England Records of Illegitimacy - International Institute

Bastardy Affiliation Orders
These were obtained from Justices mainly at the Petty Sessions and may be called just filiation or maintenance orders. The examples shown below are of two types, one made before the birth and the other after delivery, whilst the last example shows the punishment exacted upon the woman (not the man!) and a more unusual arrangement for custody. Unmarried mothers had no right under the law over their children after they reached seven years of age (Camp 2001), but this order is at two years old. If the man absconded or defaulted on payments then a bastardy warrant was made for his arrest and once he was found, a summons delivered to him to appear at the next Quarter Sessions.

Bastardy Affiliation Order 1789 Eling, Hampshite

Bastardy Affilation Order 1799

Bastardy Order and Bond 1615 Winkleigh, Devon

Bastardy Books
Bastardy books are otherwise known as Affiliation Order Books or Bastardy Repayment Lists or Bastardy Payment Books. Large parishes may have kept them to show details of the couples concerned and whether they married, the child died, or he was listed in the payment schedule. Every book seems to have a different arrangement. The example below is an index at the front, which is followed by a double spread page for expenses and payments for each illegitimate child.

Index from Bastardy Book for Sowerby, Yorkshire 1809-1815

Miscellaneous Bastardy Records
Payment books of nurses and doctors for illegitimate children, for example one exists covering the period 1821-36 for Tonbridge, Kent.

Naughty nights in the workhouse must have been rare, but consider this priceless example quoted by Elderton:

Much Wenlock, Shropshire Parish Register 1744

Putting the Story Together
When a good series of documents is available it is worth combing them thoroughly to discover the whole story, as in the two cases shown below.

Sequence of Bastardy Documents in Sowerby, Yorks

The next two are summaries of a double-page spread. continued

Anthony Camp (2001) in Records of Illegitimate Children. (Family Tree Magazine Vol 17 #7, page 7-9) presents a thoughtful article on many aspects of bastardy and the law.

The Saga of a Bastard Kingston St. Mary, Somerset 1815-1820

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