| Description | These were surveys of the property of a benefice and the tithes it enjoyed. Most parishes in Wiltshire and Berkshire are represented in this series, including a few under peculiar jurisdictions. Terriers for about 15 other 'peculiar' parishes will be found in the appropriate sections.
The Bishop's terriers differ enormously from each other, in size and amount of information as well as in the kind of information given. They deal mostly with land; and when enclosure had not yet taken place, great detail is sometimes given about the various pieces of glebe land scattered in small parcels through the fields. The 1783 terriers nearly all give a description of the parsonage house and of the church furniture. Sometimes tithes and fees due to the parson are described, and occasionally the parish charities.
Most of the terriers seem to have been sent in to the Registry in response to special requests at times of visitation. This was certainly the case with the 1783 terriers, which explains why there are so many for that date and why they mostly follow a pattern. But others, too, were probably sent in for the same reason; there are a large number for 1704 or 1705, and 1588, 1608, 1671, 1677 and 1683 are also dates often found. There are rather a large number undated and in these cases an attempt has been made to give an approximate date.
Wiltshire terriers are published in WRS vol 56. |