Birth certificate number?

[Mazm]

I have a birth certificate on which the name of the father "John" has been crossed out and a number has been written alongside - "14".  The certificate is for 1856.

Someone has suggested that the number has some significance.  If this is true, can anyone tell me what that may be?

Many thanks
Mazm

[Necromancer]

Have you looked at the Index entry for the Birth - is there any handwritten notes on that page too ?

[stanmapstone]

This annotation is part of the system of doing corrections in registers. All corrections of a minor nature occurring at the time of the entry have to be numbered, obviously to prevent someone coming along later and altering an entry. Therefore, in this case, a correction was made in the entry at the time it was entered and it is the 14th such correction in the register.
For errors discovered within a month of the entry being made then the registrar in the presence of the relevant parties, or in their absence in the presence of the Superintendent Registrar and two other credible witnesses, corrected the erroneous entry by entry in the margin, without making any alteration of the original entry, and signed the marginal entry, adding date when the correction was made.
Stan

[Mazm]

What speed    Many thanks both

There is indeed a date and initials in the margin on the birth certificate, but I can see nothing on the index.

The mother in question, we believe, had the child and then went on to marry a man with the christian name of John, so maybe that is where the error was.

Thank you for your help - you learn something new everyday 

Mazm