John Turner was born in Gloucester city, the son of John Turner and Hester Smythe. He was baptised at the parish church of St John the Baptist, on the 8 December 1780.
He attended Trinity College at Oxford University, receiving his B.A. in 1800 and an M.A. in 1804. He chose the church as his career, and was ordained deacon in Lincoln in 1806, and as priest in 1808. It appears that his first posting after being ordained was in the village of Shackerstone, Leicestershire. After his marriage, he and his wife and growing family moved every few years, but still he remained a curate, in search for a more lucrative parish. Below is a description of the parishes, towns and villages where the Reverend John Turner and his family were situated, prior to the final location, Hennock in Devonshire. A later, separate post will be devoted to Hennock.
1808 – Shackerstone, Leicestershire
On the 23 September, 1808, John Turner was appointed the curate in the village of Shackerstone, Leicestershire, with a stipend of £30.[i] This little village, which in the year 1801 had about 431 inhabitants, is located about 108 miles from London, and 14 miles from Leicester city. The Anglican church is named St Peter’s.
In England, he term “curate” was used to describe a lower-level clergyman – either an assistant to the vicar or rector of a parish, or a priest of a parish which did not have a good enough living for a vicar/rector.[ii]
Description of the place:
“SHACKERSTONE, a township and a parish in Market-Bosworth district, Leicester. The township lies 3 miles N W of Market-Bosworth, and 5 W by S of Bagworth r. station; and has a postal pillar-box under Atherstone. Acres, 1,920. Real property, £1,930. Pop., 278. Houses, 62. The parish contains also Odstone hamlet, and comprises 2,653 acres. Pop., 462. Houses, 100. The manor belongs to Earl Howe. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £150. Patron, Earl Howe. The church is old but good. There are an endowed school with £17 a year, and charities £8.”[iii]
This was quite a small village. According to the 1801 census, inhabitants numbered only 431. This little place is located about 108 miles north of London, and 14 miles west of Leicester city.
Leicestershire & Rutland Churches: https://www.leicestershirechurches.co.uk/shackerstone-church-st-peter/
GENUKI: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LEI/Shackerstone
Family Search Wiki: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Shackerstone,_Leicestershire_Genealogy
Parish Chest: https://www.parishchest.com/shackerstone-3763.php
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shackerstone
1811 – at Bathwick, Somerset
On the 18 October, John Turner “of Hatherley House, Gloucestershire” married Mary Jane Baily, in the church of St Mary’s, Bathwick, a “suburb” of Bath.
Mary’s parents, and Mary herself, were frequently at Bath, as were members of Mary’s family.
“Bathwick is believed to have formed an important part of the old city, and it contains now some of the best streets and most elegant buildings of the modern city, including Sydney-place and Gardens, Laura-place, and Pulteney-street.”[iv] It became part of the Bath urban area in the 18th century with development of the Pulteney estate and the building of the Pulteney Bridge.
GENUKI: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SOM/Bathwick
Family Search Wiki: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Bathwick_with_Woolley,_Somerset_Genealogy
Rare Old Prints: http://www.rareoldprints.com/bathprints?openform&iobcat=081%20Bathwick%20Old%20Church%20and%20St.%20Mary%27s%20Church
1813-1815 – Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Circa 1813 to 1815, Rev John Turner was possibly curate at Great Marlow. The entry for Great Marlow does not appear yet on the Clergy of the Church of England database, as it is still incomplete. However, we know they were there because their first two children were baptised there, and some archived documents refer to the Rev. John Turner of Great Marlow.
John Baily Turner, the first child of, was born in Devizes, Wiltshire, but baptised at Great Marlow on the 11 Feb 1813. Mary Jane Baily Turner was baptised on the 8th August 1814.
Description of the place:
“Great Marlow, including the Borough and waste belonging to it, is bounded, on the North, by High and West Wycombe; on the East, by Little Marlow; on the South, by the Thames; and on the West, by the parishes of Medmenham, Hambleden, and Fingest; the whole parish being about four miles and an half long, and three in breadth: and containing, by computation, about 6000 acres; of which, 800 are woodland, 200 meadow, and 4500 arable, divided into about 35 farms; the waste, or common, not exceeding one hundred acres.”[v]
In 1811, according to census data, the population of Great Marlow was 3,965.[vi]
http://www.rareoldprints.com/p/15750 on 23 May 2021.
