How to write the history of a parish: an outline guide to topographical records, manuscripts, and books

X

HOW TO WRITE THE HISTORY
OF A PARISH

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HOW TO WRITE THE
HISTORY OF A PARISH

AN OUTLINE GUIDE TO TOPOGRAPHICAL
RECORDS, MANUSCRIPTS, AND BOOKS

BY

REV. J. CHARLES COX, LL.D., F.S.A.

AUTHOR OF "NOTES ON THE CHURCHES OF DERBYSHIRE," " THE LICHFIKLD
CAPITULAR MUNIMENTS," "THREE CENTURIES OF DERBYSHIRE
ANNALS," "ROYAL FORESTS OF ENGLAND,"
"ENGLISH CHURCH FURNITURE," ETC.

"Every man's concern with the place where he lives, has something
more in it than the mere amount of rates and taxes that he has to pay."
— Toulmin Smith.

FIFTH EDITION, REVISED

LONDON: GEORGE ALLEN & SONS

44 & 45 RATHBONE PLACE
1909

[All rights reserved]

Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson <Sr> Co.
At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh

"Dai

In 0i c m 0 r t a m
<M. C.

June j, igog

578477

EWGLliH LOCAL

PREFACE TO THE FIRST
EDITION (1879)

C? OME of the clergy of the diocese of Lincoln
^ are responsible for the issue of this book-
let. A much-needed county history of Lincoln-
shire is now being projected, upon the basis of
separate parochial histories. A circular put
forth in one of the rural deaneries was good
enough to refer in laudatory terms to the
introduction to the first volume of my " Notes
on the Churches of Derbyshire." This led to
my being asked to republish that introduction ;
but it applied so peculiarly to Derbyshire that
I felt it would be of small avail to those out-
side the county. Hence I decided to put
together some hints that might prove a help
to those who may be desirous of undertaking
parochial history in any part of the kingdom,
whether manorial, ecclesiastical, or both. In
the first part of these pages I am indebted
to Thomas' " Handbook to the Public Re-
cords," and more especially to Sims' in-
valuable " Manual for the Topographer and

viii PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION

Genealogist " ; but I have not referred to any
class of documents with which I am not in
some measure personally conversant.

Those who have been engaged in any literary
work are well aware how large a portion of
time is often spent in merely learning the titles
and somewhat of the contents of those books
that treat of the different branches of the
subject selected. Various books connected
with parochial history, especially those that
have been proved by experience to be the
best handbooks, are therefore mentioned in
these pages to facilitate reference. Space only
has prevented me from considerably adding
both to their number and description, but any
further knowledge that I may have gleaned
on topographical literature is heartily at the
disposal of any worker who may privately apply
to me. [This offer is now withdrawn through
lack of time, 1909.]

I shall be grateful for any correction of
errors, or for any suggestion as to deficiencies.

PREFACE TO THE FIFTH
EDITION

[T is a pleasure to find that a fifth edition of
* this little work (the fourth edition came
out in 1895), originally published thirty years
ago, is now demanded, as it is a proof of the
remarkable and continued growth of local
interest in local history. The publication of
the previous editions of this handbook brought
me into correspondence with a large number of
either actual or prospective local historians
throughout the country. Much of such corre-
spondence has been pleasurable and interesting,
and I am grateful for various hints that have
been given me with respect to the improvement
of these pages, many of which have been
adopted. Not a few of my correspondents
have issued local histories since the publica-
tion of my first edition. The number of such
histories has increased in a remarkable way
during the last twenty years. Martial's three-
fold verdict on his own epigrams may be
accepted as a general criticism on these efforts.

IX

x PREFACE TO FIFTH EDITION

Certain of these parochial histories are dis-
tinctly bad ; not a few show moderate ability,
but would have been more appropriately con-
fined to the pages of a parochial magazine, or
printed as a privately issued record; whilst
others are well worthy of separate publication,
and are of far more than mere local interest.

This small book has received a far kinder
reception, and experienced a much wider circu-
lation, than was anticipated. It has now been
once again re-written throughout, so that I
trust it may be yet more useful in its own
humble way ; several fresh sections have been
inserted, and the whole is so corrected and
expanded that it is practically a new book.
In the last edition I acknowledged my in-
debtedness to Lord Dillon and to Mr. St. John
Hope. In again bringing it up to date, with
regard to sterling works of reference and in
other particulars, I have received valued help
from several friends, more especially from
Rev. R. M. Serjeantson, F.S.A., Mr. Aymer
Vallance, F.S.A., Mr. G. Clinch, F. S.A.Scot.,
and the Rev. Dr. Gee, F.S.A.

When this book was first issued, it was the
only one ot its kind ; now there are several of
varying degree of merit that cover part of the
ground, but none that attempt the whole. One

PREFACE TO FIFTH EDITION xi

that was published in 1888, which shall be
nameless, had the effrontery to steal the title
of this book for one of its sections, and the
amusing impertinence of adding in a note that
this little work was altogether unknown to the
writer! If a better book for the purpose had
been brought out by any one else, I am quite
sure that I should never have taken the trouble
to write this new edition ; but as those of in-
dependent judgment whom I have consulted
think it is demanded and will be useful to
many, I have bowed to their opinion.

The courtesy that students may always
expect from the present officials of our various
libraries and places of research is spoken of
afterwards 'in the introductory chapter ; here
I desire to say with gratitude that it has always
been extended to myself.

J. CHARLES COX.

October 1909.

CONTENTS

PAGE

Introduction i

Etymology and Maps 28

Prehistoric Remains 32

Earthworks 38

Romano-British Period 41

Anglo-Saxon Remains 46

The Norseman and the Dane 50

The Manor and the Record Office 53

Manor Court Rolls and Customaries ... 86

Forestry 94

Civil or Domestic Architecture . . . .102

Personal History 108

Parochial Records 124

History of the Church 134

Description of the Church 156

Religious Houses 197

General Topics 201

Index 209

xiii

ABBREVIATIONS

P. R. O.— For the Public Record Office. Almost the
whole of our national records, which were until recently in
upwards of half-a-dozen different buildings, are now under
one roof in Fetter Lane, Fleet Street. All documents
mentioned in the following pages must be understood to
be at the Public Record Office, unless it is otherwise
stated. Some of the earlier folio publications of the
Record Commissioners, to which reference is herein
made, are out of print, but they are to be found in most
of our public libraries.

B. M. — For the Library of the British Museum.

B. — For the Bodleian Library, Oxford.

C. — For the University Library, Cambridge.

HOW TO WRITE THE HISTORY
OF A PARISH

INTRODUCTION

J N writing the history of a parish for either
local or general use, it is necessary to know
where to look for information. In these pao-es
will be found attempts to give some brief hints
under various heads, together with specific in-
formation as to records, manuscripts, and printed
books which bear upon the particular branch of
the question.

It seems, however, right that two or three
general directions should first of all be given.

There are but few counties without a fairly
good old county history, wherein some parti-
culars of the parish are sure to be recorded.
Among the best are G. Lipscombe's "Bucks,"
4 vols. (1847) ; G. Ormerod's " Cheshire," 3 vols.
(1819), revised by T. Helsby in 1875-82 ; John
Hutchins' "Dorset," 2 vols. (1774) ; Robert
Surtees' " Durham," 4 vols. (1816-40); P. Mor-
ant's '■ Essex," 2 vols. (1768) ; R. Clutterbuck's
'Herts," 3 vols. (1815-27); Edward Hasted s

2 HOW TO WRITE THE

"Kent," 4 vols. (1778-99); Edward Baines'
"Lancashire," 5 vols, (new edition, 1788-93);
John Nichols' "Leicestershire," 4 vols. (1795-
1815); Francis Blomeneld's "Norfolk," 5 vols.
(1739-75); George Baker's " Northants," 2
vols. (1822-41); Robert Thoroton's "Notts,"

3 vols. (1790); R. W. Eyton's "Salop," 12
vols. (1854-60); Owen Manning and William
Bray's "Surrey," 3 vols- (1804-14); W. Dug-
dale's "Warwickshire," 2 vols, (late edition,
1730) ; R. C. Hoare's "Wilts," 6 vols. (1822-
43); and T. R. Nash's "Worcestershire," 2
vols, and supplement (1781-99).

A County Committee began an admirable
history of Northumberland in 1893 ; the eighth
volume appeared in 1907.

In 1900 the first volume of a great national
scheme, termed the " Victoria History of the
Counties of England," appeared, dedicated by
special permission to the late Queen, and under
her express sanction. The plan of the work
assigns a number of large volumes to each
county, in accordance with its size, varying
from Rutland and Huntingdon with two each
to Yorkshire with eight ; the average number
for each shire is four. A company of experts
deal with all the branches of the natural history
of the county, followed by a series of compre-
hensive essays on the political, ecclesiastical,

HISTORY OF A PARISH 3

and economic histories, and on early man,
Roman and Anglo-Saxon remains, earthworks,
forestry, agricultural industries, and the Domes-
day Survey, &c. This is followed by a detailed
account of each parish. All the leading reviews
and every competent judge are loud in their
praises of this noble work so far as it has
as yet proceeded. A particular feature is the
cartography or supply of maps of all kinds, as
well as of general illustrations.

The following is a list of the volumes already
issued : —

Bedfordshire,* 2 vols. Leicestershire, 1 vol.

Berkshire, 2 vols. Lincolnshire, 1 vol.

Buckinghamshire,* 2 vols. Norfolk, 2 vols.

Cornwall, 1 vol. Northamptonshire, 2 vols.

Cumberland, 2 vols. Nottinghamshire, 1 vol.

Derbyshire, 2 vols. Rutland, 1 vol.

Devonshire, 1 vol. Shropshire, 1 vol.

Dorsetshire, 1 vol. Somersetshire, 1 vol.

Durham, 2 vols. Staffordshire, 1 vol.

Essex, 2 vols. Suffolk, 1 vol.

Gloucestershire, 1 vol. Surrey,* 2 vols.

Hampshire,* 3 vols. Sussex, 2 vols.

Hereford, 1 vol. Warwickshire, 2 vols.

Hertfordshire,* 2 vols. Worcestershire,* 2 vols. ■

Kent, 1 vol. Yorkshire, 1 vol.
Lancaster,* 3 vols.

* An asterisk implies that a portion of the second volume is
devoted to topography or the history of individual parishes ; in
the cases of Hampshire and Lancashire the third volumes are
exclusively topographical.

4 HOW TO WRITE THE

Another orood scheme, the volumes of which
may quite possibly prove useful to the parochial
historian, is the handsome series of " Memorials
of the Counties of England," under the general
editorship of the Rev. P. H. Ditchfield, F.S.A.,
published by Messrs. G. Allen & Sons. The
following volumes have been already issued:
Derbyshire, Devonshire, Dorsetshire, Essex,
Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire,
Kent, Lancashire (2 vols.), London (2 vols.),
Middlesex, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Ox-
fordshire, Shropshire, Somersetshire, Suffolk,
Sussex, and Wiltshire.

A good many of the English counties have
more or less complete bibliographies of the
local boo»ks, both small and great, which have
been printed up to the time of their issue.
The following is, we believe, a complete list of
such bibliographies, with the date of publica-
tion. They are all to be found among the
reference books in the Round Room of the
British Museum : —

Buckinghamshire — Bibliotheca Buckinghamiensis, by H.

Gough (1890).
Cambridgeshire — A Catalogue of Cambridgeshire Books, by

Robert Bower (1894).

Cheshire — Bibliotheca Cestriensis, by John H. Cooke

(1904).
Cornwall — Bibliotheca Cornubiensis, by G. C. Boase and

V. P. Courtney, 3 vols. (1872-84).

HISTORY OF A PARISH 5

Devonshire— Bibliotheca Deroniensis, by James Davidson

(1852).
Dorsetshire — Bibliotheca Dorsetiensis, by C. H. Mayo (1885).

Essex— Catalogue of Essex Books, by Augustus Cunning-
ton (1902).

Gloucestershire — Manual of Gloucestershire Literature, by

F. A. Hyett and W. Bazeley, 3 vols. (1895-97).
Kent — Bibliotheca Cantiana, by J. Russell Smith (1837).
Lancashire — The Lancashire Library, by Henry Fishwick

(i875)-
Lincolnshire — Bibliotheca Lincolniensis, by A. R. Corns
(1904).

Norfolk — Bibliotheca Norfolcicnsis, by J. J. Colman (1896),

and Index to Norfolk Topography, by Walter Rye

(1881).
Somersetshire — Bibliotheca Somersctiensis, by Emanuel

Green, 3 vols. (1902).
Surrey — Catalogue of Works relating to Surrey, by W.

Minet and C. J. Courtney (1901).
Staffordshire — Bibliotheca Stafford ie/i sis, by Rupert Simes,

(1894).
Worcestershire — Bibliography of Worcestershire, by J. R.

Burton and F. S. Pearson (1898).
Yorkshire — The Yorkshire Library, by William Bayne (1869).

John P. Anderson's thorough work, " The
Book of British Topography" (1 881), arranged
under counties, may also be consulted with
advantage. After that date G. K. Fortescue's
invaluable subject indexes of printed books in
the British Museum (4 vols., 1871-1906) will
be found to contain references under the parish
or county to all works of importance.

The county town or the cathedral city of the
diocese will probably contain some accessible

6 HOW TO WRITE THE

library wherein there will be a general collec-
tion of county topographical books.

The publications of any county or local
archaeological society should be thoroughly
scanned, as well as those of a national char-
acter. This may be a tedious labour, as several
of our provincial archaeological societies are yet
without any general indexes.

General indexes for a series of volumes are
such an immense saving of time and temper
that no apology is necessary for giving a list
of the indexes that we know to have been
printed for such archaeological societies : —

Archccologica (Society of Antiquaries). — Vols. I. to L.

(1704-1889).
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries. — Vols. I. to IV.

(1843-1858); second series, Vols. I. to XX. (1859-

i9°5)-
Archaeological Journal (Royal Archaeological Institute). —

Vols. I. to XXV. (1845-1868).

Journal of the Archaeological Association (British Archaeo-
logical Association). — Vols. I. to XXX. (1846-1874),
and Vols. XXXI. to XLII. (1869-1886).

Archccologia Cambrensis (Cambrian Archaeological Asso-
ciation).— First four series (1 846-1 884); fifth series
(1884-1900).

Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society's Pro-
ceedings.— Vols. I. to XX. (1849-18 75), and Vols.
XXI. to XL. (1876-1894).

Sussex Archccological Collections (Sussex Archaeological
Society).— Vols. I. to XXV. (1853-1874), and XXVI.
to XL. (1875-1896).

HISTORY OF A PARISH 7

Archczologia Cantiana (Kent Archaeological Society). —

Vols. I. to XIX. (1858-1892).
Cumberland and Westmoreland Antiquarian and Archaeolo-
gical Society Transactions. — Vols. I. to XVI. (1874-

1900).
Transactions of Essex Archaeological Society. — Vols. I. to

V. old series (1858-1878), and Vols. I. to X. new

series (1879-1895).
Derbyshire Archaeological and Natural History Society

Journal. — Vols. I. to XXV. (1 879-1 903). In the

press.
Wilts Archaological and Natural History Magazine. — Vols.

I. to VIII. (1854-1864); Vols. IX. to XVI. (1865-

1876) ; Vols. XVII to XXIV. (1877 to 1889) ; and

Vols. XXV. to XXXI. (1890-1900).
Associated Architectural Societies of York, Lincoln, North-
ampton, Bedford, Worcester, and Leicester. — Vols. I. to

VIII. (1850-1866); Vols. IX. to XIV. (1867-1S78);

Vols. XV. to XIX. (1879-1888); and Vols. XX. to

XXV. (1889-1900).
Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire. — Vols. I. to

LI. (1848-1900).
Norfolk Archaeology (Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological

Society).— Vols. I. to X. (1846-1890).
Transactions of the Devonshire Association. — Vols. I. to

XVII. (1862-1885).
Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club. —

Vols. I. to IX. (1867-1902).
Woolhope Club, Herefordshire (1851-1884).
Yorkshire Archaeological Society.- — Index of Papers and

Excursions. — Vols. I. to XVII. (1867-1903).

In 1 89 1 the Congress of the Archaeological
Societies, in union with the Society of Anti-
quaries, directed the annual preparation of an

8 HOW TO WRITE THE

index of archaeological papers published during
the previous year. Seventeen of these invalu-
able annual pamphlets have been already issued ;
they are, for the most part, bound up with the
various transactions of the Societies in Union,
but can, we believe, be still obtained separately
from the Secretary of the Congress of Archaeo-
logical Societies, Burlington House. The fol-
lowing publications are now, under this scheme,
jointly indexed year by year : Anthropological
Institute, Proceedings of the Society of Anti-
quaries, Proceedings of Royal Society of Anti-
quaries of Scotland and of Ireland, Archaeologia,
Archaeologia ^Eliana, Archaeologia Cantiana,
Archaeological Journal, Berks, Bucks, and
Oxon Archaeological Journal, Society of Biblical
Archaeology, Birmingham and Midland Insti-
tute Archaeological Proceedings, Bristol and
Gloucester Archaeological Society Transactions,
British Archaeological Association Journal,
British Numismatic Journal, British Archi-
tects' Transactions, Bucks Architectural and
Archaeological Society, Cambridge Anti-
quarian Society, Chester and North Wales
Archaeological and Historical Society, Trans-
actions of Royal Institution of Cornwall,
Cumberland and Westmoreland Architectural
and Archaeological Society, Devon Associa-
tion Transactions, East Herts Archaeological

HISTORY OF A PARISH 9

Society, East Riding Antiquarian Transac-
tions, Essex Archaeological Society Transac-
tions, Folk-lore Society, Hampstead Antiqua-
rian Society, Publications of Huguenot Society,
Kildare Archaeological Society, Lancashire
and Cheshire Archaeological Society Proceed-
ings, Leicestershire Archaeological Society
Transactions, Norfolk Archaeological Society
Transactions, Numismatic Chronicle, Oxford-
shire Archaeological Society Publications, Royal
Irish Academy Proceedings, St. Paul's Ecclesio-
logical Society Transactions, Shropshire Arch-
aeological and Natural History Society Trans-
actions, Somerset Archaeological and Natural
History Society Transactions, William Salt
Archaeological Society for Staffordshire, Suffolk
Institute of Archaeology Transactions, Surrey
Archaeological Society Transactions, Sussex
Archaeological Collections, Thoresby Society
Transactions, Thoroton Society (Nottingham-
shire), Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural
History Magazine, Woolwich Antiquarian
Society, and Yorkshire Archaeological and
Topographical Journal.

This annual index has been continued down
to 1907. Its plan is to give the full titles of
the papers under the author's name, with an
additional index of places and subjects. In
1907 a big book of 900 pages was brought out

io HOW TO WRITE THE

under the like auspices purporting to be an
" Index of Archaeological Papers, 1 665-1 890" ;
but as it is solely arranged under authors'
names, it is practically useless.

Such journals as the many volumes of Notes
and Qilteries, The Reliquary, and The An-
tiquary should be searched, and, above all,
the old Gentleman s Magazine, of which many
volumes of most usefully arranged excerpts
have been issued under the editorship of
Mr. G. L. Gomme ; eighteen of these are
devoted to English topography arranged
under counties.

Here it may be remarked that a good plan
to pursue is to copy out all printed matter into
a roughly bound MS. book, leaving a wide
margin, writing on only one side, and never
beginning a second extract on the same page.
This book can be unstitched and pulled to
pieces for future use and arrangement, and the
rewriting for the press will thus be saved.

Note all references, particularly to records
and manuscripts, given in printed books, and,
if possible, eventually verify them. Labour of
this kind will often be rewarded by finding
much fresh matter overlooked by others, to
say nothing of the satisfaction of occasionally
correcting previous writers.

Remember that it is highly dishonourable to

HISTORY OF A PARISH n

appropriate another writer's references without
independent verification, for this is nothing
more nor less than obtaining the reader's credit
under false pretences. Moreover, such a prac-
tice (which we regret to say is by no means
uncommon) can readily be detected by an
acute critic, and then the author need expect
no mercy.

It will be essential to consult some, or all of
the great storehouses of records, MSS., and
books. We here give short accounts of the
ways and methods to be adopted in making
use of the Public Record Office, British
Museum, Somerset House, Lambeth Library,
College of Arms, Guildhall Library, Bodleian,
and Cambridge University Library. The real
student will be almost sure to find the greatest
courtesy and help at all of these London in-
stitutions, and at Oxford. We thought of
particularising their chiefs and leading lieu-
tenants by name, but that might be uninten-
tionally invidious to some accidentally omitted.
Very occasionally underlings are rude, and in-
tensify official requirements, of which we have
had personal knowledge in the past at Somer-
set House. When this is the case, the truest
kindness is at once to lodge an unexaggerated
complaint.

The Public Recoi'd Office in Fetter Lane,

12 HOW TO WRITE THE

where almost all classes of national documents
are now brought together, is open daily to those
who desire to inspect or search documents,
from 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., and on Saturdays
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is closed on Sundays,
Christmas Day to New Year's Day, Good
Friday, Easter Eve to Easter Tuesday, Whit-
sun Monday and Tuesday, and the Queen's
Birthday and Coronation Day. It is necessary
to apply for a ticket of admission to the Secre-
tary, Public Record Office, Chancery Lane,
stating the general object of the search, whether
historical, antiquarian, or genealogical, and en-
closing a letter of recommendation from a
responsible householder or other person of
recognised position. No one is allowed to
have more than three documents or records
out at a time. Ink may not be used in the
search rooms for making copies or notes. The
places of the calendars and indexes and all
general information will be readily and cour-
teously given by the gentlemen in charge of
the two search rooms.

The British Museum has " the largest and
best arranged library in Christendom." The
Reading Room is open every week-day, except
Good Friday and Christmas Day, and the first
four week-days of March and September, when
the Museum is closed for cleaning. The hours

HISTORY OF A PARISH 13

are from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. throughout the year.
As electric light is only used in the great Read-
ing- Room, books other than those on the re-
ference shelves cannot be supplied after 3.30 in
January, February, November, and December;
after 4.30 in March and October ; after 5.30 in
April and September ; and after 6.30 in May,
June, July, and August. A kindly provision
has, however, been made for late readers who
are not able to reach the Museum before the
specified hours. Such readers may apply to
the Superintendent of the Reading Room by
letter, to be delivered some hours in advance,
for books (not exceeding five in number) to
be held ready for their use, such application,
when possible, to be accompanied by the usual
official ticket duly filled up.

Any one desirous of admission to the Read-
ing Room must apply in writing to the Direc-
tor, stating profession or business, residence,
and the purpose for which he seeks admission.
Application to be made at least two days before
admission is required, and must be accompanied
by a written recommendation from a house-
holder (not hotel or lodging-house keeper) of
recognised position, with full signature and
address, stated to be given on personal know-
ledge of the applicant, and certifying that he
or she will make proper use of the Reading

i4 HOW TO WRITE THE

Room. The Trustees decline to accept the
recommendation of hotel-keepers or of board-
ing-house or lodging-house keepers in favour
of their lodgers. A ticket will then be for-
warded in due course, which, under ordinary
circumstances, has to be renewed at the end
of six months ; it must be produced when
required. Save under special order by the
Trustees, a reader's ticket is not issued to any
one under twenty-one years of age. The
tickets are not transferable, and must be pro-
duced if required.

The Manuscript Room is in another part of
the building, and will be pointed out to any
student desiring to use it who has obtained a
ticket after like application for one for the
Reading Room. An ordinary reader's ticket
used to also give admission to the MSS., but
separate application for a special MS. ticket
is now required. Opposite the door of the
Students' Room are the great MS. catalogues;
the topographical section is well arranged
alphabetically under counties, so that the
references to particular parishes can be readily
found. Many of the MSS. have been re-paged,
but the older paging is not obliterated ; the
catalogues, for the most part, refer to the older
paging, so that both sets of page or folio
numerals had better be consulted before the

HISTORY OF A PARISH 15

reader troubles an attendant about a supposed
faulty reference. The MS. Room is open
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every week-day, except-
ing Good Friday and Christmas Day, and the
first four week-days of March and September.
There is no restriction in copying MSS.
Tracing is not allowed, except by permission
of the keeper of the department.

The Print Room is open to students above
eighteen years of age for the like hours and
seasons as in the MS. Room, after the obtain-
ing a ticket by due application. The chief
topographical collections of prints, brass rub-
bings, and drawings are to be found in the
MS. Department.

Photographing from books, MSS., prints,
drawings, &c, is permitted under certain re-
strictions. The proper form for application, to
be addressed to the Director, can be obtained
at the Museum. The scale of fees to be paid
to the attendant at the Photographic Studio
is : For one negative, 2s. ; for more than one
negative the fee is a time-fee, viz. 2s. for the
first hour or part thereof, and is. for each
succeeding hour or part thereof.

The Newspaper Room is also quite distinct
from the Reading Room ; the ordinary reader's
ticket covers admission, but a separate news-
paper ticket is obtainable. The room is open

16 HOW TO WRITE THE

from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. all the year round on
every week-day, excepting Good Friday and
Christmas Day, and excepting also the first
four week-days of March and September.
London newspapers are bound available for
use one year after date, and country newspapers
two years after date. The former papers are
to be found in the room at the British Museum,
but the provincial as well as Scottish and Irish
newspapers are stored at the recently acquired
repository at Hendon. Applications for the
use of these latter papers (not exceeding four
volumes at one time) have to be addressed to
the Superintendent of the Reading Room, and
must reach the Museum not later than 2 p.m.
on Mondays. The papers thus ordered will
be available in the Newspaper Room on the
following Wednesday and until the end of the
week.

As newspapers occasionally contain interest-
ing items as to the later incidents of parish
history, it may here be very briefly stated that
the first London daily paper, the Daily Courant,
was started in 1 7 1 3. The Morning Post dates
from 1772, and the Times from 1775. Among
the earliest of provincial weekly papers may be
mentioned the Lincoln, Rutland, and Stamford
Mercury ( 1 695), the Warwick Postman ( 1 706),
the Nottingham Courant (17 10), the Newcastle

HISTORY OF A PARISH 17

Courant ( 1 7 1 1 ), the Hereford Journal (1713),
and the Leeds Mercury (17 18).

It would be a cjood thine: for a new reader at
the British Museum to purchase two small
pamphlets in the Entrance Hall, at the cost
of id. each, viz. " Description of Reading
Room," and " Explanation of the Catalogue
of Printed Books." There are those who from
time to time raise cheap sneers at the cataloguing
and general service of books at the British
Museum, but those who know best the catalogue
systems of the great continental libraries and
other large libraries, both English and Ameri-
can, are unanimous in giving the palm to the
grand national collection at Bloomsbury. Those
who desire to thoroughly understand the system
adopted should purchase, price is., " Rules for
Compiling the Catalogues in the Department
of Printed Books in the British Museum "
(1906).

