Entries have been copied with the original wording altered as little as possible, which is why for example some surnames appear in the Name column, and others in the Description column. The Burial in Wool Acts of 1667 and 1678, intended to support the wool trade, required shrouds to be made of wool; if not, a fine of £5 was imposed on the deceased's estate and on anyone connected with the burial. An affidavit that it was a 'woollen burial' had to be sworn by a relative of the deceased and recorded in the registers. These records have been omitted here, but we have included the notes made in the exceptional cases when no affidavit was sworn. (The Acts were repealed in 1814, by which time they had fallen into disuse.)

Abbreviations
CON = Congregational Church registers, CON/PC = Parish Church as well as Congregational Church registers and/or tombstone or tablet, s = son, d = daughter, w = wife, als. = alias, st bn = still born, lab. = labourer, N = Newport, wid = widow or widower, abort = aborted, S/W = Saffron Walden, B/S = Bishop's Stortford, check = please check (transcription difficult)