Links:
GENUKI: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/BKM/GreatMarlow
Family Search Wiki: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Great_Marlow,_Buckinghamshire_Genealogy
Rare Old Prints: http://www.rareoldprints.com/county/Buckinghamshire?opendocument&town=Marlow
County Views – Buckinghamshire – village and church views
http://www.countyviews.com/bucks/village1.htm#G
http://www.countyviews.com/bucks/church1.htm#G
1815 – 1818 – Crawley, Hampshire
On the 29 March, 1815, Rev John Turner was appointed the curate of Crawley. This appointment brought him a salary of £75 and the fees and the house and garden, offices and 2 acres of glebe.[vii]
Whilst there, the Turners baptised and buried their 3rd child (and 2nd son), George Armstrong Turner. He was baptised on the 28 July 1816, and died 27 February 1817.
Possibly their 4th child (and 3rd son) Edward Seymour Turner was born at Crawley, on the 22 April, 1818, but he was baptised at St Thomas church in Winchester, Hampshire.
Description of the place:
“CRAWLEY, a parish in the hundred of Upper Buddlesgate, in the county of Southampton, 5 miles N.W. of Winchester, and 3½ from Stockbridge. It contains the chapelry of Hunton, a peculiar in the archdeaconry and diocese of Winchester. The living is a rect* in the diocese of Winchester, value with the curacy of Hunton, £690, in the patronage of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient structure in the early English style. The charities amount to £1 per annum. There is a school.”[viii]
http://www.pew-news.hampshire.org.uk/benefice/stmary.htm
Links:
Family Search Wiki: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Crawley,_Hampshire_Genealogy
British History Online info:
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol3/pp408-413#h3-0003
Hampshire County Records Office
http://www3.hants.gov.uk/archives/catalog.htm
GENUKI: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/HAM/Crawley
1818 – abt 1823 – Newnham & Little Dean, Gloucestershire
On the 26th November 1818, the Reverend Turner was instituted Stipendary Curate of Newnham and Little Dean, Gloucestershire. The salary for these two parishes was £70 and surplice fees.[ix]
Whilst here, two further children are born and baptised:
Charlotte Mary, born 31 March and baptised 22 May 1820
Henry Emanual, born 17 Jan and baptised 15 Mar 1822
Description of the place:
“NEWNHAM, a parish, post and market town, in the hundred of Westbury, county Gloucester, 11 miles S.W. of Gloucester, and 114 W. by N. of London. It is a station on the South Wales railway. The town is situated on an eminence overlooking the river Severn, near the ferry where Henry II. received Strongbow after the conquest of Ireland. It is a polling-place and petty sessions town, and returned members to parliament in Edward I.’s time. It was chartered by King John, whose state sword is still kept here, and is now governed by two constables in lieu of a mayor, &c.” [x]
Links:
Ancestry.com Gloucestershire baptisms, marriages and burials 1538-1813
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/4732/
Ancestry.com Gloucestershire baptisms, marriages and burials 1813-1913
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/5066/
Family Search Wiki: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Newnham,_Gloucestershire_Genealogy
Forest of Dean Family History Trust: https://forest-of-dean.net/joomla/
GENUKI: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/GLS/Newnham
Gloucestershire Archives
http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/article/107703/Archives-Homepage
1823 – late 1827 Stoke Damerel, Devonshire
During this period, the family appear to have been living at Stoke Damerel, a part of the town of Devonport. Rev John Turner was busy conducting many of the baptisms for the parish, as can be seen by his signature in the parish registers. He appears to be “officiating minister”, but he does not appear on any lists as a curate or other office there. I searched the baptismal registers from February 1822 until October 1827, and found his signature only from 1823 until late 1824, but none after that. We know that they were there in late 1825 because their son Alfred was baptised there.
