THE BARRATT FAMILY
of Bedfordshire
ROBERT BARRATT.  1691 - 1772  
Robert Barratt was the eldest son of Thomas Barratt, labourer of Pavenham, Bedfordshire and his wife Mary, nee Tapp. There is some query about his exact date of birth.
The page in the Pavenham Parish Register which would contain the entry of his baptism has been torn out and the only surviving record is in the Bishop's Transcripts. The Bishop's Transcripts were copies of entries in the Parish Registers
which had to be sent to the Bishop yearly at Easter. In the entries for 1691/2 the date of his baptism is given as 21st June, 1691. However in a note, written in Robert's own hand in 1762 he says he was born on 9th July, 1691 and was baptised on the 14th "as near as I can guess". Robert was 72 years old then and may have forgotten the correct dates, or the vicar may
have made an error when making his copy from the register.
Robert was the eldest son of Thomas & Mary, three more brothers followed him, John when he was 3, William when he was 7 and Isaac when he was 21.

Pavenham, St. Peter

 Robert and his brothers must have received some schooling. Robert could read and write and do accounts. He became a shoe-maker, he would have needed to serve an apprenticeship for this for which his parents would need to pay between £5-£20. His brother John became a butcher, which again would need an apprenticeship, so Thomas & Mary must have had sufficient money available to pay for this. Robert probably started his apprentice-
ship in 1705 when he was 14 and would have completed it when he was 21 in 1712. On completion of his time he should be sufficiently qualified to set up for himself or be a journeyman .. His hours of working would be 6am to 8pm and wages as a journeyman would be 9-10 shillings a week. Payment would be so much a pair of shoes, according to the work involved or largeness of the shoes. He would not be able to work in frosty weather when the wax used on the threads could hinder him from working. Shoemaking does not require much strength or a mechanical mind but a moderate share of ingenuity. To set himself up as a master he would need £100-£200. He would not be in a position to marry for several years until he had amassed some capital.
When Robert was 26 years old, he married his first wife Elizabeth Brittain on 13th June, 1717 at All Saints Church, Kempston.
It was at Kempston, a village just South west of Bedford that Robert spent the rest of his life. For rating purposes Kempston was divided into Box End and East (or Town) End and possibly
Kempston Hardwick was separately rated although no records survive for this. Robert Barratt had property in both Box End
and East End and also possibly in Kempston Hardwick., Most of Kempston has now been swallowed up by Bedford but a few old
houses still survive.