Somerset House. — A "Literary Inquiry
Order" for free search at the Probate Regis-
try, Somerset House, without payment of the
usual fees, can be obtained by a written ap-
plication, addressed to the President of the
Probate Division of the High Court of Justice,
Principal Probate Registry, Somerset House,
London, with " Department for Literary In-
quiry " in the corner of the envelope. The

B

HOW TO WRITE THE

applicant is required to state name, address,
profession or description, object of research,
and period for which he proposes to attend.
Though not required in the first instance, it is
better to give some reference with the appli-
cation, such as the clergyman or squire of the
parish, or any well-known literary friend.

The Literary Inquiry Department is in the
basement, on the south side of the great court.
It is open from 10 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. on week-
days, save on Saturdays, when it closes at
1.30 p.m. It is closed for a period of six weeks
during August, September, or October, of which
due notice is given year by year. Only two
registers can be produced for one reader at the
same time, and not more than eight altogether
in one day. The free reader is allowed to search
the calendars, and read and make notes from the
registered copies of any wills, from the earliest
recorded down to within a hundred years of the
particular year of his visit. The later ones can
be consulted at a charge of is. each. The
reader must, on each occasion of his attend-
ance, sign his name in a book provided for
that purpose.

Similar orders for the District Probate
Registries can also be obtained from the
Principal Registrar, Principal Probate Regis-
try, Somerset House. The following is a list

HISTORY OF A PARISH 19

of the District Registries established by the
Act of 1857 :—

Bangor, G. H. Reid, Carnarvon and Anglesey. Birming-
ham, W. G. Middleton, Warwickshire. Blandford, H. F. C.
de Crespigny, Dorsetshire. Bodmin, W. H. E. Shadwell,
Cornwall. Bristol, John Henry Clark, Bristol and Bath,
present County Court Districts. Bury St. Edmunds,
Ronald Southey, Suffolk, West. Canterbury, H. Mapleton
Chapman, Kent, East, and Canterbury. Carlisle, W. C.
Butler, Cumberland and Westmoreland. Carmarthen, W.
Morgan Griffiths, Carmarthen, Cardigan, Pembroke, with
the Deaneries of East and West Gower. Chester, H. A.
Jenner, Chester. Chichester, W. B. B. Freeland, Sussex,
West. Derby, C. T. E. Wilde, Derbyshire. Durham,
W. J. Maynard, Durham. Exeter, W. H. Bailey, Devon-
shire. Gloucester, R. Fuller, Gloucestershire (except
Bristol County Court District). Hereford, T. C. Paris,
Herefordshire, Radnor, and Brecknock. Ipswich, G.
Pritchard, B.A., Suffolk, East, and Essex, North. Lan-
caster, Baldwin Dacres Adams, County of Lancaster, except
the Hundreds of Salford and West Derby, and the City of
Manchester. Leicester, H. Pickering Clarke, Leicester
and Rutland. Lewes, J. W. Heisch, Sussex, East. Lich-
field, H. G. Faussett-Osborne, Staffordshire. Lincoln,
G. L. Simpson, Lincolnshire. Liverpool, J. C. Bromfield,
West Derby Hundred. Llandaff, Charles H. Wilkinson,
Glamorgan (except Deaneries of East and West Gower),
Monmouth. Manchester, R. S. O. Mais, Manchester and
Salford Hundred. Newcastle-on-Tyne, H. E. Edwards,
Northumberland. Northampton, C. C. Becke, Northants,
South, and Beds. Norwich, L. D. Powles, Norfolk. Not-
tingham, Dr. F. Oswald, Nottinghamshire. Oxford, T. M.
Davenport, Oxon, Berkshire, and Bucks. Peterborough,
C. S. Magee, Northamptonshire, North, Huntingdonshire,

20 HOW TO WRITE THE

and Cambridgeshire. St. Asaph, J. P. Lewis, Flintshire,
Denbigh, and Merioneth. Salisbury, H. Elliott Fox, Wilt-
shire. Shrewsbury, R. K. A. Green, Salop and Montgomery.
Taunton, E. T. Alms, Somerset, West. Wakefield, G.
Bridgeman, Yorkshire, West Riding. Wells, J. R. Holli-
gan, Somerset, East (except Bath C. C. District). Win-
chester, C. Wooldridge, Hampshire. Worcester, G. F.
Adams, Worcestershire. York, H. A. Hudson, Yorkshire,
North and East Riding.

Lambeth Library (30,000 vols., and 14,000
MSS.) is open on Mondays, Wednesdays,
Thursdays, and Fridays, from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m., and also from April to July (both
months inclusive) until 5 p.m. during the
forenoon of Tuesdays. It is closed during
Easter Week, for seven days from Christmas
Day, and for a period of six weeks from the
1st of September. The records and MSS. of
this library are specially valuable to the eccle-
siologist. It is usual for the student to present
his card, and state the object of his visit to the
courteous librarian, but no previous written
application is required ; it is the only London
library of primary importance that is emphati-
cally " open to the public."

The College of Arms records and collections,
in Queen Victoria Street, are not in any way
a public library, as the establishment is entirely
supported by fees. Nevertheless, it is not
difficult for the student or inquirer to visit the

HISTORY OF A PARISH 21

College, and to profit by its great store of
heraldic and genealogical manuscripts. It is
usually open, day by day, from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. The applicant should present himself
at the office in the centre of the building,
where he will find the herald and pursuivant
who happen to be in waiting that month (they
have terms of residence like cathedral canons),
who have the sole right to transact his business
Any one, however, who has any personal
knov/ledge or letter of introduction to any
individual officer of the Heralds' College, can
visit him in his rooms, and there make his
application. The writer of these pages spent
many happy days at the College, between
1869 and 1879, at the rooms of the ever-
courteous Messrs. Planche and Tucker (both
now deceased), when reading and copying
from Pegge and Bassano's Derbyshire MSS.,
and from the valuable Talbot papers.

The ordinary search fee on personal applica-
tion is 5s. ; a general search through the records
is £2, 2s. ; and a general search through the
records and collections is ^5, 5s. Transcripts
of pedigrees are charged 5s. for each generation.
It is only by special favour of individual officers
that any personal copying or note-taking can
be done, and then not from pedigrees. There
is no catalogue of the library in print. Sir

22 HOW TO WRITE THE

Charles Young had a catalogue of the Arundel
MSS. printed at his own expense, but it can
only be seen at the College. There are, how-
ever, two manuscript catalogues of the library
in the British Museum, viz. Lansdowne MSS.,
689, and Hargrave MSS., 497.

The Gtdldhall Library (about 150,000 vols.)
is most generous in its arrangements. It is
open daily to every one over sixteen, on writing
their name in a book, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.,
save on Saturdays, when it closes at 6 p.m. It
is also closed on Bank Holidays, and for about
ten days at the beginning of November. This
large library, though meagre in MSS. or
particular features of value, has a fine collec-
tion of books and pamphlets illustrative of the
history and topography of London, and of
British topography in general. The extensive
collection of works on archaeology, architecture,
costume, genealogy, and heraldry all tend to
make this library desirable for antiquarian or
topographical students, particularly as the books
are supplied more rapidly than at the British
Museum.

The Bodleian Library (500,000 vols., and
30,000 MSS.), Oxford, is open at 9 a.m.
throughout the year, closing at 3 p.m. in January,
4 p.m. in February and March, 5 p.m. from
April to July inclusive, 4 p.m. in August,

HISTORY OF A PARISH 23

September, and October, and again at 3 p.m.
in November and December. It is closed on
Sundays from January 1st to 6th, from Good
Friday to end of Easter Week, on Ascension
Day, on Whitsun Monday and Tuesday, on
Commemoration Day, from October 1st to
7th, on November 7th and 8th, and from
Christmas Eve to the end of the year. On
the days on which it is closed, other than
Sundays, Christmas Day, Good Friday, and
Ascension Day, one room may be kept open
for the use, under certain restrictions, for persons
studio, severiora prosequentes. There is also
a special convenience for hardly pressed stu-
dents paying a brief visit to Oxford, which is
not generally known. The closely adjoining
reading-room of the Radcliffe Camera is open
from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., except on Saturday
evenings. Any one working at the Bodleian
can, as a favour, have his books or MSS.
carried across to the Radcliffe, where he can
work up to ten o'clock at night.

Every graduate of Oxford has the right of
entry ; but any other person is willingly ad-
mitted on a satisfactory letter of recommenda-
tion. The privilege, once granted, continues
for life. Most of the MSS. have now printed
indexes, and the arrangements have of late
materially improved.

24 HOW TO WRITE THE

The Cambridge University Library (300,000
vols., and 5000 MSS.) is not nearly so liberal
in its management as that of the sister Uni-
versity. The library is only open from 9
a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, and from 10
a.m. to 2 p.m. on other week-days. It is
closed on Sundays, on Christmas Eve and the
four following days, and on Thursday before
Easter and the five following days, also " on
the day next after the September quarter-day,
and remains closed until the 23rd of September
inclusive for the purpose of an annual inspec-
tion." Any one not a member of the Univer-
sity has to present to the Syndicate letters from
two members of the Senate, certifying that the
applicant is known to them as a student in some
specified subject, and is a fit and proper person
for admission to the library. Applications are
considered by the Syndicate at two successive
meetings. If the application is granted, pay-
ment has to be made at the rate of £1, is. for
the year, or 10s. 6d. for the quarter. Notwith-
standing this payment, the reader can never
remain after 2 p.m. ! The ticket of admission
expires on October 20th of each year, when
the process has to be gone through again.
Fortunately the Cambridge MSS. are not
nearly so numerous nor so interesting to the
local annalist as those of Oxford,

HISTORY OF A PARISH 25

Library of the Society of Antiquaries. — We
have received no permission, nor have we asked
for it, to make mention of the admirable topo-
graphical and archaeological library of the
Society of Antiquaries at Burlington House
(nearly 50,000 vols.) ; but under the new and
generous government of the Society, there is
practically no doubt that any genuine worker,
provided with a suitable letter of introduction
from a Fellow, would be welcomed with kindly
help by the Assistant Secretary (Mr. St. John
Hope), and by the clerk (Mr. Clinch). As,
however, this is essentially a Library for the
Fellows, nothing is here said as to times and
seasons for opening.

Before proceeding to definite sections, certain
books of general utility may here with advantage
be mentioned, viz. J. J. Bond's " Handbook of
Rules and Tables for verifying Dates in the
Christian Era " (Selby's edition, 1887); God-
win's " English Archaeologist's Handbook," of
some value, though much out of date (Parker,
1867) ; " Wilde's Illustrated Catalogue of the
Antiquities in the Museum of the Royal Irish
Academy" (Gill, Dublin, 1857-61), a book of
642 pages, divided into stone, earthen, vege-
table, mineral, and metallic remains ; " Cata-
logue of the National Museum of Antiquities,"
excellently illustrated, and issued by the Society

26 HOW TO WRITE THE

of Antiquaries of Scotland in 1893 ; the admir-
able "Guide to the Mediaeval Room," British
Museum, of 300 pages (1907) and 200 illus-
trations, price is. 6d. ; "A Key to English
Antiquities," E. G. Armitage (1897); and
" Handbook to English Antiquities," by G.
Clinch (1905).

Another hint that will probably be found
useful is to carefully study local antiquities
whenever accessible ; an object-lesson is often
more instructive than the closest reading of
literature. Some counties and districts of
England are fortunate in their museums ; but
others are distinctly unfortunate, and a long
way behind France, Germany, Switzerland,
and other parts of the Continent. The An-
tiqtmry began a useful series of " Notes on
Archaeology in Provincial Museums," in Vol.
XXIII. (1891). Up to the beginning of 1895,
when the series was discontinued, the following
museums had been described : Bath, Brighton,
Bristol, Caerleon, Callaby Castle, Cardiff,
Carlisle, Cheltenham, Cirencester, Denstone,
Derby, Driffield, Durham, Farnham, Glouces-
ter, Hereford, Ilkley, Leicester, Lichfield,
Ludlow, Northampton, Reading, Salisbury,
Sheffield, Shrewsbury, South Shields, Sunder-
land, Warrington, and York.

There has been a most marked improvement

HISTORY OF A PARISH 27

in provincial museums since the date of the
last edition of this book (1895) 5 at tnat timQ we
ventured to instance Northampton and Leices-
ter as two of the best for local arrangement, but
they have been by now at least equalled, if not
rivalled, by several others.

In 1904 Dr. David Murray produced a most
valuable and comprehensive work, in three
volumes, entitled " Museums, their History
and Use," which will long remain the standard
work on the subject. At the end of the first
volume is a full list of museums in the United
Kingdom, with brief observations on each as
to their contents and bibliography.

A Museum Association was formed in 1890,
which continues to hold annual meeting's at
different dates. It may sometimes be useful
to consult the Journal of the Association, which
is edited by Mr. E. Howarth, of the Sheffield
Public Museum.

Here, too, may be mentioned a book of
infinite value to the student in connection with
a great variety of antiquarian and historical
subjects. We refer to " The Sources and
Literature of English History" (1900), by
Charles Gross, a Professor of Harvard Uni-
versity. A new edition is in course of
preparation.

ETYMOLOGY AND MAPS

\TOT only should the etymology of the
* ^ name of the parish be carefully con-
sidered, and its various forms of spelling be
collected, from Domesday Book downwards,
but a list should be made of the whole of
the names of- physical features, such as hills,
streams, and lanes, and especially of the
field-names. Field-names — v/hich will often
establish the sites of disused chapels or manor-
houses, of Celtic burials or Roman roads, as
well as help to decide the nationality of the
later colonists that predominated in the district
— can be sometimes gleaned from old private
estate maps, or other exceptional sources, but
the "Award" maps of Inclosure Commis-
sioners from 1710 downwards, or the Tithe
Commutation maps of about 1840, are the
chief and most reliable sources. In almost
every instance the Inclosure Award directs
that a copy of the award and plan shall
be deposited in the parish chest, another
with the Clerk of the Peace for the county,

and a third at some court of record at

28

THE HISTORY OF A PARISH 29

Westminster now (P. R. O.). As a rule, how-
ever, these maps have often illegally strayed
into the private hands of solicitors, estate
agents, churchwardens, &c, and are hope-
lessly lost. Out of 147 awards that ought
to have been in the parish chests of Derby-
shire, we found that only 31 were there pre-
served. The whole, however, of these awards,
and most of the plans or maps, are in the
hands of the Derbyshire Clerk of the Peace.
Many of the Tithe Commutation maps are
also missing from like causes. When lust or
difficult of access, the original maps can usually
be seen at the offices of the Copyhold In-
closure and Tithe Commission, 3 St. James's
Square, on payment of 2s. 6d.

The Local Government Act, 1894, gives
the custody of Inclosure Awards to the Parish
Council or Meeting, but the Tithe Maps still
stay with the incumbent and churchwardens.

The best handbooks on local etymology
are Isaac Taylor's "Words and Places" (3rd
edition, 1873) and his "Names and their
Histories" (1896) and Flavell Edmund's
" Names of Places" (1872). Heinrich Leo on
" The Local Nomenclature of the Anglo-
Saxons " (1852), R. S. Charnock's "Local
Etymology and Derivative Dictionary" (1859),
and R. Ferguson's "River Names" (1862)

I

30 HOW TO WRITE THE

and "Teutonic Name System" (1864), may
also be consulted with advantage. There
were also a variety of papers and small books
of greater or less value, dealing with the place-
names of a single county ; the two best of
these are by W. W. Skeat on " Hants" (1904),
and by W. H. Duignan on " Staffordshire "
(1902).

No parish history should be produced with-
out a map. Now that the new Ordnance
Survey has been completed on so generous
a scale for the whole of the United Kingdom,
a map can generally be produced without the
cost of any special survey. It should be of
size sufficiently large to mark all field-names.
It would be well, too, if all obsolete names
were marked in a different type ; whilst dis-
used footpaths or bridle-roads, as well as
any changes of the physical characteristics,
might also be noted.

It might also be an advantage to make
use of the symbols recently adopted by the
Society of Antiquaries in their archaeological
surveys of Kent, Hertfordshire, Cumberland
and Westmoreland, Herefordshire, Lancashire,
Essex, and other counties. These valuable
surveys, consisting of maps and descriptive
letterpress, can be obtained of the Society
[ j by the public at 5s. each.

HISTORY OF A PARISH 31

The still more definite surveys of the
Victoria County History scheme should also
be carefully studied, for in those schemes
separate maps are given to illustrate the
respective remains of prehistoric times, of the
Roman occupation, and of the Anglo-Saxon
period.

V

f/

PREHISTORIC REMAINS

TF there are any so-called " Druidical " or
* megalithic remains in the parish, it would
be well to carefully digest James Fergusson's
"Rude Stone Monuments" (1872), a most
comprehensive work, though his conceptions as
to the comparatively recent origin of the greater
part of them meets now with but little approval.
The best work on tumuli, or barrows, is
Canon Greenwell's "British Barrows" (1887);
see also T. Bateman's " Ten Years' Diggings
in Celtic and Saxon Grave Hills," and L.
Jewitt's " Grave Mounds and their Contents."
Of more modern books, by far the most
valuable is J. R. Mortimer's " Forty Years'
Researches in the Burial Mounds of East
Yorkshire" (1905). Barrows are divided into
two classes, the long and the round. The
former were the work of the earlier short-
statured long-skulled people ; whilst the latter,
which are far more numerous, were the burial-
places of the succeeding round-skulled race ol
taller stature. On the craniology of the pre-
historic and succeeding periods, Thurman and

32

THE HISTORY OF A PARISH 33

Davis's Crania Britannica (1865) should be
consulted. "Prehistoric Times," by Sir John
Lubbock, now Lord Avebury (5th ed., 1890),
and Professor Boyd Dawkins' " Early Man in
Britain " (1S80), are the standard general works
on the subject of our more remote ancestors.
The two last essays of Sir John Lubbock's
"Scientific Lectures" give a popular account
of that branch of prehistoric archaeology which
deals with the palaeolithic and neolithic periods,
i.e. with the races who respectively used the
chipped and ground weapons of stone. " Pre-
historic Europe," by James Geikie (1884), may
also be read on the same subject. Sir John
Evans' "Ancient Stone Implements of Great
Britain" (1872) and "Ancient Bronze Imple-
ments of Great Britain" (1881) are authori-
tative works. A handbook was published by
Swan Sonnenschein, in 1892, entitled "The
Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages." It is fairly well
illustrated, but gives no references, and must
not be accepted as in any way authoritative or
up to date. "The Story of Primitive Times,"
by Mr. Edward Clodd, a thoroughly accurate
outline of the subject, is a wonderful shillings-
worth (1895). "The Origins of Invention: a
Study of Industry among Primitive Peoples,"
by Otis T. Mason (1895), is another most
desirable book ; the chapters on tools and

c

34 HOW TO WRITE THE

mechanical devices, on stone working, and on
the early potter's art are admirable.

Later works of value on the same subjects
are H. N. Hutchinson's " Prehistoric Man and
Beast" (1896) and Dr. R. Munro's "Prehis-
toric Problems" (1897). Three recent Guides
put forth by the Trustees of the British Museum
are excellent, most fully illustrated, and remark-
ably cheap ; they are " The Antiquities of the
Stone Age," is. (1902); " The Antiquities of
the Bronze Age," is. (1904); and " The Anti-
quities of the Early Iron Age," is. (1905).
These three Guides are, of course, in the first
instance, descriptive of the collections in the
great Museum, but they are also of much
value as general handbooks. Edwin Guest's
work entitled Origines Celticce (1883), m two
volumes, will not be readily superseded ; but by
far the best recent comprehensive volume is
Professor B. C. A. Windle's " Remains of the
Prehistoric Life in England" (1904), wherein
lists of the remains in different counties are for
the first time classified ; a second edition is now
in the press. " Celtic Art in Pagan and Chris-
tian Times" (1904), by Mr. J. Romilly Allen, is
also of much value. There is so much forgery
in prehistoric antiquities, as well as crass
ignorance, that it is not amiss to read Dr. R.
Munro's " Archaeology and False Antiquities "
(1895). These last three volumes form part

HISTORY OF A PARISH 35

of Methuen's Antiquary's Books series, under
the editorship of the writer of this manual.

If the parish contains any bone caves, or
deposits of that character, Professor Boyd Daw-
kins' "Cave Hunting" (1874) should be read.

The new and highly interesting branch of
early archaeology, which concerns itself with
' Lake Dwellings," not only appertains to
Switzerland and other parts of continental
Europe, but is now found to have left its traces
in Yorkshire and Somersetshire, as well as in
parts of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. As
the subject is more closely investigated and
understood, it may confidently be expected that
many a low-lying English parish will yield
traces of these singularly contrived dwellings
of our forefathers. The best books on the
question are Lee's translation of Keller's " Lake
Dwellings" (2 vols., 1878), and Dr. Munro's
masterly work on the " Lake Dwellings of
Europe" (Cassell, 1890). "The British Lake
Village near Glastonbury " is the title of an ex-
cellent illustrated shilling pamphlet (Barnicott
and Pearce, Taunton, 1895), which contains
papers by Messrs. Munro, Dawkins, Arthur
Evans, and Bulleid.

Before ever the conquering Romans covered
England with a network of military or quasi-
military roads of five different types, the later

36 HOW TO WRITE THE

inhabitants of early Britain gradually formed
great intertribal roads, which formed the main
lines of communication through the island.
Earthworks were grouped to defend these road-
ways, or to hold the tribal boundaries. As the
popular idea confuses these British main roads
with those of Roman origin (though the Romans
frequently utilised the older roads), and hence
has no grasp on the pre-Roman history of a
large portion of our country districts through
which these ancient ways passed, it will be as
well here to give, in the most condensed form,
the names and routes of the five old main roads
undoubtedly used by the British.

I. The Waiting Street started from Rich-
borough, and proceeded by London and Wor-
cester to Festiniog ; thence it branched in two
directions — the left leading to Ireland by Car-
narvon, and the right to Scotland by Chester,
Manchester, and Corbridge.

II. The Ikenield Street, from the coast of
the country of the Iceni, near the Wash, by
Newmarket and Dunstable, to Streatley; thence
it divided into two — the right branch to Ave-
bury, by the Berkshire ridgeway, and the left
to the Land's End by Newbury, Old Sarum,
Dorchester, Honiton, Exeter, and Totnes.

III. The Akeman Street, from the east-
ern counties, through Bedford, Buckingham,

HISTORY OF A PARISH 37

Alcester, Woodstock, Cirencester, Aust (where
it crossed the Severn), Caerleon, Cardiff,
Caermarthen, to St. David's.

IV. The Ryknield Street, from the Tyne,
by Bruchester, Boroughbridge, Aldborough,
Ribston, Bolton, Chesterfield, Derby (Little
Chester), Burton, Wall, Birmingham, Tewkes-
bury, Gloucester, Chepstow, and so by Aber-
gavenny and Caermarthen to St. David's.

V. The Ermyn Street, from Scotland, by
Berwick, Brampton, and Corbridge to Catarick,
where it divided ; the western branch used the
Ryknield way to Aldborough, and thence to
Doncaster, Southwell, and Staveley, where it
rejoined its own eastern branch, which had
proceeded from Catarick by Northallerton,
Stamford Bridge, Lincoln, and Ancaster.
Thence the road ran by Stamford, Chesterton,
Royston, and Enfield to London. At London
it again divided, the western branch going by
Dorking and Pullborough to Chichester ; and
the eastern branch by Bromley, Tunbridge,
Wadhurst, and Eastbourne to Pevensey.

With regard to Early Man, it would also
be well to consult the recent special essays
on this subject for the various counties under
the Victoria County History scheme ; most
of them have been contributed by Professor
Boyd Dawkins or by Mr. George Clinch.

EARTHWORKS

A BRANCH of antiquities to which much
systematic attention has been paid during
recent years, since the issue of the last edition,
is that of early Earthworks, which are to be
found in all parts of England. It will be the
duty of the parish historian to examine care-
fully all artificial raisings of the ground, whether
small or great, never to rest content with
accepting wild guesses as to their origin, and,
if possible, to test their nature by driving
trenches through them, minutely noting all
remains. Some will prove to be mere refuse
heaps from lead mining, or from stone or
gravel getting, and not infrequently of com-
paratively modern date ; other hillside trenches
or terracing may be mere accumulations of
earth caused by old methods of cultivation or
tillage, usually termed lynches or linchets. But
in very many instances earthworks are of great
interest, and more pertain to prehistoric times
than to the Roman or Ancdo-Saxon and
Danish periods.

In 1903 a competent committee, appointed

38

THE HISTORY OF A PARISH 39

by the Congress of Archaeological Societies,
drew up a scheme for the investigation and
classification of old earthworks, other than
those which are boundary banks or prolonged
entrenchments and burial mounds. This scheme
recommended the classification of defensive
earthworks under the following heads : —

A. Fortresses partly inaccessible, by reason

of precipices, cliffs, or water, addition-
ally defended by artificial banks or
walls.

B. Fortresses on hilltops, with artificial

defences, following the natural line
of the hill.

C. Rectangular or other simple enclosures,

including forts and towns of the
Roman-British period.

D. Forts consisting only of a mound, with

encircling ditch or fosse.

E. Fortified mounts, either artificial or partly

natural, with traces of an attached court
or bailey, or of two or more such
courts.

F. Homestead moats, such as abound in

some lowland districts, consisting of
simple enclosures formed into artificial
islands by water moats.

4o THE HISTORY OF A PARISH

The Victoria County History Syndicate has
already published in its numerous volumes
comprehensive essays on the earthworks of
various counties, based upon this scheme of
classification. One of the best experts in such
matters, the late Mr. T. Chalkley Gould, con-
tributed the accounts and lists for Durham,
Essex, Hereford, and Kent ; Mr. George
Clinch those for Bucks and Suffolk; Mr. J.
Charles Wall those for Devonshire, Leicester-
shire, Rutland, and Shropshire ; Dr. Cox for
Derbyshire ; and other writers for those of
Berks, Beds, Herts, Lancashire, Northants,
Oxfordshire, and Warwickshire.

Meanwhile two distinctly valuable works on
the science of Earthworks have been recently
issued by the press, both in 1908 — the one an
authoritative work (though with some blunders)
of 700 pages, by Mr. A. H, Allcroft, entitled
" Earthworks of England, Prehistoric, Roman,
Saxon, Danish, Norman, and Mediaeval " ; the
other an admirable, trustworthy manual of
150 pages, well illustrated by Mr. J. Charles
Wall, called " Ancient Earthworks." The
latter small book cannot fail to be of much use
to those who cannot afford to purchase an
expensive volume ; its price is only 2s. 6d.

