Archdeaconry of Huntingdon

AH

Archdeaconry of Huntingdon

c.1360-c.1960, bulk c.1660-c.1890

The Parishes and People team would like to express its thanks to Alan Richardson. Without the many years of work, which Alan devoted to describing many of the items in the Archdeaconry Collection, this list would have been immeasurably poorer.

The intention of this union list is to create a single structure incorporating all records of the historic Archdeaconry and its functions. In order to achieve this end the records have been entirely rearranged into new series preceded by the letters AH (unique identifier for Archdeaconry of Huntingdon), which as far as possible reflect the division of the functions of the Archdeaconry. Many series retain the number accorded in the summary list of the Archdeaconry Library archive by W.M. Noble and S. Inskip Ladds. Where this number has additionally been used as a reference, this is noted at the appropriate level of description.

<p>Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies hold Bishops Transcripts as well as original wills, 1585-1857, will registers, 1557-1843, and probate inventories, 1568-1789 for the Hitchin Division of the Archdeaconry of Huntingdon. Wills and probate for residents of the archdeaconry not proved at the Archdeaconry or Peculiar Courts are likely to be in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury records at the National Archives, or in very rare instances at the Consistory Court of Lincoln records at Lincolnshire Archives. Records of the diocese of Ely are largely held at Cambridge University Library; records of the Diocese of Lincoln are largely held at Lincolnshire Archives.</p>

English

1162 pages

There are no restrictions on access other than for documents which are too fragile to produce.

The majority of records were received from the Archdeaconry Library as an unnumbered deposit early in the history of Huntingdonshire Record Office. These comprise the records listed by S. Inskip Ladds and W.M. Noble as described under system of arrangement. Additional records were mostly received from the Archdeacon himself, Cambridge University Library, Lincoln Probate Registry, Lincolnshire Record Office and Hertfordshire Record Office, The original accession numbers for records in this list are: 58, 185, 186, 252, 1042, 1091, 1128, 1963, 1980, 2397, 3053, 3762, 4562.

The majority of records were received by Huntingdonshire Record Office (now known as Cambridgeshire County Record Office Huntingdon) from the Archdeaconry Library. The Library was established by Archdeacon Vesey in 1890 as a resource for clergymen of the Archdeaconry, a function it served until its closure in 1971. It is believed that most of the archive received from the Library had been previously held at the Bishop of Lincoln's palace at Buckden, but this is not certain. Some series of records, including the wills, were never in the Archdeaconry Library, but were transferred to civil probate registries in 1858.

No records created by the Archdeacon of Huntingdon or functions of the archdeaconry after 1960 have been included.

An Archdeaconry covering the counties of Huntingdon, Cambridge and part of Hertford was established by Remigius, Bishop of Lincoln, in the late 11th century. On creation of the See of Ely in 1109-1110, Cambridgeshire was removed from the authority of the Bishop of Lincoln. This left the Archdeaconry of Huntingdon, within the Diocese of Lincoln, covering Huntingdonshire and most of west and north Hertfordshire. The extent of the Archdeaconry remained much the same until it was transferred to the Diocese of Ely in 1837, in which it remains today.

The key officers of the Archdeaconry were the Archdeacon, the Official and the Registrar. Under a composition of 1441 rights to hold ecclesiastical courts, grant probates of wills and letters of administration were granted to the Archdeacon for a sum of £21 per year. In the Archdeaconry Court sessions, the Official was the effective judge or commissary: the Registrar was appointed to record and administer the records.

The other major role of the Archdeacon was to undertake visitations to the parishes within his care, in order to assess the physical condition of the church's buildings and ensure the moral well-being of the archdeaconry. The visitations were usually made once a year. The sittings were generally held at All Saints, Huntingdon, but at various periods they were held at Buckden, Stilton and St. Neots churches. A variety of matters were dealt with, including the exhibition of presentments by churchwardens and sidesmen, and exhibiting of letters of 'orders, licences and admissions' by clergymen and other professional persons.