e from
1559, the year following the "Injunction" issued by Queen Elizabeth (the
3rd of its kind) ordering the regular keeping of such records; similar,
earlier, though less stringent, orders having been made in 1538, 1547 and
1552. Besides the records of baptisms, marriages and burials, there are
occasional notes on peculiar passing events, which we may here notice.
One of these occurs in 1627, "Upon Monday, beinge the xxviijth day of
January was a great Tempest of Winde, the like hath not often been in any
age; like wise upon Friday the 4th of November 1636 in the night time
there happened a more fearful (wind than) before.

Mr. Weir, in his _History of Horncastle_, quotes a note (folio 42 b of
the Register): "On the vth daie of October one thousand six hundred and
three, in the ffirst yere of oure Sov'aigne Lord King James was holden in
Horncastell Church a solemnn fast from eight in the morning until fower a
clock in the after noone by five preachers, vidz. Mr. Hollinghedge, Vicar
of Horncastell, Mr. Turner of Edlington, Mr. Downes of Lusbye, Mr.
Philipe of Solmonbye, Mr. Tanzey of Hagworthingha', occasioned by a
generall and most feareful plague yt yere in sundrie places of this land,
but especially upon the Cytie of London. p'r me Clementem Whitelock."
(Parish Clerk.)

We may observe that at this time there perished in London more than
30,000 persons; but the great plague, or "black death," occurred 61 years
later (1664-5), which carried off from 70,000 to 100,000 persons.
Between these periods, and previously, various parishes in our
neighbourhood suffered from this visitation; for instance at Roughton,
which is in the soke of Horncastle, there were 43 burials, including
those of the Rector and two daughters, in the year 1631-2; while in the
adjoining parish of Haltham (also in the soke) although there was no
increase of mortality at that date, there had been 51 deaths in the year
1584; there being a note in the register for that year, "This yeare
plague in Haltham." The turn, however, for Horncastle came in the year
1631, when the register shows that between May 3 and Sep. 29, there were
no less than 176 deaths; in one case 7 in a family (Cocking), 5 in a
family (Halliday), in other cases 4 (Joanes), and again (Hutchinson) 4,
(Fawcitts) 4, (Cheesbrooke) 4, &c. In August alone there were 86 deaths,
and not a single marriage through all these months, whereas the following
year there were only 25 deaths in the