Michael Gandy explained the history of the Huguenots, challenging a number of myths, and describing records relating to them.
Strictly speaking, Huguenots were French Protestants. Bloody civil wars between them and French Catholics effectively ended with the 1598 Edict of Nantes, giving them religious and other rights. They tended to concentrate around Poitou, Languedoc, Normandy and Flanders.
Louis XIV, a fervent Catholic, revoked the Edict in 1685 and required all Protestants to convert, with those reluctant to do so harassed by his troops. Under pressure, the Huguenots conformed with differing degrees of sincerity, but around 250,000 shortly emigrated-with perhaps 60,000 to England.They were not just artisans, but of a wide range of social classes.In England, most Huguenots went to London, with others to East Anglia, the South East and Southampton. As Calvinists, they preferred to have their own non-conformist churches, although those wishing to hold office had to conform to the Anglican Church.
Around 1567, Protestant refugees had left Flanders for England, fleeing Spanish oppression. These were the Walloons, not Huguenots. They tended to concentrate in the same areas as the later Huguenots. As skilled cloth workers, they were welcomed by the Government, but required to teach their skills to English apprentices. They helped revive Canterbury from its depression with the loss of pilgrimage business.
Extensive French records for Huguenots survive, including Catholic church records reporting on the religious attitude of converts and the emigration of family members. There are records for the French speaking churches in England, although these include Anglican ones for Channel Islanders.
In London, the Huguenots lived particularly around Stepney and Soho. Generally, they retained their French names, although these were often mangled over time. Confusion is possible with women’s surnames, in view of the Continental custom of women retaining maiden names on marriage, for legal purposes.
Report by Michael Lucas, Thanet Branch Chairman