My (7th) great grandfather was Moses Thomas.
The only records I can find of his birth show that he was born in 1648. Most likely in Bitterley, although it is also shown that Ludlow could be his birth Place.
(There is a death of a John Thomas in Bitterley 14th Aug 1667).

Moses married a Margaretta / Margery Collins. The only record I can spot says she was born in Bitterley or Ludlow in 1652. There is a family of Collin's living in Bitterley from 1662 onwards.
The parish register for Ludlow shows that they married in Ludlow on the 1st May 1673.
Their first known child was Anna, born 04 December 1674, Bitterley.
From then on generations of the family are found in Bitterley.
They have the usual frustraiting habit of giving their sons and daughters the same names, there are more John Thomas's, Samuels and William's, Maria's and Elizabeths, than you can shake a stick at.

I have the parish records for Bitterley and they start in 1658 and the question is, are there any earlier records available?
The parish records for Ludlow for some reason miss out the years between 1642 to 1662 ( just my luck ) and I was wondering if these exist.
The English Civil War 1625 - 1649 may play a part as to why these records are not shown.

It's great fun trawling through these parish records, they dont mince their words when it comes to describing the people who lived in the parish. There are common whores, b---rds and children of b---rds, drunkards, rogues, knaves and vagabonds. I also spotted a, so and so alias Lame Betty and a so and so alias Dick of the Hollys, idiot. After a few hours you get to know the different family names of the parish and some of the family traits seem to stick at times. The local vicar and his wife always stands out in these records and you cannot help but notice his family fortunes.

So if you know if I can get hold of these missing parish records or you can spot Moses and his wife's birth details and maybe their families, that would be great.
Cheers
Dave.