In the late 17th century, a man appears in the Wickhamford records who had lasting significance but about whom almost nothing is now known. He was Thomas Akers and his only connection to the village, in the local history records, was his time as a Churchwarden at the Church of St John the Baptist. His surname was spelled as either ‘Akers’ or Ackers’, but the former is used here.
Churchwarden reports
Annual Presentations submitted by the Churchwardens to the Bishop of Worcester survive from this period and Thomas Akers wrote two, in 1693 as ‘Tho. Akers’ (see below) and 1696 as ‘Tho. Ackers’
Church bell
More significantly, he was also Churchwarden in 1686 when a bell was cast and installed in the recently built church tower. This had been completed in 1678 and the Churchwardens that year had their names inscribed in a cartouche near the top – William White and Richard Clarke.
The single bell, for summoning parishioners to services, hangs in the tower today and is still in use. It is inscribed – THOMAS AKERS CW M B 1686. The M B refers to the bell foundry, in Evesham, where it was cast, that of Matthew Bagley.
Parish Registers
The Wickhamford Parish Registers contain no references to any person called Akers or Ackers. He certainly was resident in the village for a minimum of ten years, from 1686 to 1696, but there is no mention of the surname in the Registers. During the period 1680 to 1700 there were 53 Baptisms, 37 Marriages and 53 Burials. There is no record of the surname in the Badsey Registers either. It therefore seems unlikely that he was a tenant in a property in the village, so he may have been a servant at Wickhamford Manor, employed by the Sandys family.
Wickhamford Manor
In the time under consideration, Samuel Sandys lived at the Manor until his death in 1685. His wife, Mary, had died in 1681 and he then married Elizabeth Washington who died in 1698. Samuel’s wives are buried in the Church of St John the Baptist, but he was buried in Ombersley, the main family estate. His eldest son, also called Samuel, owned the Manor until his death in 1701 and burial in Ombersley. With the Sandys family spending much of their time in Ombersley Court, Thomas Akers may have been the man in charge at Wickhamford Manor or, at least, the grounds.
Also surviving are the Manorial Court records for 1631 to 1716. These Courts were held to deal with disputes and tenancy matters and apart from the Court Baron and Court Steward, the Homage, or jurors, were made up of Estate tenants. In the lists of jurors in this period there is no mention of Thomas Akers, which may support the theory that he was a Manor servant rather than a tenant on the Wickhamford Estate.
Locating Thomas Akers’ origins
Surviving records from the likely period of Thomas Akers’ life, possibly ca 1640 to ca 1710, reveal no-one of that name in Worcestershire. Some possibilities can be found in nearby counties.
- In Bramshall, Staffordshire: Thomas Akers married Catherine Scott in in 1661.
- In Bampton, Oxfordshire: Thomas Akers married Elinor Shepheard in in 1697. A child of that name was baptised there in 1630, a son of Alexander Akers. Also, a Thomas Akers (father also Thomas), was baptised in that parish in 1666.
- In Bedworth, Warwickshire: Thomas Akers married Ann Fritzwell in 1709 and a man of the same name was buried there in 1719.
Was the name ‘Akers’ a confusion with ‘Oldakers/Oldacre’?
Oldakers was a name that entered Wickhamford records in 1641, when Richard Oldakers was granted property in the village following the death of the previous tenant. He probably had a son, Thomas, who had five children baptised in Wickhamford between 1663 and 1673 and was a Churchwarden in 1677-1679, 1684 and 1688. In the Churchwarden records his name was spelled ‘Oldacre’. One of his sons was also called Thomas Oldacre and he was a Churchwarden in 1692, 1699 and 1702. The dates that Thomas Oldacre junior held the position straddle the ones held by Thomas ‘Akers’ in 1686, 1693 and 1696. Could they be the same person? Although possible, it seems unlikely that, with the Oldacre family well established in the village, Churchwarden Presentations and the bell inscription could have been wrongly inscribed. See document below from 1688, signed by ‘Tho: Oldacres’, only five years before the one shown above signed by ‘Tho Akers’.
Conclusion
It is frustrating that a man who left a permanent mark in the parish, in the form of the Church bell, cannot be traced in the surviving historical records, apart from two Churchwarden Presentations. In time, something may appear that adds more information on the life of Thomas Akers. One further piece of information may hold a clue to this mystery.
During the time when the Church tower was built and the new bell installed, the Vicar of Wickhamford was Rev’d Charles Nixon. He seems to have not been the best holder of this position as, in 1705, the Churchwardens made a presentation to the Bishop of Worcester. This stated:
Wee present Mr Charles Nixon for neglect of service att Wickhamford and now att present voyd of a viker to supply the place
Nixon left the parish the same year. Could it be that he was so lax in his approach to his work that he made mistakes with the name ‘Thomas Akers’, including the inscription instructions to Matthew Bagley as to what should be put on the bell. Should he have told them ‘Thomas Oldakers’? However, such an error seems unlikely, as he had recorded ten baptisms, two marriages and four burials in Registers during his time at Wickhamford, with ‘Oldakers’ correctly entered.
Tom Locke – October 2024
See also:
Churchwardens of St John the Baptist, Wickhamford, 1663-1790
Wickhamford Church Bell