On 11 Jul 1696, Richard COLE Senior married Joan RAMPTON at Sherborne St John. The IGI records a birth of Joan at Sherborne St John in 1675, but I have been unable to find any evidence for the baptism in the parish registers, and the IGI evidence seems to have been derived from her supposed age at the time of the marriage in 1696. It is far more likely that she is the Joan, daughter of Henry and Joan baptised at Basingstoke on 23 Nov 1673, and I shall be examining the Basingstoke Ramptons in a later paper.

We learned of the marriage of Edward Rampton of Silchester and Ann Emmery of Burghfield in 1742 in Sherborne St John in the section on Silchester, and the next marriage to take place at Sherborne St John, that of Edward Rampton and Hannah Crowder in 1764 was examined in the Research Paper on Monk Sherborne since Edward came from that parish.

On 11 Oct 1773, Sarah Rampton married Charles WYETH; both were described as of the parish, and there are no obvious relatives named as witnesses. So where did Sarah come from, as there had been no Rampton baptisms in the parish? The curate who performed the marriage was designated "Curate of Herriard", and this may be a clue. In a will, dated 1734, John Rampton, Blacksmith of Herriard, bequeathed ". . . unto Elizabeth READING the wife of John READING & Mary BARBERY & Sarah RAMPTON my four daughters to each of them the sum of twelve peme Also I give to Thomas RAMPTON and Ffrancis RAMPTON my two sons to each of them the sum of twelve peme". If Sarah had been an infant at the time of her father's death, she would have been around 30 years old in 1773, a little old to be a bride for the first time, but not impossibly so. However, there is a baptism entry in the British Isles Vital Records for the baptism of Sarah, daughter of John, in 1717, and that would have made her a very old bride indeed in 1773! There is a Sarah baptised in 1763 in Tadley, but I do not think the marriage of a ten-year-old was legal in the 18th century. Perhaps her history will come to light when I examine the Basingstoke registers.

There are no further Rampton events in the parish until 1841, when the census of that year, taken on Sunday 6 Jun, shows two Rampton children living in Browning Hill, Sherborn sic. This was the home of Elizabeth HUGHES, who was living with three children; David Hughes was 2 years old, Patience Rampton was 6, and Mary Rampton was 14. All except Elizabeth were recorded as having been born in Hampshire. Elizabeth Hughes had been Elizabeth Rampton, born in 1815 to Richard the shoemaker and his wife Mary (nee BYE) of Monk Sherborne, who married Peter HUSE/HUGHES on 4 Mar 1837 at Hannington, a small parish to the west of Wootton St Lawrence. Unfortunately, since the marriage took place before civil registration began, no father's names are given on the entry in the marriage register; both bride and groom are described as being of the parish, so it is not possible to be absolutely certain.

Peter Hughes appears to have been buried at Hannington on 29 Dec 1870 aged 71, residence being given as Malshanger. At the time of the 1881 census, Elizabeth was widowed, and living alone in Malsanger, Hannington, aged 66. Her son David was living in South Warnborough with wife Mary, and children Henry Charles, Elizabeth, Peter H, Jane, William, and David James. He says he was born in Blundon, Monk Sherborne, but I have been unable as yet to trace a baptism for him. Nor have I been able to locate this village on a modern map, but it again appears to tie Elizabeth in with the Monk Sherborne family. Elizabeth moved to Martyr Worthy sometime later, but was buried at Hannington on 5 Mar 1893, aged 77.

Patience is another mystery. She cannot be the daughter of Richard the shoemaker and his wife Mary (nee BYE) of Monk Sherborne born in 1831 because that Patience died when she was only a month old, but she could be a later daughter of this couple for whom the baptism was not recorded, or she could be the illegitimate daughter of Elizabeth. There are no other baptisms for a Patience in about 1835, and other evidence points to the fact that she belongs to that family. I am confident in my reasoning, because of a number of factors; the age given at the time of the 1841 census for Elizabeth ties her in with the Monk Sherborne family, as does the age of Mary (possibly baptised as Mary Anne on 14 May 1826 daughter of Richard and Mary), and the unusual name of the third inhabitant, Patience, which was a name used a couple of times in the Monk Sherborne family. There is a marriage record for a Patience Rampton in Hannington in 1852 and in the register her father is given as John SMITH. But, if this were the same Patience she would have only been 17 at the time of the marriage, and the register says she was of full age. I await further evidence to finally establish Patience's history. I know that she married Henry COWDRY on 1 Apr 1852 at Hannington, and that in 1881 they were living in Basing with their children Hannah M, Sarah J, Benjamin David, Charles, and Albert J; she gave her place of birth as Sherborne. Henry died in 1887, and was buried in Basing on 8 Mar 1887, aged 55. Patience survived 20 years a widow, and was buried at Basing on 14 Jan 1907, aged 74.

The next Rampton event to take place in Sherborne St John was the marriage of Henry (really Edmund Henry) Rampton on 11 Oct 1855 to Hannah GILLIAM. Henry gave his place of residence as Worting and his father as Edmund THOMALSON, watchmaker. I shall examine that family in more depth when I look at Worting and Basingstoke, but suffice it to say here that [Edmund] Henry was baptised in Worting on 16 Oct 1831, mother Sarah Rampton, father Edmund TOMLINSON (sic) watchmaker, mother's residence at the time being Basingstoke. Henry's marriage took place in Sherborne St John, as his bride Hannah gave her residence as that parish, but in fact even she does not appear to have been indigenous to the parish as I have traced her back to Newnham.

The last Rampton event I have found which took place in Sherborne St John was an entry in the 1871 census for George W Rampton, aged 18. George was a farm servant and gave his place of birth as Tadley, but the closest I can find in age is the George William son of Emily Rampton who was born on 29 Jun 1852 and baptised on 1 Aug 1852 at Monk Sherborne. His birth certificate gives no clue as to his father's name, nor of Emily's parentage, but I believe she may have been the daughter of Christopher and Sarah (nee Mattingley). George William does not appear in the 1881 census, and so far I have found no burial or marriage record for him.