ROMANO-BRITISH PERIOD

THERE is abundant room for a handbook
entirely devoted to this period, so exten-
sive has been the fresh information gained in
the last half-century, and particularly during
the last decade, on the Roman occupation of
Britain. This want will soon be supplied, for
Mr. John Ward, F.S.A., the Curator of the
Welsh Museum and a first-class authority, has
two volumes in the press, covering the whole
field, which will be issued as part of the
Antiquary Books series during 1910. As it
is, there is nothing of a popular character that
has been published to surpass or to supersede
the late Thomas Wright's " The Celt, the
Roman, and the Saxon" (5th edition, Kegan
Paul). The great roads, the stations, the
camps, the towns, the villages, the manufac-
tures, the coinage, the religion, the modes of
sepulture, and the domestic life of that period
are well and graphically described. It must,
however, be remembered that this book is
quite out of date with regard to the Bronze

Age.

41

42 HOW TO WRITE THE

The late General Pitt-Rivers brought out
four grand quarto volumes, nobly illustrated
(1887-98), which are chiefly concerned with
the Romano-British villages that have been
upturned on his estates on Cranborne Chase,
at Rushmore, Bakerly, &c, on the confines
of Wilts and Dorset. These volumes are
privately printed, but can be seen at most
libraries of any degree of archaeological re-
pute, through the author's generosity. Since
his death a few sets are at the disposal of
Mr. Batsford, 94 High Holborn.

What General Pitt-Rivers accomplished for
village life during the period of the Roman
occupation, the Society of Antiquaries have
accomplished for town life, as opposed to camp
or military settlement, during the same era.
In 1890 the Society of Antiquaries published
the first of their careful and excellently illus-
trated reports on the systematic excavation of
the site of Silchester. A succession of annual
reports have been printed ; they are admirable
of their kind, and can be obtained by the
general public at 2s. 6d. a part, on application
to the assistant secretary of the Society of
Antiquaries, Burlington House. This ex-
cellent work has been brought to a conclusion,
after twenty years of summer labour, this
year (1909).

HISTORY OF A PARISH 43

If any discovery of Romano-British pottery
or other relics is made in the parish, it is far
better to see and study like objects, as well as
to read about them, before attempting their
description. It may be as well, then, to
mention that, in addition to what can be seen
at the British Museum and at the Guildhall
Museum, London, the best provincial collec-
tions of objects illustrative of this period are
to be found in the museums of Reading (where
the Silchester hnds are deposited), Colchester,
Leicester, York, and Cirencester ; York is
exceptionally rich in all that pertains to
methods of interment.

The late Mr. Thomas Morgan, F.S.A., pub-
lished a good book on " Romano- British
Mosaic Pavements" in 1886 (Whiting & Co.).

General Roy's " Military Antiquities of the
Romans in Britain" (1793) is the best work on
the military side of the question, though ad-
ditional and more accurate information has
been obtained since its publication.

If there is any trace of Roman or other early
mines in the parish, a careful digest on the
subject, entitled " Mining Operations of the
Romans in England and Wales," should be
consulted. This paper was read by Dr. Cox,
as president of the historical section of the
Royal Archaeological Institute meeting at

44 HOW TO WRITE THE

Shrewsbury, in July 1894, and appears in the
A rchceo logical Journal for 1895.

With regard to inscriptions, if information is
desired as to any in the parish, or if there
should be the good fortune of discovering a
new one, the great work to be consulted in
the largest libraries is Professor Hlibner's In-
scriptiones Britannice Romance. Lapidarium
Septentrionale gives a noble description of the
monuments of Roman rule in the North of
England. It can be obtained of the secretary
of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-on-
Tyne, at the price of seven guineas. The
same society issue a good illustrated catalogue
of the " Inscribed and Sculptured Stones of
the Roman Period " in their museum, at the
modest price of 2s. 6d. The Black Gate
Museum, Newcastle-on-Tyne, and the Gros-
venor Museum, Chester, are far the best for
Roman inscriptions ; there is a good descrip-
tion of the latter in " Roman Remains in
Chester" (A. Ireland & Co., 1888), by the late
J. G. Earwaker, F.S.A.

J. C. Bruce's " Handbook to the Roman
Wall" (1S95) and H. M. Scarth's "Roman
Britain" (1883) are small books that well
maintain their original value, though in parts
superseded.

Two of the best of the more recent books on

HISTORY OF A PARISH 45

the roads of Roman construction are U. A.
Forbes and A. C. Burmester's " Our Roman
Highways" (1902), and T. Codrington's
"Roman Roads in Britain" (1905).

Professor Haverfield, F.S.A., is admittedly
the best-informed all-round exponent of the
four centuries when Britain was under the rule
of the Roman Empire. His recent detailed
papers on Romano-British remains in the
counties of Derby, Hants, Norfolk, North-
ampton, Somerset, Warwick, and Worcester,
which have appeared in the Victoria County
Histories, are models of research and accurate
information. The counties of Berks, Bucks,
Hereford, and Leicester have been treated
after a like exhaustive fashion by other writers
in the same scheme.

ANGLO-SAXON REMAINS

T N addition to Anglo-Saxon dykes, and the
* not infrequent remains of Christian archi-
tecture from the eighth to the eleventh
centuries, the various races of invaders that
are usually summarised under this generic
head left abundant traces of their settle-
ment throughout England in connection with
their interments. The sepulchral urns of this
period differ altogether from those of preceding
epochs. Mr. Godwin, in his " Archaeologist's
Handbook," was able in 1867 to draw up a
list of 106 Saxon cemeteries, pertaining re-
spectively to the East Angles, Mid Angles
and Mercians, West Saxons, North Angles,
and Jutes, scattered throughout the counties
of Bedford, Berks, Bucks, Cambridge, Derby,
Durham, Essex, Gloucester, Kent, Leicester,
Lincoln, Norfolk, Northampton, Nottingham,
Oxford, Suffolk, Warwick, Wilts, and Yorks.
Since then, at least fifty other cemeteries have
come to light, and there are, undoubtedly,
many more awaiting discovery. With the
remains of men are generally found war spears

THE HISTORY OF A PARISH 47

and knives, and the umbos of shields ; and
with the women fine fibulae, glass and amber
and earthenware beads, tweezers, and other
small bronze objects.

The two best books on the subject, both
finely illustrated, are Neville's " Saxon Ob-
sequies," illustrated by ornaments and weapons
(1852), and Akerman's "Remains of Pagan
Saxondom " (1855).

The Inventorium Sepulchrale of Bryan
Faussett, written between 1757 and 1773,
was published in 1856, with an introduction and
notes by Mr. Roach Smith, F.S.A., and chiefly
relates to Anglo-Saxon interments. Between
1843 and 1868 Mr. Roach Smith produced,
under the title of Collectanea Antiqua, a
series of seven volumes, in which Anglo-
Saxon archaeology plays a very important
part. The same may be said of Mr. George
Payne's Collectanea Cantiana (1893).

If but a single volume on the Anglo-Saxon
period be desired, we can cordially recommend
"The Industrial Arts of the Anglo-Saxons"
(Swan Sonnenschein, 1893), by Baron J. de
Baye, which has recently been translated. It
has seventeen plates as well as many cuts in
the text. This fine work is thoroughly com-
prehensive and reliable. It deals with the
invaders of Great Britain in the fifth century,

H

48 HOW TO WRITE THE

divided into Jutes, Saxons, Angles, Frisians,
and Anglo-Saxons ; with Anglo-Saxon arms,
the sword, spear, augon, scramasaxe, battle-
axe, bow and arrows, and shield ; with Anglo-
Saxon fibulae (radiated, S-shaped, bird-shaped,
cruciform, square-headed, saucer-shaped, an-
nular, and Kentish circular) and cloisonne" jewel-
lery ; with chatelaines or girdle-hangers ; with
necklaces, glass beads, and crystal balls ; with
earrings, hairpins, and combs ; with buckles
and steels ; with buckets or situlae ; with glass
vases ; with pottery ; and with the general
subject of Anglo-Saxon graves.

In April 1891 Dr. Cox described to the
Society of Antiquaries the uncovering of an
Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Saxby, Leicester-
shire. The rich variety of patterns on the
cinerary urns are illustrated in the Leicester-
shire Archaeological Society's Transactions.
Side by side with the ashes of those who
had been cremated were the extended inter-
ments of others, who were probably Christians.
In the same year other interments of this
period were discovered at Castleacre, Norfolk.
A richly furnished Anglo-Saxon grave came
to light in 1894 at Teynham, Kent. Certain
highly interesting discoveries of this period
were made in the borough of Croydon in
1895, during the construction of Eldridge

HISTORY OF A PARISH 49

Road. In 1899 Dr. Cox uncovered thirteen
interments, accompanied by an interesting
series of weapons and ornaments, at Coney-
bury Hill, Holdenby, Northants ; an account
of these discoveries appeared in the Athenceum
of nth November. In the same year excava-
tions in an Anglo-Saxon cemetery at North-
fleet, Kent, brought to light some gold orna-
ments. Further orold ornaments were found

o

by Mr. V. B. Crowther-Beynon in a cemetery
of this period in 1901, at North Luffenham,
Rutland. There have been a few more recent
finds of minor importance.

Particular attention is given to this period in
the Victoria County Histories, accompanied
in each case by a map and numerous illustra-
tions. Mr. Reginald A. Smith, F.S. A., of the
British Museum, the best general expert on
the subject, has contributed the letterpress.
Special articles from his pen have so far
appeared with regard to the Anglo-Saxon
remains of the counties of Beds, Bucks, Devon,
Essex, Hants, Herts, Kent, Leicester, Norfolk,
Northants, Notts, Rutland, Somerset, Suffolk,
Surrey, Warwick, and Worcester. Other
contributors have written on the counties of
Derby, Durham, and Lancaster.

9

w

1

THE NORSEMAN AND THE
DANE

""HE rule of the Saxon settlers in England
*■ was threatened at the end of the eighth
century by armed fleets under Jutish or Danish
leaders, and before the middle of the ninth
century the whole of our coast-line and most
of the adjoining low-lying districts along the
English Channel and St. George's Channel had
been ravaged by the invaders. At first they
sought only slaves, horses, and general plunder,
but soon began to make permanent camps
for winter quarters on headlands. Methodical
settlement began in 876. The Northumbrian
kingdom was in the hands of the Northmen,
the East English in those of the Danes, whilst
the eastern half of Mercia was also overcome
by the Scandinavians. The West Saxons at
that time alone held their own.

The areas settled by the Northmen and the
Danes can easily be settled by the place-names
on the maps and the field-names on parochial
surveys. Those parts, such as Derbyshire, where
the new invaders only partially established

THE HISTORY OF A PARISH 51

themselves, present a most interesting variety
of names in closely contiguous valleys.

It is highly important, for various reasons,
for the parochial historian to recollect the fifteen
shires that composed the Danelagh or parts
subject to Dane law, so that he may know what
was once the condition of things in his own
district. It will, therefore, be useful to give the
following list of these shires, taken from Dr.
Traill's "Social England" (1893), vol. i. chap. 2.

Middlesex and Essex. — Saxon land, settled
chiefly by Danes.

Norfolk and Suffolk. — East English land,
settled chiefly by Danes.

Bucks, Bedford, Herts, Northampton, Cam-
bridge, and Huntingdon. — Land of English of
the March, settled chiefly by Danes, but also
by Northmen.

Lincoln, Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, and
Stamford districts. — Land of English of the
March, settled chiefly by Northmen.

Yorkshire, and part of Durham. — North
English land, settled chiefly by Northmen.
Within these shires were many English or
Saxon districts, but they all followed the Dane
law instead of their own Saxon, Mercian, or
Northumbrian laws. Contrariwise, there were
considerable settlements of Northmen and
Danes in Northumberland and Holderness.

52 THE HISTORY OF A PARISH

A line drawn from Ness's mouth to Rugby,
from Rugby to Skipton, and from Skipton to
Preston, would be the southern line of the
country where the English hundred division
is represented by the Northmen's wapentake.

This irruption of Norse invaders did much
to check building and other arts, with the result
that the distinctive archaeological remains of that
period are but comparatively few, and some-
what difficult to identify. Worsaae's " Primeval
Antiquities of Denmark," translated and applied
to the illustration of similar remains in England,
by W. G. Thorns, is of value, though it mainly
relates to prehistoric times ; but the same learned
professor's work, entitled " An Account of the
Danes and Norwegians in England, Scotland,
and Ireland" (1852), is of much interest, and
of special value with regard to those parishes
that were within the Danelagh district. " Lin-
colnshire and the Danes" (1883), by Rev.
G. S. Streatfield, is also worth studying. R.
Ferguson wrote a good treatise on " The
Northmen in Cumberland and Westmoreland,"
in 1856, chiefly based on the treatises of
Worsaae. In a delightful book, published in
1892, by the Rev. M. C. F. Morris, rector of
Nunburnholme, called "Yorkshire Folk-Talk,"
the strong resemblance between the East Riding
dialect and the Danish language is pointed out.

THE MANOR AND THE RECORD

OFFICE

THE Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and other
old English chronicles, should be consulted
for possibly early mention of the parish. Most
of these have been cheaply printed in an English
dress in Bonn's Antiquarian Series. In J. M.
Kemble's " Saxons in England " (2 vols., 1849)
will be found a good list of the old tribal divi-
sions into "marks"; but all that Kemble ad-
vances with regard to the mark, shire, and
hundred has to be received with caution in the
light of later knowledge. Thorpe's Diplo-
matarium Anglicum s£vi Saxonici is an ad-
mirable collection of early charters (with
translations) ; some of the wills contain many
place-names ; the volume is indifferently in-
dexed. Mr. Walter de Gray Birch has since
published a series of Anglo-Saxon Charters
{Chartiilarium Saxonicum, 3 vols.), which yield
much additional information.

The Domesday Book, the survey for which
was completed in 1086, is now preserved at the
Public Record Office. It gives particulars of

all the different manors throughout the shires

53

HOW TO WRITE THE

of England, excepting those of Northumber-
land, Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Durham.
Lancashire does not appear under its proper
name ; but Furness and the northern part of
Lancashire, together with the south of West-
moreland, and a small part of Cumberland, are
included within the West Riding of Yorkshire.
The part of Lancashire which lies between the
Ribble and the Mersey, and which then in-
cluded nearly seven hundred manors, is joined
to Cheshire. Part of Rutland is described
under the counties of Northampton and Lin-
coln. A small part of Derbyshire is given
at the beginning of Nottinghamshire. The
Survey was printed in two large volumes in
1783, and a third volume of indexes and intro-
ductory matter added in 181 1. A valuable
''General Introduction" was published in 1832,
in two volumes, by Sir Henry Ellis. " Domes-
day Studies" (2 vols., 1888) contains the
papers read at the meeting of the Domesday
Commemoration held in 1886; but the best
essays on the Survey are undoubtedly those
contained in Round's " Feudal England" (Son-
nenschein, 1895).

The Ordnance Survey in 1863 completed
a facsimile edition of the Domesday Book,
produced by photo-zincography, which can be
obtained in separate counties. The extended

HISTORY OF A PARISH 55

text and translation of most counties can also
be procured.

The Book of Exeter and the Book of Ely
are of the same date, and no doubt copied from
the same returns as Domesday Book itself, but
they contain many more details. The former,
preserved at Exeter Cathedral, comprises the
counties of Wilts, Dorset, Somerset, Devon,
and Cornwall ; the latter, now in the British
Museum, relates to Cambridge, Hertford,
Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Huntingdon.
The Book of Winchester (Society of Anti-
quaries) relates to that important borough ; it
was compiled between 1107 an<^ 11 28. The
Bolton Book is a survey of the county pala-
tinate of Durham taken in 1183; there are
three copies, two at Durham and one at the
Bodleian. These four minor surveys were
printed by the Record Commissioners in one
volume in 18 16.

The best Domesday student of last century
was the Rev. M. W. Eyton, the Shropshire
antiquary and historian. He produced " A
Key to Domesday, showing the method and
exactitude of its measurements ... as illus-
trated by the Dorset Survey" (1878), " Domes-
day Studies . . . Somerset" (2 vols., 18S0),
and "Domesday Studies . . . Staffordshire"
(1881).

56 HOW TO WRITE THE

It is difficult, however, to exaggerate the
flood of light that has been thrown upon the
value and interest of Domesday during the
last few years by Mr. Round in the long and
lucid introductions to the Survey which he has
written for several of the Victoria County
History series. Mr. Round's essays have ap-
peared in the first volumes of the counties of
Berks, Beds, Bucks, Essex, Hants, Hereford,
Herts, Northants, Somerset, Suffolk, Warwick,
and Worcester. The like essays in other
volumes have undergone Mr. Round's revision.

By far the best single volume on this sub-
ject, which is, as a rule, the initial stage of
manorial history, is the recent book termed
"The Domesday Inquest" (1906), by Mr.
Adolphus Ballard.

Knights' Fees. — When England was sub-
divided by the Conqueror among his vassals,
the feudal custom of supplying the crown with
a certain number of knights was imposed upon
them. The number of knights that had to
be furnished was specified in the infeoffment.
These knights, in their turn, held lands from
the immediate tenants of the crown, which
were owned by homage, fealty, and a great
variety of tenures, as well as by direct pay-
ments in money. Some tenures were merely
nominal, such as a grain of cummin, or a red

V-r

HISTORY OF A PARISH 57

rose ; others were of more or less value, such
as a pair of white gloves, a tun of wine, a gold
spur, or a silver salver ; and others by such
service as holding the lord's stirrup, keeping
a pack of hounds, &c, &c. See Blount's
"Ancient Tenures." The lands of these
knights were termed " Fees," and composed
the barony of a crown vassal. A knight's fee
was supposed to be so much land as would suf-
fice to maintain him, and to enable him to pre-
sent himself and his retainers ready equipped
for the field in times of emergency. Hence a
" Knight's Fee," as applied to land, represents
no definite quantity, but a variable amount,
generally between one and five hundred acres
of cultivatable land. In Staffordshire, the
" Knight's Fee " averaged 3000 acres, but this
was inclusive of wood and waste. The term
is also sometimes used for the rent paid to the
lord for the fee. The essay on Knight's Ser-
vice in Round's " Feudal England" (1895) *s
full of information and careful deductions.

It is easy, then, to see that it became essen-
tial to the Crown, both for monetary and
judicial purposes, as well national as local, to
know from time to time the exact position of
their vassals and sub-vassals. Hence, inquisi-
tions were made up and down the country
before local sworn juries, and the barons made

58 HOW TO WRITE THE

returns of that which they held, and which was
held under them. These returns are among
the earliest of our national records ; and, though
brief, are invaluable, from their absolute auth-
enticity, to the genealogist and local historian.
The chief documents of this class are the Black
Book of the Exchequer, temp. Henry II., the
original of which (a small quarto of eigrity-five
folios of vellum) is in the P. R. O. ; but three
manuscript copies are in the B. M., C, and B.
respectively, and it was published (but imper-
fectly, and not from the original) by Hearn, in
two vols. 8vo, in the eighteenth century. The
Red Book of the Exchequer, containing the scut-
ages levied between 1 1 55 and 12 1 1 ; the Sctitage
and the Marshall Rolls, temp. Edw. I. & II.,
P. R. O. ; Kirby s Quest, giving an account of
the knights' fees held from the King in capite
or from others, according to inquisitions taken
by John de Kirkeby, the King's treasurer,
in 1296; various lists of tenants in capite
in our different public libraries ; and, most
important, the Testa de Nevill, or Liber
Feodorum. The last mentioned of these docu-
ments consists of two ancient volumes, com-
piled temp. Edw. II., now in the P. R. O.
They consist of inquisitions, taking temp.
Henry III. and Edw. I., respecting the fees
held immediately or otherwise of the King,

HISTORY OF A PARISH 59

throughout the whole of England, excepting
the counties of Cambridge, Cheshire, Durham,
Lancashire, and Monmouthshire. These re-
cords were officially printed in one vol., folio,
in 1807 ; there are many errors in the spelling
of place-names, but these can for the most part
be readily detected by any one having local
knowledge. Another folio volume, printed in
1802, is the Nonarnm Inquisitiones ; it is of
some value, and may, perhaps, be fairly in-
cluded under the head of knights' fees. It
consists, in the main, of the finding upon oath
by the parishioners, of the value of the ninth
lamb, fleece, and sheep, and in cities and
boroughs of the ninth of goods and chattels,
which by an Act of 14 Edw. III. were to be
levied as a tax for two years towards the
expenditure in the Scotch and French wars.
The rolls abound in the names of jurymen,
commissioners, and landowners. The pub-
lished volume only contains the returns from
twenty-seven counties, but the Nona Rolls for
most of the missing ones, e.g. Derby, Hert-
ford, Northumberland, and Warwick, have
since been found. MS. indexes of these will
be found in the small books lettered " Ex-
chequer Subsidies " in the search room of the
P. R. O.

A detailed account of the Nona Rolls, both

60 HOW TO WRITE THE

printed and imprinted, is contained in the " In-
ventory of Accounts," printed in the Second
Report, P. R. O., App. II., pp. 132-189.

There are four bundles of Returns of
Knights' Fees {Exchequer K. R.), extending
from Henry II. to Charles I. ; there are also
three bundles of like returns among the Duchy
of Lancaster records, extending from Henry 1 1 1,
to Charles I.

Revenue Rolls. — Under this head some of
the more important of our national documents
have to be briefly considered. They are the
rolls by means of which the Crown revenue was
accounted for at the Pipe Office of the Court of
Exchequer. The title of this office was derived
from the fancied resemblance of its functions to
those of a pipe or conduit. " For as water is
conveyed from many fountains and springs by a
pipe into the cistern of a house, and from thence
into the several offices of the same, so this golden
and silver stream is drawn from several courts
(as fountains of justice and other springs of
revenue), reduced and collected into one pipe,
and by that conveyed into the cistern of his
Majesty's Receipt."

The Great Rolls of the Exchequer, other-
wise called the Pipe Rolls, are all but perfect
from 2 Henry II. to the present time; and
there is one roll of 31 Henry I., the oldest

HISTORY OF A PARISH 61

national document now extant after the Domes-
day Book. They relate to the revenues of the
Crown, digested under the heads of the several
counties, and contain the yearly charge against
the sheriffs as drawn up and engrossed by the
Clerk of the Pipe. They are of much interest
and utility in early pedigrees, and relate to a
far wider range of subjects than Crown lands,
as the Crown revenues come from so great a
diversity of sources. An interesting paper,
which conclusively proves the supreme im-
portance of the Pipe Rolls to the local histo-
rian, was contributed to the eighth volume of
the Journal of the Derbyshire Archceo logical
Society. The originals are in the P. R. O.,
but most of the rolls are in duplicate at the
B. M. Several volumes of transcripts are
in the B. M. and B. The rolls for the
31 Henry I., 2, 3, and 4 Henry II., 1
Richard I., and 3 John have been published
by the Record^Commissioners. A " Pipe Roll
Society" was established in 1883, for privately
continuing the printing of these rolls, and
other early records up to 1200. It has already
issued twenty-nine volumes, and well deserves
support. The last volume gives the Pipe
Roll for 26 Henry II. The Hon. Secretary
is Mr. C. T. Martin, of the Public Record
Office. The subscription is £1, is. The

62 HOW TO WRITE THE

Society published in 1884 a useful introduction
to the study of these rolls, with a full list of
abbreviations, and a glossary.

The Originalia Rolls are described in the
Public Records Report as "the Estreats trans-
mitted from the Court of Chancery into this
(Exchequer) office, of all grants of the Crown
enrolled on the patent and other rolls, whereon
any rent is reserved, any salary payable, or any
service performed." These rolls begin early
in the reign of Henry III., and extend to 1837.
An abstract, in two folio volumes, of the
Originalia from 20 Henry III. to the end of
Edward III., was published by the Record
Commissioners in 1805. Similar abstracts from
1 Richard II. to end of James II. were prepared
for printing, but never published; the MS. of
this work is in the B. M. An index to the
Originaliawas published in 1793, by Mr. Edward
Jones, in two folio volumes. Those who have
had occasion to use Mr. Jones' index know that
the judgment, " very useful, but very imperfect,"
is true in each particular. There is a fairly
accurate and full MS. calendar to these notes,
from Edward I. to Elizabeth, entitled " Refer-
ences to Originals."

Other Revenue Rolls are the Chancellor s
Rolls, 36 Henry III. to 5 William IV.; Ex-
annual Rolls, Edward I. to 4 George III.;

HISTORY OF A PARISH 63

Foreign Account Rolls, Henry III. to Charles
II.; and Reversion Rolls, Edward III. to
Henry VIII.

Chancery Rolls. — Under this head are
included all those various and important classes
of documents, relative to both home and foreign
affairs, of which the Lord Chancellor had offi-
cial coenizance. Its chief subdivisions are the
Close, Patent, Charter, and Fine Rolls.

The difference between the documents entered
on the Close Rolls and the Patent Rolls is that
royal letters patent were delivered open, with
the Great Seal appended, and were supposed
to be of a public nature and addressed to all
the king's subjects ; whilst the Close Rolls
contain entries of such instruments as were
despatched closed or sealed up, and were of a
more private nature.

The Close Rolls begin in 1204. From that
time to 11 Henry III., they have been printed
in full in two folio volumes, fully indexed, and
with an admirable introduction by Sir Thomas
Hardy. The Latin text in full has recently
been printed in three volumes from 1227 to
1237. An inventory of these rolls from John
to Elizabeth has been printed — Second Report,
App. II., pp. 17-24; Third Report, App.
II., pp. 148-151; and Fourth Report, App.
II., pp. 99-103. There are eighty-four

64 HOW TO WRITE THE

manuscript volumes of indexes, from John to
1848.

Excellent Calendars of the Close Rolls, from
the beeinninor of Edward I.'s reign onward,
continue to be printed year by year. At the
present time (October 1909) the following have
been issued : —

Edward I., 1272-1307, five vols.
Edward II., 1307-1327, four vols.
Edward III., 1327-1360, ten vols.

These rolls are of infinite variety and import-
ance. Among the subjects treated of are —
Royal Prerogatives, Homage, Fealty, Knight's
Service, Treasure Trove, Gold and Silver
Mining, Bail and Pardons, Livery of Lands,
Assignment of Dowers, Wardship of Minors,
Repairs of Bridges, &c, &c. They often, there-
fore, contain unexpected fragments of local
history connected with apparently insignificant
parishes, and are even more fruitful than the
better known Patent Rolls.

The Patent Rolls begin with 3 John, and
are fairly perfect up to the present time. On
them are entered all grants of lands, offices,
honours, pensions, and particulars of individual
or corporate privileges, &c, &c. These in-
valuable rolls are as yet only partially indexed
or calendared. A folio calendar of those from
John to 23 Edward IV. was printed in 1802,

/As

HISTORY OF A PARISH 65

but it is a somewhat capriciously made selec-
tion. Those from the 3rd to iSth John have
since been printed in full, with an admirable
introduction, and a useful itinerary of that ever-
restless king. An inventory from 3 John to
45 Eliz. has been printed in the Second,
Third, and Sixth Reports. There are fifty-
six volumes of manuscript indexes. The
Record Office has, however, been busily en-
gaged with thorough calendars for some years.
The following have been already issued : —

Henry III., 1216-1258, four vols.

