THOSE WERE THE DAYS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 3, 4 January 1941, Page 3 (Supplement)

THOSE WERE THE DAYS

HIDDEN away amongst piles of mouldering rubbish in church dhests or neglected archives of corporate bodies is a wealth of records of parochial and civic life* containing quaint and intimate details of local and national events. These vary from by-laws and 'regulations as to local government to payments by church wardeins and- others for work done, vfor relief of the poor and sick, for punishments of wrongdoers, .for rewards for special services, and for a hundred and one other matters. It ie true that the bulk of the items contained in , these volumes is humdrum and commonplace, but amongst the chalf there is a very considerable store of grain which rewards the patient investigator. Perhaps there is nothing which at first sigVrt is less promising of sensational or amusing reading\than the average parish register with its brief entries of baptisms, marriages and deaths. Yet even in these one occasionally comes across an item which, because of its unexpectedness, is positively startling. What, for example, could be more thrilling than this entry in the registers of Much Wenlock? 1547. Aug. 4. Here was wedded early in the morning Thomas Munslow, Smith, and Alice Nycols r which wedded to him in her smock and. bare headed. William, Called Thomas Or what more quaint than* this from CI un bury?

1787. Aug. 5. Thomas, s. of Wm. and Ann James, was baptised. His name was not Thomas but William. The registers . of Tarn worth contain many unusual entries, of which the following may be cited as outstanding: 1597. Divere died of the blouddie fflix at whiche tyme the darthe of corne somewhat abated by reaeon of deathe. ltiOO. Sept. 5. Was buried in a ditche William Tomlineon, a Papist. 31>19. King James at T'th, lodged in the Caetell and Prhice Chas. at the Mothall. In 1770 a new volume wae purchased for the registers of St. Peter's, Worcester, and on the first page was written: I bought this book And in him the p'shoners may look. And there they may see That he Was bought by me Charles Geary. On the flyleaf of the register of Eckington, in Derbyshire, commencing with the year 16G6, was written: Our grandfathers were Papists, Our fathers Oliverians, We, their sons, are Atheists— Sure, our' sons will be queer ones. The incumbent of Radmarton (Glos.) was anxious for the preservation of a volume dating from 1030, and wrote the following directions for its proper use: If you will have this book last, bee eure to aire itt att the fier or in the sunne three or foure times a yeare—els itt will grow dankish and rott, therefore look to it. Itt will not be amissa when you find, it dankish to wipe over the leaves with a dry wollen cloath. This place is very eubject to dankishnees, therefore I say 'ook to itt. One of the oddest entries of which I have heard (I have not seen it myself) is contained in the register of Melverley (Salop) under date December 17, 1766: Matthew Dodd and Elinor Foster married. This morning I have put a tye, No man could put it faster, 'Tween Matthew Dodd, the man of God, And modest Xelly Foster. John Lewis, Clerk. Associated with registers are the account books of churchwardens and overseers in which are set down payments made for all sorts of church and social services. Amongst my notes arc man} , extracts from these, and it occurs to me that they can be better dealt with tinder classified headings than under parishes, and I will commence with those relative to the repair and maintenance of the church fabric and furniture. Here are some typical examples: 1549—F0r makyng the communion bord, 16d. For a new service book, 3/4. takyng 4 downe the croese in the c/yd, 10d (Halesowen). 1643—F0r making clean and perfuming it (the church) after the souldiers lying in it, 4/10 (Stafford). 1680—Hackbutt (father of a child by "ye maid at ye White Hart") fled from the parish. Many inquiries were made

Each year writes its record of happenings in the world—but histories deal mainly with major events. For a more intimate view of the people of England in former times the writer has searched parish and town records, and he here gives us an interesting glimpse of his findings.

