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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: ScouseBoy on Sunday 23 January 11 10:50 GMT (UK)
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around about 1850 how old would the children be when they were baptised?
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They could be any age. Although the "Book of Common Prayer" states that The Curates of every Parish shall often admonish the people, that they defer not the Baptism of their Children longer than the first or second Sunday next after their birth, or the other Holy-day falling between, unless upon a great and reasonable cause, to be approved by the Curate. but of course in practice the interval could be anything up to adulthood.
Stan
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Generally, as Stan points out, baptisms are performed within a few weeks of birth.
However, this is not always the case. My 2nd gt gran Diana Turner had two illegitimate children in the 1850s, neither of them were baptised until she, her father and both her children went into the workhouse in 1857. The boys were 7 and 3 at the time.
Paul
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If they were members of one of the various baptist churches then they would not be baptised until after the age of twelve.
In many cases when children were baptised at a late age in the Church of England you will find a number of children from the same family being baptised at the same time. This was sometimes the result of a new vicar being appointed to the parish.