Eaton Bray Bedfordshire Family History Guide
Eaton Bray is an Ancient Parish in the county of Bedfordshire.
Parish church: St. Mary
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1559
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1602
Nonconformists include:
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Particular Baptist
- Wesleyan Methodist
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
EATON-BRAY, a parish in Leighton-Buzzard district, Beds; on the verge of the county, near Stanbridgeford r. station, 3¾ miles W by S of Dunstable. It has a post office under Dunstable; and it gives the title of Baron Braye to the family of Cave Otway.
Acres, 2,650. Real property, £5,191. Pop., 1,440. Houses, 308. The property is subdivided. Part of the land is common. A castle stood here before the early part of the 13th century.
The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely. Value, £189. Patron, Trinity College, Cambridge. The church is early English.
There are chapels for Baptists and Wesleyans, and a national school.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850
Eaton-Bray, 3 m. S.W. Dunstable. P. 1097
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850
A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
EATON, BRAY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Luton, hundred of Manshead, county of Bedford, 3½ miles (W. by S.) from Dunstable; containing 1097 inhabitants.
The manor was given by King John to Ardulphus de Braci, and not long afterwards belonged to the Cantilupes, who built a castle in 1221, which the Chronicle of Dunstable represents as very injurious to that town. In 1273 it passed by a female heir to the family of Zouche; and it is supposed to have been forfeited by attainder, and to have been granted to Sir Reginald Bray.
The parish lies on the south-west border of the county. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s books at £12. 16. 3.; net income, £189; patrons, the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848
Parish Registers
London Marriage Licences and Allegations 1521 to 1869
The following have been extracted from London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869.
Abbreviations. — B. Bishop of London's Office; D. Dean and Chapter of Westminster; F. Faculty Office of Archbishop of Canterbury; V. Registry of the Vicar-General of Canterbury.
Bunyon, John [subs, with x ], of Eaton, co. Beds, bachelor, about 24, and Anne Carter, of Barnet, Herts, spinster, aged 18, consent of father, Andrew Carter, of same, innholder — at St. Gregory, or St. Margaret, Lothbury, London. 5 May, 1663. V.
Davies, Thomas, of Newland, co. Gloucester, gent., bachelor, about 27, and Mary Samm, of same, spinster, about 27, consent of father, Thomas Samm, of Eaton, Beds, gent. — at St. Bride, or St. Andrew, Holborn, London. 13 June, 1663. V.
Penington, Jacob, of Eaton Bray, co. Beds, gent., widower, 36, and Mary Blofield, of Houghton Conquest, said county, widow, 30 — at Ampthill or Flitwich, co. Beds. 2 Dec. 1661. F.
Source: London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869; Edited by Joseph Foster; London 1887
Quarter Sessions Rolls
The following have been extracted from the Notes & Extracts from the Bedfordshire County Records comprised in the Quarter Sessions Rolls from 1714 to 1832 compiled by Messrs. Hardy & Page, Record Agents
1728 Recognizance for the appearance of Thomas Crawley of Market Street, and John Jenkins of Eaton Bray, for their appearance to answer for refusing to billet or quarter two Dragoons and two horses.
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Directories
Kelly’s Directory of the Wine and Spirit Trades, with which are included Brewers and Maltsters 1884
Marked thus * are Small Brewers who brew the beer they sell.
EATON BRAY, Dunstable
Maltster
Roberts Mrs Eliza
Source: The Post office directory of the brewers and maltsters [afterw.] Kelly’s directory of the wine and spirit trades, with which are included brewers and maltsters By Kelly’s directories, ltd. 1884
The Post Office Directory of Bedfordshire 1869
EATON BRAY is a village and parish, of considerable extent, on the borders of Buckinghamshire, in the hundred of Manshead, union and county court district of Leighton Buzzard, rural deanery of Dunstable, archdeaconry of Bedford, and diocese of Ely, 4 miles north west from Dunstable, and 4 south east from Leighton Buzzard.
Here is a National school, also a Wesleyan chapel, and a Baptist chapel. A market is held here every Friday for the disposal of straw plait. A great many of the inhabitants, particularly the children, are employed in the straw business.
Parish Clerk William Brown
Post Office – William Gurney, receiver. Letters arrive through Dunstable at 7.45 am; dispatched at 5 30 pm. The nearest money order office is at Dunstable
National School (mixed) Miss Jane Price, mistress
Pratt Miss
Whyley Rev Gregory Edward M.A., J.P., [vicar]
Bird David shopkeeper
Bird Jesse cattle salesman
Bird William farmer
Brinklow John shopkeeper
Brown William blacksmith & registrar of births & deaths for Eddlesborough district
Brown Wm blacksmith & shopkeeper
Buckmaster John farmer
Burchmore Sarah Mrs Chequers
Burridge David boot & shoe maker
Burrows Benjamin farmer
Cobb John shopkeeper
Costin Thomas beer retailer
Eillingham Daniel farmer
Ellingham John baker
Eustace Joseph plait dealer
Fountain Richard beer retailer
Gadsden Emma Mrs shopkeeper
Gadsden Richard shopkeeper
Gadsden Robert farmer
Groom John & Abraham wheelwrights
Gurney George blacksmith
Gurney Wm blacksmith & postmaster
Hawkins William baker
Hedges Charles farmer
Hedges John farmer & shopkeeper
Hedges Robert farmer
Henley Joseph beer retailer
James Thomas shopkeeper
Janes Samuel beer retailer
Janes William mealman
Lee Charles shopkeeper
Mead Benjamin miller
Mead Hannah Mrs plait dealer
Partridge Thomas Plough
Pearson Thomas whiting manufacturer
Peek John boot & shoe maker
Peppiatt John beer retailer
Pratt Thomas farmer
Puddephatt Michael grazier
Roberts Frederick maltster & farmer
Roe Samuel shopkeeper
Rollings Robert tailor
Rollings William carrier & whiting manufacturer
Rumble John beer retailer
Sharratt Samuel carpenter
Simmons Frederick miller
Simmons Jesse Five Bells
Smith Caleb plait dealer
Thorn Charles baker & grocer
Thorn George butcher
Thorn Joseph farmer
Thorn Robert farmer
Tingey John farmer
Travell William beer retailer
Varney Robert shopkeeper
Wood Fanny shopkeeper
Wood William farmer
Source: The Post office directory of Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire By Kelly’s directories, ltd 1869
Maps
Administration
- County: Bedfordshire
- Civil Registration District: Leighton Buzzard
- Probate Court: Court of the Archdeaconry of Bedford
- Diocese: Pre-1837 – Lincoln, Post-1836 – Ely
- Rural Deanery: Dunstable
- Poor Law Union: Leighton Buzzard
- Hundred: Manshead
- Province: Canterbury