By JM.

respecting him by the churchwardens. Hβ was found and the following (amongst other) entries occur. Spent at the White Hart when he agTeed to take away his child, 4d. 1082 —Spent in discoursing with old Hackbutt about his Sonne's child left in this parish, 2/4. Paid to a poor woman for carrying him out of the town, 1/ (St. Swithin's, Wore). 1612 —Given to a poo re scholar travelling- towards Oxford, 4d. ' 1636—Paid to poor travellers, carriage of them, poore people, poor souldiers, poor ministers, Irish men and women, cripples and relief for the whole year, 22/8. (Stafford). 1697 —Paid at Lightfoot's wife's groaning, for midwife and other expenses, 10/S (Inkberrow). 1572 —Item given to heale a poor lame man, twelvepence (Worcester). 1625 —To Davie Done, a pore scholler, 2/6 (Worcester). 1634—Item to Jno. Hichcope towards the loss of his sowe that was burnt, 13/4 (Worcester). 'Tees and Expenses" 1692 —Paid for a warrant to seize widdow Yates goods for not making affadavit yt she was buried in woollen, 1/. (St. Andrew's, Worcester). 1678—Paid to the Jewry that viewed the man that was drowned 4/, to the sargent for warning them 1/, the shroud 2/6, four men to carry him to church, 1/ (St. Andrew's, Worcester). 1655—Given to John Neale for whipping one vagrant and for carrying the pass to Redditch, 4d (Alvechurch). 1611—Paid for whipping doggs out of the church, 1/. 1612 —Paid for a coate for him yt shall whipp Rogues, 6/6. 1021—Paid far whipping 6 rogues, 6/. (Stafford). 1638—Spent in tow severall dayes in goeing and walking the perambulation and liberties of the parishe, being very dry and houngery, 3/6. (Betley). Occasionally we get glimpses of the cost of living and of materials in bygone days. Here are some typical examples of such entries: — 1683 —(Worcester). Three yards and a half of cloth to make the foundlings and Crutchington's child two coats, 5/10. For buttons and thrid for making the two coats, 3/. 1673—(St. Swithin's, Worcester). Items at dinner at the election of churchwardens: 471b of beef at 2Jd; 2 quartere veale, 9/10; a dozen piggeons, 18d; 91b baccon of the ribbs at sd; Mr. Ferryman for tobacco 3d. The Cost of Things Other prices noted at about the same period include: Quarter of lamb, 1/10; 2 fat pigs, 5/; leg mutton, 1/10; 51b candles, 9d; 4i tons of coles, 6/4; Jib tobacco, 10d. The overseers of the parish were responsible for charges involved in the cure of illnesses of "paupers." Consequently we get entries of amounts paid to doctors—usually only a few shillings for "mendinge leggs," "plaisters," "draughts," and the like. In 1684 the parish of St. Nicholas, Worcester, paid "Goodwife Gawler end her daughter when they went to Malvern to be cured, 3/." Some years la-(er (in 1711) we have "Paid Rogers for carrying Walker to London to be touched, 11/." (Obviously the patient was suffering from "king's evil," the sovereign remedy for which was to have the sufferer stroked by the hand of the reigning monarch. There is a record that Dr. Johnson was cured in this way.) One of the most important of the sivic officere of the parish was the constable. Not many Parish Constables' accounts have been preserved, fitit those I have come across contain some very curious "items." At Worcester, Jor instance, we have "Paid 2 soldiers for watching the Quakers, 1/6." at Solihull there was "Spent searching for a Methodist, 1/." Speculative Building Of late we have bee.n much exercised in the matter of "Housing." So were our forefathers—but in the reverse direction. In evidence of which, let me quote, the following extraordinary record dated January, 1660::— At the Xmas sessions at Worcester, consented to and ordered, upon the presentment of the grand jury, that the multitude of cottages erected yn the. tyme of the late war to be a greate grievance; that all cottages erected since the beginning of the late wars, contrary to the lawes, to be pluckt downe, either upon the decease or

removal of the dwellers. And yf now persons be placed therein, being not olde or impotent, to be endited and punished according to 31 Eliz. 7. Upon petition of the grand jury it was consented to by the court and so ordered, that there shall be no order of Court at Sessions or out of Sessions, by the justices, for the churchwardens or overseers of the poor to find house or houseroom for any luety young married people, but to p'vide houses for themselves at their prill; and at the assizes March S, 1660, upon the like petition, Sir Rob. Hide, one of the judges, said that yf young people marry together before they have houses, there is no law to enforce churchwardens or overseers by the justices to find houses; but if they cannot get any, let them lye under an oke.

