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The Records of St. Michael's Parish Church, Bishop's Stortford

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The Records of St. Michael's Parish Church, Bishop's Stortford xif ihc Church ar.b (Eluuchjinri xif ci. ^li nj ILEX,. THE RECORDS CImrci), BISHOP'S STORTFORD. EDITED BY J. L. GLASSCOCK, JUN. LONDON : ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW. BISHOP'S STORTFORD : A. BOARDMAN. MDCCCLXXXII. CONTENTS. PAGE PREFACE vli CATALOGUE OF THE PAPERS ix THE ACCOUNTS OF THE CHURCHWARDENS .... I NOTES TO THE CHURCHWARDENS' ACCOUNTS . .89 THE VICARS AND CHURCHWARDENS OF ST. MICHAEL'S . IIO THE CHANTRY AND GUILD OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST . Il8 THE INVENTORIES OF THE CHURCH GOODS . .124 CHURCH RENTALS 139 THE CHURCHWARDENS' BOOK, 1642 145 . "."'" . THE DESTRUCTION OF VERMIN ... 156 , . ACCOUNTS OF THE COLLECTORS FOR THE POOR . 158 EXTRACTS FROM THE OVERSEERS' BOOK . .163 THE NAMES OF THE COLLECTORS AND OVERSEERS OF THE POOR . l68 THE FINDINGS OF THE CHARITIES' COMMISSION, 1692 . 174 SUBSCRIBERS TO THE SCHOOL-HOUSE . 1 86 FROM THE MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS 189 MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS 190 INDEX OF NAMES ........ 221 PREFACE. READERS of County Histories must be aware that the County Historian, as a rule, has neither time nor space to devote to what may be termed the more minute details of the domestic life and customs of each Parish in his County. He cannot, for instance, be expected to transcribe the Parish Register, or the accounts of Churchwardens; and yet these documents contain information which must be extremely interesting to all residents, and without which no Parochial History can be said to have been thoroughly and completely written. Impressed with this idea, I have often wished, if it were possible, to add some little link in the chain of the history of my native town. An opportunity occurred a few years ago, when Mr. Speechly (one of the present Churchwardens) undertook the rearrangement of the Parish Papers. I had the pleasure of helping him in the work, and I found the papers contained so much interesting matter, that I determined, if possible, to publish a transcript of them, my only regret being that the work had not fallen into abler hands. In the following pages I have endeavoured to put before the reader, without any unnecessary comment of my own, a transcript of all the interesting portions of the papers, in such a form as to enable him to realise for himself the details of the quaint life and curious customs which have surrounded the Church and its Vlll PREFACE. neighbourhood during the last 400 years. The Parish Register is not included, because I consider that extracts only are worse than useless, and a verbatim copy would be quite beyond the scope of a work like this. No apology, I think, is needed for the introduction of the Monumental Inscriptions. Though they do not, strictly speaking, come under the head of Parish Papers, they certainly form an im- portant part of the records of St. Michael's. I would here call the attention of readers to this fact, that there is a large amount of information interesting alike to inhabitants of the parish, and to antiquaries generally, contained in the title deeds and writings of property; and I feel sure that the infor- mation to be obtained from them would amply repay any little trouble or inconvenience that a search might occasion. It will be noticed, for example, that in the transcript of receipts and rentals, several houses and streets are mentioned, the names of which have long since disappeared and been forgotten ; these are doubtless mentioned in most cases in the writings, and the old names might by this means be identified with the existing houses or sites. I shall be very grateful for any information which may reach me from such reliable sources. I take this opportunity of thanking the Vicar and the Church- wardens for their courtesy, and the facilities they have afforded for the of their also ladies me inspection papers ; and those and gentlemen who by their subscriptions have helped me to carry out my work. As the work of leisure hours in winter evenings, I now modestly put this little book before my readers, trusting that they will not find its perusal altogether uninteresting, and that it may awaken a keener interest in the antiquities of our town. BISHOP'S STORTFORD, December, 1881. CATALOGUE AND DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIOUS PAPERS AT PRESENT (1881) IN THE CUSTOD Y OF THE VICAR AND CHURCH- WARDENS OF ST. MICHAEL'S AND THE OVERSEERS OF THE POOR. The papers comprised in the following catalogue were, when I first saw them in 1877, tied up in small parcels and packed away in a chest in the vestry. In this condition