There were very few Ramptons living in Silchester during the 18th and 19th centuries. Edward, who settled in Silchester in about 1740, obviously came from elsewhere, but tracking down his origins has proved very difficult. The border with Berkshire was close and inviting, and the Ramptons who did record their families in Silchester mostly did not appear to live there, but across the border in Mortimer. This is as much of their history as I have been able to piece together.

Parish Registers have been kept in the Parish of Silchester since 1653, with some notable gaps. For instance, no burials are recorded for the period 1757 to 1774, and a number of the pages state that the event took place at The Priory Church, Monk Sherborne, causing confusion. There are very few instances of Ramptons in the parish. In fact, the first appearance of the Rampton name occurs in 1748, when Edward Rampton married Joan Aldridge. This suggests that Edward moved here from another parish, but from where? When he married his first wife, Ann Emmery, in Sherborne St John in 1742 he was described as of Silchester, so he had lived there some time. There were no Edward Ramptons born in this part of Hampshire between 1690 (in Tadley) and 1739 (in Monk Sherborne). Edward died in 1768, but no age is recorded in the burial register, so for the moment his origin must remain a mystery. Edward's family group form a self-contained unit.
The earliest Ramptons have proved very elusive, and so our story must start with the next generation, with Richard Rampton, born about 1720.

Elizabeth Rampton was buried at Silchester on 12 Jul 1888, aged 30. This is most probably the wife of Alfred Rampton a coal merchant's labourer, born in Tadley in about 1858. Alfred and Elizabeth were living at Reading Road High Street Mortimer Berkshire at the time of the 1881 census, and Elizabeth states that she was born in Woodcott.