Whilst in Devonport, 2 further children were born:
* Emily Hester, born 25 Dec 1823, baptized 28 Jan 1824
*Alfred Rooke, born 29 Nov and baptized 31 Dec 1825
Description of the place:
“STOKE DAMEREL, a parish, in the hundred of ROBOROUGH, Roborough and S. divisions of DEVON; adjoining the borough of Plymouth, and containing 33,820 inhabitants. This parish, which includes Devonport and Morice-Town, is one of the most extensive in the county; the village occupies an elevated site, and comprises several rows of excellent houses, a crescent, and some private mansions of more than ordinary beauty. Among the public structures are, the immense reservoir of the Devonport Water Company, which supplies the government establishments and the neighbourhood in general; the military hospital, a spacious edifice of grey marble, erected in 1797, on the west side of Stonehouse Creek, comprising four large square buildings, of similar size and form, connected by a piazza of forty-one arches; and the Blockhouse, occupying an eminence north of the village, surrounded by a fosse and drawbridge, commanding a most magnificent prospect. On the eastern bank of the Hamoaze is Morice-Town, consisting of four principal streets . . The church is a mean but spacious building, with a low square tower. Two additional churches have been erected; and there are places of worship for Independents, Calvinistic Methodists, and Wesleyans. – See DEVONPORT.” [xi]
Accessed on Ash Rare Books, https://www.ashrare.com/devonport_prints.html
Links:
Devonport Naval Heritage Centre: https://devonportnhc.wordpress.com/
Family Search Wiki: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Stoke_Damerel,_Devon_Genealogy
GENUKI: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/StokeDamerel
1827 – 1828 – Knaresborough, Yorkshire
On Oct 3, Revered John Turner become the curate of Knaresborough, Yorkshire – quite far away from the usual haunts in southern England. The salary for this appointment was more lucrative, at £150. [xii]
While at Knaresborough, their son Andrew Cheape Turner is born 4 April, and baptized 9 May 1828.
Description of the place:
“KNARESBOROUGH, or Knaresbrough, a market and parish-town, in the lower-division of Claro, liberties of St. Peter and Knaresborough; 5 miles from Ripley, 7 from Boroughbridge and Wetherby, 11 from Hopper Lane Inn, 12 from Ripon, 13 from Otley, 18 from Leeds and York, 24 from Skipton, 201 from London. Market, Wednesday. Fairs, January 13; first Wednesday after March 12; May 6, (unless it falls on a Sunday, then the day following,) first Wednesday after August 12; first Tuesday after October 11; Wednesday after December 10, for horned cattle, ., c. The sheep Fairs are held on the days preceding the first and last Fairs; the Statute days for servants, are on Wednesday before November 2, and Wednesday after. Bankers, Messrs. Harrison and Terrys, draw on Messrs. Willis, Percival, and Co. 79, Lombard Street; Messrs. Coates and Co. draw on Sir James Esdaile, Bart. and Co. 21, Lombard Street. Principal Inns, Crown, Bay Horse, and Old Elephant and Castle. Pop. 5,283. The Church is a vicarage, dedicated to St. John the Baptist (see Churches for photograph), in the deanry of Boroughbridge, diocese of Chester, value, £9. 9s. 4½d. Patron, Lord Rosslyn.” [Description(s) edited from various 19th century sources by Colin Hinson © 2013, on GENUKI: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Knaresborough/KnaresboroughHistory”
23 May 2021
Links:
Family Search Wiki: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Knaresborough,_Yorkshire_Genealogy
GENUKI: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Knaresborough
St John the Baptist’s Church, Knaresborough (GENUKI): https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Knaresborough/PhotoFrames/KnaresboroughStJohnTheBaptist_2
Historic UK: Knaresborough:
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Knaresborough/
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knaresborough
Britain Express: https://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=2758
Rare Old Prints: http://www.rareoldprints.com/county/Yorkshire?opendocument&town=Knaresborough
Endnotes
[i] Clergy of the Church of England Database, https://theclergydatabase.org.uk/jsp/search/index.jsp Record ID 38566.
[ii] “Hierarchy of the Church of England in the 1820 period (and before)”, at GENUKI, https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/YRY/YKS/Church accessed 29 May 2021.
[iii] John Marius WILSON‘s “Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, 1870-72”
[iv] The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson © 2003, accessed on GENUKI website 29 May 2021.
[v] The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham, by George Lipscomb, 1847
[vi] GENUKI https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/BKM/GreatMarlow accessed 30 May 2021.
[vii] Clergy of the Church of England Database, Record ID 278309.
[viii] From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) – transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003, accessed at GENUKI, 29 May 2021.
[ix] Clergy of the Church of England Database, Record ID 142226
[x] The National Gazetteer (1868), accessed at GENUKI.
[xi] Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of England (1844) accessed on GENUKI.
[xii] Clergy of the Church of England Database, Record IF 195712
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