The Clock
The clock in the church steeple is said to have been originally in the Virginia House of Burgesses, from which place it was moved to the Court House, and in 1840, permission was given to the town authorities to have it placed in the steeple of the church.
The works were sold in 1905, the old dial plate being retained. (See inscription on the clock tablet.)
Old Record Books
The old Parish Register of the Church is still in the possession of the Vestry. It was found some years ago in a box of papers, where it had doubtless been hid for safe keeping during the war. During this time, it was badly mutilated by some person, ignorant of its value. A large number of pages were torn from the front and back of the book. It now contains the records of Baptisms from 1739 to May 21st, 1797, and the record of Deaths from April 13th, 1662, to December 18th, 1761. Thus it would appear that pages containing the record of seventy-seven years were torn from the front, and pages containing the record of deaths for thirty-six years were torn from the back. The book that remains has been rebound, and is kept in an iron safe in the crypt of the church.
The entries in this Old Parish Register prior to 1674 seem to belong to one of the adjacent churches, probably to the one situated in the Marston Parish. which was united with Middletown Parish in 1674.
The Baptismal record in this book shows with what care the members of the Church provided spiritual ministration for the children of their servants. During the twenty-five years over which the records extend, 1122 negro servants were baptized in Bruton Parish. A gallery was subsequently built for the colored servants in the north transept.
The data contained in this old Parish Register has been incorporated in the History of Bruton Parish Church, published in 1903.
