England Churchwardens - International Institute

Introduction
The churchwardens are the guardians of the parish church, dating back to the 12th century and elected annually by the vicar and parishioners, but sometimes by the vestry. In many places one was appointed by the vicar and the other by the parishioners, so one sees reference to the vicar’s warden and the people’s warden (Chart 11). Larger parishes could have more than two churchwardens.

The position was unpaid but expenses were re-imbursed, as seen in the churchwardens accounts. Their main concern was with the upkeep of the church and church property and thus paying the various tradesmens’ bills for these services; the management of parish charities; and for christening foundlings and burying strangers who died in their parish.

They arranged seating in the church, including collection of pew rents and payment of pew openers, often elderly poor who did a number of menial tasks in addition to guiding people to their pews and locking the old box pew doors in church; Jerrold paints a wonderful description of this type.

They assisted the vicar in record keeping and had to fill out the annual presentments to the bishop on the state of affairs in the parish. At this time they would record offences such as libel, blasphemy, illegitimate births and non-attendance at church (since attendance was compulsory up until the 17th century).

Churchwardens’ duties varied considerably and they sometimes acted as overseers of the poor and parish constable. Assistants to the churchwardens were called questmen or later, sidesmen.

Lists of Churchwardens
At Great Bookham, Surrey the following list has been preserved:

List of Churchwardens at Great Bookham, Surrey 1663-1675

There is also a note for 1633 regarding the choice of churchwardens, one by the minister and one by the parishioners, as frequently was the custom.

Choice of Churchwardens at Great Bookham, Surrey 1633

Churchwardens or Church Rates
The parish church and churchyard, (also called the church hay), were maintained from the Church Rate, also known as the Church Cess, or on the Welsh borders as Leawans, which was levied by the churchwardens on all householders, whether or not they attended the Established church. This was naturally resented by nonconformists, Catholics and others and the right of the Church of England to levy compulsory rates was abolished in 1868, however later examples are found; perhaps they only included Church of England parishioners?

The term scot and lot is sometimes seen, and John Richardson (The Local Historian’s Encyclopaedia) and Terrick Fitzhugh (The Dictionary of Genealogy) explain that this refers to the parish rates; scot being for the poor and lot for church maintenance.

Rates are taxes applied against property for various reasons and the lists usually include both owners and occupiers of the land or buildings. Rates were noted as so many pence in the pound, there being 240 pence in £1 a rate of 6d in the pound was 2.5%.

Church Rate 1810-1811 Whippingham, Isle of Wight, Hampshire

Church Rate 1827 East Peckham, Kent

It can be readily seen that if faced with two men of the same name in a village it is possible to figure out which was which by looking at a good run of the Church Rates, or indeed any of the other rates mentioned under Civil Records. Say there were two Jacob Dutnalls, one a prosperous farmer and the other a labourer, and one was buried in 1824 with no other information given in the burial register. By looking at the Church Rate over several years it can be seen that the affluent Jacob was still around on 21 July 1827, whereas the poor one had left a widow by then.

Churchwardens Rates 1875 Whippingham, Isle of Wight, Hampshire

Tradesmen’s Agreements
Such agreements for repairs to church buildings and grounds give the researcher a fair idea of their ancestor’s skills if he was the tradesman, or his involvement in parish affairs if he was one of the other parties.

Extract from Indenture of Agreement for Repainting Church Fabric Whippingham, Isle of Wight, Hampshire 1803

Churchwardens Bills
Collections of actual tradesmens’ invoices may survive; these might be slips of papers such as the example below, or handsome engraved invoices.

Organist and Bellringer’s Annual Bill East Peckham, Kent Undated

Churchwardens
Bell Founders Invoice in Churchwardens Accounts





Churchwardens Accounts
The tithes were supposed to support the vicar, whilst the church rate paid for upkeep on the church building and other parochial expenses, however variations did occur. Parishes also differed in what was organized by the vestry (which became more secular over time until 1894 when it reverted to being wholly ecclesiastical) and what was delegated to the overseers of the poor. The researcher should be prepared for much local variation in these records.

Churchwardens accounts record payments for:


 * Goods and tradesmen’s services for the maintenance, cleaning and decoration of the parish church and provision for the services. Reference to a Faculty means that major structural repairs were done requiring such an order from the bishop. Items such as repair and hanging of bells, maintenance of a clock, new musical instruments, washing surplices, wine for sacrament, carpentry and masonry work and many more will be found here.


 * Relief of the poor.


 * Killing animals regarded as vermin, such as hedgehogs, moles, weasels, polecats, crows, rooks, jackdaws and sparrows.


 * Bell ringers for celebrating national events and tolling daily times, and bands for church functions, although the latter were sometimes paid in kind. Christopher Weir in Village and Town Bands recounts an occasion at East Retford, Nottinghamshire when the mug of hot toddy supplied during a winter festival produced a lively polka instead of the expected hymn!


 * Parish clerk, sexton and other parish church assistants. Reference to a knocknobbler or dog-whipper means the person responsible for driving dogs out of church if they became a nuisance.


 * Entertainment of visiting bishop.


 * Churchwardens’ own expenses in carrying out his duties.

The churchwardens accounts for St. Martins in the Fields, Westminster, Middlesex 1525-1603 are on Family History Library and the burials that they refer to pre-date the parish registers by 30 years!

Churchwardens’ Accounts in Sherborne, Dorset 1537/8 This records the making of the sure coffer (parish chest) and purchase of the first parish register book as required by Thomas Cromwell’s injunction of 5 Sep 1837. (Moon)

Churchwarden’s Accounts in East Hanney, Berkshire 1780

Church Rate Expenses 1810-1811 Whippingham, Isle of Wight, Hampshire

Churchwardens Presentments
At the time of the periodic Bishop’s or Archdeacon’s Visitations the churchwardens had to write up answers to several questions regarding how their parish fared spiritually and temporally. Information on the shortcomings of parishioners would be gathered by an inquisitor who reported to the churchwarden. Below shows contented churchwardens and dutiful parishioners in Pluckley, Kent. The chart further below from Thorncombe, Devon and the illustration from Doddington, Kent are interesting in that several things were amiss and needed to be commented upon. These presentments are usually found in diocesan papers but do show up, perhaps as copies, in the parish chest.

Churchwardens Presentments for Pluckley, Kent 1730

Churchwardens Presentments for Thorncombe, Devon (Now Dorset) 1885

Other Churchwarden Activities
A wide variety of other duties befell the churchwardens; consider the example below found in Marystow, Devon. A copy of this was kept in the parish chest together with a report on the subsequent legal proceedings.

Memorandum in Marystow, Devon Parish Chest



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Information in this Wiki page is excerpted from the online course English: Poor Law and Parish Chest Records offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. To learn more about this course or other courses available from the Institute, see our website. We can be contacted at [mailto:wiki@genealogicalstudies.com wiki@genealogicalstudies.com]

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