Fontmell Magna

Arranged according to the Gregorian Calendar, with the Julian year indicated to the left of the forward slash (/) in those years when the Julian Calendar, which ran from March 25th to March 24th, was in use (i.e. prior to 1752, 1751 being the transition year).

West Orchard was a chapelry of Fontmell Magna while East Orchard, which is contiguous to Fontmell Magna, was a chapelry of Iwerne Minster. Certain events have ’West Orchard’ or just ’WO’ written after them, while on other occasions there is a separate heading for West Orchard in the Fontmell Magna register or it specifically states ’at West Orchard Chapel’. Where an event is followed by ’West Orchard’ or ’WO’ I have noted ’of West Orchard’ in the comments section. All other instances are designated as ’at West Orchard Chapel’. Some of the other events may also have been celebrated at West Orchard, but at this point in time there is no way of knowing.

The Parish Register is difficult to read in places, so readers are invited to use this transcript as a guide only and to consult the original at the Dorset History Centre.