Mitcheldean St Michael and All Angels Church Burgums of the "FF" family tree lived and worshipped in this area. MITCHELDEAN ST MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS CHURCH lies in the village of Mitcheldean, about four miles north of Cinderford, in the Forest of Dean. The church consists of a chancel, with north and south chapels, a clerestoried nave, vestry and south porch. The south aisle has a crypt. There is south-west tower with a tall spire. A low north-west buttress of the nave is thought to date from the 1200's while the nave and chancel could be even earlier. The south chapel, aisle, porch and tower were added in the early 14th century. The top stage of the tower and spire appears to have been added later during the early 15th century. The rood staircase by the south wall descends down into the 14th-century crypt and is probably of the late 15th century. Many other repairs and improvements during the 1700's to the roof and spire, the vestry and galleries. The eastern bay of the chancel was rebuilt and enlarged in 1853 and many more improvements took place financed by subscription and the rector Edward Machen. In Victorian times Mitcheldean Church, in common with many other churches, found its grave yard becoming full. The solution here was to use the crypt as a charnel house, in order to store any bones that were dug up during new burials. The crypt was near full when it was cleared out in 1886. In the early 1890s the rector E. H. Firth paid for further restoration work.

Copyright Roger Davies [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The list below shows the baptisms and burials that took place at Mitcheldean. No Burgum marriages were recorded here.

Name	Date	Location	BMD	Minister	Notes	FT
Anne Burgum	31 Aug 1623	Mitcheldean St Michael	Baptism		f=John Burgum
Margaret Burgem	15 Oct 1625	Mitcheldean St Michael	Baptism		f=John Burgum
Robert Bergum	06 Apr 1692	Mitcheldean St Michael	Burial	Richard Hall (1)
Anis Burgam	30 Jan 1704	Mitcheldean St Michael	Burial	Richard Hall (1)
Frances Burgam	20 Jul 1704	Mitcheldean St Michael	Burial	Richard Hall (1)
Robert Burgam	13 Dec 1704	Mitcheldean St Michael	Burial	Richard Hall (1)
Thomas Burgam	15 Jan 1721	Mitcheldean St Michael	Baptism	Richard Hall (1)	P=Thomas + Ursely
Robert Burgam	02 Feb 1721	Mitcheldean St Michael	Burial	Richard Hall (1)
Elizabeth Burgam	22 Mar 1724	Mitcheldean St Michael	Baptism	John White	P=Thomas + Ursely
William Burgam	27 Oct 1728	Mitcheldean St Michael	Baptism	Richard Roberts (2)	P=Thomas + Verely
William Burgam	13 Jan 1734	Mitcheldean St Michael	Burial	Richard Roberts (2)	(see notes)
Thomas Burgum	08 Sep 1748	Mitcheldean St Michael	Burial	Richard Roberts (2)	(see notes)
Ursula Burgum	21 Feb 1755	Mitcheldean St Michael	Burial	Richard Roberts (2)	(see notes)
Thomas Burgum	20 Feb 1761	Mitcheldean St Michael	Burial	Richard Roberts (2)	(see notes)

Footnote- Ralph Bigland recorded (in the mid-1700s) that, on a flat stone in the south aisle - Thomas Burgum departed this life Sep 3, 1748 age 35. Thomas Burgum appears on the list above as being buried on 8th Sep 1748. This can easily be a transcription error of either Bigland or the parish registers. However the age of 35 does not fit with Thomas Burgum, baptised 1721, or with Thomas Burgum, his father. Another mystery!


(1) Richard Hall was educated at Hart Hall, Oxford and was ordained as a deacon in 1668 and as a priest in 1670. He was vicar at Coaley, in Gloucestershire, in 1674 and then served as rector at Mitcheldean St Michael from 1679 until 1723. He also served at Abenhall Church from 1685 until his death in 1723. Ralph Bigland, an antiquarian, made it his lifes work to record the gravestones and monuments of Gloucestershire and then the rest of England. He recorded a flat stone in th chancel at Mitcheldean, which read- Joan, wife of Riachard Hall, rector of this parish, was buried March 5th 1698, in the 42nd year of her age. Mrs Amy Hall died 1706-7, in the 92nd year of her age. Amy was probably the mother of the rector.

Bigland also recorded a monument against the east wall in the chancel at Mitcheldean, written in Latin, which was dedicated to Richard Hall and I believe it says he served "this church" for 44 years and for 37 years served the Church at Abenhall. It records a date of death of 1722, age 72. Richard Hall died 18 January 1723 and was buried at Mitcheldean St Michael on 19th January 1723. The monument also recorded "Also Sarah, wife of Mr Richard Hall, deceased in the year 1729." So Richard had married twice.

UT SCIANT POSTERI
INFRA RECONDI CADUCUM QUOD FUIT
vENERABILIS vIRI RICHARDI HALL,
HUjUS ECCLESIAE PER ANNOS 44,
ET ECCLESFIAE ABINGHALL ANNO 37.
PASTORIS PROBATISSIMI
UXORES DUXERAT jOANNEM & SARAM;
QUARUM
ILLA PROPE MARITUM HIC SEPULTA jACET;
HAEC AUTEM SUPERSTES AMISSUM DOLET.
OBIIT
ANNO DOMINI 1722.
AETATIS 72.
IN MEMORIAM ETIAM THOMAE WORGAN,
GENEROSI, QUI HOC MONUMENTUM
EREXIT, & OBIIT jULII DECIMO DIE, 1726,
AETATIS SUAE 40.
ALSO SARAH, WIFE OF MR. RICHARD HALL,
DECEASED IN THE YEAR 1729.
ALSO MARY, WIFE OF MR. THOMAS WORGAN,
DEPARTED THIS LIFE FEB. 11, 1746, AET 59

(2) Richard Roberts served at Mitcheldean from from 1727 until 1770. It is recorded that he also held the living at Kentchurch, Herefordshire, from 1737 and employed curates at Mitcheldean. However he clearly continued to serve at Mitcheldean as the table above shows.