	91	18

St Matthew Pell Street

Overview
St Matthew's, very close to the parish church, had a short life; though it ran a full programme of activities, some in conjunction with the parish church, it proved to be one church too many. Numbers of baptisms and weddings were therefore modest.

Points of interest

Many German sugar workers (and some German seamen) came to St Matthew's for weddings, because the fees at the German Church were high, and the Vicar Thomas Richardson learnt German in order to conduct the services. This pattern continued in his successor's time: at no less than 131 of the 381 weddings during the lifetime of St Matthew's either or both partners were German.
A higher proportion of spouses and/or witnesses than in the other churches at this time completed the registers with their mark rather than a signature (slightly more of which were men than women); nearly all Germans, however, were literate, some signing with an elaborate and graphic hand.
As with other newly-opened churches in this period (particularly the mission chapels that became St Peter's), it was common for several children from a family to be baptized together as pastoral contacts were established. For instance, Martin Robb's family website records how Louisa, Mary Ann, Charlotte and John Bowman, of 15 Pell Street, and their cousins Mary Ann and Sophia, were all baptized on 29 September 1863.

	baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings
1859	2		1866	19	20	1873	49	8	1880	21	7	1887	27	11
1860	29	5	1867	29	9	1874	51	20	1881	35	11	1888	28	4
1861	30	16	1868	22	11	1875	19	19	1882	30	10	1889	22	7
1862	30	19	1869	22	24	1876	27	17	1883	6	14	1890	14	6
1863	28	15	1870	10	14	1877	31	11	1884	40	8	1891	19	1
1864	26	11	1871	45	6	1878	20	7	1885	46	8
1865	13	21	1872	31	14	1879	21	5	1886	34	11

St John the Evangelist-in-the-East

Overview
Baptisms prior to the formation of the separate parish of St John's were recorded in the registers of St George-in-the-East. Numbers never matched those of Christ Church (above), though there was a dramatic rise in baptisms in the 1880s with the coming of a new incumbent, which continued for a decade or so. Thereafter, until the end of the First World War, there were several years with more weddings than baptisms - an unusual situation.

Points of Interest

The early years saw a number of weddings where one or both parties were German (but fewer than St Matthew Pell Street, above).
The 1884 baptism register records a child 'born out of wedlock'; by 1938, the phrase 'a single woman' was used!
On 7 January 1902 the curate conducted the marriage of the widowed incumbent, George Thomas Cull Bennett.
There were few Christmas Day weddings in the early years, but 4 in 1898 and 1906, 5 in 1908 and 1909, 6 in 1905 and 1910, and 3 as late as 1927 and 1928. In 1911 there were 10 on Christmas Eve - nearly a sixth of all the weddings for that year.
The baptism register for 1905 records the reception of a child baptized by Margaret Anderson at the East End Mothers' Home next door to the vicarage on Commercial Road. Margaret Anderson was the Matron, a formidable woman in the Florence Nightingale mode - see Peter Ardern When Matron Ruled (Robert Hale 2002) p76.
From the 1930s, a few Muslims had moved into the parish, alongside the Jewish population; there are several children in the baptism register with Asian fathers and English mothers (for example, 'Asia, daughter of Mohammed and Mabel Ali').
The last weddings were at St George-in-the-East; in 1945 the registers were closed on the union of the parishes of St John, St George-in-the-East and Christ Church Watney Street.

	baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings
1870	25	1	1886	135	40	1902	60	42	1918	15	20	1934	20	9
1871	76	5	1887	128	34	1903	58	42	1919	17	17	1935	32	21
1872	27	3	1888	132	29	1904	55	30	1920	33	26	1946	31	28
1873	114	2	1889	131	53	1905	42	57	1821	30	23	1937	40	17
1874	34	6	1890	111	32	1906	44	60	1922	32	14	1938	29	13
1875	46	2	1891	99	57	1907	42	47	1923	27	18	1939	25	10
1876	20	7	1892	94	38	1908	56	66	1924	32	9	1940	22	17
1877	15	6	1893	84	48	1909	55	76	1925	33	18	1941	12	5
1878	13	4	1894	72	57	1910	66	61	1926	37	19	1942	9	3
1879	28	25	1895	94	58	1911	38	64	1927	30	22	1943	3	2
1880	127	15	1896	78	57	1912	57	44	1928	23	14	1944		1
1881	107	26	1897	72	49	1913	42	48	1929	23	18	1945		5
1882	139	16	1898	78	51	1914	36	52	1930	31	11
1883	114	21	1899	54	59	1915	42	64	1931	24	9
1884	148	27	1900	60	61	1916	40	40	1932	25	10
1885	171	18	1901	46	41	1917	18	8	1933	25	9

