Stepney Churches

Parish Registers and Vestry Minutes

The St Dunstan marriage register 1609-1639 starts with the following note 'This book was bought by Mr Richd Phillips, Churchwarden, Ano 1612. Also hee and Mr Gisby built new of their owne chardges the weste Church porch of bricke & stone. He boughte also a new bible & a great parchment book for Christninges besides many other things. He deserveth great comendacons.' Richard was a yeoman of Limehouse, and a deputy churchwarden for Mr Richard March.

The porch was in the Tuscan style which has been described as a monstrosity. It appears in some old illustrations of the church but no longer exists.

The St Dunstan vestry minutes of 1613 show that John Brockbancke the late clerk, perhaps through illness, had not recorded all the christenings, marriages and burials and Peter Wright was asked if he would bring them up to date by the following Easter for a payment of four pounds.

When Edward Kerbie and Prudence Beadell were married at St Katherine's by the Tower on 4 January 1614/15 the parish clerk felt it necessary to note in the register 'All you that come to be Clarkes and hereafter take heed and beware of the like marriage as this last was'! It is a pity that he did not go into further detail for our enlightenment.

On 2 November 1627 at St Katherine's by the Tower (according to the parish register records) was buried 'Margret, daughter of (blank) brought to bed in the street'. There is no hope of identifying this poor soul now but such events were almost commonplace as were the discovery of bodies washed up along the shore. The burial of unidentified persons occurred occasionally in most parishes but in riverside areas it seems to have happened frequently.