they were practically useless, as any reference to them would have entailed great labour and loss of time. The idea of cleaning and examining the papers having been suggested, Mr. Speechly, one of the present churchwardens, undertook the by no means easy task, and has now succeeded in arranging the whole of the parish papers in books in chrono- logical order. I may mention here that the late Dr. Starling evidently had a somewhat similar idea in view, but his death prevented him making any progress in the work. I am indebted to his son, Dr. John Starling, of Kensington, for a perusal of his father's memoranda relating to the Churchwardens' Accounts. list The following is a complete of the books and papers : BOOK No. i contains : Churchwardens' Accounts from 1431 to 1440. 1482 to 1582 (about 15 years missing). Six rentals or portions of rentals : (1) Date lost, but probably temp. Edw. IV. or Rich. III. (2) late Hen. VII. or early Hen. VIII. (3) 2istofHen. VIII. (4) 3 istofHen. VIII. (5) 3 8th of Hen. VIII. or ist Edw. VI. (6) 6th of Edward VI. X CATALOGUE OF THE PAPERS. Two papers very much torn, no date, endorsed on the back " relating to the Chantry." Nine papers of inventories and memoranda relating to the sale of the Church Goods. BOOK No. 2 contains : Churchwardens' Accounts from 1583 to 1661 (18 years missing). 1680101700 (7 for the years 1701-3-4-6-9-10-12- 13-14-15-16-17-18-20-21-42-43-85. Six Rentals, dates 1600-2-5-70-76 and 1721. BOOK No. 3 contains : The Apprenticeship Orders and Indentures from 1693 to 1790. BOOK No. 4 contains The Original Vouchers or Bills which are referred to in the Accounts from 1663 to 1799. As a whole these are not worth transcribing, but they contain a few items which are interesting as examples of the rate of wages and the price of materials in various trades. The following are the charges of a master bricklayer in 1685 : " " for a trouellman is. 8d. per day. " " a laborer is. zd. " "31 bus. lime iSs. id. " " 8 bus. hare 55. 4^. In the same year a Glazier charged for : e "39 squares of glazing at zd. y square." e "4 great squares is. zd. y square." "new leading zd. per foot." The following papers are arranged in parcels, and are endorsed on the covers : The Overseers' Accounts from 1692 to 1749 . 20 papers. The Accounts of the Collectors for the Poor . 9 Memoranda and letters relating to the Inquisition of 1692 about the Charities. Under this head are preserved 43 papers consistingof minutes and memoranda; they contain no very inte- resting matter. In addition to these there are 14 letters from and to Dr. Yardley, Mr. Altham, etc., all relating to the same subject . 57 Miscellaneous . Papers 32 ,, Total 118 CATALOGUE OF THE PAPERS. XI A small parcel containing particulars of the Rents belonging to the Church and Poor of Stortford from 1782 to 1794. In addition to the above-mentioned papers there are the follow- ing books : " (i) A vellum bound book endorsed on the cover : In this Booke is the decree of the High Court of Chancery concerning the Charities of the Church and Poor of BP Stortford." From a letter pasted inside the cover it appears that this book was sent to the late vicar (Rev. F. W. Rhodes) in 1872 by a gentleman into whose hands it had come through an executorship, and who very properly considered that it ought to be again placed in the parish chest. The contents of the book are as follows : A discharge for Mr. Polhill's legacy of 50. d m A Copy of the Will of the Rev . W . Polhill. A Receipt from the Churchwardens and Overseers to Edward Denny and Cordelia his wife acknowledging the receipt of the Hill this is 20, legacy of Rowland ; signed by William Bayford and William Barnes, Churchwardens, John Jennens and William Ely, Overseers. A surrender by Rowland Hill of two half acres of land at Easton (C Huntingdon) to the Lord of the Manor of Spald- wick, dated 1671. , The Decree of the Commissioners concerning the Charities, 1692. Minutes of a meeting of the Charity Trustees, 1693. An additional order of the High Court of Chancery concerning the Charities, 1716. An Inventory of Church Goods, 1537. NOTE. Theseare copies of twoof the Inventories in Book No. i. " Inside the cover of this book a MSS. is placed entitled An Ode to Science, recited by a chorus of Youths at Bishop Stortford School feast, August 13, 1754." (2) The Churchwardens' minute book from 1712 to 1858. (3) Another minute book from 1858 (in use in 1881). The whole of the above-mentioned books and papers are kept in the vestry of St. Michael's Church. The Assistant Overseer, Mr. Thomas Coote, has under his charge at his office : " (1) A large book bound in calf with a clasp, called A Booke of the accomte of the Churchwardens, Overseers, and the Officers of the P'ishe of Stortford," date from 1656 to 1772.
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