The church records have given us a great deal of information. They first began in 1538, but it wasn't until 1597 that record keeping became law. The early books were written in Latin and make fascinating reading. Some gave very little information such as Aless dau. of S Apr 13 1559 other entries were more detailed (although no more helpful) Mary a child of a woman that harvested at Capt Hitch indigent, born nine days before Sept 25 1698. Others gave interesting detail such as Henrye Dockrell slain with a loaded cart Aug 14 1607. None of these belong to the Symonett line but, they do show how the information does vary.

Unfortunately some church records are missing. From Aston in Yorkshire which plays a very important part in the Simmonett family history, there is a gap of just over thirty years between 1632–1665. We have read stories of vicars re-using the books to save money and others using the pages to wrap butter. More poignantly, during the Civil War (1643–1647) many towns and villages abandoned the records altogether, some gave scant entries and in some cases complete books were hidden by the clergy – some of which have been completely lost.

The list below contains information we have retrieved from the church records, in Yorkshire and London and the internet. We will continue to update this page with records we currently hold.

Marriage

Deaths or Burials