| Type | Source |
Description |
|---|
| Coroners records | Inquests | 1776-1835. Inquests carried out by the Bath City Coroner into sudden and unexpected deaths. Some of the inquests are very brief, but others contain a considerable amount of detail, with lengthy statements by witnesses. |
| Crime | Bath City Police Prisoners Photograph Books | 1892-1922. Compiled by Bath City Police Force. A photograph, physical description, birthplace, occupation, and details of all convictions are usually included. Only the last conviction is shown here. To search for aliases please use the full-text search. |
| Commitments in Felony | 1840-1855. A person accused of a serious crime (felony) could be sent to a House of Correction until their trial at Quarter Sessions or Assizes. These warrants give brief details of the alleged offence, name of the accused and any victims or witnesses. |
| Commitments to the House of Correction | 1836-1858. People found guilty of a minor crime could be imprisoned in the House of Correction by the Justices of the Peace. These warrants for imprisonment give brief details of the offence, punishment, name of the wrongdoer and any victims or witnesses. |
| Quarter Sessions Court Minutes | 1785-1931. A record of cases heard at the Bath Court of Quarter Sessions 1785-1791 and 1837-1931. Types of cases tried at the court varied over time, but always excluded very serious crimes. Brief details of the crime and verdict are recorded |
| Directories | Bath Directories | 1791-1833. Bath Street Directories were published from the late 1700s to the 1970s. The early directories concentrated on accommodation, medics and lawyers but quickly expanded to include private individuals. |
| Freemen and Corporation | Freemen's Apprentices | 1706-1776. In the eighteenth century, only Freemen could trade in Bath. Once way to become a Freeman was to be bound apprentice to a Freeman and spend 7 years learning their trade. The contracts of apprenticeship were enrolled (recorded) in a register. |
| Mineral Water Cures | Cross Bath Register of Subscriptions | 1823-1829. Many people came to Bath to 'take the waters' for their health, bathing in and drinking the spring water. This volume records the payments made by the 'ladies and gentlemen' who used the Cross Bath, one of several baths built over hot springs. |
| Mineral Water Hospital Case Book | 1751-1759. This is the Hospital's first case book, and the only one to survive. It usually gives the name and age of the patient, where they were from, the date they were admitted and the outcome of their case. The Hospital took patients from nationwide. |
| Miscellaneous | Bath Loyal Association Petition | 1792-1793. In the 1790s it was feared that the French revolution would spread to England. In Bath, as in other towns, people eager to show support for the King set up a 'Loyal Association'. A volume lists all those who signed its petition of loyalty. |
| Lost Pawnbroker's tickets | 1785-1791. The clients of a pawnbroker sometimes lost the tickets which provided evidence of the items they had pawned. To retrieve the items, they had to swear an oath proving their ownership. The oaths include detailed descriptions of the items pawned. |
| Nonconformist Records | Methodist Registers | 1792-1928. Baptism registers for various Bath Methodist churches for different dates, and burial registers for Walcot Methodist Church, 1887-1928. Note that not all the registers we hold are yet included in the database. |
| Unitarian Registers | 1837-1970. Trim Street Unitarian Church baptisms 1852-1970, marriages 1860-1966 and burials 1837-1970. |
| Poor Relief | Board of Guardians, Boarding Out Records | 1869-1895. If a family fell on hard times, or children lost one or both parents, they often had to apply to the Board of Guardians for help. Some children were sent to the workhouse, but many were sent to 'board out' with individuals or families. |
| Board of Guardians, Maintenance Case Books | 1894-1905. Registers of those asking for relief where the Board of Guardians claimed all or part of the cost of their maintenance from elsewhere - either from other Poor Law Unions, from relatives or (in cases of illegitimacy) from putative fathers. |
| Board of Guardians, Register of Bastardy Orders | 1844-1885. The fathers of illegitimate children whose mothers applied for poor relief were required to contribute to their maintenance. This volume records the name and address of the mother, name, address and occupation of the father and the amount. |
| Board of Guardians, Registers of Paupers Removed | 1849-1863. Register of paupers who came from outside the Bath Poor Law Union, who would be removed to their own Union. Also lists Bath paupers whose costs were charged to a different parish within the Union - each parish was responsible for their own poor |
| Board of Guardians, Relief Order Book | 1890-1892. This volume list the names of those receiving outdoor relief (i.e. in their own homes rather than in the workhouse), recording the reason for the relief and the amount given. |
| Parish Poor Law papers | 1694-1841. Before 1834, each parish was responsible for looking after its own poor. This was done in various ways, and generated a range of papers, among them bastardy bonds, pauper apprenticeship indentures, removal orders, and records of outdoor relief. |
| Settlement Examinations | 1816-1866. Financial help for those in need was distributed by parish authorities. Applicants had to prove they were "settled" in a parish to qualify for help. This was established through an "examination" (interview), often listing important life events |
| Rate Books | City Rates | 1766, 1771, 1781, 1790. City rates were originally collected to pay for paving, lighting and policing. Rate books name owners or occupiers. We hold city rate books for the years 1766-1963, but rate books for only 4 years have been indexed by name. |
| Parish Poor Rate | 1775, 1781, Walcot parish only. Householders paid "poor rates" to the parish authorities to pay for the relief of the poor of the parish. We hold rate books for Walcot for 1775-1901, but rate books for only 2 years have been indexed by name. |
| School records | Bathforum School Admission Registers | 1856-1900. Bathforum Free School was set up in 1810 to provide non-denominational elementary education for poor boys. Located first in Corn Street, it moved several times before settling in Kingsmead Street in 1854. It was closed in 1926. |
| Blue Coat School Admissions and Apprenticeships | 1711-1861. A charity school for children of "industrious" Bath householders who attended the Church of England. Pupils were given elementary education. Girls were also taught sewing, knitting and housewifery. At 14, pupils were placed as apprentices. |
| Vaccination Records | Vaccination Registers | 1871-1888. These registers contain extracts from the Registrar's Registers of Births, recording for each child registered their name, parents' names, address and father's occupation. Additional columns record the date and success of the vaccination. |
| War Records | Bath War Memorials - WWI | 1914-1925. Soldiers who died in the Great War, recorded on memorials around Bath. Taken from Andrew Swift's book "All Roads Lead to France". |
| Wills | Wills | 1603-1990. A collection of wills from various sources such as solicitors' collections and family papers. Wills often name family members and list property and possessions. |
Bath Ancestors
