INTRODUCTION wasWilliam Poynter and what do his diaries tell us of Who his life and the times in which he lived Only seven of his ?
diaries, between 1815 and 1824, have survived . Yet they cover a period early in the nineteenth century when issues that were critical for the future of the Catholic Church in Britain had to be addressed . For this undertaking William Poynter had been well prepared. His place of birth and upbringing are both significant in the light of his future calling.
1. Early Life ( 1762-1775
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He was born in Petersfield, Hampshire , on 20 May 1762 , the first child of John Poynter , a coachbuilder , and Mary Todd of Warblington, a village close to Langstone, Havant . In East Hampshire Catholic faith and practice had been kept alive throughout the years of persecution, mainly due to the devotion and sacrifices made by the recusant Catholic families who withstood the crippling fines imposed upon them for nonattendance at services at the parish church and who at great risk to their lives housed priests and encouraged them to celebrate Mass and the sacraments secretly in their homes for their households and neighbours. Such centres of the 'old religion were scattered throughout the region , among them the Shelleys and Vachells in Buriton, the Dormers at Idsworth House, the Carylls of Ladyholt, the Fordes at Uppark, the Cottons of Warblington Castle, the Eystons at East Hendred and the Blounts at Mapledurham. The illegal traffic' in Catholic priests in penal times had been made easier by the access to the sea at Langstone Harbour, traditionally reputed for its trade in smuggling . The seminary priests and Jesuits, trained in colleges abroad, could be brought ashore as secretly as any other contraband . What is more, by royal charter the whole region had been placed under the jurisdiction of the See of Winchester, thus shielding it from the direct inspection of the Crown officials and priest-catchers in London.
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