Rev. S. H. A. Hervey
Vicar of Wedmore 1876-1897
"The Revd. S. H. A. Hervey, the third son of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, was vicar of Wedmore 1876-1897. He was a keen local historian and amateur archaeologist, and wrote the village magazine called "The Wedmore Chronicle". It was due to his interest and enthusiasm that many of the parish records were saved and brought to the attention of villagers. Several photographs taken for The Wedmore Chronicles appear elsewhere in this book. The Revd. S. H. A. Hervey was also an enthusiastic cricketer and bell-ringer and passionately interested in the music and singing of the church.
However being a staunch Liberal he did not see eye to eye with the extreme Toryism of Wedmore and retired at the age of 52. He devoted the rest of his life to historical research and died at the age of 99 years."
The above was written by Hazel Hudson in her book "Wedmore Past."
Rev. S.H.A. Hervey did a great deal of work and research to keep history and information about Wedmore alive. During the late 1800's he transcribed the Wedmore Parish Records; consisting of the baptisms for the years 1561 to 1812, marriages 1561 to 1839 and the burials 1561 to 1860. He also wrote two books, The Wedmore Chronicles which, were the bound versions of his parish magazine.
Baptism Introduction.
Burial Introduction.
S. H. A. Hervey provided some very informative and amusing introductions to the Parish Records. He compiled and edited the Registers during the late 1880 's and published them in three volumes, the first being the Marriages. This was a major undertaking at the time. Trust me, as we did it some one hundred years later with the aid of a computer, and we can't get over how much work is involved.
Hervey
had the forethought to realize that England should have a national registry
of all the records. He believed that it was important for people to
know where they came from and who their ancestors were. I'm sure that
he would be very pleased to see that the work he did was being made
accessible to all who wanted it.
His comments in the introductions are well researched and a tinted with
great humour. He seems to have been quite liberal in his beliefs, given
the times in which he lived.
Please do not copy this material with the purpose of publishing it without first contacting me. I have made it available for the use of those wanting to know more about Wedmore and their family's roots there. This material IS copyrighted.
Enjoy.