William Jenkins was the son of David Jenkins, perpetual curate at Lodsworth. He served as curate at Cocking from 1812 to 1823, at the end of Melmoth Skynner’s tenure as vicar, and briefly again in 1831–32 under Thomas Valentine, by which time he too had been appointed perpetual curate at Lodsworth.
William Jenkins was born in Midhurst where he was privately baptised at St Mary Magdalene and St Denys Church on 9 July 1788. He was the younger son of Revd. David Jenkins and his wife, Elisabeth née Marchand.
Education
William was a pupil at the Midhurst School. He matriculated in 1806 and went up to St John’s College, Oxford, where he was admitted on 17 June 1806, shortly before his 18th birthday.
He graduated as Bachelor of Arts in 1811, and was awarded his MA in 1814.
Clerical career
William was ordained as a deacon at Chichester Cathedral on 28 October 1812, following which he was appointed curate to Melmoth Skynner. He acted as curate until Skynner’s death in November 1822, and conducted Skynner’s burial service on 15 November.
Following the installation of Thomas Valentine as vicar of Cocking, William Jenkins disappears from the records, with John Broadwood acting as curate at Cocking. William assisted Thomas Valentine briefly again, officiating at weddings and funerals from March 1831 until mid-1832.
On 5 September 1832, William Jenkins was appointed perpetual curate at Lodsworth on the death of Francis Whitcombe. He retained this position until 1840, when he was replaced by John George Ash, whose son Drummond Ash would become the vicar at Cocking in May 1860.
By now, William Jenkins was the curate at Selham. On the first national census in June 1841, William was living at the parsonage in Selham.
Death and burial
William Jenkins died at Selham on 27 July 1844, aged 56. He was buried at Easebourne church on 21 August 1844.
William Jenkins never married; in his will, he left his entire estate to his sister, Sarah Frewin.
Sources
Ancestry.co.uk
1841 England Census
Cambridge University Alumni, 1261-1900
England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384–1858
West Sussex, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812
West Sussex, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1995
ACAD (A Cambridge Alumni Database). JNKS806W: Jenkins, William
Challen, W.H. The Parish Register of Cocking, Sussex (1558–1837)
Clergy of the Church of England Database:
Jenkins, William (1832 – 1832)
Freereg.org.uk:
Midhurst Parish Register. Baptism. William Jenkins. 1788
Easebourne Parish Register. Baptism. William Jenkins. 1844
Lodsworth Heritage Society:
Lamb, William. Notes for a History of Lodsworth. p.19
The National Archives:
PROB 11/2005/72: Will of Reverend William Jenkins, Clerk of Selham, Sussex