Birth-baptism intervals in Whickham Parish, Co. Durham c. 1770-1820.

The orthodox Anglican Church practice of baptism from the sixteenth Century required the parents to bring the child to church, on a day of public worship, where the ceremony would be conducted by an ordained clergyman. An upper limit of 14 days after birth was stipulated for this ceremony from about 1650 onwards. The urgency implicit in this rule related to the theological concern of the church for the fate of the soul of the child if he/she died before baptism. While the ecclesiastical practice appeared to place strict limits on the birth-baptism interval there is no evidence that any penalty was imposed on parents presenting after 14 days. This kind of ‘misdemeanour’ did not require an appearance before the church courts, as did adultery, for example.