Edward I., 1272-1307, four vols.

Edward II., 1307-132 7, five vols.

Edward III., 1327-1354, five vols.

Richard II., 1377-1399, six vols.

Henry IV., 1399-1413, four vols.

Henry VI., 1422-1446, four vols.

Edward IV. to Richard III., 1461-1495, three vols.

In the B. M. are many volumes of selections
and extracts for particular periods. Manorial
grants of "free warren" in these rolls will
often supply a missing link in the history of a
manor.

The Charter Rolls contain a good deal of
duplicate matter to that on the Patent Rolls.
They chiefly consist of grants of privileges to
religious houses, cities, and towns, and grants
of markets, fairs, and free warren to individuals.
Charters, like Letters Patent, passed under the

E

66 HOW TO WRITE THE

Great Seal ; but a charter differed from a
patent inasmuch as the former was witnessed
by the Council, or by such persons as were
present at its execution, and the latter was
solely executed by the king. The Charter
Rolls extend from i John to 8 Hen. VIII.
A calendar of these rolls, well indexed, but
consisting only of selections capriciously made,
from John to Edward IV., was published in
1803, and the rolls themselves of the reign of
John were also published by the Record Com-
missioners in 1837, with an introduction and
general index. Three volumes of official
Calendars of Charter Rolls have recently
been issued, extending from 1226 to 1326.

The Fine Rolls contain accounts of fines
paid to the Crown for licences to alienate
lands, for freedom from knight service, for
beine knisfhted, for renewals of various char-
ters, &c, &c. They extend from John to 23
Charles I. An inventory of the whole of these
rolls has been printed in the Second and Third
Reports. The Fine Rolls of John, and extracts
from those of Henry III., have been pub-
lished by the Commissioners in three 8vo
volumes. They are to be distinguished from the
important Pedes Finium, subsequently explained.

Other much less important Chancery Enrol-
ments are Coronation Rolls, Confirmation Rolls,

HISTORY OF A PARISH 67

Extract Rolls, Pardon Rolls, Protection Rolls,
and Staple Rolls.

Hundred Rolls. — These Rolls will often
prove to be of the greatest interest for one
period of manorial history. During the turbu-
lent reign of Henry III. the Crown revenues
had been much diminished by the tenants in
capite alienating lands without licence, and by
powerful ecclesiastics and laymen usurping the
rights of holding courts, and committing other
encroachments. The people, too, had been
greatly injured by exactions and oppressions
at the hands of sheriffs and other officers, and
by false claims to free warren and illegal tolls.
One of the first acts of Edward I., on his
return from the Holy Land, at his father's
death, was to remedy these abuses. The cir-
cuit of the itinerant justices was only usually
made once in seven years, therefore the king
appointed special commissioners for inquiring
into these grievances throughout the realm.
These rolls are the result of the inquisitions
taken in pursuance of this commission. They
afford evidence, upon the oath of a jury, of each
hundred and town, of all demesne lands and
manors then or formerly in the hands of the
Crown ; all tenants in capite and tenants in
ancient demesne ; alienations to the Church \
rights of free warren, fisheries, wreck of the

68 HOW TO WRITE THE

sea, &c. ; oppressions of nobility and clergy ;
exactions of excessive tolls in fairs or for
murrage and pontage, unlawful trading, en-
croachments on highways, &c. The whole of
these rolls were published by the Record Com-
missioners in 1812-18, in two large folio
volumes, but are now seldom to be purchased.
When in the market they realise about ^5.
"The genealogist may estimate the assistance
these volumes are capable of affording when it
is mentioned that the Indices of Names contain
references to about 70,000 persons." The
misspelling of place - names is sometimes a
little misleading, but ordinary care will rectify
this, as the returns are arranged in counties.
The rolls, as printed, may be fairly relied on
for historical purposes, without the trouble of
collating the originals.

In addition, however, to the Hundred Rolls
proper, there are a large number termed
Extract Hundred Rolls, from which the defi-
ciencies of the former can in many cases be
supplied ; the portions relative to Norfolk,
Suffolk, Essex, Hertford, Dorset, and North-
umberland have not been printed, and must be
inquired for at the P. R. O. The Hundred
Rolls of both series have now been placed
together, in county arrangement, in eight boxes.
An exact list of their contents is set forth in

HISTORY OF A PARISH 69

Mr. Scaro-ill Bird's " Guide to the Public

Records" (1908 ed., pp. 140-2).

Placita. — The pleadings of our several
courts, with the judgments thereon, have been
for many centuries entered on Rolls. The
greater part of these are termed Placita, or
Pleading Rolls. Their important bearing on
manorial history is obvious. There is scarcely
a manor in the kingdom that had not occasion,
on an average of at least once a century, to put
in an appearance in one or other of the courts
on some matter involving litigation.

Under our Norman kings, all pleadings were
originally heard Aula sive Curia Regis, in the
hall or court of the king's palace. In aid of
the King's Court, itinerant justices were first
appointed temp. Henry I., and were finally
established 22 Henry II. Towards the end of
the reign of Richard I., the Curia Regis was
subdivided into Courts of Exchequer and Chan-
cery, whilst the King's Court still retained pleas
immediately touching the Crown, and also
common pleas, both civil and criminal. The
Magna Charta, 17 John, separated the Common
Pleas from the Royal Court, after which theCuria
Regis continued to be the superior court of law
for criminal matters, and early in the reign of
Edward I. lost its more ancient title and became
known as the Court of King's Bench.

70 HOW TO WRITE THE

Those who have access to the publications of
the William Salt (Staffordshire) Archaeological
Society's publications, will find a most excellent
and intelligible account of our varying judicial
system before and after the Great Charters, in
the introductions to the Plea Rolls of volumes
III. and IV., from the capable pen of General
the Hon. G. Wrottesley. It would save an
infinity of trouble to intending searchers of the
Pleas at the P. R. O. if they would first read
these introductions. It is to be wished that
they were published separately, with slight
additions ; they would then fulfil a much-
needed requirement — a Handbook to the
Pleas. In default of this, Reeve's " History
of the English Laws," with notes by W. F.
Finlason, should be consulted. One of the
important changes made by the Great Charter
was the provision restraining assizes to their
respective shires, so as to save the unfortunate
suitor from following the Curia Regis from one
end of the kingdom to the other, as was
the case during King John's itineraries. But
it must be remembered that this provision
was so far modified as to enable Justices
Itinerant to adjourn suits to another day and
place on the same subject. Pleas, therefore,
have sometimes to be followed in adjacent
counties. Thus Staffordshire Pleas are to be

HISTORY OF A PARISH 71

found under Salop, Hereford, Warwick, Hunts,
Bucks, Oxon, Gloucester, Cambridge, Lincoln,
Derby, Notts, Northampton, Berkshire, and
Worcester. Two publications of the Selden
Society may with advantage be consulted, both
by the late Mr. F. W. Maitland, " Select Pleas
of the Crown" (1863) and "Civil Pleas"
(1890).

The Rotuli Curia Regis have been printed in
full, from 6 Richard I. to 1 John, by the Record
Commissioners, in two 8vo volumes. The same
Rolls, in addition to those of the King's Bench
(or Coram Rege Rolls), down to the end of the
reign of Edward II., were in 181 1 elaborately
calendared and indexed by the Commissioners
in a folio volume of some value under the title
Placitorum in Domo Capitulari Westmona-
steriensi asservatorum Abbreviatio ; but the
Rolls are now in the P. R. O. The abstract
has been made after a fickle fashion ; some
pleadings are given in full, whilst many others
of more importance are condensed into a couple
of lines ; and there is nothing in the volume to
tell the student whether they are abbreviated
or not. From 6 Charles I. to 1843, references
to enrolled Crown causes can be found by means
of the " Great Doggett Books," which consist
of seventeen manuscript volumes.

The earliest provincial courts were those of

72 HOW TO WRITE THE

the Itinerant Justices, or Justices in Eyre (from
the Norman-French word erre, a journey); they
held criminal and common pleas, and also pleas
of the forest. These justices afterwards gave
way to Circuit Judges, and the Justices in Eyre
then became only another name for the Justices
of the Forest.

These Rolls that may properly be termed
Records of Assize commence 6 Richard I.,
and end with the reign of Edward IV. In the
B. M. are many manuscript volumes of Placita
Itinerum, pertaining to different reigns and
different counties.

Add. MS. 12,269, at the B. M., contains
abstracts by Bracton, the great lawyer of the
thirteenth century, of more than a thousand
cases decided by the judges between 2 and
24 Henry III. Many of the Plea Rolls, from
which these contemporary extracts were made,
are now missing.

In 18 1 8 the Record Commissioners published
an important folio volume, entitled Placita de
Quo Warranto temporibus Edw. /., II., Ill,
which forms an interesting sequel to the
Hundred Rolls. This volume is sometimes
for sale, and realises from £2, 10s. to £$■
The Hundred Rolls, as already mentioned,
yield a great mass of sworn information as to
abuses. Those persons thus charged were

HISTORY OF A PARISH 73

summoned to answer " Quo Warranto " such
and such things were done or left undone ? or
by what right such and such manors, &c, were
held ? This volume contains a full transcript
of the Roll of the pleadings in answer to these
summonses, and the judgments thereon. Its
utility in manorial history cannot be exag-
gerated, as the descent of the manor is often
traced back in these pleadings to the time of
John, or even earlier. The Rolls are arranged
under counties, and include the whole of
England, with the exception of the palatinate
of Durham.

The earliest records of the Court of
Chancery are of the seventeenth year of
Richard II., the previous documents having
been destroyed in the Wat Tyler rebellion.
There are no petitions extant to the Chancellor
of the reign of Henry IV., and but few of
Henry V., but from the beginning of the reign
of Henry VI. they seem to have been kept
with much regularity. Calendars of the
Chancery proceedings of the reign of Eliza-
beth were published in three volumes folio,
1827-32. In the introduction to this work
are many examples of the earlier proceedings
of that court from Richard II. downwards. It
is hardly necessary to add that the bills of
complaint, and their answers, filed in this

74 HOW TO WRITE THE

court, often contain abundant information as
to manorial descent. Numerous MS. volumes
of indexes to Chancery proceedings are at the
service of the searcher in the P. R. O.

The volumes known as the Year Books
contain reports in Norman-French of cases
argued and decided in the Courts of Common
Law. They form the basis of the lex non
scripta of English jurisprudence, and are
worthy of attention on account of the his-
torical information and the notices of public
and private persons which they contain. The
frequent disputes about heirship cause them
often to be of value in manorial history.
These reports begin in 1220, and an account
of the different books, their dates, &c, may be
found in Worrall's Bibliotheca Legum Anglice,
1788. Serjeant Maynard published an edition
of early Year Books, in eleven volumes, in
1679. Eighteen volumes of Year Books have
now been issued under the direction of the
Master of the Rolls, extending from 20
Edward I. to 19 Edward III. Lincoln's
Inn Library, and the University Library,
Cambridge, have a great number of MS. Year
Books. A work of much research, by Mr.
Bigelow, was published in 1880 (Macmillan),
entitled " History of Procedure in England " ; it
is a history of the litigation and legal procedure

/ w^

HISTORY OF A PARISH 75

of the temporal courts during the period from
the Norman Conquest to the middle of the
reign of Richard I. Another book by the
same author, PlacitaAnglo-Normannica (Samp-
son Low, 1 881), deals with cases during the
same period from monastic records. If there
has been any early dispute about the manor
or manorial rights, these volumes should
certainly be consulted.

Inquisitiones. — Inquisitiones post mortem
are not infrequently termed " Escheats," from
the writs being directed to the county official
called the Escheator ; but the term is in-
correct, and should never be used, for there
is a class of documents correctly called Escheat
Rolls, which differ altogether from these in-
quisitions, and refer to the Escheator's accounts
of lands and property escheated to the Crown
from various causes, and the profits and
value of the same at different periods. The
Inquisitio post mortem, on the contrary, was an
inquiry held on oath by a jury of the district,
summoned by virtue of a writ directed to the
county Escheator, on the death of every
tenant^n_capzle. The jury had to inquire
(1) of what lands the person died seized, (2)
by what rents or services the same were held,
and (3) who was his next heir, and of what
age; they had also to ascertain whether the

76 HOW TO WRITE THE

tenant was attainted of treason, or an alien, in
which case the lands reverted to the Crown.
The return of the jury, together with the writ
authorising the inquiry, was returned to the
King's Chancery, whence a transcript was sent
to the Exchequer, so that the proper officers
might be able to levy the duties and services
thereupon due ; for on the death of each
tenant in capite, a tax termed a "relief" was
clue to the Crown, and the heir could not take
possession until the relief was paid, and homage
done. Moreover, if the heir was a minor, the
Crown administered the estates until he could
make proof of his legal age, and perform
homage. The Exchequer transcripts of these
inquisitions, together in most cases with the writ,
are still extant from the time of Henry III.
down to the end of the reign of Charles I. ; that
is, until the feudal land system was finally over-
thrown. Calendars, or short abstracts of these
inquisitions, carefully indexed, have been
printed in four folio volumes by the Record
Commissioners, 1 806-1 828, up to the end of
the reign of Richard III. These calendars,
which are invaluable for reference, must be
used with caution, and should never be quoted
as proving the death of any person by a
particular date, for unfortunately not a few
inquisitions that are not post mortem, but ad

HISTORY OF A PARISH 77

quod damnum, are included amongst them.
There are also many errors in nomenclature,
and in assigning manors to special counties ;
it is therefore wisest to make the rule of never
quoting these inquisitions, unless the original
has been seen, or a full transcript obtained.
The inquisitions subsequent to the time of
Richard III. have not been calendared. There
are nine volumes of manuscript indexes to these
inquisitions at the P. R. O., covering the
period from Richard III. to Charles II.

The Record Commissioners have also pub-
lished a Calendar to the Inquisitions of this
class, pertaining to the Duchy of Lancaster,
from the time of Edward I. to Charles I.

Extracts and abstracts from these Inqui-
sitions, covering particular periods, or for par-
ticular counties, are numerous in our public
libraries ; for lists of such MSS., see Sims'
" Manual," pp. 125-8.

Another form of inquisition was the Inqui-
sitio ad quod damnum, which was a judicial
inquiry, held by virtue of a writ directed to the
Escheator of the county, when any licence of
alienation of lands, or grants of a market, fair,
or other privilege was solicited. A local jury
was sworn to inquire whether, if the claim was
granted, it would interfere with any vested right,
or be to the detriment of the Crown or some of

7S • HOW TO WRITE THE

its subjects — hence the name ad quod damnum.
These inquisitions, especially with relation to
alienating lands to religious houses, are often
very valuable to the local historian, for the
jury in such cases had to state the amount,
value, and nature of the remainder of the lands
of the intended donor. A calendar of these
records from i Edward II. to 38 Henry VI.
was officially published in 1803, and is bound
up with the previously mentioned calendar of
the Charter Rolls. It should be remembered,
as already stated, that many inquisitions ad
quod damnum, particularly the earlier ones, are
wrongly catalogued and arranged among the
post-mortem inquests.

During the last few years the rearrangement
and reclassification of the large number of docu-
ments of the Inquisition type have been actively
undertaken. They have now been subdivided
as follows : —

A. Inquisitions post mortem, including
proofs of all assignments of dower,
and inquisitions on idiots and
lunatics.

B. Inquisitions ad quod dammim.

C. Inquisitions respecting felonies and
homicides, entitled Criminal Inqui-
sitions.

HISTORY OF A PARISH 79

D. Miscellaneous Inquisitions, including
those formerly described as " Inqui-
sitiones de Rebellious " and " de
Forisfacturis."

Five volumes of Inquisition Calendars have
now been printed, viz. 20-56 Henry III.,
1 — 19 Edward I., 1-9 Edward II., 1-9 Edward
III., and 1-14 Henry VII.

Feudal Aids. — In 1898 the Deputy Keeper
began the printing of a series of volumes de-
signed to illustrate the succession of holders
of land in the thirteenth, fourteenth, and
fifteenth centuries, based on certain books of
precedents, and extending from 1284 to 1341.
They are arranged under counties, and demand
the attention of all parochial or municipal
students. Five of these volumes — termed
" Inquisitions and Assessments relating to
Feudal Aids, with other analogous Docu-
ments preserved in the Public Record Office"
— have now been issued, extending from Bed-
ford to Worcester.

Pedes Finium. — The Pedes Finiiim, or
" Feet of Fines," must be clearly distinguished
from the previously mentioned Fine Rolls,
which are quite a different class of record.
The Fine here signified is no mulct of money,
but is so called because it is the final agree-
ment between persons concerning any lands or

80 HOW TO WRITE THE

rents or other matters whereof there is any
suit between them. The fine, or solemn con-
tract recorded before a competent judge, is
described as having five parts : (i) the original
writ taken out against the cognisor ; (2) the
licence of the Crown giving the parties liberty
to accord ; (3) the concord itself ; (4) the note of
the fine, which is an abstract of the original
concord ; and (5) the foot of the fine, which
always began thus — " Haec est finalis Con-
cordia facta in Curia Dom. Regis apud Westm.,"
&c. This foot of the fine, which was the
official summary of the concord, was cut off
in an indented line (hence the word indenture),
so as to tally with the part delivered to the
suitor and prove its authenticity, and retained
by the court. There is no class of documents
that has been so continuously preserved in
uninterrupted succession as these Feet of
Fines. No manorial history can be con-
sidered satisfactory until these records have
been carefully consulted, for they contain the
proceedings which have been adopted to con-
vey estates, as well as to free them from their
entailment to issue, or from the dower of wives.
The earliest of these documents, from the
counties of Bedford to Dorset inclusive, from
7 Richard I. to 16 John, have been officially
published in two 8vo volumes, under the title

^X^Ia^

HISTORY OF A PARISH 81

Fines, sive Pedes Finitim; sive Finales Con-
cordice in Curia Domini Regis.

Those from Ebor to Warwick, for the like
period, are transcribed at the P. R. O. in
seven MS. volumes. There are also thirty-
seven MS. index volumes to the Feet of
Fines from Richard I. to Henry VIII., and
fifty-six similar volumes from Henry VIII. to
5 George III.

The Feet of Fines from Richard I. to 6
William IV. have now all been arranged in
counties.

The " Fines " for several counties (such as
those of Kent and Derbyshire) have been
gradually printed in abstract by county archaeo-
logical or record societies.

The following abstracts of Feet of Fines,
which have been printed by county societies
or for subscribers, will be found in small bound
volumes on an upper shelf in the Circular
Search Room : —

Cambridgeshire. — From Richard I. to Edward IV.

Lancashire. — From 1196 to 1377. . — -

Lincolnshire. — Richard I., John, and Henry III.

London and Middlesex. — From Richard I. to Queen
Elizabeth.

Norfolk.— From Richard I. to Richard III.

Somersetshire. — From 1196 to 1307.

Suffolk. — From Richard I. to Edward IV.

Surrey. — From Richard I. to end of Henry VII.

Yorkshire. — From Richard I. to end of Elizabeth.

F

82 HOW TO WRITE THE

Ancient Deeds. — Excellent service has been
done to all local and parochial students by the
printing of a descriptive catalogue of some of
the vast quantity of detached ancient deeds
that have accumulated in the Public Record
Office. They are mostly conveyances of land,
but there are also many agreements, bonds,
acquittances, wills, and other documents of
private persons from the 12th to the 16th
centuries. The first of these five volumes,
averaging upwards of 700 pages, was issued in
1890, and the last in 1906. Each volume is
most thoroughly indexed.

Domestic State Papers. — These fine series
of well-indexed calendars of collected papers
ought to be carefully searched for later paro-
chial information. As a rule, it is best to
consult the originals. If only the printed
calendars are consulted, this should be made
clear in the reference or foot-note ; it is not
honest to find references to the volumes and
numbers of the originals unless they have been
studied. Moreover, the person who does this
runs the risk of being caught by the critic ; for
though in the main the abstracts in the calen-
dars are carefully done, and correct, there
are a few instances of bad faults and grave
omissions. The most valuable of the series are
"Letters and Papers of Henry VIII.," which

HISTORY OF A PARISH 83

have now reached to twenty-one volumes, and
extend from 1509 to 1546. The calendar of
the Domestic State Papers from Edward VI.
to Charles II. are contained in seventy-two
volumes. They are all thoroughly indexed.

Palmer's Indexes. — Special mention should
be made of 153 particularly useful MS. in-
dexes purchased from the executors of Thomas
Palmer, formerly Chief Clerk of the old Record
Office at the Rolls Chapel. They consist of
calendars and indexes to the Patent Rolls,
Close Rolls, Inquisitions/^ mortem, and other
records of the Court of Chancery, arranged
principally with reference to names of manors
and places. A list of these volumes, and the
contents of each, are printed in Mr. Scargill
Bird's Handbook (1908), pp. 62-73.

Having thus run through the chief classes
of documents bearing, with more or less direct-
ness, on manorial, and therefore on parochial,
history, it may also be well to mention that
those who require accurate transcripts of any
of the records in Fetter Lane, need not apply
for officially certified copies ; for reliable tran-
scribers can readily be met with who will do
the work for less than half the sum required
for certified copies. If the amateur searcher
does not know any transcribers, the courteous
gentlemen in charge of the Search Rooms

84 HOW TO WRITE THE

will probably make no difficulty about giving
their addresses. From our own experience,
and from the testimony of many friends and
acquaintances, Messrs. Hardy and Page, of
21 Old Buildings, Lincoln's Inn, can be most
unreservedly recommended.

Those who may be desirous of gaining some
knowledge of the character or handwriting of
ancient records, which can only be efficiently
learnt by practice, are recommended to consult
Wright's "Court Hand Restored." The best
edition is the ninth, edited by Martin in 1879.
It not only gives numerous alphabets and
plates, illustrative of the different styles in
vogue at different periods, but has valuable
lists of abbreviations, of ancient place-names,
and of debased Latin words that are only to
be found in legal or monastic documents. Mr.
Martin has now much amplified his appendix
to Wright's ninth edition, and has brought it
out as an independent volume, under the title
of "The Record Interpreter" (Reeves and
Turner, 1892). It merits the highest praise,
and is in some ways indispensable to the novice
amonff records. Each of the earlier reigns
appears to have had a set or uniform character
or handwriting of its own ; but in the reign
of Elizabeth, and subsequently, this clerical
mode seems to have been to a great extent

HISTORY OF A PARISH 85

abandoned, and each scribe to have written
after his own fancy. It is hence very notice-
able that, as was remarked by a late Keeper
of the Records, " The English Records of the
1 6th and 17th centuries are in general more
difficult to be read than the Latin Records
of preceding ages."

MANOR COURT ROLLS AND
CUSTOMARIES

THERE remains, however, another highly-
important class of documents for the
historian of the manor, which are indeed, when
they can be met with in any degree of fulness,
of far greater local value than anything that
can be found among the national stores of the
Public Record Office. They demand a short
section to themselves. Manor Court Rolls, or
the annual record of the transactions of the
Court-Baron, or of the Court-Leet, used to be
carefully kept on every manor.

These local records of the surrenders and
grants of tenancy, of encroachments and en-
closures, together with a certain amount of
civil and criminal jurisdiction, used often to be
kept in the general parish chest within the
church, or in a special coffer for that purpose.
In the Plompton Correspondence occurs the fol-
lowing passage : " The cofer wherein four said
court rowles lieth is nought and the lock thereof
not worth a pene, and it standeth in the church

86

THE HISTORY OF A PARISH 87

at Sacomp, wheare every man may come at his
pleasure." They may occasionally even now
be found in church chests, as is the case
at Kingsthorpe, Northants, and at Alrewas,
Staffs, from the 14th century downwards. At
other places they still remain in the custody of
the lord of the manor, but more frequently in
the hands of old firms of county solicitors.
Several series of these Rolls are known to be
complete from the time of Edward I. down to
almost modern days, as is the case with those
of the episcopal manor of Longdon, which we
have consulted, and which are now in the
strong room of the Marquis of Anglesea, at
Beaudesert. If the parish is or has been
within the limits of the Duchy of Lancaster,
the Manor Rolls may very possibly be found
among the Duchy Records now at the P. R. O.
Five Court Rolls of Great Cressingham,
Norfolk, of the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries,
have been printed by H. W. Chandler, Oxford
(1885), and are useful examples of the nature
of such rolls. The Court-Leet Records of
the Manor of Manchester were published by
J. P. Earwaker in twelve volumes (1884-90).
Extracts from the Court Rolls of the manor
of Wimbledon, extending from 1 Edward IV.
to 1864, were published by the Wimbledon
Common Preservation Society in 1866, and

w

88 HOW TO WRITE THE

are useful as examples, inasmuch as the Latin
and the translation are given side by side.
They were edited by P. H. Lawrence. Among
various other printed records of this class may
be mentioned Rev. Charles Kerry's " Court
Rolls of Barlow and of Holmesfield," in vols.
xx., xxi., and xxii. of Derbyshire Archceological
^Jotirnal ; W. Farrer's "Court Rolls of the
Honour of Clitheroe" (1897) ; G. E. Bartlett's
" Court Rolls of Crondal and of Chipping
Camden," in vol. ix. of Bristol and Gloucester
Archceological Transactions ; and Rev. W. O.
Massingberd's " Manor of Somerby and Tet-
ford," in vol. xxiii. of Associated Architectural
Society s Transactions.

A bundle of the orders, presentments, and
pains of the jurors of the Derbyshire manors of
Elvaston, Thurlston, and Ambaston, between
1687 and 1697, are preserved among the county
records. As descriptive of the business done
at these ancient manorial gatherings of the
freeholders (some of whose powers have
recently been restored by the Parish Coun-
cils Act), and of what searchers may expect
to find in such rolls, it may be well to give
a brief account of the contents of these docu-
ments. The assembly is variously termed the
"court leet," "great leet," "court baron," and
"court leet of view of frank-pledge" (together

HISTORY OF A PARISH 89

with the occasional use of their Latinised equi-
valents) ; it was presided over by the steward
of Sir John Stanhope, who was lord of the
manor. Two courts were held every year,
namely, in April and October. The number
of the jury was thirteen ; they were sworn
from the freemen of the manor. They pre-
sented annually for the acceptance of the court
two names as field-reeves, two as pinners of
straying cattle, and one as parish constable.
The jury made "pains" or penalty-bearing
bye-laws almost every court day. These pains
for the regulation of the common husbandry,
&c, varied slightly from time to time in the
nature of the offence as well as in the penalty
imposed, and they occasionally dealt with new
and transient offences. The pains, except in
the case of broad, well-established precedents,
which were regarded as common law, only
remained in force till the next court day. The
" presentments " of the jury were equivalent to
the actual imposing of fines on those who had
infringed the rules. Among them are the fol-
lowing : Fences left open, is. to 10s. ; break-
ing hedges, 3^. to is. ; ploughing up the
footpath, is. ; tenting beasts in the fallow
when the offender had no pasture rights, 15-. ;
tenting or tethering horses on commons under
similar circumstances, is. ; encroaching on

9o HOW TO WRITE THE

highway, 6d. ; not scouring out ditches and
watercourses, 6d. to ios. ; cattle straying at
night, ios. ; not attending the court, is. ;
turning horses out to pasture a day too soon,
2s. ; and not gathering stones in the common
field, is.

