William Best, vicar of St. Nicholas Church Kenilworth 1690-1720, was at supporter of King Charles I and all that he stood for. His dislike of Crornwell and his men was clearly shown in his 'Survey of the Church' written in 1714 (Ref:06) and in it he refers to Joseph Drury, our Cromwell soldier, as 'a dissentor from the church'

Joseph had seven sons but only three are known to have survived to reach manhood. It would appear from the entries made in the Parish Registers that all but one of them, Richard, made amends and returned to religious and God fearing ways of the English Church. Richard, however, seems to have remained outside of the church and the births of his children, although recorded by vicar, were listed without Christian names in a section under the heading 'Dissentors'. (Ref:05)

Richard, the third son of Joseph and Alice, was born on the 21st. December 1662 (Ref:05).

The vicar, William Best, carried out a very useful census of Kenilworth in about 1710 (Ref:06)and Richard is shown to be resident in Kenilworth together with his elder brother, John Drury. It is interesting to note that no mention is made of the eldest son Joseph (b.1657), who had either left the area or died by the time this census was carried out. The exact date of the eldest son's departure or death is not known but it is reasonable to assume that it occurred after John, the second eldest son, had married in 1686 and left home otherwise the family bakery business would normally have passed on to John the second eldest son. It was, in fact, passed to Richard after the death of Joseph, the father, in 1703.

The marriage of Richard to Mary was not recorded in the Kenilworth Parish Registers but she is mentioned in the records kept of the children of 'Dissentors' , and it is known that Richard and Mary had least six children (Ref:05). Mary is thought to have died in childbirth of their last child on 16th. June 1709 (Ref:20). The infant, John, was not christened but his death is recorded in the registers on 14th. June 1709 (Ref:20).

Richard remained in Kenilworth working as a baker for 20 years after Mary's death and finally died 19th. March 1729 (Ref:19)


More details on the 'The Line of The Dissenter'

The marriage of Richard to Mary was not recorded in the Kenilworth Parish Registers but she is mentioned in the records kept of the children of 'Dissentors' , and it is known that Richard and Mary had least six children (Ref:05). Mary is thought to have died in childbirth of their last child on 16th. June 1709 (Ref: 20).

Daughter (b.17/07/1695)   (m.n/k)   (d.n/k) 

Daughter (b.06/03/1698)   (m.n/k)   (d.n/k)
 
Son * (b.15/03/1700)   (m.n/k)   (d.13/02/1760)
 
James (b.11/05/1703)   (m.n/k)   (d.n/k)
 
Benjamin (b.03/05/1705)   (m.n/k)   (d.21/05/1745)
 
John (b.14/06/1709)   (m.n/k)   (d.14/06/1709) 

* Son later found to be called Richard - see Line of the Dissenter