HISTORIC records found in a village church near Swindon have revealed a fascinating insight into life more than two centuries ago.

According to the accounts of Stanton Fitzwarren Church, dated between 1770 and 1858, bounty hunters were paid generously to slaughter birds now considered to be in danger of extinction.

Churchwardens discovered the book inside an old chest in the church, near Swindon. The church has now passed this chronicle of parish life to the Wiltshire County Council-run Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office in Trowbridge, where it will be available to the public.

County archivist Robert Jago said: "This book, together with other parish records found inside the chest, will provide a very useful and important source for local people interested in the history of this village."

As well as recording details of general church expenses such as repairs to the roof, the book reveals some of the more macabre secrets from the Georgian and early Victorian periods.

Fears have been growing in recent years over the decline in the number of sparrows and other once-common birds in Britain, but 200 years ago the slaughter of these tiny creatures was accepted as an effective way of keeping their numbers down.

Many species are now protected, but in previous eras farmers viewed these as pests and parishes paid generous bounties to the people who killed them.

The standard rate was normally about 2d (around 1p) per dozen birds, although the exact amount often varied from area to area.

In 1772 churchwardens in Stanton Fitzwarren recorded that they had paid out 2s 4d (12p) for the destruction of sparrows.

A total of 430 sparrows were slaughtered in 1835, while in 1802, the parish paid 4s 11d (almost 25p) for 345 sparrows killed. Half of this money was paid to a local man named Thomas Lynn, for whom killing sparrows provided a profitable sideline during the early part of the 19th century.

The summer months, when the birds wreaked havoc in farmers' fields were a particularly lucrative time.

Other birds considered pests included birds of prey, ospreys, kingfishers, ravens and woodpeckers. Rewards were also offered for the killing of animals such as foxes, badgers, hedgehogs and moles. Methods employed by the bounty hunters included shooting and the use of traps.