Sport and lighting And what about Sport? Our forefathers had their own opinion as to what recreations should be indulged in— opinion which seems more than strange to their descendants. For example, in 1636 the churchwardens of Stafford gave five shillings to "the dancers on the ropes"; in 1743 the Worcester corporation "paid the bellman for crying down football kicking, 2/6"; thirty years later a similar sum was paid "for proclaiming not to throw snowballs." From the same records it appears that an order was made in 1677 in the following terms: "Whereas many lazy fellers have, to the ruine of their pore children, spent their time in kettlepinnie alleys, shovelboard tables, and suchlike unlawful sports, for the p'vncion of so great evil, an order is made on Mr. Mayor and Aldermen to fine alehouse keepers 5/ in all such cases." From the number of orders made in relation to it, it would seem that football was almost universally regarded as an evil practice; yet, at the same time, some cities (Winchester amongst the.m) were careful to make provision for the continuance of bullbaiting! Regulations were, however, made prohibiting "unmusselled doggs" to be at large in the streets. So, too, provision was made for the lighting of the streets. In 1699, for instance, the following "order" was made in Worcester: That every person that keepeth a tavern, inn, or alehouse, within the city, or that payeth 3d. a week to the poor of ye p'ish where he liveth, shall every night in every year, from ye feast of All Saints to the Purification of our Lady (unless ye moon's shine) hang out a light from six of ye clock until nine, under ye penalty" of 6d. for every offence. Amongst the most frequent items met with are those making payment for the destruction of "vermin." Scales varied from a shilling a head for foxes and badgers to a penny for hedgehogs and other "small deer." In the Repton records are:— 1583. Item to John Colman for kylling two foxes xiid. 1595. Pa yd to Willm. Massye fn killing towe baggers and one foxe iij>. 1602. Payd to Thos. Chaml>erlaiii for killing of vii hedgehoges vid. and these are typical of payments for such services throughout the Midlands. In addition to such general items as 1 , have instanced, one occasionally come* across entries of an altogether unusual character. Let me quote a few example?. ' « At - Ke P ton on ". ve xxx °f J an" 1602 "xxd* , was given to gipsies "to avoid ye towne." This is interesting as beinthe first time gipsies are mentioned in , any Midlands records. They had first appeared in the country about a century before; in 1530 they were forbidden t*o wander about and ordered to leave the country. Obviously their "room was preferred to their company," and Repton thought it better to "buy them off" which was, surely, a mistaken policy. In 1602 the Worcester corporation "ordered that in consequence of the multitude of swine that goe up and downe the streets, every pig found wandering within the liberties shall forfeit 3/4." Probably the only ' occasion on record on which pigs were fined! In the parish book of Areley King*, near Stourport, it is recorded "that "at a meeting of the parishioners held in the churchyard on Sunday, the 3rd March, 1793, according to notice given in church last Sunday, as there was no service this day and the key of the church could not be. had, there was no business done." What story, we wonder, lies bei hind that entry! An entry in the registers? of Eldorsfield i (Worcestershire) for the year 1721 was evidently written by a disappointed clergyman. It is merely: "Xo wedding this year. Alack-a-day." And, finally, we return to the Worcester corporation accounts for 1658, where, wieh some amusement, we read:

For a bottle of eack given to four ministers who preached and prayed, Dec.i 27, on a fast day, 4/.