These presentments and bye-laws also estab-
lish the following interesting regulations and
customs of these manors : Notice was given
by the field-reeves when any common work
had to be done, when every freeholder had
to be present or provide a substitute, usually
under a pain of is. for every day's neglect. All
those putting beasts into the fields or commons
were to pay towards the herdsman's wages, in
default, 3s. \d. for each beast. No cattle were
to be put out till the herdsmen called for them,
under pains varying from is. to $s. ; on another
occasion it was ordered that no cattle were to
be put out before the herdsman's call, "except
the sun bee risen " ; from another paper we find
that the picturesque custom prevailed of the
herdsman's call being given on a horn. The
repair of the pinfold was done annually in the
spring ; on one occasion the pinners were
threatened with a pain of 35. <\d. if it was not
repaired within ten days after May Day. At
the April court, it was usual to order all to
fence their part of the meadow rails within a

HISTORY OF A PARISH 91

brief specified time, under a 35. 4^. pain ; the
field-reeves had, at the same time, to see to the
proper hanging of the gates. The jury also
decided the dates and places when and where
sheep, cattle, horses, mares, foals, and swine
might be put out, tented, or tethered, as the
case might be, each decision being enforced by
a pain.

The thoroughly popular or democratic charac-
ter of these courts is shown in the fact that the
lord of the manor was just as amenable to the
pains, and that the jury were just as ready to
enforce presentments in his case as in the case
of the humblest freeholder or tenant. Sir John
Stanhope was fined on several occasions for
not making his part of the fence, and for not
scouring his watercourse or ditch. For further
particulars as to these presentment rolls and
the "suite rolls," or full record of all composing
the courts, see Dr. Cox's "Three Centuries of
Derbyshire Annals " (Bemrose & Sons), vol. ii.
pp. 275-280. Every free tenant was bound to
attend these courts, whether summoned on the
jury or not ; the full roll was called each court
day, and a fine imposed upon all those who
were absent without lawful excuse.

Among general books of service in studying
manorial records are the following: "The
Court Baron" and "Select Pleas in Manorial

92 HOW TO WRITE THE

Courts," printed by the Selden Society, and
jointly edited by F. W. Maitland and W. P.
Baildon ; Frederic Seebohm's " English Vil-
lage Community " ; G. L. Gomme's " The Vil-
lage Community " ; and more especially Paul
Vinogradoff's " Villainage in England " (1892)
and " The Growth of the Manor " (1905).

The one much-needed and absolutely indis-
pensable book on the subject came out in
1906 ; it is entitled " The Manor and Manorial
Records," and is the praiseworthy work of
Nathaniel J. Hone. The origin of the manor
and all its customs are fully and learnedly
discussed, and yet after a simple fashion, and
an excellent series of illustrative rolls are set
forth in detail, chiefly from a group of Berks
manors, and also from those of Taynton, Oxon,
and Gnosall, Staffs. Lists, covering some
sixty pages, set forth for the first time the
names and dates of many hundreds of court
rolls in various depositories, such as the Eccle-
siastical Commission, the Land Revenue Office,
the British Museum, Lambeth Palace, and the
Bodleian. The originals of the first two of
these lists are at the Public Record Office,
but they are separate collections, and have
at present only MS. calendars. There is
also at the P. R. O. a large collection of
court rolls from every county in England and

HISTORY OF A PARISH 93

Wales, including that of the Duchy of Lan-
caster. These have been well calendared, and
published in No. VI. of "Lists and Indexes"
(1896).

Another valuable feature of Mr. Hone's work
is an explanatory list of certain elliptical phrases
of general occurrence in court rolls.

A Manorial Society was formed in 1907, the
registrar of which is Mr. Charles Greenwood,
1 Mitre Court Buildings, Temple, E. It has
already done good service by printing two
brief lists of manor court rolls which are in
private hands.

FORESTRY

I F the parish under consideration is or has
* been within a royal forest or a chase, it
requires special study, and search should be
made among £&e records. Until quite recent
years there has been much misunderstanding
as to England's old forests and forest law, and
even some of our best historians have made
bad blunders in their allusions to the subject.
Much of this has arisen from the faulty state-
ments in Manwood's " Lawes of the Forest"
( 1 598), for that writer has usually been accepted
as an almost infallible authority ; but he wrote
chiefly from a late Elizabethan standpoint,
when the old forest laws and customs were for
the most part in abeyance.

Four reliable modern books may be named.
In 1887 Mr. W. R. Fisher published a 4to
volume on " The Forest of Essex " ; it is based
chiefly on documentary evidence, and illustrates
in many ways forest law and procedure in
other counties besides Essex. Mr. R. B.
Turton, between 1894 and 1897, printed a
considerable amount of original record infor-
mation, particularly of the 14th century —

94

THE HISTORY OF A PARISH 95

sufficient to fill four volumes of the North
Riding Record Society — relative to the im-
portant and interesting Yorkshire forest of
Pickering.

In 1 90 1 the Selden Society issued Mr.
G. F. Turner's u Select Pleas of the Forest,"
the one masterly work on English forest law
and procedure, more especially of the 13th
century.

This was followed in 1905 by the more'
popular "Royal Forests of England" by the
writer of this manual. In its pages are
chapters on early forests, forest courts, forest
officers, the beasts of the forest, the forest
agistments, hounds and hunting, the trees of
the forest, and later forest history. These
chapters are followed by accounts of the old
forests of all the counties of England, with the
exception of Bedford, Cambridge, Cornwall,
Hertford, Lincoln, Middlesex, Monmouth,
Norfolk, and Suffolk, in whose confines there
was little or nothing pertaining technically to
royal forests.

It must always be remembered that the
present-day use of the term "forest" differs
considerably from the signification that it bore
in earlier times. A forest did not originally
mean a district covered with trees or under-
wood. The English word "forest" signified

96 HOW TO WRITE THE

in Norman, Plantagenet, and early Tudor
times a portion of territory consisting of exten-
sive waste lands, but including a certain amount
of both woodland and pasture, circumscribed
by definite metes or bounds, within which the
right of hunting was reserved exclusively to
the king and his nominees, and which was
subject to a special code of laws administered
by local as well as central ministers. From
the fact that so many wastes were covered
with wood or undergrowth, it gradually came
about that the term "forest" (which has no
etymological connection with timber, but means
a waste) was applied to a great wood. Such a
consideration as this at once explains the appli-
cation of the name "forest" to districts like
Dartmoor, Exmoor, or the High Peak of
Derbyshire, where it is idle to pretend that
anything more than mere fragments of these
great tracts were ever wooded in the time of
man. Taking one with another, there is little
doubt that by far the larger part of the area of
the various Yorkshire forests was never tree-
covered, and so too with Essex, the whole of
which was at one time under forest law.

The popular idea as to the cruel sternness of
the forest laws seldom takes into account that
this early severity was greatly modified by the
Forest Charter of 1217. King John had been

HISTORY OF A PARISH 97

compelled to agree, by one of the articles of
Magna Charta, to the disafforesting of all the
great tracts of country which he had made
forest during his own reign ; the child-king,
Henry III., who was made to issue his Forest
Charter two years later, covenanted by that
ordinance, in consideration of a grant to the
Crown of one-fifteenth of all movables of the
kingdom, to disafforest all lands that had been
made forest by Henry II. It was not, how-
ever, until March 1274— 7 5_ that the last of
the special perambulations of forests, by twelve
knights elected for the purpose, were made in
order to carry out the disafforesting provisions
of the charter.

Forests were under the rule of frequently
held courts, usually termed swainmotes, pre-
sided over by local officials, and also under the
fitfully held eyres or forest pleas for graver
offences, presided over by the Crown-appointed
justices in eyre.

Forest offences were divided into two main
classes : venison, concerning all matters relative
to hunting, destroying, or interfering with the
game ; and vert, concerning all matters relative
to the due preservation of the timber and
underwood.

Much of the property within a forest district,

including woods and forests, was often private

<;

98 HOW TO WRITE THE

property, but in such cases the private rights
were decidedly limited. Thus the owner of a
wood within a forest mio-ht not fence it in so
high as to exclude the deer, nor might he fell
or sell its timber without royal sanction.

Manwood's statements as to the beasts of
the forest and the beasts of the chase are quite
faulty. The following is the truth as to the
king's game within his forests, as ascertained
from a study of the eyre rolls, and other
original forest proceedings. The beasts of the
forest were four in number, namely, the red
deer, the fallow deer, the roe deer, and the
wild boar. The beasts of the chase, a term
without any legal signification, may be held to
include, in addition to the deer and boar, the
wolf, hare, fox, and other vermin, such as the
wild cat, marten, badger, and otter, and even in
some cases the squirrel.

According to a mid-fifteenth-century state-
ment, the forests contained three groups of
animals. First came four beasts of venery —
the hart, wolf, boar, and hare, which were
termed sylvestres ; that is, they spent their
days in the woods and coppices, and were taken
by what was considered true hunting, being
tracked and roused by the lymer hounds, and
afterwards pursued by the pack. But the fallow
and roe deer, with the fox and marten, were

HISTORY OF A PARISH 99

beasts of chase — that is, they were campcstres>
or found in the open country by day, and there-
fore they required none of the niceties of
tracking and harbouring in the thickets, but
were roused straight away by the packs of
hounds. The third group, neither of venery
nor chase, were the badger, wild cat, and otter.
It may be helpful to state the chief classes of
documents whence forest lore is to be obtained
in the vast national depository in Chancery
Lane : —

(1) Placitcs Foresta, or Forest Proceedings,
Chancery — John to Charles I. — consisting of
presentments, claims, perambulations, &c,
before the Justices in Eyre of the Forests.
They are contained in 156 bundles, and an
inventory of their contents will be found in the
Deputy-Master of Rolls Reports, v., App. ii.,
46-96.

(2) Swainmote Court Rolls of Windsor,
2 Edward VI. to 14 Charles I. Inventory in
Report, App. ii., 57-9.

(3) Forest Proceedings, Exchequer, Treasury
of Receipt, Henry III. to Charles II. To
these documents there are three volumes of
MS. Calendars.

(4) Miscellaneous Books of Exchequer,
Treasury of Receipt, vol. 75, Edward I. ;
assarts and wastes in diverse forests, vol. 76 ;

HOW TO WRITE THE

pleas and presentments of Sherwood, Henry
III. to Edward III.; vol. yy, game in all
forests north of the Trent, 30 Henry VIII.

(5) A Book of Orders concerning Royal

/Forests, 1 637-1 648. State Papers, Domestic,
Charles I., vol. 384.

(6) Records of Duchy of Lancaster. A
great variety of forest presentments, attach-
ments, perambulations, pleas, &c, Henry III.
to James I., pertain to Lancashire, Yorkshire,
Staffordshire, Derbyshire, &c. A printed list
of all the Duchy Records was issued in 1901 ;
those relating to forests are on pp. 39-47.
Among the maps and plans (pp. 76-80) are
many relating to the Forest of the High Peak.

(7) Lists of Minister Accounts, with thorough
indexes, were issued in 1899; much royal
forest information occurs in many of these
accounts.

(8) Occasionally Court Rolls of Manors, &c,
yield information ; these also have printed lists
and indexes, issued in 1896.

(9) Both Close and Patent Rolls for the
13th and 14th centuries abound in royal forest
incidents ; they have been well calendared
(printed) for almost the whole of this period,
as already stated.

A good deal of fresh information with regard
to forestry has recently been published in the

HISTORY OF A PARISH 101

volumes of the Victoria County History-
scheme. Dr. Nisbet, the best authority on
modern arboriculture, has written the essays for
the counties of Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester,
Hants, Northants, Surrey, and Worcester ;
whilst Dr. Cox, with greater attention to early
forest records, has written on the counties of
Berks, Bucks, Derby, Dorset, Durham, Kent,
Leicester, Lincoln, Notts, Oxford, Rutland,
Suffolk, Warwick, and York.

For knowledge as to particular trees, Dr.
Nisbet's " Our Forests and Woodlands" (1900)
is a good book to consult. Mr. J. Lowe's
monograph on " Yew Trees of Great Britain"
(1897) should be consulted as to the size and
growth of the largest examples.

CIVIL OR DOMESTIC ARCHI-
TECTURE

A LL description of civil or domestic archi-
** tecture, of the Norman or subsequent
periods, should be deferred until after the his-
tory of the manor has been written, because
that history will very likely throw light on any
such architectural remains.

If there is a Castle, or its relics, within the
parish, the probability is considerable that it
has already been described by a county his-
torian, or in one or other of the numerous
journals of our archaeological societies. But it
is equally probable that its history has not been
thoroughly written, and special search should
be made with that object at the P. R. O.,
beginning with the indexes to the printed
calendars already enumerated. If the castle
was in the king's hands in early days, entries
pertaining to its repairs are sure to be found
in the Pipe Rolls. Mr. George T. Clark's
" Medieval Military Architecture in England,"
2 vols. (Wyman & Sons, 1884), is an excellent
work, and is indispensable for the due under-
standing of English castle arrangement. " The

THE HISTORY OF A PARISH 103

Castles of England," by J. D. Mackenzie,
2 vols. (1897), is more comprehensive, but not
so reliable.

Very few county histories, and hardly a
single guide-book, deign to give ground-plans,
accurate measurements, or indeed any careful
details of military architecture. This should
be invariably done. The mound upon which
a keep has been erected, as well as other
earthworks in the vicinity of a castle, should
be carefully examined and trenches driven
through them, for the sites have usually been
occupied by earlier inhabitants than the stone
castle builders. The Normans almost always
built their castles in situations that had pre-
viously been held for defensive purposes.
Thus, the careful examination of the site of
the massive Norman keep of Duffield Castle,
uncovered in 1856, has proved that the same
ground was previously held by the Celts,
Romans, and Anglo-Saxons. It is quite pos-
sible, as suggested by Mrs. Armitage in her
" Key to English Antiquities" (1897), that the
Normans, in the first instance, when requiring
speedily formed defensive works, threw up
earthworks, but this theory has been hastily
seized upon by some as implying the Norman
origin of almost all moated mounds.

Viollet-le-Duc's "Military Architecture of the

104 HOW TO WRITE THE

Middle Ages," of which a translation has been
published by Parker, is also well worth reading.
Every effort should be made to identify the
old Manor House, or its site (often marked
by a grass-grown moat), and this should of
course be done with each manor, where, as is
often the case, the parish has contained more
than one. Oral tradition in this, as in other
particulars, will often be found a useful hand-
maid. A medieval or detached dovecot may
almost invariably be taken as a proof of the site
of a manor-house. Should the exterior of the
reputed manor-house be altogether unpromis-
ing, that should not check further investigation.
Several instances are known to us in which
modern brick casing or sash windows are but
a screen to some of the oldest domestic archi-
tecture extant, which may be found in the back
premises or outbuildings, or they may contain
fine old chimneypieces, carved oak panelling,
or ceilings of elaborate pargeting.

The comparatively modern - looking house
termed " King John's House," near Tollard
Royal, Wilts, when carefully examined and
opened out by General Pitt - Rivers, proved
to be to a great extent of early 13th century
date, with Tudor additions (see the General's
privately printed and well-illustrated monograph
on this house, 1890).

HISTORY OF A PARISH 105

Nor should attention be only directed to
manor-houses. All old domestic work is worth
chronicling, so rapidly is it disappearing both in
town and country ; and the annalist of a parish
should not be above transcribing all the initials
and dates so frequently seen on lintel stones.
As a rule, every house or cottage, not obviously
modern, that has stone buttresses, a moulded
wall-plate or string-course, or bevelled stone
mullions to the windows, is worthy of careful
examination ; and this, too, is the case with all
half-timbered or timbered cased work. Many
interesting details, such as the site of chantry
houses, may be thus brought to light, and the
history in stone and the history on parchment
be found to tally in unexpected ways.

The third and much enlarged edition of Mrs.
Gatty's " Book of Sundials " (Bell & Sons,
1890) should be consulted wherever these
interesting- dials form a feature of the build-

ings.

Domestic architecture should always be
described by the century, and not by the
" period " into which ecclesiastic architecture
is usually divided. The best book to purchase
on the subject is the somewhat costly but
admirable four - volume edition of Parker's
" Medieval Domestic Architecture " ; see also
Dolman and Jobbin's " Analysis of Ancient

io6 HOW TO WRITE THE

Domestic Architecture in Great Britain " (2
vols., Batsford, 1886), and Banister Fletcher's
" History of Architecture on the Comparative
Method" (4th ed., 1901, Batsford).

There has been a remarkable growth in
good English literature dealing with archi-
tectural history, especially domestic, since the
last edition of this manual came out in 1895,
which is evidence of an increased intelligent
appreciation of the value of old fabrics.

In 1900 Mr. Reginald Blomfield produced
his " Short History of Renaissance Architecture
in England " (George Bell) ; and the following
year Mr. A. Gotch brought out a guinea volume
on " Early Renaissance in Architecture in
England" (Batsford). A noble work on
"Domestic Tudor Architecture" by Messrs.
Garner and Stratton is now in progress.
Within the last three or four years Mr. Batsford
has published four most delightful guinea
volumes on old English cottages and farm-
houses, each containing 100 photographic
plates, as well as descriptive notes and numerous
sketches — (1) Kent and Sussex; (2) Shrop-
shire, Herefordshire, and Cheshire ; (3) the
Cotswold district, including parts of Gloucester-
shire, Oxfordshire, Northants, and Worcester-
shire ; and (4) Surrey (1908). Other volumes
are in course of preparation.

HISTORY OF A PARISH 107

Many other recent works on English
Domestic Architecture might be named, great
and small, but we must here be content with
drawing very special attention to a most
charming, useful, and instructive small work
by Mr. G. D. Addy, entitled "The Evolution
of the English House," with 42 illustrations
(Sonnenschein, 1898).

In corners of the former manor-house and in
cottage homes, the greedy eye of the dealer or
amateur collector may have left interesting bits
of Old-Time Furniture, chests, settles, bed-
steads, tables, chairs, &c. If so, we can with
confidence recommend the last edition of Litch-
field's " Illustrated History of Furniture from
the Earliest to the Present Time " (Truslove
and Shirley, 1908). Mr. Batsford's lists will be
found to have various more expensive works on
old English furniture of different periods, as
well as books on lead work, on parge work or
plaster decorations, both external and internal,
and on iron work. As to old iron work, Mr.
J. S. Gardner's South Kensington text-books
should be consulted. Another cheap but
thoroughly good work is Mr. Arthur Hayden's
" Chats on Old Furniture" (5s. ; Fisher Unwin,
1909).

PERSONAL HISTORY

THE pedigrees and brief particulars of the
Nobility can be readily found. The
most useful standard works are Dugdale's
" Baronage," Collins' " Peerage and Baronet-
age," Banks' "Dormant and Extinct Baronage,"
and the Baronagium Genealogicum, or pedi-
grees of English Peers, in five folio volumes,
by Joseph Edmondson. The eight volumes
of G. E. C. (Cockayne's) "Complete Peerage
of England, Scotland, Great Britain, and the
United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dor-
mant" ( 1 887-1 898), is by far the most reliable
genealogical work of its kind. " The Complete
Baronage" (1900- 1906), by the same vener-
able author, is equally trustworthy. Burke's
" Landed Gentry ' gives much information
with respect to the principal families of com-
moners, but the earlier genealogical statements
that he prints are often purely mythical.
Several indexes to the many thousands of
printed pedigrees that are scattered up and
down topographical and other works have

been published, of a more or less faulty and

108

THE HISTORY OF A PARISH 109

incomplete description ; but the standard work
of this class, which has passed through several
editions, is the " Genealogist's Guide," by Dr.
George W. Marshall (Billing & Sons, 1903);
it is arranged alphabetically, and covers nearly
nine hundred pages. The advice to the
reader — " Read the preface before you consult
the book," should certainly be followed.

Phillimore's " How to Write the History of
a Family" (Elliot Stock, 1887), with a supple-
ment (1897), is the Dest compendious genea-
logist's guide that has yet been published, and
deals specially with the sources of family
history. The writer obviously owed something
to our own handbook for the suggestion of
his title and for his general plan, and he might
as well have acknowledged his indebtedness.

A large portion of family history and pedi-
gree, which will often be essential to the eluci-
dation of the monumental history of a parish,
to completing the links in lists of the lords of
the manor, or furnishing particulars with regard
to smaller landholders, yet remains in MS.
The most accurate of such MSS. are at the
College of Arms, and are not ordinarily acces-
sible except on payment of fees ; but there is
a fine collection of heraldic visitations at the
B. M., the chief of which are among the Ilar-
leian MSS.

no HOW TO WRITE THE

The private cartes antiques of so many of our
old families are, of course, where obtainable,
invaluable as to the history and descent of
manors. It is the exception — at least such is
the happy experience of the writer — to find the
custodians of old private records unduly jealous
of their contents.

Heralds' Visitations are said to have
commenced in the reign of Henry IV., but it
was not until 20 Henry VIII. that a Com-
mission proceeding from royal authority was
issued. From then until the latter half of the
seventeenth century, visitations were made
every twenty-five or thirty years. The register
books, kept by the heralds and their assistants,
contain the pedigrees and arms of the gentry
of the respective counties, and are often also
illustrated by copies and excerpts from charters
and private documents. Many of these books
are lost, and the rest scattered throughout public
and private libraries. The archives of the
College of Arms have the most important col-
lection, and next comes the B. M. There are
a large number at the B., fifty-four volumes in
the library of Caius College, Cambridge, and
forty in that of Queen's College, Oxford.
The earliest heralds' registers for the counties
of Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucester, Hampshire,
Kent, Notts, Oxford, Surrey, Sussex, Wilts,

HISTORY OF A PARISH in

Worcester, and Yorks are of the year 1530;
for Berks, Devon, and Somerset, 1531 ; for
Cheshire and Lancashire, 1533; for Essex
and Herts, 1552; for Suffolk, 1561 ; for
Lincoln, 1562 ; for Leicester, Norfolk, Stafford,
and Warwick, 1563; for Hunts and North-
ampton, 1564; for Beds and Bucks, 1566;
for Derby, Hereford, and Salop, 1569; for
Middlesex, 1572; for Cambridge, Durham,
and Northumberland, 1575; for Cumberland
and Westmoreland, 161 5 ; and for Rutland,
161S. The last visitation of several counties
was taken in 1634, DLlt the majority were
visited in 1662-64 ; and the last of all was that
of the county of Southampton, made by Sir
Henry St. George, in 1686.

The following Visitations have been printed :
Bedford, 1566, 1586, 1634 (Harleian Society) ;
Berks, 1532, 1566, 1623, 1665-66 {Harl.
Soc); Bucks, 1566 (Geneal.) ; Cambridge,
1575, 1619 {Harl. Soc), and 1684 (Geneal.);
Cheshire, 1533, 1566-67, 1580 (Harl. Soc);
Cornwall, 1530, 1573, 1620 (Harl. Soc); Cum-
berland, 1530 (Surlees Soc), 16 15 (Harl. Soc) ;
Derby, 1662-64 (Geneal.) ; Devon, 1 53 1, 1564,
1620 (Harl. Soc); Dorset, 1565 (Geneal.),
1623 (Harl. Soc); Durham, 1 530 (Surtees Soc),
1 575, 1 6 1 5, 1666 (J. Foster); Essex, 1552,
1558,1570, 161 2, 1634 (Harl. Soc); Gloucester,

ii2 HOW TO WRITE THE

1623 {Harl. Soc); Hereford, 1569 {F. W.
Weaver)\ Herts, 1572, 1634 {Harl. Soc.);
Hunts, 1613 {Camden Soc.); Kent, 1619
{Kent Arch. Soc); Lancashire, 1533, 1567,
1613, 1664-65 {Chetham Soc.) ; Leicester, 16 19
{Harl.Soc); Lincoln, 1562-64, 1 592 {GeneaL);
London, 1568, 1633-34 {Harl. Soc); Middle-
sex, 1663-64 {J.Foster); Norfolk, 1563, 1589,
1613 {Harl. Soc); Northampton, 1564, 1618-
19 {W. C. Metcalfe); Northumberland, 161 5
{Geneal.) ; Notts, 1569, 16 14 {Harl. Soc) ;
Oxford, 1566, 1574, 1634 {Harl. Soc); Rut-
land, 1618 {Harl. Soc.) ; Somerset, 1531, 1573,
1 59 1 {F. W. Weaver), 1623 {Harl. Soc);
Stafford, 1583, 1614, 1663-64 {W. Salt Soc);
Suffolk, 155 1, 1577, 161 1 {W. C. Metcalfe);
Surrey, 1530, 1572, 1623 {Harl. Soc) ; Sussex,
1530, 1633-34 {Harl. Soc); Warwick, 1619
{Harl. Soc.) ; Westmoreland, 1530 {Surtees
Soc); Wilts, 1623-77 {Geneal.); Worcester,
1 682-83 ( W. C. Metcalfe) ; Yorks, 1 530 {Surtees
Soc), 1563-64 {Harl. Soc), 1584-85, 161 2
{J. Foster), and 1665-66 {Surtees Soc).

R. Sims' " Index to the Pedigrees and
Arms" contained in the Heralds' Visitations in
the B. M. is an accurate and useful book of
reference. The " Manual for the Topographer
and Genealogist," by the same author, has not
been altogether superseded by later works of

HISTORY OF A PARISH n

o

reference. Careful lists of family histories, of
all the principal topographical works, and of
all MSS. of worth in public libraries, are
therein classified under the different counties.

Wills are too obvious a source of information
to need a word of comment. At Somerset
House is the most important and largest col-
lection, viz. those of the prerogative court of
Canterbury. The original wills in this office
begin in 1404, and the transcripts in 1383.
They are complete only from December 1660.
In the office at York, for that province, the
wills begin in 1590, and the transcripts in 1389.
Owing to the probate privileges enjoyed by the
various ecclesiastical courts, there were not
only registries for wills in every diocese, but
numerous peculiar and exempt jurisdictions in
each diocese. The dates at which wills be^in
in the different minor registries are so very
varied, and their condition and facilities, or
even possibilities, of search so multifarious,
that it is impossible to give any useful abstract.
The Report on Public Records for 1837, and
Sir Harris Nicholas' Notitia Historica, should
be consulted. The power of probate was taken
away from the ecclesiastical courts by the Act
of 1857.

