Dunkeswell records before 1750

[ndmhine]

Hi,

I wonder if anyone has any insight into why the baptism records for Dunkeswell in Devon, anywhere I can find them (notably findmypast), start at 1750? It appears to have been a substantial parish considerably before that and many nearby parishes (eg Hemyock) have records going back a great deal further.

Does anyone know if any of the following are the case?
 a) Dunkeswell was doing baptisms long before this but the records are simply lost forever?
 b) Dunkeswell was doing baptisms long before this, and the records still exist but have never been transcribed?
 c) People who lived in Dunkeswell had their children baptised elsewhere until 1750?

There is some evidence of (c) in at least one family (Gill) who had children baptised in Hemyock until the start of the first register book in 1750.

This question impacts my attempts to follow a number of my lines back beyond around this date, such as William Burrough (born c1747 in Dunkeswell: many online trees assert his parents to be James Burrough and Elizabeth Rosewell. I believe them to have been Richard Burrough and Elizabeth Denner, but I can find no corresponding baptism. There are many similar puzzles as a substantial branch of my family tree comes from this approximate area.

There doesn't seem to be an OPC for Dunkeswell but I thought I'd see if anyone has any insights.

Thanks

[DOB7]

Hello, this may be because Dunkeswell has not yet been fully indexed. Registers are extant from 1539 and are held at the Devon Records Office. See http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/Dunkeswell

[ndmhine]

Thanks, but I'm not sure that's actually the case, despite what it says on genuki.

These pages:
http://devon-cat.swheritage.org.uk/records/361A/PR/1
http://devon-cat.swheritage.org.uk/records/361A/PR/1/1

suggest that they only hold baptisms from 1750 onwards. I guess we have to conclude earlier records are lost. It just seems a surprisingly late start date compared to many other similar parishes.

[DRH123]

The Bishop's Transcripts offer some hope. They appear to have nearly complete coverage of 1718-1750, missing only 1739.

http://devon-cat.swheritage.org.uk/records/DEX/7/d/1/Dunkeswell/EBT

Unfortunately they are not available online as far as I can see. Familysearch has a large collection of (unindexed) images of Devon BTs but Dunkeswell pre-1812 is not included.

David

[terryleaman]

A good place to start is https://www.swheritage.org.uk/da-ls-rg-parish-registers. This states that Devon Heritage Centre only holds Dunkeswell baptisms from 1750