St Mark Whitechapel

Overview
Although St Mark's was consecrated in 1939, and had registers for baptisms from 1940 and weddings from 1841, its incumbent remained a 'perpetual curate' until 1863 - when the wedding registers refer to the 'new parish church' (in fact the building had not changed, only its status). It's not clear why the number of baptisms rose sharply in 1854, but was probably the arrival of a conscientious curate, Bradley Abbott. They remained numerous (with blips in both directions) until the 1880s, when a slow but steady decline set in, as the parish population became increasingly Jewish, but it remained a significant ministry until the final few years of the parish's life. Wedding numbers were more stable until the turn of the century, when they began to fall sharply.

Points of interest

As mentioned above, in the early years considerable numbers of spouses and witnesses 'made their mark' rather than signing.
When George Davenport was Vicar (1871-99), it was common for weddings to have three or four witnesses, rather than the minimum two.
Christmas Day weddings for the last two decades of the 19th century are shown in brackets.
A number of mid-19th century baptisms are marked as 'private'. A note pinned in the baptism register by Brooke Lambert (Vicar 1866-71) records this response he received from his predecessor D.J. Vaughan (incumbent 1856-60), dated 19 January 1869, to a query made to him about a particular baptism: Where no sponsors were forthcoming as was often the case - or no suitable ones - I often used the form of Private Baptism instead, being satisfied then as I am still, that it is the only reasonable course to adopt. I have no doubt in my mind that the boy in question was baptized in this way. Lambert adds The baptisms in Mr Vaughan's time were often marked 'P.B.'
Above this note is written, by a 20th century successor,
Horrible!
I hope people will come to see in time that it is horrible to take any fees for any service, let alone for a Sacrament like marriage or baptism.
Lionel S Lewis, Vicar
P.S. It only degrades the whole service in the eyes of thoughtless people.
This is an interesting comment, but since, unlike marriage, there was no fee for baptism itself (and any registration fee for the clerk was made illegal by the Baptism Fees Abolition Act 1872) it in fact misses the issue. Vaughan's practice was presumably a pastoral (if rather odd) solution to the lack of qualified godparents, rather than because of cost. Did other clergy do the same?
When Michael Rosenthal was Vicar (1899-1907) he baptized a number of Jewish converts at the church, having previously administered the sacrament at the premises of the East London Mission to the Jews, recording them in a separate register, on the flyleaf of which his successor L.S. Lewis notes that he had removed this, and a font, from the premises - see here for more details. Rosenthal also baptized the child of the Jewish-convert evangelist John Gabriel.
Over the entry for the baptism of Albert Alexander Smith on 30 October 1910 Lewis wrote A conscious feeling as I baptised this child that he will be a very staunch servant of God.
Against an entry in May 1916 Lewis wrote the father a Polish Catholic but he consented to the baptism and was present.

	baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings
1840	14		1858	131	24	1876	97	56	1894	87	33 (5)	1912	36	9
1841	22	9	1859	131	31	1877	107	12	1895	83	45 (9)	1913	40	6
1842	45	13	1860	200	28	1878	91	72	1896	98	41 (2)	1914	25	4
1843	36	26	1861	164	45	1879	62	35	1897	68	42 (7)	1915	30	14
1844	71	33	1862	180	42	1880	104	36	1898	59	35 (7)	1916	28	8
1845	62	49	1863	120	48	1881	122	38 (5)*	1899	64	27 (7)	1917	17	3
1846	50	50	1864	134	59	1882	107	24 (3)	1900	58	11 (2)	1918	12	10
1847	43	33	1865	141	40	1883	80	46 (8)	1901	55	17 (1)	1919	19	8
1848	43	34	1866	183	51	1884	85	38 (5)	1902	33	10	1920	15	7
1849	54	29	1867	219	42	1885	99	25 (4)	1903	34	7	1921	14	1
1850	60	30	1868	201	47	1886	83	24 (1)	1904	27	8	1922	12	5
1851	69	28	1869	139	34	1887	82	16 (1)	1905	31	9	1923	11	3
1852	55	22	1870	154	35	1888	112	38 (3)	1906	26	12	1924	5	2
1853	51	42	1871	255	56	1889	72	23 (1)	1907	29	6	1925	4	3
1854	198	40	1872	110	61	1890	76	29 (2)	1908	21	6	1926	2	2
1855	105	37	1873	103	52	1891	83	54 (4)	1909	26	6
1856	122	25	1874	86	53	1892	89	42 (5)	1910	24	9
1857	110	20	1875	100	65	1893	88	41 (4)	1911	39	6