Various county and other societies have
from time to time published partial indexes or

H

A

n4 HOW TO WRITE THE

abstracts of local wills. The " Index Library,"
amongst other good work, has printed for its
subscribers indexes to the Northamptonshire
and Rutland Wills (1510-1652); Lichfield
Diocesan Wills (1510-1652) ; Berkshire Wills
(1508- 1 65 2) ; Prerogative Court of Canterbury
Wills, 4 vols. (1383-1604); Gloucestershire
Wills (1541-1650) ; Bristol Wills (1572-1792),
and Great Orphan Books Wills (1379-1674);
Dorset Wills (1568-1799); Sussex Wills
(Henry VIII. to Commonwealth); Worcester
Wills (1451-1600); Lincoln Wills (1320-
1600); Leicestershire Wills (1495- 1649);
and Devon and Cornwall Wills (1540- 1799).
These indexes are of somewhat uncertain
value. We believe the great majority are
quite reliable ; but of two with which we are
acquainted, Northants is distinctly good, and
Lichfield as distinctly inaccurate.

The little-known Recusant Rolls of the time
of Elizabeth give information as to the hum-
blest as well as the wealthiest parishioners who
refused to attend the services of the Estab-
lished Church. These, and many other similar
class of documents relative to the fining and
other grievous penalties attached to profession
of the Roman Catholic faith, are to be found at
the P. R. O. They extend from 34 Elizabeth
to 1 and 2 William and Mary. The " Records

HISTORY OF A PARISH 115

of the English Province of the Society of
Jesus," in eight closely printed volumes (Burns
and Oates, 1 867-1 883), contain much genea-
logical information relative to the recusants.

Records of Attainders (Dep. Keeper's Re-
ports, xxxviii.), Forfeitures (49 Henry III.,
14-20 Edward II., 11-12 Richard II., &c),
Sequestrations, and Pardons (Patent Rolls,
Supplementary), some from the time of Henry
III., will also be found at the P. R. O., and may
be consulted with advantage by those tracing
personal history, if there is any cause to suspect
their complicity in any of the multitude of
baronial feuds, rebellions, or religious perse-
cutions that led to the existence of so larsre
a class of offenders. Sims' " Manual " or
Thomas' "Jjandbook " should Be consulted
for exhaustive lists of this class of documents,
as well as for numerous lists of Gentry and
Freeholders of different dates, pertaining to
their respective counties.

Muster Rolls, which give the names, rank,
dwelling, and often other particulars, of those
able to bear arms in each county, may be of
interest to the local historian. The earliest of
these returns, now at the P. R. O., are of the
reign of Henry III.; there are great defi-
ciencies up to the time of Henry VIII., but
from that reign to the time of Charles II. they

n6 HOW TO WRITE THE

are very voluminous. The names of officers
from 1705 to 1755 are in the Anglics Notitia,
and afterwards in the regular Army Lists, a
perfect series of which is in the B. M.

The Lay Subsidy Rolls are a series of
much value to the parish historian and genea-
logist. They have of late been carefully re-
arranged under counties, and demand close
attention. The Rolls show the rate of taxa-
tion in different townships, v/ith the names of
the householders, levied on removables such as
cattle and crops in the country, and on money
and stock-in-trade in the boroughs. This great
chancre from the old feudal levies on land first
came about in 1188, at the time of the Second
Crusade, when the nation granted a tenth of
the value of both rents and movables to be
paid by all except actual crusaders.

Among the national stores of the P. R. O.
are various portions of Lay Subsidy Rolls
with respect to the grants of the reigns of
Edward I. and Edward II.; but the 1327-28
Subsidy Rolls are by far the most perfect for
the country at large. These returns for some
counties are absolutely complete, and in ad-
mirable preservation. This is the case with
those for the large county of Suffolk. The
whole of it was printed, with an introduction,
as one of the " Suffolk Green Books," in 1906.

HISTORY OF A PARISH 117

The twenty-two membranes of the full return
for Derbyshire are complete, though illegible
in parts. These were printed by Dr. Cox
in 1907 in the Journal of the Derbyshire
Archceological Society. Dr. Cox also printed
in the Journal of the East Riding Society
in 1908 the poll-tax return for that part of
Yorkshire for 1378-79. The Subsidy Rolls of
the Exchequer extend from Henry III. to
William and Mary.

Lists of Sheriffs, Members of Parlia-
ment, and Mayors of Boroughs have been
printed for almost every county from an early
date, and can readily be found at public libraries.
All summonses to Parliament for the reiens of
Edward I. and II. are printed in Palgrave's
" Parliamentary Writs," issued by the Record
Commissioners in four folio volumes in 1827-34.
Beatson's "Political Index" (3 vols. 8vo) con-
tains lists of "all hereditary honours, public
offices, and persons in office from the earliest
period to 1806." The names of lords of the
manor, or other individuals connected with the
special parish treated of, should always be
collated with such lists, in order to see if they
held any of these important offices.

County Records. — The various documents
that are or ought to be in charge of the Clerk
of the Peace, relative to all the multifarious

n8 HOW TO WRITE THE

business transacted at Quarter Sessions, con-
tain much that is of value relative to personal
and local history. But it is almost tantalising
to enumerate the different class of records that
should be in the custody of the county officials,
for in the majority of cases they are in so much
confusion as to be practically useless for any
literary purpose. Among the exceptions may
be mentioned Derbyshire, Devonshire, Essex,
Middlesex, and the North and West Ridings
of Yorkshire. " Three Centuries of Derby-
shire Annals, as illustrated by the Records of
the Quarter Sessions from Queen Elizabeth to
Queen Victoria," by Dr. Cox (2 vols., Bemrose
and Sons, 1890), gives full details of the various
groups of county documents, and aptly illus-
trates local sfovernment in all its branches.
The salient points of the Devonshire Records
are given in " Quarter Sessions from Queen
Elizabeth to Queen Anne," by A. H. Hamilton.
Quarter Session records do not, as a rule,
extend further back than the time of Elizabeth.
The Historical Manuscript Commissioners have
reported on the county records of Essex, begin-
ning in Philip and Mary, on those of the North
Riding, 4 Elizabeth, of the West Riding (Wake-
field), 1657, and of Somerset (Taunton and
Wells), 28 Henry VIII. The Middlesex
County Record Society have issued two volumes

HISTORY OF A PARISH 119

relative to documents from 3 Edward VI. to the
end of Elizabeth.

Among County Records there ought to be
muster and militia rolls ; sessions rolls ; sessions
books, and books of indictments ; oath rolls of
allegiance, supremacy, and adjunction ; registers
of Papists' estates ; presentments of Recusants
and Nonconformists ; conventicle convictions ;
sacramental certificates ; statutory wages ;
licences for drovers, badgers, swailers, and
hucksters ; alehouse recognizances ; deeds en-
rolled ; enclosure awards and plans ; assess-
ments ; tax on leather ; hearth money and
window tax returns ; hair powder certificates ;
early poor law returns ; land tax returns ;
apprentice indentures ; and a great variety
of petitions to Quarter Sessions. On this
and kindred subjects, see a useful little
handbook, "The Literature of Local Institu-
tions" (Elliot Stock, 1886), by G. L. Gomme,
F.S.A.

Boroughs Records. — These are in many
instances of great antiquity ; some charters
going back to the time of the early Norman
kings, but their condition and value are much
varied.

Vol. XV. of the General Reports from the
Commissioners on the Public Records, issued
in a large folio in 1837, contains brief reports

120 HOW TO WRITE THE

on the records of the following towns : Altrin-
cham, Andover, Ashburton, Axbridge, Banbury,
Basingstoke, Beccles,*Beverley, Bishops Castle,
Bodmin, *Bradeninch, Bridgnorth, Bridgwater,
Bridport, Burford, Callington, Cardiff, Cardi-
gan, Carlisle, Carnarvon, Chard, Chesterfield,
Chippenham, Christchurch, Cirencester, Cocker-
mouth, Colnbrook, Cowbridge, Cricklade, Crow-
combe, Dartmouth, Deal, Devizes, Dover,
Dudley, Dunmow, *Dunwich, Durham, Fal-
mouth, Farnham, ^Folkestone, Garstang,
Glastonbury, Godalming, Grampound, Gran-
tham, Greenwich, Grinstead, Guildford, Har-
wich, Hastings, Hemel Hempstead, Hereford,
Holt, Honiton, Horsham, Huntingdon, *Hythe,
Knaresborough, Lampeter, Longport, Llanid-
loes, Leeds, Leominster, Lydford, Lincoln,
Liskeard, * London, Looe East, Looe West,
Loughor, Louth, Lynn, Maidenhead, Maldon,
Marazion, Monmouth, Morpeth, Newcastle-
under-Lyme, Newport, Newton, Oswestry,
Penryn, Plymouth, *Pontefract, Portsmouth,
*Preston, Queensborough, Radnor, Reigate,
Retford, Saffron Walden, St. Germains, Salis-
bury, *Sandwich, ^Scarborough, *Southamp-
ton, Southwold, *Tenterden, Thornbury,
Tiverton, Totnes, Usk, *Wareham, ^Warwick,

* Those marked with an asterisk are longer and of more
importance than the remainder.

HISTORY OF A PARISH 121

Watchet, Wenlock, Weobley, Westbury, Wey-
mouth, Wisbeach, Wokingham, Woodstock,
Worcester, Wycombe, and Yarmouth.

Reports have already been issued by the Histo-
rical Manuscripts Commission on the archives of
the following English boroughs : Abingdon,
Aldeburgh, Axbridge, Barnstaple, Berwick-on-
Tweed, Beverley, Bishops Castle, Bridgnorth,
Bridgwater, Bridport, Bury St. Edmunds,
Cambridge, Canterbury, Carlisle, Chester, the
Cinque Ports, Coventry, Dartmouth, Eye,
Faversham, Folkestone, Fordwich, Glaston-
bury, Gloucester, Great Grimsby, Hastings,
Hereford, Hertford, High Wycombe, Higham
Ferrers, Hythe, Ipswich, Kendal, King's Lynn,
Kingston - on - Thames, Launceston, Leices-
ter, Lincoln, Lydd, Morpeth, New Romney,
Newark, Norwich, Nottingham, Orford, Oswes-
try, Petersfield, Plymouth, Pontefract, Reading,
Rochester, Rye, St. Albans, Salisbury, Sand-
wich, Shrewsbury, Southampton, Stratford-on-
Avon, Tenterden, Totnes, Wallingford, Wells,
Wenlock, Weymouth, Winchester, Wisbeach,
Yarmouth, and York.

The Commissioners have also reported on
the following parochial documents : Alwing-
ton, Carisbrooke, Cheddar, Hartland, Mendles-
ham, and Parkham.

The Records of the Borough of Chesterfield,

122 HOW TO WRITE THE

beginning with a charter of Henry II., were
published in a single volume in 1884, and the
early Records of the Borough of Nottingham
(1155 to 1485), in three volumes, in 1882-83 ;
two volumes on the Records of Northampton,
by Dr. Cox and Mr. C. A. Markham, in 1898 ;
and these were shortly followed by Miss M. Bate-
son's volumes on those of Leicester. Those
of Carlisle, Derby, Norwich, and St. Albans
have also been published ; others are in pro-
gress. See also Merewether and Stephen's
" History of the Boroughs and Municipal Cor-
porations of the United Kingdom" (3 vols.,
1835) ; Somers Vine's " English Municipal
Institutions" (1879); and, more especially,
Mrs. Green's admirable "Town Life in the
Fifteenth Century" (2 vols., Macmillan, 1894).
Any one, however, desiring knowledge as to
what has been printed of every kind on Eng-
land's towns, both small and great, will find
Professor C. Gross's work, entitled " Biblio-
graphy of British Municipal History" (1897), a
marvel of completeness.

Under the head of Worthies it may be
worth while to consider whether the parish
has ever had amongst its residents, or on its
baptismal registers, the names of men of marked
celebrity in any walk of life. Phillips' " Dic-
tionary of Biographical Reference," containing

HISTORY OF A PARISH 121

0

100,000 names, should be consulted ; it refers
the student to all good biographical dictionaries
(such as Fuller's "Worthies of England," or
Wood's " Athena^ "), as well as to separate
lives. Leslie Stephen's great work, the " Dic-
tionary of National Biography," begun in 1885,
was brought to a conclusion, in 63 volumes,
in 1900. Three supplemental volumes were
issued in 1 90 1. A substantial volume of errata
came out in 1904. The work is of high merit
and indispensable, but even careful revision has
by no means purged it of all errors, which are
particularly noticeable in references.

PAROCHIAL RECORDS

POREMOST under this head come Parish
* Registers. Burn's " History of Parish
Registers in England" (2nd edit., 1862) used
to be the standard work on this subject, but
it was superseded by Mr. Chester Waters'
" Parish Registers in England, their History
and Contents," a brief but charmingly written
essay, and brimful of curious information.
Both of these books have been lono- out of
print. The author of this manual has now
(1909) in the press a volume of the Antiquary's
Books series, dealing exhaustively with this sub-
ject. In 1908 Mr. A. M. Burke brought out a
valuable book, called " Key to the Ancient
Parish Registers of England and Wales,"
wherein are tabulated the dates of the earliest
entries and other particulars as to the whole of
the parochial registers.

The first mandate for keeping registers of
baptisms, marriages, and burials in each parish
was issued in 1538, by Cromwell, as Vicar-
General. It is the exception to find parish
registers of this early date, but upwards of
800 still survive. This mandate was repeated
in more rigorous terms on the accession of

124

THE HISTORY OF A PARISH 125

Elizabeth, 1558, but not being regularly ob-
served, it was ordained in 1597 that parchment
register books should be purchased at the ex-
pense of each parish, and that all the names
from the older books (mostly on paper) should
be therein transcribed from 1558; hence it
happens that so many parish registers begin
with that year. It was at the same time
ordered that copies of the registers should be
annually forwarded to the episcopal registrar,
to be preserved in the episcopal archives.
This injunction, however, was so imperfectly
carried out, and the duplicates when forwarded
were so carelessly kept, that the diocesan copies
of registers are mere fragments of what they
should be, and are in several cases still in such
confusion as to be practically inaccessible. The
earliest transcripts at Lincoln begin in 1587,
and at Gloucester in 1 57 1 , but there are few
dioceses that have any earlier than 1660.

Many parishes have lost their early registers,
and they are usually deficient or wanting during
the Commonwealth. The following extract from
the Kibworth, Co. Leicester, registers, tersely
gives the reason for these usual deficiencies : —

"A.D. 1641. Know all men, that the reason why little or
nothing is registered from the year 1641 until the year 1649, was
the civil wars between King Charles and his Parliament, which
put all into a confusion till then, and neither minister nor people
could quietly stay at home for one party or the other."

126 HOW TO WRITE THE

Official inquiries were made of all the clergy
in 1 83 1, as to the exact date, condition, and
number of the parish registers in their custody,
and abstracts of their replies were published
in a Blue Book in 1833. But it is not
generally known that the returns themselves,
often containing more information than was
printed, are at the British Museum (Add.
MSS. 9355, &c). The dates there given
are not, however, to be implicitly relied upon,
as unfortunately some registers have been lost
or stolen since that date, whilst others of an
earlier date have happily, in some cases, been
restored or discovered in the like period.
Moreover, the returns made by the clergy
are in a few instances ludicrously wrong,
through inability to read the old figures.

Registers should be carefully looked through,
not only for the purpose of extracting the
names of prominent or interesting families,
but also for the purpose of gleaning the in-
numerable little scraps of local information
that were not infrequently interpolated in
the earlier pages, such as notes pertaining to
excommunication, licences for eating flesh in
Lent, penance, remarkable or eccentric char-
acters, storms, and weather observations, inven-
tories of church goods, visitations of the plague
or sweating sickness, national events, &c, &c.

HISTORY OF A PARISH 127

Many of the clergy and others find a difficulty
in readino- the earlier registers. Reference has
already been made to Wright's " Court-Hand
Restored," but the greatest help in deciphering
them will be the recollection that most of the
letters of the ordinary hand of Elizabeth and
the Stuarts, which differ from those now in
use, are the same as those of the present
German written characters, e.g. the letters
"h" and "r." A few days' steady practice in
transcribing old writing, beginning with the
letters and words that can easily be read,
ou^ht to be sufficient to master the stiffest
hands in parochial records.

The Congress of Archaeological Societies, in
union with the Society of Antiquaries, issued
in 1 89 2 a valuable report on the Transcription
and Publication of Parish Registers. It can
be obtained at the price of 6d., from the
Secretary of the Congress, Burlington House.
It contains some good notes as to the char-
acters of the earlier register writing. A list
is there given of all the parish registers that
had been printed up to that date, as well as
of those of which manuscript transcripts have
been taken. Mr. Burke's "Key" supplies a
list of those printed in whole or in part up
to 1908.

In case there are any old Meeting Houses,

128 HOW TO WRITE THE

or congregations of Independents, Presby-
terians, Ouakers, or other Nonconformists in
the parish, it will be well, with regard to these
registers, to consult a Blue Book issued in
1 84 1, called " Lists of Non-parochial Registers
and Records in the custody of the Registrar-
General" (Somerset House), wherein a county
classification is observed ; also a " Report
on Non-parochial Registers," issued in 1857,
wherein are enumerated those registers of the
sects that were still in private custody.

In 1836 the General Register Office was
instituted for England, and from 1st July
1837 all births, marriages, and deaths are
recorded in quarterly volumes, which are
thoroughly indexed. There are also pre-
served at Somerset House, " Registers and
Records of Baptisms and Marriages performed
at the Fleet and King's Bench Prisons, at
Mayfair, and at the Mint, in Southwark,"
between the years 1674 and 1754.

Churchwardens' Accounts, giving parti-
culars of rates, receipts, and payments for
church purposes, are often highly interesting,
and should be carefully preserved. Sometimes
they are found entered in bound volumes, but
more often tied up in bundles or tumbled in
confusion in the parish chest.

Still more often they are altogether missing.

HISTORY OF A PARISH 129

They can occasionally be recovered from the
private dwellings of present or past church-
wardens. The earliest printed are those of
St. Michael's, Bath, 1349— 1 575, which were
printed in the Journal o{ the Somerset Archaeo-
logical Society for 1878 and following years.
Among the next earliest are those of St.
Laurence's, Reading, which begin in 14 10.
They have been admirably illustrated in the
Rev. C. Kerry's " History of St. Laurence,"
published in 1883, which we have no hesitation
in describing as one of the best monographs
on a parish church yet issued. Those of All
Saints', Derby, beginning in 1465, are of
exceptional interest, and have been published
by the writer of this book in conjunction with
Mr. St. John Hope ; they were accidentally
discovered by Dr. Cox in an attic of the hall
at Meynell Langley in 1875. Bishop Hob-
house edited for the Somerset Record Society,
in 1890, the following pre-Reformation Somer-
setshire Churchwardens' Accounts : Tintin-
hull, 1433; Tatton, 1445; Croscombe, 1474;
Pilton, 1507 ; and Morebath, 1520. There are
far more extant of pre-Reformation date than
is generally supposed to be the case. Dr. Cox
has a volume on this subject now in course of
preparation.

The Constables' Accounts, and the

1

i3o HOW TO WRITE THE

Accounts of the Overseers of the Poor,
will also sometimes be met with, beginning
from a comparatively remote date, and will
amply repay close attention. They throw a
similar light on the secular history of a parish
to that thrown on the religious history by the
Churchwardens' Accounts. The thorough over-
hauling of the parish chest, or other receptacles
of parish papers, and the classification of their
contents, is strongly recommended, even where
it seems to be most unpromising of results.
There is no reason why even such apparently
trivial things as the indentures of parish
apprentices (which have the seals and signa-
tures of Justices of the Peace) should not be
preserved, neatly arranged, and docketed.
Every scrap of paper of past generations,
showing the inner working of parochial life,
possesses some interest of its own ; and future
generations will thank us for their preservation.
Moreover, a careful arrangement of parish
papers often meets with more immediate
reward. We have ourselves found missing
portions of the 16th century registers, highly
interesting deeds as early as the 14th century,
royal proclamations and special forms of prayer,
temp. Elizabeth and James I., in parochial
litter put aside as valueless.

Of what can be gleaned from these parish

HISTORY OF A PARISH 131

annals when tolerably perfect, we may be per-
mitted to quote that which we have elsewhere
written respecting the records of Youlgreave,
a Derbyshire village, that have been classified
with some care : —

"The future historian of this parish will find
a vast stock of material ready to hand ; and if
such a work was ever accomplished, it would
once more be seen how the history of even a
remote village is but of the nation in little ;
how national victories were announced on the
church bells, and national disasters by the
proclamation of a form of prayer ; how local
self-government became gradually developed in
the office of justice, constable, and overseer of
the poor ; how the press-gang worked its cruel
way to man the ships and fill the regiments of
the Georges ; how the good folk of Youlgreave
sent forth a spy to watch the movements of
Charles Edward in 1745 ; and how they pre-
pared to defend themselves by giving their
constable a new bill-head, and repairing his
old one ; how unmerciful was the treatment of
lunatics ; and how free was the consumption
of ale, on the smallest possible provocation, at
the parish's expense ; these, and a thousand
other minutiae, all of them possessing some
point of interest, can be gleaned from these
annals of a parish, to say nothing of the fairly

i32 HOW TO WRITE THE

perfect genealogy of nearly every family,
together with an account of their varying
circumstances, that might be constructed by
their aid."

The fullest and best technical information
respecting the parish as a unit of the national
life, with much that pertains to the history of
its various officers from the earliest times, will
be found in Toulmin Smith's " The Parish ; its
Powers and Obligations." The second edition
was published in 1857 by H. Sweet, Chancery
Lane. See also Bishop Kennet's " Parochial
Antiquities" (1818), and Brady's "Popular
Dictionary of Parochial Law and Taxation "
(1834). But the best popular and admirably
written treatise is that by Abbot Gasquet,
entitled " Parish Life in Medieval England,"
first issued in 1906, and already in a third
edition.

The history of the village and village officers
has not hitherto received the full attention
it deserves, for all our municipalities have
developed out of village communities, and their
various officials are but those of the petty rural
parish adapted to the needs of an urban popula-
tion. It will be well on this point to refer to
the useful " Index of Municipal Offices," with
an historical introduction, by G. L. Gomme, and
to the two volumes of the Cobden Club Essays,

HISTORY OF A PARISH 133

entitled " Local Government and Taxation,"
edited by J. W. Probyn, and published respec-
tively in 1875 and 1887.

Lists of parochial Charities are sometimes
found in the parish chest, and more frequently
on bequest boards in the church ; but the local
annotator should not consider that he has got a
perfect or correct list until the elaborate reports
of the Charity Commissioners, compiled in the
first half of the century, have been consulted.
These reports began in 18 19, and extend to
thirty-two volumes. In 1842 a most useful
Blue Book was published, being an analytical
digest of the voluminous reports arranged under
parishes. There are later Reports with regard
to Endowed Schools.

Decrees relating to charities from 43 Eliza-
beth to 8 George II. are to be found at the
P. R. O. among the Chancery records ; they
have been indexed in manuscript, and are
often of considerable parochial value.

Most careful attention is given to the question
of parish charities in the topographical sections
of the Victoria County Histories; the infor-
mation is supplied by Mr. J. W. Owsley,
I.S.O., who was for so many years connected
with the Charity Commission.

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

THE Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Bede's Ec-
clesiastical History, or pre -Norman
charters, occasionally give definite information
of a church in a particular parish or district,
but as a rule the earliest mention of the parish
church will be found in the previously described
Domesday Book. But the Commissioners,
not being specially instructed to make returns
of churches, acted on their own judgment, and
in some counties omitted them partially, and
in others altogether.

Taxatio Ecclesiastica P. Nicholai IV. —
Pope Nicholas IV. (to whose predecessors in
the See of Rome the first-fruits and tenths
of all ecclesiastical benefices had for a long
time been paid) granted the tenths in 1288 to
Edward I. for six years, towards defraying the
expenses of a Crusade ; and that they might
be collected to their full value, the king
caused a valuation roll to be drawn up, which
was completed in 1291, under the direction of
John, Bishop of Winchester, and Oliver, Bishop

of Lincoln. There are two copies of this roll

134

THE HISTORY OF A PARISH 135

at the P. R. O., both of which appear to have
been written in the reign of Henry IV., and
there is a third, which is by far the oldest,
among the Cottonian MSS. of the B. M.
These three copies were collated and printed
in a folio volume by the Record Commission
in 1802. There are one or two other old
copies of this roll in private libraries ; one in
the Chapter Library, Lichfield ; and another in
excellent condition in the muniment room of
Lincoln Cathedral. From this return, the
names and values of almost the whole of the
13th century churches and chapels of England
can be gleaned.

Valor Ecclesiasticus. — The taxation of
1 29 1 held good, and all the taxes from the
benefices, as well to our kings as to the popes,
were regulated by it until 27 Henry VIII.,
when a new survey was completed. Hence-
forth the first-fruits and tenths ceased to be
forwarded to Rome, and were transferred to
the Crown. In 1703 the receipts were appro-
priated, under the title of Queen Anne's Bounty,
to the augmentation of the smaller livings.
The original return of the King's Valor are at
the P. R. O. They were officially published
in six folio volumes between the years 181 1
and 1834. In the latter year an " Introduc-
tion " of no little value was also published in

H6 HOW TO WRITE THE

3

an 8vo volume, written by the Rev. Joseph
Hunter.

Certificates of Colleges and Chantries.
— About ten years after the completion of his
ecclesiastical survey, Henry VIII. decided on
appropriating the revenues belonging to Col-
legiate Churches and Chantries. As a pre-
liminary measure to their sale, he appointed a
commission, in the thirty-seventh year of his
reign, to re-value this property, and to take an
inventory of the chattels. The whole subject
of the suppression of the Chantries, as con-
ceived by Henry VIII. and finally carried out
by Edward VI., is ably treated in the intro-
duction to the volumes of the Chetham Society,
which treat of the Lancashire Chantries, and
more particularly in the Yorkshire Chantry
Surveys of the Surtees Society (vols, xci., xcii.),
by Mr. W. Page, F.S.A. The reports, or
"Certificates," furnished by Henry's Commis-
sion with respect to the different chantries, are
preserved at the P. R. O., and are entered on
rolls arranged in eight parallel columns, in
answer to a like number of queries. There are
also abridged rolls on paper of some counties.
Further information about chantries may be
sometimes gleaned from certain MS. volumes
at the P. R. O. entitled " Particulars for the
Sale of Colleges and Chantries." Much light

HISTORY OF A PARISH 137

is thrown on the often misunderstood question
of the pension of the suppressed chantry priests,
as well as of monastic persons, by the series
of pension returns from 37 Henry VIII. to
1 Mary, comprised in fifteen volumes at the
P. R. O. (Misc. Books, Augmentation Office,
vols. 247 to 262). In the B. M. (Add. MSS.
8102) is a valuable roll of Fees, Corrodies,
and Pensions, paid to members of the sup-
pressed chantries and religious houses out of
the Exchequer, 2 and 3 Philip and Mary.
The pensions for the different counties are
on separate skins, so that they are easy of
reference.

