Person:William Bryant (48)

William Bryant was baptised on 20th November 1774 at Hinxworth in Hertfordshire, son of Ann Bryant, formerly Stanton, and her husband William Bryant, a blacksmith. William was the second of their seven children, and the eldest son.

William’s mother died in January 1793, when William was eighteen years old.

On 13th October 1796 William married Ann Randall at Astwick, immediately south-west of Hinxworth. They returned to Hinxworth after their marriage, having seven children there between 1797 and 1816. Their only daughter died as a baby in 1801. Their six sons all lived to adulthood.

William’s father died in October 1802.

William followed his father’s trade and became a blacksmith. By 1832 he owned a freehold “blacksmith’s shop” in Hinxworth, which gave him the right to vote. In the 1832 election he is recorded as having voted for the successful candidate, Viscount Grimston, who was associated with the emerging Conservative party.

The 1841 census finds William and Ann living on the High Street in Hinxworth, apparently next door to the Three Horseshoes public house. Old maps and photographs show that there was a smithy or forge next door to the Three Horseshoes, which is presumably therefore where William worked, and quite likely also how the pub got its name. The public house itself had been bought by William’s great-grandfather, Francis Stanton, in 1705 and it was still owned by William's relatives on his mother's side into the 1840s.

William died at Hinxworth on 24th September 1849, aged 74. Ann survived him by five years.

William's signature from his marriage.

1. ↑ Church of England. Parish registers of Hinxworth, 1551-1985. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   1774 / Baptiz[e]d William the Son of William & Ann Briant the 20th Nov[embe]r

   This baptism can be linked to the William who married Ann Randall on the basis that the William baptised in 1774 had a brother with the unusual name Green Bryant, which was a name that the William who married Ann Randall also gave one of their sons. The baptism is also at about the right time to match the age of the William who appears in the 1841 census in Hinxworth and died there in 1849, and in the same parish in which the adult William appears to have lived and died as an adult.

2. ↑ England. 1841 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 446; Book 7; Folio 7; Page 8, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: High Street, Hinxworth, Hertfordshire
   Will[ia]m Briant, male, 66 [1774/5], Blacksmith, born in county
   Ann Briant, female, 63 [1777/8], not born in county

3. ↑ Death certificate, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   Registration District Royston and Buntingford
   1849 Death in the Sub-district of Royston in the Counties of Hertford Essex & Cambridge
   No.	When and where died	Name and surname	Sex	Age	Occupation	Cause of death	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered	Signature of registrar
   441	Eighth October 1849 Hinxworth	William Briant	male	75 years [1773/4]	Blacksmith	Dropsy Certified	X The mark of Ann Briant present at the Death Hinxworth	Tenth December 1849	Josias Johnson Registrar

   Although the date of death here is given as 8th October this is considered to be an error. William's death was not registered until 10th December, so at least two months after the event, and his burial took place on 28th September. It is therefore considered he must have died in late September, been buried on the 28th September but when his death was registered over two months later a mistake was made as to exactly when he had died. William's gravestone at Hinxworth gives his date of death as 24th September, which is assumed to be the correct date.

4. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Parish registers of Hinxworth, 1551-1985. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   BURIALS in the Parish of Hinxworth in the County of Hertford in the Year 1849
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   268	William Bryant	Hinxworth	Sept[embe]r 28	75 [1773/4]	Edw[ar]d Burridge, Curate

5.   Poll books.

   1832
   Hinxworth
   Briant, William of Hinxworth / Freehold Blacksmith's Shop at Hinxworth / voted for Viscount Grimston (not Sir John Saunders Sebright, Nicolson Calvert or Rowland Alston)

6.   Monumental Inscription, Hinxworth Churchyard.

   Sacred / to the Memory of / WILLIAM BRYANT / Who departed this Life / September 24th 1849 / AGED 75 YEARS / [rest of inscription obscured by a smaller stone in front of this one]