St Paul Dock Street [figures incomplete]

Overview
St Paul's was consecrated in 1847 as a 'church for seamen', but no weddings were conducted until it became a parish church. Numbers of baptisms and weddings, never high, fluctuate somewhat, depending on the energy of the Vicar and the availability of curates; for instance, there is some falling-off in the late 1890s, the end of the 'Greatorex years'. In his time there were lots of seamen, and the Peabody and Katharine buildings begin to loom large. Because it was 'stricter' than other churches, there were fewer unmarried mothers at baptism and wedding couples giving the same address. The joining of St Mark Whitechapel to the parish on its closure in 1926 had some impact on numbers.

Points of interest

In 1862 Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford, visited the parish and baptized one of the children of the incumbent, Robert Hall Baynes.
The printed numbers in the baptism register book around 1886 are haywire - family historians beware!
From January 1877 Greatorex always adds 'B.D.' after his name: acutely aware of being a non-graduate, his honorary Lambeth degree came as a great fillip. Not to be outdone, his curates added their own qualifications too!
Some of the dips in weddings are explained by church renovations (1887, when there were no weddings before August); in 1897 there were none before July.
In 1873 the daughter of H.T. Heffell, 'City Missionary', was married here; he became curate the following year - see here for more details about him.
There was no tradition of Christmas Day weddings, though there were a few, including three in 1893.
* post-1925 baptism, and post-1948 wedding registers, do not appear to be available on microfilm at LMA. The wedding register closes in 1948 with a note for complete entry see duplicate register from which all certificates should be issued.
'Admiral Woods' , honorary curate of the parish, officiated at a handful of weddings; after his signature the words 'Vice-Admiral and Reverend' are added.

	baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings		baptisms	weddings
1848	1	- [see above]	1873	81	17	1898	48	12	1923	44	13	1948		*
1849	3	-	1874	72	17	1899	69	12	1924	40	7	1949
1850	10	-	1875	61	9	1900	68	21	1925	36+	7	1950
1851	10	-	1876	70	13	1901	94	17	1926	*	17	1951
1852	6	-	1877	64	9	1902	13	21	1927		14	1952
1853	43	-	1878	61	9	1903	77	16	1928		24	1953
1854	12	-	1879	39	10	1904	73	20	1929		16	1954
1855	9	-	1880	39	7	1905	87	21	1930		15	1955
1856	10	-	1881	54	7	1906	90	23	1931		9	1956
1857	15	-	1882	42	13	1907	90	18	1932		8	1957
1858	13	-	1883	48	7	1908	88	16	1933		9	1958
1859	18	-	1884	56	12	1909	76	17	1934		11	1959
1860	21	-	1885	97	12	1910	80	29	1935		14	1960
1861	11	-	1886	45	11	1911	56	16	1936		7	1961
1862	32	-	1887	46	4	1912	60	12	1937		8	1962
1863	15	-	1888	40	17	1913	59	10	1938		9	1963
1864	13	1	1889	50	8	1914	61	17	1939		17	1964
1865	27	10	1890	48	17	1915	51	14	1940		12	1965
1866	26	15	1891	47	5	1916	44	11	1941		11	1966
1867	57	15	1892	50	10	1917	45	15	1942		6	1967
1868	59	16	1893	33	17	1918	41	13	1943		6	1968
1869	66	19	1894	27	10	1919	43	23	1944		6	1969
1870	56	15	1895	26	5	1920	61	15	1945		15	1970
1871	75	21	1896	29	5	1921	60	16	1946		10
1872	61	22	1897	40	6	1922	37	14	1947		10