Inventories of Church Goods. — There are
various Inventories of Church Goods in the
P. R. O., taken by Commission at the begin-
ning of the reign of Edward VI., some on
detached slips of parchment, others in paper
books. The inventories are not absolutely
perfect for all parishes in any one county.
The returns to the Commissions are in two
or three classes of records, to which there is
no general calendar. Mr. W. Page, F.S.A.,
began printing a most useful list of the whole
of these inventories in the Antiquary in 1890
(vol. xxi.). Brief calendars of these inven-
tories will be found in the Seventh and Ninth
Reports of the P. R. O., at pp. 307 and 233

138 HOW TO WRITE THE

respectively. In several counties the churches
of one or more Hundreds are missing ; for
others, such as Somerset, Sussex, and the
North Riding of Yorkshire, there are none
extant. Nor are there any for Lincolnshire ;
but there is a MS. return of church furniture
and ornaments of 1 50 churches of that county,
taken in 1566, in the Episcopal Registry at
Lincoln. This was published in 1866 by
Edward Peacock, F.S.A. There are also
some special inventories connected with other
dioceses, which space forbids us to mention.
A complete MS. list of these inventories
has, however, been recently compiled in two
volumes, which can be consulted at the P. R. O.
On this subject it will be useful to read the
preface to the Inventories of the counties of
York, Durham, and Northumberland by Mr.
W. Page, in the 1897 volume of the Surtees
Society.

Guilds and Fraternities. — Guilds and
Fraternities of a more or less religious char-
acter, and usually directly connected with a
special altar at the parish church, will naturally
come under the history of the church, provided
any can be detected in connection with the
particular parish. It used to be supposed that
these guilds were only found in cities or
boroughs, but later researches show that they

HISTORY OF A PARISH 139

also occasionally existed in quite small villages.
The Parliament of 1381 directed writs to be
sent to the sheriffs of each county, calling upon
them to see that the Master and Wardens of
all Guilds and Brotherhoods made returns to
the King's Council in Chancery of all details
pertaining to the foundation, statutes, and pro-
perty of their guilds. A large number of the
original returns (549) still remain in the
P. R. O. ; they are amongst the miscellanea
of the Chancery (Bundles 38 to 46). A
MS. list of these certificates has recently
been prepared, arranged under counties. For
some counties there are none extant, and
for others only those from a single Hundred.
More than one hundred of these returns
have been printed or analysed by Toulmin
Smith in a volume of the Early English
Text Society, entitled " English Gilds." The
general question of Guilds has been dealt with
by Rev. Dr. Lambert, in his "Two Thousand
Years of Guild Life" (Brown & Sons, Hull,
1891). Mr. Hibbert's essay on "The Influ-
ence and Development of English Gilds"
(Cambridge University Press, 1892) gives a
good summary of the subject.

On the question of town Guilds, in their
secular as well as their religious aspect, see
the important volume issued in 1908 by

i4o HOW TO WRITE THE

Mr. George Unwin, entitled " The Gilds and
Companies of London."

Heraldic Church Notes. — In the different
heraldic visitation books, especially those temp.
Elizabeth, which have been previously de-
scribed, there often occur interesting church
notes, which not only detail heraldic glass in
the windows and arms on the monuments, but
also occasionally give inscriptions that have
long since disappeared. These can only be
found by a careful inspection of the heralds'
register books of the county in which the
parish is situated, or by searching the indexes
of manuscripts at the British Museum, Bod-
leian, &c.

Commonwealth Survey. — In pursuance of
various ordinances of the Parliament, a com-
plete survey of the possessions of Bishops,
Deans, and Chapters, and of all the benefices,
was made in 1 649-1 650, by specially ap-
pointed Commissioners. These interesting
returns, filling twenty-one large folio volumes,
are in the Library of Lambeth Palace, and
numbered in the catalogue of MSS. from 902
to 922. The returns for the counties of Berks,
Bucks, Dorset, Essex, Gloucester, Hertford,
Lancaster, Lincoln, Middlesex, Norfolk, North-
umberland, Oxford, Sussex, Westmoreland,
Wilts, and East Riding of Yorkshire are at

HISTORY OF A PARISH 141

the P. R. O. These are said to be the only
originals, and the Lambeth volumes official
copies ; but in some cases we are convinced
that the Lambeth returns are original. These
surveys have hitherto been singularly over-
looked by county historians and ecclesiologists,
though occasional extracts have been published
from a much abbreviated and inaccurate sum-
mary, based on these documents, which forms
No. 459 of the Lansdowne MSS. in the B. M.

The Record Book of the Commonwealth
Commissioners for augmenting rectories and
vicarages (MSS. 966-1021) ; the original pre-
sentations to various benefices from 1652 to
1659 (MSS. 944-7) ; counterparts of leases of
church lands made by authority of Parliament
from 1652 to 1658 (MSS. 948-50); and
Notitia Parochialis (6 vols., MSS. 960-5),
which give an account of 1579 parish churches
in the year 1705, are also in Lambeth Library.

Briefs. — Royal Letters Patent, authorising
collections for charitable purposes within
churches, and sometimes from house to house,
were termed " Briefs." Lists of them, from
the time of Elizabeth downwards, are often to
be found on the fly-leaves of old register books,
or in churchwardens' accounts. The repair or
rebuilding of churches in post-Reformation
days, until nearly the beginning of the Catholic

142 HOW TO WRITE THE

Revival, was almost invariably effected by this
method. About the middle of last century,
owing to the growing frequency of Briefs, it
was ordered that they should only be granted
on the formal application of Quarter Sessions.
Much information as to the condition of the
fabrics and other particulars relative to churches
can be gathered from the petitions to Quarter
Sessions, in those counties where the docu-
ments are accessible. The Briefs themselves
were issued from the Court of Chancery, so we
suppose they would be attainable at the P. R. O.
At the B. M. is a large collection of original
Briefs, from 1754 down to their abolition in
1828. They were presented to the Museum
in 1829, by Mr. J. Stevenson Salt. An ad-
mirable volume of some 450 pages on this
whole subject was issued by Mr. W. A. Bewes
in 1896, entitled "Church Briefs, or Royal
Warrants for Collections for Charitable Ob-
jects " ; it contains a full classified list of all
Briefs from the beginning of the Common-
wealth up to 1828. The index of places bene-
fited by Briefs will prove of great value to
local historians.

Advowson. — The history of the advowson,
if the living remained a rectory, was almost
invariably intermixed with that of the manor,
or the moieties of the manor. Consequently,

HISTORY OF A PARISH 143

it will be found that, in the case of rectories,
various particulars as to the owners of the
advowson, and its value at different periods,
can be gleaned from the Inquisitions, and from
the Patent and Close Rolls, to which references
have already been made ; or, in the case of
litigation, from the Plea Rolls and Year Books.
If the living became at any time a vicarage,
care should be taken to look through the
particulars given by Dugdale and Tanner, and
materially supplemented in the Victoria County
Histories, of the religious house to which the
big tithes were appropriated, and more espe-
cially to carefully search the chartularies of
that establishment, if any are extant. There
is a good list of the various monastic chartu-
laries, i.e. ancient parchment books, containing
transcripts or abstracts of the charters of the
different houses, in the first two volumes of
Nichols' Collectanea Topographica et Genea-
locrica, and a shorter one in Sims' " Manual."

The Ordination of a Vicarage, i.e. the
official appropriation of certain parts of the
endowment for the sustentation of a vicar,
required episcopal confirmation ; and these
ordinations will usually be found in the Epis-
copal Registers, if they are extant for the date
when the rectory was formally appropriated.
These ordinations often contain information of

i44 HOW TO WRITE THE

great interest, and have hitherto been very rarely-
searched for, and still more rarely printed.

The terms used in these documents for
different sorts of tithes, for the various produce
of the soil, &c, &c, will be sought for in vain
in any ordinary Latin dictionary ; for their
explanation it will be necessary to consult a
glossary of medieval or monastic terms. The
most handy and accurate is the abridged edition
of the glossaries of Du Cange, Du Fresne, &c,
in six volumes, Svo, published at Halle be-
tween 1722 and 1784. A more accessible book
is Abbe Maigne's Lexicon Manuale ad scrip-
tores medics et injimcz Latinitatis, published in
1866, and which can be obtained for about 20s.
Some such work will also be found indispens-
able in consulting the monastic chartularies and
many of the records and rolls. Many of the
terms will be found in the last two editions of
Cowel's " Interpreter," 1708 and 1737, which
can much more readily be met with than the
larger glossaries. Another antiquated but most
useful book in this respect is Giles Jacob's
" Law Dictionary "; but there is great need for
a one-volume compendious glossary, and it is
hoped that such a work may shortly be under-
taken. The best of the short lists of the Low-
Latin words usually met with is in Martin's
" Record Interpreter," already mentioned.

HISTORY OF A PARISH 145

Lists of Incumbents. — Lists of rectors and
vicars, eivintr the date of their institution, and
the names of their respective patrons, are indis-
pensable to a complete parochial history, and
they are now not infrequently compiled for
placing, in some more or less permanent form,
on the church walls. They are, for the most
part, to be obtained from the diocesan registers.
This work, in several dioceses, will be found to
involve no small labour, for bishops' secretaries
were not always particular to separate institu-
tions from other episcopal acts, and occasionally
placed them in precise chronological order for
the whole diocese, without any regard to arch-
deaconries and other minor divisions. But the
trouble will be amply repaid by the numerous
quaint and interesting little details that the
searcher will be almost sure to discover. Many
of our episcopal registers, or act books, are of
supreme interest, and yet they are perhaps less
known than any class of original documents.
The dates at which these registers beg-in average
about the year 1300. The following are their
respective initial years: Canterbury, T279;
London, 1306; Winchester, 1282; Ely, 1336;
Lincoln, 1217; Lichfield, 1296 ; Wells, 1309;
Salisbury, 1297 ; Exeter, 1257 ; Norwich, 1299 ;
Worcester, 1268; Hereford, 1275; Chichester,
*397 I Rochester, 1319 ; York, 1214 ; and

K

146 HOW TO WRITE THE

Carlisle, 1292. The old registers of Durham
are mostly lost, that of Bishop Kellaw, 1 3 1 1 —
1318, being the oldest. The Welsh dioceses
are — St. David, 1397; Bangor, 151 2; St.
Asaph, 1538; and Llandaff, 1619.

Since the issue of the last edition of this
manual, in 1895, a great stride has been made
in the printing of Episcopal Act Books. The
Canterbury and York Society was established
in 1904 for printing Bishops' registers and other
ecclesiastical records, of which the Archbishops
of Canterbury and York were the joint pre-
sidents. It is a society eminently worthy of
support. The annual subscription is a guinea.
All communications respecting it should be
addressed to the Honorary Secretaries, 124
Chancery Lane, London. Its publications up
to the present date (October 1 909) are : —

Lincoln. — Hugh de Welles, 1209-1235.
Carlisle. — John de Halton, 1 292-1324.
Canterbury. — Parts of John Peckham, 1279-1292; and

Matthew Parker, 1559-1575-
Hereford. — Thomas Cantilupe, 1272-12 75 ; Richard Swin-

field, 12S3-1317 ; and Adam Orleton, 1317-1325.

Important registers of London and other
dioceses are in active preparation.

The following- is a list of what has been
accomplished in a like direction outside the

HISTORY OF A PARISH 147

Canterbury and York Society ; but only a few
of these are full transcripts : —

Canterbury. — Letters from the Register of John Peckham,

1278-1294. Rolls Series.
York. — Walter de Grey, 12 15-1255; Walter Gifford,

1266-1279; W. de Wickwaine, 1279-1285. All

issued by the Surtees Society.
Winchester. — John de Sandal, 1316-1320; R. de Asserio,

1320-1323 ; W. of Wykeham, 1367-1404. All issued

by the Hampshire Historical Society.
Durham. — R. Kellawe, 1311-1316, Rolls Series; R. de

Bury, 1 338-1 343, Surtees Society.
Bath arid Wells. — Walter Giffard, 1265-1266; J. de

Drokensford, 1309-1329; Ralph of Shrewsbury, 1329-

1363; Henry Bowett, 1401-1407. All issued by the

Somerset Record Society.

Also Richard Fox, 1492-1494, printed by E. C.

Batten in 1889.
Chichester. — Richard Praty, 1439-1445 ; Robert Reade,

1397-1414, summaries with extracts. Issued by the

Sussex Record Society.
Ely. — Copious extracts are continually appearing in the

Ely Diocesan Remembrancer.
Exeter. — Walter Branscombe, 1257-1280; Peter Wyville,

1280-1291 ; Thomas de Button, 1292-1307; Walter

Stapleton, 1307-1327 ; James de Berkeley, 1327 ;

John de Grandison, 1327-1376; Thomas de Brant-

ingham, 1370-1394; Edmund Stafford, 1395-1419.

All these are edited and issued by Prebendary

Hingeston-Randolph in an abbreviated form.
Lichfield. — Roger de Northburgh, 1322-1358 ; Robert de

Stretton, 1358-1385. These are English extracts

issued by the William Salt Society.

If

148 HOW TO WRITE THE

Llandaff. — Act Books in the course of publication relating
to the following Bishops : —

Book I. — Theophilus Field, 1619-1627 ; William
Murray, 1627-1638; Morgan Owen, 1639-1644 ;
Hugh Lloyd, 1660-1667 ; Francis Davies, 1667-
1674; William Lloyd, 1675-1679. The above form
vol. ii. of " Llandaff Records."

Book II. — Subscriptions during the last three of
the above episcopates.

Book III. — Acts of the episcopates of William
Lloyd, 1675-1679 ; William Beaw, 1679-1705; John
Tylor, 1 706-1 724. Books II. and III. form vol. iii.
of " Llandaff Records."
Salisbury. — St. Osmund, 1078-1107. Roll Series. This
is not an episcopal register in the usual sense of
the word.
Worcester. — Godfrey Gifford, 1268-1301 ; Walter Gains-
borough, 1302-1307. Scdevacante, 1301-1435. Trans-
lations issued by the Worcestershire Historical Society.

Gaps are not unusual in the episcopal regis-
ters for some time subsequent to the Reforma-
tion, when the books were often kept in a
slovenly fashion. These deficiencies can be
frequently supplied from the lists of institutions
at the P. R. O.

The reason for institutions to ecclesiastical
benefices being found at Chancery Lane is
made clear by the following statement, copied
from Mr. Scargill Bird's work on the
Records : " The primitive, or first fruits,
were the profits of every spiritual living for

HISTORY OF A PARISH 149

the first year after avoidance, which were in
ancient times given to the Pope throughout all
Christendom. On the rejection of the Papal
Supremacy in the reign of Henry VIII., they
were vested in the King by statute 26 Henry
VIII., c. 3, and anew valuation was then made,
called the Valor Ecclesiasticus, by which the
clergy are at present rated. A court was
erected 32 Henry VIII. for the administration
of this revenue, but it was soon afterwards
dissolved, and the first year of Queen Mary
the office of First Fruits and Tenths was made
a branch of the Exchequer. In the second
year of Queen Anne that Sovereign restored
to the Church what had at first been indirectly
taken from it, not by remitting the payment of
First Fruits and Tenths entirely, but by apply-
ing the sums received from the larger benefices
to make up the deficiencies of the smaller ; for
this purpose she granted a charter, afterwards
confirmed by statute, whereby all the revenue
of the First Fruits and Tenths is vested in
trustees to form a perpetual fund for the aug-
mentation of poor livings under £$0 a year.
This is usually called 'Queen Anne's Bounty,'
and has been further regulated by subsequent
statutes."

The Bishops' Certificates of Institutions to
Benefices from 1558 to 1862 have been

150 HOW TO WRITE THE

carefully calendared, and are comprised in fifteen
large MS. volumes in the Search Room.

There is, too, a single MS. index volume at
the P. R. O. to the presentations to livings in
the gift of the Crown between i Edw. I. and
24 Edw. III.

The Clerical Subsidy Rolls, which begin in
Edward I., will also, from time to time, supply
missing names ; they are somewhat fitfully
indexed.

Lambeth Library, as already stated, will
generally supply the names of ministers during
the Commonwealth.

The Archiepiscopal Registers of the same
library should also be searched for occasional
appointments throughout the province during
the vacancy of a see, or those of York, if of
the northern province.

If the benefice is, or was, under the Duchy
of Lancaster, search at the P. R. O. will
generally yield a fairly complete list, both of
medieval and post-Reformation incumbents.

It is scarcely necessary to say that no list
of incumbents should be considered complete
until the latter part has been carefully collated
with the parish registers.

Catalogues of all the English Bishops, with
particulars as to their consecration, are to be
found in Bishop Stubbs' Registrum Sacrum

I /

:

HISTORY OF A PARISH 151

Anglicanum (2nd ed., 1897); and similar
lists ot" Deans, Prebendaries, and minor digni-
taries, in Hardy's edition of Le Neve's Fasti
Ecclesice Anglicance. See also that most use-
ful compilation, Haydn's "Book of Dignitaries"
(2nd ed., 1890). These works may probably
be useful when drawing up the list of parish
priests so as to note those raised to superior
positions. Lists of priests appointed to the
more important chantries can usually also be
extracted from the diocesan registers, for,
except in peculiar circumstances, they required
episcopal institution.

Any facts of interest or importance that can
be ascertained respecting the successive incum-
bents should be chronicled. For the time of
the Commonwealth, Walker's " Sufferings of
the Clergy" on the one hand, and Calamy's
" Ejected Ministers " on the other, should be
consulted. They both make mention of a
very great number of the clergy.

Dedication. — The dedication of the church
should never be taken for granted from county
gazetteers or directories, or even from diocesan
calendars, though some, such as those of York
and Lichfield, have been carefully corrected.
Dedications to All Saints, and to the Blessed
Virgin, should be viewed with some suspi-
cion until firmly established, for in the time

152 HOW TO WRITE THE

of Henry VIII. the dedication festivals, or
"wakes," were often transferred to All Saints'
Day, or Lady Day, in order to avoid a multi-
plicity of holidays, and hence by degrees the
real dedication became forgotten. Ecton's
Thesaurus Rertim Ecclesiasticarum (i742) an<^
Bacon's Liber Regis (1786) should be con-
sulted for dedications ; various ones are omitted,
but those given are usually right. Occasionally
the patron saints of the different churches are
mentioned in the institutions in the episcopal
registers, and more often in monastic chartu-
laries ; but the surest of all references, in the
case of a doubtful dedication, is to look up the
pre-Reformation wills of the lords of the manor
or other chief people of the parish. These wills
generally contain an early clause to this effect :
" I leave my body to be buried within the

church of St. ." The time of the wakes

or the village feast is a good guide to the
dedication, but one which, from the reason
stated above, as well as from other causes,
must not be implicitly relied upon.

Confusion, too, has not infrequently been
caused through clergy and others failing to
discriminate between an old fair day and the
wakes. The time for holding a fair was
ordered by the Crown in its charter ; it had no
kind of connection with the church, and the

i

t

HISTORY OF A PARISH 153

mention of some particular saint's day was
solely for the purpose of fixing a definite
calendar date. Blunders of this kind have
caused the error of assigning the old church of
Wellingborough to St. Luke, and other like
dedications in Northamptonshire. St. Luke 1
was a highly unusual medieval dedication, and
should always be viewed with suspicion.

Another point worth remembering with
regard to dedications, is that re-consecration
was of occasional occurrence. A church was
re-consecrated when the fabric was altogether
or considerably rebuilt, and it was also held to
be imperative whenever the high altar was
removed, as in the case of prolonging a chancel.
At the time of these re-consecrations, it occa-
sionally happened that the name of the patron
saint was changed, not from mere caprice or
love of novelty, but because relics of that
particular saint were obtained for enclosure in
the chief or high altar. This should be borne
in mind when a discrepancy is found in the
name of the patron saint of the same church
at different medieval epochs.

The chapter of Parker's " Calendar of the
Anglican Church," entitled " A few remarks on
the dedication of English Churches," is worth
reading. This small book is also valuable for
the brief account of the saints most frequently

i54 HOW TO WRITE THE

met with in England, both in dedications and
otherwise. The first half of the book has been
republished once or twice, under the title of
" Calendar of the Prayer Book," but it leaves
out the chapters here mentioned, and is com-
paratively valueless as compared with the edition
of 1 85 1. Harrington "On the Consecration
of Churches," published by Rivington in 1844,
should also be read.

Three admirable volumes were brought out
in 1899 by Miss Frances Arnold - Foster,
entitled " Studies in Church Dedications ;
or, England's Patron Saints." The lives of
the saints are well told, and the work gives
proof of much untiring labour. The various
indexes are thorough of their kind, and should
certainly be consulted. It is, however, only
fair to note a decided flaw in these pages :
the dedications have been gleaned with simple
faith in the accuracy of official diocesan calen-
dars, whereas, as all students know, they are
not infrequently wrong, notably in Peter-
borough diocese.

With regard to saints and their emblems,
Twining's " Christian Symbols and Emblems "
(Murray, 1885) will be found fairly satisfactory,
though rather sketchy, and not up to date.
F. C. Husenbeth's "Emblems of the Saints"
(2nd ed., i860) is a good and well-illustrated

HISTORY OF A PARISH 155

book, but even this might be materially added
to and improved. A small book called " Saints
and their Symbols," by E. M. Greene, came
out in 1904, but it is only of value to those
visiting foreign galleries.

Sculpture in stone, carving in wood, and
painting on glass and walls, as well as on roofs
or screens, often suggest difficulties as to the
meaning of symbols or designs. On such points
it would be well to consult Miss Margaret Stokes'
edition of Didron's "Christian Iconography"
(2 vols., Bell & Sons, 1886), Mr. J. Romilly
Allan's admirable " Christian Symbolism in
Great Britain and Ireland" (Whiting & Co.,
1887), and Dr- E- S- Cutts' "History of Early
Christian Art" (S.P.C.K., 1893).

The best book, however, of this character,
which deals also incidentally with emblems, is
Mrs. N. Bell's "Saints in Christian Art," in
three volumes (190 1—4).

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH

TTAVING finished the history of the church,
* * it will be best to follow it up by a
description of the fabric of the church, and of
all its details.

Styles of Architecture. — In decidine as
to the different "periods" under which to
classify the various styles into which almost
every parish church is more or less divided,
it is usual to follow simple and at one time
generally accepted divisions of English archi-
. tecture, originally adopted by Mr. Rickman, viz.
(i) the Saxon, from 800 to 1066 ; (2) the Nor-
man, from 1066 to 1 145 ; (3) the Early English,
from 1 145 to 1272; (4) the Decorated, from
1272 to 1377 ; and (5) the Perpendicular, from
\1377to 1509. Some competent writers always
speak of three periods of Transition, cover-
ing the reigns of Henry II., Edward I.,
and Richard II.; whilst others, and this may
be well adopted, speak of only one regular
"Transition," meaning by that term the period
between the Early English and Decorated, or
the reign of Edward I. (1 272-1307).

IS6

THE HISTORY OF A PARISH 157

These divisions were generally accepted as
sufficing for popular purposes ; but of the
more detailed and technical divisions of later
writers, there are none so correct in nomen-
clature, and so accurate in separation of style,
as the seven periods of Mr. Edmund Sharpe.
The first and second of his periods are the
same as given above, but the third is styled
the Transitional, from 1 145 to 1190; the
fourth, the Lancet, from 11 90 to 1245; the
fifth, the Geometrical, from 1245 to 13 15 ; the
sixth, the Curvilinear, from 13 15 to 1360; and
the seventh, the Rectilinear, from 1360 to 1550.
See Sharpe's " Seven Periods of English
Architecture," with its excellent series of
plates. The styles, however, overlap each
other so much, and differ in duration in dif-
ferent parts of England, that the more careful
writers of the last few years have, for the most
part, dropped the use of set terms — both " De-
corated " and " Perpendicular " are in reality
absurd misnomers — and confine themselves to
assigning different parts of a church to a
particular century or reign.

There are numerous architectural manuals,
but Parker's " Glossary of Gothic Architecture ':
has not, so far as the illustrations are con-
cerned, been surpassed, and is very compre-
hensive. The best edition is the fifth (octavo),

158 HOW TO WRITE THE

with the two additional volumes of plates. A
great variety of smaller manuals on Gothic archi-
tecture have appeared, but not one of them is
satisfactory. There is still room for an introduc-
tory book on sound lines at a modest price.

A very useful work to possess is the eleventh
edition of M. H. Bloxam's "Gothic Architec-
ture," published in three volumes, by Bell, in
1882. The third volume, which deals with the
questions of vestments and internal arrange-
ment of churches, and which also includes an
excellent treatise on Sepulchral Monuments,
can be obtained separately.

A particularly helpful handbook for a be-
ginner is Mr. George Clinch's " Old English
Churches" (2nd ed., 1903), which deals with
furniture, &c, as well as architecture, after a
comprehensive fashion.

It remains to draw emphatic attention to the
epoch-making, grand volume of Mr. Francis
Band, issued in 1905 (Batsford), entitled
" Gothic Architecture in England," containing
800 pages and 1254 illustrations. It would
take pages to analyse its merits and origi-
nality. The best critics received it with a
chorus of acclamation. The Times said : "As
a mine of erudition, of detailed analysis and
information, and of criticism, the book is
worthy of all praise."

HISTORY OF A PARISH 159

Before classifying the different parts of the
building according to the various periods, a
most careful inspection should be made of both
inner and outer walls, when fragments of
mouldings, or of knot-work, pertaining possibly
to an earlier church than any now standing,
may not infrequently be detected.

With regard to the Romano-British structures

o

which show traces of pre-Augustinian Chris-
tianity (Reculver; St. Martin's, Canterbury; and
Lyminge), the wholly admirable little volume
by Mr. Romilly Allen, " Monumental History
of the British Church" (S.P.C.K., 1889),
should be consulted. Brixworth has no Roman
work in it, only a large utilisation of Roman
materials. The intensely interesting discovery
of the foundations of an undoubted Romano-
British Church at Silchester is recorded and
illustrated in the Report of the Excavations
for 1892 (Society of Antiquaries), and is also
described by Mr. St. John Hope in vol. xxvi.
of the Antiquary. The few other features of
the Christian Archaeology of the pre-Augus-
tinian Church will be found described in Mr.
Romilly Allen's volume, though some addi-
tional ones have been brought to light since
1889.

There is a good deal more of Anglo-Saxon
or pre-Norman English Architecture yet extant

160 HOW TO WRITE THE

in our churches than is usually supposed.
Careful observation of the jointing and tooling
of the large stones of early church towers and
of plain round-headed archways will often show
the cross-axine of the Saxon workman, instead
of the diagonal lines of the Norman mason.
We strongly recommend all students of church
architecture to obtain an illustrated shilling
pamphlet by Mr. J. Park Harrison (Henry
Frowde, 1893), called "English Architecture
before the Conquest." 1 1 contains some remark-
able drawings of architectural details copied
from Anglo-Saxon MSS. Mr. C. C. Hodges
contributed an excellent series of papers to
the Reliquary (1892-94) on the pre-Conquest
Churches of Northumberland, Durham, and
North Yorkshire.

The Publishing Committee of the venerable
Society for the Promotion of Christian Know-
ledge are somewhat weak in archaeology and
history. They put forth good books on such
subjects, but occasionally others equally bad.
It is almost comical to note how they allow
their authors to flatly contradict each other.
" The Old Churches of our Land " (the author
shall be nameless), profusely illustrated, is full
of blunders, and says there is only one Saxon
church in England, namely, that of Bradford-
on-Avon, and that the other remains are of

HISTORY OF A PARISH 161

" the plainest and rudest description, scarcely
meriting to be regarded as works of architec-
ture." We are content to let that other com-
petent S.P.C.K. author, Mr. Romilly Allen,
answer him. He considers that there are fine
Saxon churches at Brixworth (Northants),
Deerhurst (Gloucester), Coshampton (Hants),
Worth (Sussex), and Escombe (Durham) ; re-
markable towers at Earls Barton and Barnack
(Northants), Barton - on - Humber, Waithe,
Holton-le-Clay, Clee, and Glentworth (Lincoln),
St. Benets (Cambs), Sompting (Sussex), St.
Mary, Bishophill, or Hornby (Yorks), Wyck-
ham (Berks), Northleigh (Oxon), Monkwear-
mouth, Bolam, and Billingham (Durham), St.
Andrew's, Bywell, and Ovingham (Northumber-
land), and Herringfleet (Suffolk) ; Saxon sculp-
ture is to be found in the following churches :
Britford, Bradford-on-Avon, Monkwearmouth,
Barnack, Earls Barton, Offchurch, Sompting,
Stanton Lucy, Deerhurst, Daglingworth, Lang-
ford, Headbourne, Worthy, Hackness, and Leds-
ham ; and crypts of the same date exist at Ripon,
Hexham, Brixworth, Wing, and Repton. These
lists might be very materially enlarged.

Professor G. Baldwin Brown's volume on
" Ecclesiastical Architecture in England from
the Conversion of the Saxons to the Norman
Conquest" (1903) gives an index list of 104

L

i62 HOW TO WRITE THE

churches where more or less pre-Conquest
masonry exists. To this list the writer of this
manual can add at least sixty other instances
from his own observation.

About thirty years ago he completed his
critical examination of the old churches of
Derbyshire (" Churches of Derbyshire," 4 vols.,
Bemrose, 1874-78), and considered there were
remains of Saxon work, in situ, in the fabrics
of six churches ; further experience has now
convinced him of its occurrence in at least
seven other churches of that county.

Monuments. — During recent years, the atten-
tion that has so long been needed has begun to
be given to the subject of the archaeology of the
Saxon church, more especially as regards its
monuments. The best short book on the subject
is Mr. Romilly Allen's work, to which reference
has just been made. These pre-Norman in-
scribed and sculptured memorial stones prove
to be far more numerous and of far better art
than archaeologists were wont to suppose. They
merit the closest attention.

The local annalist should always be careful
to abjure the term " Runic," at one time so
generally applied to all crosses or other ancient
sculpture ornamented with the interlaced knot
or braid work, unless the stone is inscribed.
The term is a complete and ignorant misnomer

HISTORY OF A PARISH i6*

j

as often used ; it would be none the less absurd
to call an apple-tree mistletoe because the latter
plant occasionally grows upon it, than to style
ancient crosses or slabs runic simply because
runes are sometimes found inscribed upon them.
A "rune," both in Scandinavian and Teutonic
dialects, is merely an alphabetical character, and
has no further connection with scroll or braid
work than that the two are sometimes found
upon the same cross. Putting aside Gothic,
Scandinavian, Manx, and Tree runes, which
do not occur in England, the following is a list
of English Christian monuments that bear
Anglian runes (so far as they have yet been
discovered) : Erect crosses at Bewcastle (Cum-
berland), Chester-le-Street (Durham), Crowle
(Lincoln), Lancaster, Alnmouth (Northumber-
land), and Collingham, Hackness, and Thornhill
(Yorks) ; sepulchral slabs at Hartlepool (Dur-
ham) and Dover ( Kent) ; recumbent hog-backed
stone at Falstone (Northumberland) ; and
fragments at Monkwearmouth (Durham) and
Leeds (Yorks).

The oldest Celtic sepulchral monuments of
Great Britain and Ireland have inscriptions in
the early Ogham alphabet, or in debased Latin
capitals, and sometimes are bilingual, having the
two characters on the same stone. Only one
Ogham inscription has been found in England,

1 64 HOW TO WRITE THE

and that as lately as 1894, in the church porch
of Lewannick, Cornwall ; it is described in
the Antiquary (vol. xxx. p. 92). A bilingual
(Ogham and Latin) inscription was discovered
in the same churchyard in 1894, and there are
two more of this double description in Devon-
shire. Devonshire has also seventeen monu-
mental Celtic inscriptions in Latin capitals, and
Cornwall five.

There are inscriptions in Latin capitals on
Christian Saxon monuments on crosses at
Carlisle Cathedral, Bishop Auckland, and
Monkwearmouth (Durham), Alnmouth (North-
umberland), Dewsbury, Hackness, Ripon,
Thornhill, Wycliffe, and York (Yorks), and
Trevillet (Cornwall) ; on sepulchral slabs at
Hartlepool (Durham) and Wensley (Yorks) ;
and on a headstone at Whitchurch (Hants).

In the Saxon and Danish districts the
inscriptions found on stones are most usually
in Latin capitals or in Runes ; but in the
Celtic portion of Great Britain, from the 7th
to the nth century, they are minuscules, a
character intermediate between capitals and
the cursive or running hand. The following is
a list of English Christian monuments having
minuscule inscriptions : Crosses, Beckermet
(Cumberland), Dewsbury, Hawkswell, and
Yarm (Yorks), and St. Neot and Lanherne

HISTORY OF A PARISH 165

(Cornwall) ; sepulchral slabs, Hartlepool and
Billingham (Durham), and Camborne and
Pendarves (Cornwall) ; and recumbent hog-
backed stone, Falstone (Northumberland).

With regard to the uninscribed Christian
monuments of the Anglo-Saxon period, orna-
mented with the interlaced Hiberno-Saxon
decoration, which consist of erect crosses, erect
headstones, recumbent hog-backed stones, and
sepulchral slabs or coffin lids, and their dis-
persed fragments, they have now been identified
with at least 310 localities, and as several stones
beloneine to different monuments are often found
in the same place, their number cannot fall far
short of 700. We gave in the last edition a
table of their geographical distribution over the
forty counties of England, from which it ap-
peared that these monuments were most nume-
rous in those parts of England which, in the 9th
century, constituted the southern half of North-
umbria and the northern half of Mercia. Their
date probably varies between the 7th and 1 ith
centuries.

As fresh examples come to light every few
months, it has not been thought worth while to
repeat the table. It may be mentioned that
only one site was named for Hampshire in
1895, and now nine are known ; in the like
period the Nottinghamshire sites have increased

1 66 HOW TO WRITE THE

from one to five, and Yorkshire from seventy-
four to eighty-one. Durham has upwards of
1 50 examples, found on twenty-one different sites.
On the interesting subject of these pre-
Conquest stones the following, among other
papers, may be noted: "The Pre-Norman
Sculptured Stones of Derbyshire " {Journal
of Derbyshire Archaeological Society, 1886) ;
" The Ancient Sculptured Shaft in the Parish
Church at Leeds " [Journal of British Archaeo-
logical Association, 1885); "Three Ancient
Cross Shafts, the Font, and St. Bertram's
Shrine at Ham" (Bell & Sons, 1888, price
2s. 6d.), by the Right Rev. the Bishop
of Bristol ; " Early Christian Sculpture .in
Northamptonshire " {Northampton Architec-
tural Society), by Mr. J. Romilly Allen ;
" Notes on pre-Norman Sculptured Stones in
Wilts" {Wilts Archaeological Society, 1894),
by Messrs. Goddard and Romilly Allen ; and
" Notes on Specimens of Interlacing Ornament
at Kirkstall Abbey " [Journal of British
Archaeological Association), by Mr. J. T.
Irvine. The nature and origin of the remark-
able interlacing ornament is dealt with at
length by Mr. J. Romilly Allen in vols. xvii.
and xix. of the Proceedings of the Society of
Antiquaries of Scotland; by Mr. Arthur G.
Langdon in No. 30 of the Journal of the

HISTORY OF A PARISH 167

Royal Institution of Cormvall ; and by Miss
Margaret Stokes in " Early Christian Art in
Ireland" (1887). As the result of later and
more skilled investigations, the following ad-
mirable and nobly illustrated essays on pre-
Conquest carved stones have appeared in
recent volumes of the Victoria County His-
tory Scheme : Cumberland, by Mr. W. G.
Collingwood ; Derbyshire, by Mr. J. Romilly
Allen ; Durham, by Mr. C. C. Hodges ; and
Hampshire, by Mr. J. Romilly Allen.

Inscriptions on later monuments now missing,
or partly obliterated, may sometimes be re-
covered from the Church Notes of Heraldic
Visitations, or other MS. notebooks of eccle-
siologists of past generations, in which some
counties are peculiarly fortunate. For a
tolerably exhaustive list of MSS. of this
description that may be found in our public
libraries, arranged under counties, see Sims'
" Manual." It may also be useful to refer to
two printed works — Le Neve's Monumenta
Anglicana, 5 vols., 8vo (17 17-17 19), and
Weever's " Ancient Funerall Monuments,"
the latest edition of which, with additions, is a
4to vol. of 1767. The former gives inscrip-
tions on monuments of eminent persons who
deceased between 1600 and 17 18; the latter
treats generally of all monuments in the

168 HOW TO WRITE THE

dioceses of Canterbury, Rochester, London,
and Norwich. Bloxam on " Monumental
Architecture" (1834) is a useful handbook on
the general subject of monuments.

Cutts' " Manual of Sepulchral Slabs and
Crosses " is the only book dealing exclusively
with the interesting subject of early Incised
Slabs. It is well done, but much more has come
to light on the subject since it was written ( 1 846),
and a new manual is much wanted. See also
Boutell's "Christian Monuments" (1854).

In some counties, where stone abounds,
remains of this description are found in most
churches. If any part of the church is being
rebuilt, the debris should be most carefully
looked over ; and a minute inspection of the
existing masonry will often detect more or less
perfect specimens of incised cross slabs that
have been utilised in the masonry by the
church restorers of past generations.

The scandalous way in which the great
majority of English "Church Restorers" of
the last century have treated monuments, par-
ticularly those on the floors of churches, was
almost exactly paralleled in England at the
end of the twelfth and beo-inninof of the thir-
teenth centuries. At the time when our
builders were beginning to realise the superior
beauty and grace of the pointed over the round

HISTORY OF A PARISH 169

arch, their destruction of earlier fabrics, and
their cool appropriation of usefully shaped
stone or slabs, however well carved or in-
scribed, was simply ruthless. Much the same
thing occurred, though not to the same extent,
when changes of style gradually came about in
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

The lintels of the windows (especially of the
clerestory and of the tower), the inner side of
the parapets or battlements, the stone seats of
the porch, and of course the whole of the floor-
ing, should be critically scanned for these relics.

Haines' "Manual of Monumental Brasses"
(2 vols., Parker, 1861) is still the standard
work on that class of memorials. The second
volume consists of a fairly full list of brasses
throughout the kingdom, though it is now high
time for a new edition, which has, we believe,
been long in preparation. Several counties,
such as Northampton (Hudson), Kent (Bel-
cher), Norfolk (Cotman), and Cornwall (Dun-
kin), have special volumes on their respective
brasses. Boutell's "Monumental Brasses"
(1847) is an excellent general work on the
subject, with good illustrations ; but the latest
and most able handbook is that by the Rev.
H. W. Macklin, entitled " The Brasses of
England" (1907), with 84 illustrations, now in
a second edition.

170 HOW TO WRITE THE

The Monumental Brass Society, which in
January 1894 succeeded to the Cambridge
University Association of Brass Collectors,
issues transactions and fac-similes ; it is con-
tinuing to do excellent work under the direc-
torship of Mr. Mill Stephenson, F.S.A.

There is no good handbook dealing ex-
clusively with Stone Effigies, a great de-
sideratum ; the big illustrated folios of Gough's
"Sepulchral Monuments" and Stothard's
"Monumental Effigies" (new edition, with
large additions by John Hewitt, published by
Chatto & Windus in 1876) may be consulted
with advantage.

"The Monumental Effigies of Great Britain,"
by F. and G. Hollis, give some admirable
specimens, but it is a rare book. Another
desirable volume to consult for purposes of
comparison is "The Recumbent Effigies of
Northamptonshire," by Albert Hartshorne,
1876, somewhat expanded in his treatment of
the same subject in vol. i. of the Victoria
History of that county. The Victoria History
of Cumberland has an excellent article on the
stone effigies of that county, by the Rev.
Canon Bower, wherein forty-one effigies are
described which occur in twenty-four churches.

It is high time that the imaginary connec-
tion between Cross-legged effigies and the

HISTORY OF A PARISH 171

Crusades should be exploded ; and yet how
rampant is that fiction in certain places, and
how constantly it has to be contradicted. To
upset this fiction, it is enough to enumerate
the following facts : —

1. That many effigies of actual Crusaders
are not represented cross-legged.

2. That many effigies of knights who did
not go to the Holy Land are thus depicted.

3. That the effigies of several ladies are
cross-legged.

4. That a large number of the figures thus
represented are of a period subsequent to the
Crusades, the fashion, indeed, remaining occa-
sionally in use, as at Mitton, until the begin-
ning of the seventeenth century.

5. That no cross-legged effigies are to be
found on the Continent.

6. That the theory is based purely on guess-
work, which soon obtained general credence.

Mr. Hartshorne considers that " the popular
fiction that cross-legged effigies are monuments
of Knights Templars has evidently arisen from
the fact of six out of nine effigies in the Temple
Church being so represented." In controvert-
ing this fiction, he incidentally exposes another,
for he continues : " With the exception, how-
ever, of one effigy which is not cross-legged, it
is extremely doubtful whether any of these

172 HOW TO WRITE THE

celebrated figures are memorials of Templars.
They are all habited, not in the distinctive
dress of the order, as exhibited by the only
known effigy of a Templar, in the church of
St. Yved de Braine, near Soissons, but in
ordinary military costume." The truth seems
to be, with regard to these effigies, that the
attitude was a purely conventional one for
some time in vogue with English sculptors.

For the details of Armour, Hewitt's
" Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe "
(3 vols., Parker, 1855-60) is the most ex-
haustive work ; but see also the far cheaper
translated work in one vol., Demmin's " Arms
and Armour" (Bell, 1877), which abounds in
cuts. The new German edition of Demmin
(Leipzig: P. Friesenhahn, 1894) is a great
advance on former issues ; it has not been
translated. Meyrick and Skelton's " Antient
Armour" (2 vols., folio) will never be super-
seded in the way of illustration. Of more
recent works, two of the best are R. C.
Clephan's " Defensive Armour and Weapons
of Medieval Times" (1900), and H. S. Cow-
per's " The Art of Attack " (1905).

For the details of Costume there are several
expensive works, but a good handbook is
Fairholt's "Costume in England," to which is
appended an illustrated glossary of terms ; the

HISTORY OF A PARISH 173

best edition, materially improved and enlarged,
is that, in 2 vols., edited in 1885 by Vis-
count Dillon (Bell & Sons), which forms part
of Bohn's Series. Planche's " Cyclopaedia of
Costume" (2 vols., Chatto & Windus, 1879)
is thorough and dependable. The last book
on the subject is, however, by far the best and
most comprehensive, namely, Mr- George
Clinch's profusely illustrated "English Cos-
tume" (1909), one of the series of Antiquary's
Books.

In connection with stained or painted Glass,
Winston's " Hints on Glass Painting " (Murray,
2nd edition, 1867) should be read, wherein
the different styles of successive periods are
critically distinguished and illustrated. This
work has, however, in a great measure been
superseded by the more scholarly and exhaus-
tive volumes of Mr. Westlake, F.S.A., "A
History of Design in Painted Glass" (4 vols.,
James Parker & Co., 1891-94). Mr. Lewis F.
Day has recently produced a third and much
revised edition of his " Windows, a Book about
Stained and Painted Glass" (Batsford) ; it is
a complete account of the design and crafts-
manship of glass from the earliest times,
and contains 250 illustrations, all of historical
examples.

Encaustic Tiles demand careful attention.

174 HOW TO WRITE THE

A good deal of family history, as well as in-
teresting date details as to the fabric, will often
hinge upon their careful study and comparison.
" Examples of Decorative Tile termed En-
caustic," with ioo plates, by J. G. Nichols,
1845, which is only now to be found in good
libraries, and Shaw's " Specimens of Pave-
ments" (Pickering, 1858), should be, if possible,
consulted. The whole subject is one that
loudly cries for a comprehensive monograph ;
much that is new in the history and making of
these tiles has recently come to light. Among
the more important and generally interesting
minor articles on the question are the follow-
ing : " The Medieval Tile Kiln at Repton,"
found in 1868 {Reliquary, vol. vii.); Mr.
Ward's " Mediaeval Pavement and Wall Tiles
of Derbyshire " (Journal of Derbyshire Archczo-
logical Society, vol. xiv.) ; and Dr. Cox's paper
" On Four Spanish-Moresco Tiles found at
Meaux Abbey' (Transactions of East Riding
Antiqtiarian Society, vol. ii.). The Rev. Canon
Porter, F.S.A., has written some good papers
on the Encaustic Tiles of Gloucester, Tewkes-
bury, &c, &c, which have appeared in recent
volumes of the Archcsological Journal.

Wall Paintings, often erroneously termed
frescoes, is another subject of special interest.
Notwithstanding the sad and stupid way in

HISTORY OF A PARISH 175

which the great majority of our old church
walls have been stripped of ancient plaster, not
a year goes by without the discovery of further
instances of medieval mural paintings. The
one good book on this question is a " List of
Buildings in Great Britain and Ireland having
Mural and other Painted Decorations of dates
from the 10th to the end of the 16th centuries,"
by C. E. Keyser, F.S.A. The third edition
(Eyre & Spottiswoode, price 2s. 3d.) was
published in 1888. It has an excellent general
introduction. The most usual places to be
fairly sure of finding traces of wall paintings
in unrestored churches, are over the arch into
the chancel and above the nave arcades ; also
on the wide splays of early windows.

For the important item of Heraldry, both
in glass and on monuments, the best of the
numerous manuals (and there are several
very trashy of recent occurrence) is Boutell's
"Manual of Heraldry" (1863); another one
of merit is Cussan's " Handbook of Heraldry."
A laree and well-illustrated work is Woodward
and Burnett's "Treatise on Heraldry, British
and Foreign" (2 vols., W. & G. A. Johnston,
1892). Burke's " General Armoury," of which
the fiftieth and extended edition was published in
1888, is an indispensable dictionary of arms clas-
sified under families. Papworth's " Dictionary

176 HOW TO WRITE THE

of British Armorials" (1874) is arranged on the
opposite principle, viz. the blazonry or de-
scription of the arms is given first, and the
name of the family or families to which it
pertains follows. It is an expensive work, but
also indispensable in the identification of arms.
It will also be found to be more accurate than
Burke ; it gives references to the various rolls
and other MSS. from which the arms are cited.
" Heraldry as an Art," by G. W. Eve (Batsford,
1908), is a good practical book; it is chiefly
an account of its development and practice in
England. Mr. T. Shepard has in preparation
a manual on this subject for the series of
Antiquary's Books.

Fonts are of infinite variety and age ; they
have almost a literature of their own. F.
Simpson's "Series of Ancient Baptismal Fonts,"
1825, has a large number of beautifully finished
plates of the more remarkable examples. F. A.
Paley's "Baptismal Fonts," 1844, has illus-
trations and critical descriptions of a great
number, arranged alphabetically. See also the
ArchcBologia, vols. x. and xi. If the parish
has a medieval church and a modern font,
diligent search for the old one may often be
rewarded. Old fonts not infrequently serve as
geranium vases in parsonage or hall gardens ;
and we have ourselves found them applied to

HISTORY OF A PARISH 177

far more scandalous uses, as for instance a salt-
ing vat for bacon, a trough for cattle, a wash-
hand basin for the village school, and absolutely
in one instance (Taddington) as a sink for the
rinsing of beer glasses in a public-house. Dr.
A. C. Frazer has some good articles on special
1 groups of fonts in the Archceological Journal^
vols, lvii., lviii., lix., and lx. The long chapter
in "English Church Furniture" (1907), on
fonts and font covers, arranged under counties,
extends over eighty pages. I n 1 908 Mr. Francis
Bond produced an admirable monograph on
" Fonts and Font Covers," with 426 illustrations.
As to the grand subject of Screens and
Rood-Lofts, to which so much attention has
lately been paid, we can do no more in this
manual than draw attention to the 62 pages
given to their consideration in " English Church
Furniture"; to Mr. Francis Bond's beautiful
book called "Screens and Galleries" (1908);
to Mr. Aymer Valence's charming illustrated
essays in the County Memorial Series, volumes
on Derbyshire, Kent, Middlesex, and Lanca-
shire ; and to Mr. F. Bligh Bond's equally
attractive papers on Devonshire and Somerset-
shire screens in the local archaeological journals
of those counties.

With regard to Pulpits, both pre-Refor-
mation and of the sixteenth and seventeenth

M

u

178 HOW TO WRITE THE

centuries, there is no monograph or any special
articles worth naming. A fairly comprehensive
chapter, citing a great number of examples, will
be found in "English Church Furniture" (7th
edition, 1908), with various illustrations.

In the same volume lists and accounts of old
Stalls and Seats, and also of Church Chests,
are given with much detail.

Bells have now a literature of their own.
Ellacombe's "Bells of the Church" and
Fowler's "Bells and Bell-ringing" are admir-
able works. The inscriptions, &c, on the
church bells of the majority of English counties
have already been published, and many of the
remainder are now in progress. The volumes
of the late Mr. Thomas North on the bells of
the counties of Leicester, Lincoln, Northamp-
ton, Bedford, and Rutland ; and those of the
late Mr. Stahlschmidt on the bells of Kent,
Surrey, and Hertfordshire, are the best books
of their class. Other church bell volumes are
those of Dr. Raven on Cambridge and Suffolk ;
Ellacombe on Gloucestershire, Somersetshire,
and Devon ; Tyssen on Sussex ; and Dunkin
on Cornwall. In 1906 Dr. Raven produced an
admirable and comprehensive volume on " The
Church Bells of England" (one of the Anti-
quary's Books series) ; it will long remain the
standard handbook on the subject.

HISTORY OF A PARISH 179

Church Plate should always be inspected,
and the date, character, inscription, or arms on
each piece carefully recorded. Chaffers' "Hall
Marks on Plate " gives the fullest description of
the different marks, and how the precise date
can be thereby ascertained. Gilda Aurifab-
rorum (1883), by the same author, is a valu-
able history of English goldsmiths and their
marks. Mr. Wilfrid Cripps' "Old English
Plate" (9th ed., 1906) is, however, the best
authority on the subject. As a good deal of
French plate found its way into England,
Cripps' "Old French Plate" (Murray, 1880)
may sometimes be consulted with advantage.
Complete illustrated lists of all the church plate
of the diocese of Carlisle, and of the counties of
Dorset, Hampshire, Hereford, Kent, Leicester,
Llandaff, Middlesex, Northampton, Rutland,
Suffolk, Surrey, and Wilts, as well as other
smaller lists, covering archdeaconries or dean-
eries, have been published. There is a valuable
classified table of English medieval chalices and
patens, by Messrs. St. John Hope and Fallow,
in the Archceological Journal for 1886. But
since that date several more examples have
come to light. The pre- Reformation English
chalices now extant number forty-five, and the
patens ninety-five. See list in "English
Church Furniture" (2nd ed., 1908).

180 HOW TO WRITE THE

Inventories of Church Goods often need
explanation, or remains of various Ancient
Church Furniture may make some descrip-
tion necessary. Mackenzie Walcott's " Sacred
Archaeology," a popular dictionary of ecclesi-
astical art and institutions, is of some value.
Another book is Lee's " Glossary of Liturgical
and Ecclesiastical Terms" (1877). Peacock's
"Church Furniture" (1867) can also be con-
sulted with advantage.

Jules Corblet's Manual Etimentaire dAr-
chdolozie Nationale is a better done work than
anything of the size and scope in English, and
is well illustrated. Laborde's Glossaire Fran-
cis du Moyen Age (Paris, 1872) will also be
found useful. For the various details of church
worship and ceremonies, reference should be
made to Rock's " Church of our Fathers," and
to Chambers' valuable work, " Divine Worship
in Eneland in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth
Centuries, contrasted with and adapted to that
in the Nineteenth."

The publications of the St. Paul's Ecclesio-
logical Society (Hon. Sec, Mr. E. J. Wells,
4 Mallinson Road, Wandsworth Common, S.W.;
publishers, Messrs. Alabaster, Passmore & Sons)
deserve careful attention. Such well-known
ecclesiologists and liturgiologists as Messrs.
Micklethwaite, St. John Hope, and Wickham

HISTORY OF A PARISH 181

Lees: are amone the regular contributors. Mr.
Hope's valuable paper on " The English Litur-
gical Colours" (18S9) can be obtained by non-
members at 7s. 6d. Cutts' " Dictionary of the
Church of England " (S. P. C.K., 1887) has a few
good archaeological articles, notably those on
chests and offertory boxes, by Mr. Romilly Allen.
But the most thorough book on the details of
ecclesiology is the magnificent work of Rohault
de Fleury (Paris, 13 Rue Bonaparte), in eight
volumes, entitled La Messe Iitudes Archceo-
logiqttes sur les Monuments. Each volume
has about one hundred full-sized plates, and
there are also a variety of woodcuts with the
letterpress. Examples of old ecclesiastical art
are cited from England as well as from all other
parts of Christendom ; very many are described
and illustrated for the first time. We are con-
fident that we shall earn the gratitude of ecclesi-
astical students by calling attention to this
masterly and recently completed work, which
is so little known in England. The price is
85 francs a volume. The following are the
contents of the respective volumes : —

I'r Vol. — