Plague in St Neot in 1591

There was an outbreak of Bubonic Plague in Plymouth and Cornwall from 1589 for the next few years It appears to have started in Plymouth in 1589 and moved inland to Cornwall over the next few years. There seems to be little evidence as to whether it was Bubonic or Pneumonic Plague. However, Bubonic Plague was recorded in Redruth in 1591 it is possible that our St Neot outbreak was of the Bubonic variety.  On-line records also show that Plague started in St Columb Minor, Illogan, Morval and St Neot during 1591

When mentioning years please remember that prior to 1752 the first day of the new year was 25^th March. I have recorded the figures/numbers for 1591 starting on the 25^th March leading ‘round to the 24^th March (of the next year as we would now consider it to be!).

My wife and I have been transposing data from typed pages that have recently (Dec 2024) been found in St Neot Church. The searchable database will appear on the St Church website soon. The Burials records start in 1549 and continue on until 1812.

There is a remarkable increase in the Burials (they didn’t record deaths then) fron 4^th April 1591.

1591

April                      4 Burials                                             October              17 Burials

May                       4 Burials                                            November           11 Burials

June                      2 Burials                                           December             2 Burials

July                        3 Burials                                           January                 6 Burials

August                 28 Burials                                           February               3 Burials

September          22 Burials                                           March                    2 Burials

Total for year from 25^th March to 24^th March 104 burials.

In August, between the 10^th and the 15^th, there were 12 burials. During this short period the Michell family suffered badly. At that time Phillipp spelled with a variety of “L’s” and “P’s” was used as a Christian name and surname for both males and females.

Michell                Phillipp                wife of Nicholas               11 Aug 1591

Michell                Hope                   daughter of Nicholas       12 Aug 1591

Michell                John                    son of Nicholas               15 Aug 1591

There were four burials on the 11^th of August, three on the 14^th and six on the 27^th!

The Crapp family also suffered badly. “Phonetic” spelling was prevalent at that time.

Crapp                   Thomas                                                         14 Aug 1591

Crapp                   Julyan                   Widow                              27 Aug 1591

Crapp                   Robert                  son of Julyan                    27 Aug 1591

Crappe                Blaunch                daughter of Julyan            27 Aug 1591

The Roger family did not escape the pandemic either.

Roger                    Margery                 daughter of William         8 Sep 1591

Roger                    Peter                     son of William                 23 Sep 1591

Roger                    Jonne                    wife of William                 24 Sep 1591

Roger                    Jonne                    daughter of William         24 Sep 1591

There are a number of different spellings of the surname Batten, sadly they did not escape the tragedy either. The “E” was often left off the end of George.

Battyn                  Phillipp                wife of George                 30 Aug 1591

Baten                   Grace                 daughter of George          30 Aug 1591

Batten                  John                   son of Georg                     6 Sep 1591

Batten                  Nicholas             son of Georg                     7 Sep 1591

The Bunte family also succumbed to the illness. It is not clear if John and Elizabeth were closely related to Margret and Abell

Bunte                   John                                                              19 Sep 1591

Bunte                   Elizabeth            wife of John                       19 Sep 1591

Bunt                      Margret              widow                                  9 Oct 1591

Bunte                   Abell                    son of William                   14 Oct 1591

Members of the Hicke family were not immune either. It is not clear of the relationship of Elizabeth to the others.

Hicke                   William                   son of John                      25 Sep 1591

Hick                      Jone                      daughter of Jone               3 Oct 1591

Hicke                   John                      son of John                        4 Oct 1591

Hicke                   Stephen                son of John                        12 Oct 1591

Hicke                   Elizabeth              wife                                     17 Oct 1591

Younge/Young family members also feature in the Burials records.

Young                   Robert                                                               20 Sep 1591

Younge                 Jone                      daughter of Mary                  8 Oct 1591

Young                   Nicholas                                                             21 Nov 1591

Young                   Robert                  son of Nicholas                     23 Nov 1591

Young                   John                      son of Nicholas                    23 Nov 1591

Sweete/Sweet was also a frequently found surname in St Neot. This name had an unusual entry (see below).

Sweete                Jonne                    wife of Stephen                 12 Jun 1591

Sweete                John & John         two sons of John               9 Sep 1591

St Neot Burials in 1590 were:-

April                       2                                             October              0

May                       2                                              November          0

June                      1                                              December         0

July                       1                                              January              1

Aug                       1                                              February            3

September           4                                              March                 2

Total for year 1590 = 17.

St Neot Burials in 1592 were:-

April                       2                                             October                0

May                       1                                             November             2

June                      1                                             December            0

July                       0                                             January                 4

August                  0                                             February               5

September           1                                              March                   0

Total for year 1592 = 16.

There a huge number of pages like the above that are currently (Jan 2025) being transposed onto a searchable database, these pages include Baptisms, Marriages and Burials. They will appear on this site when completed.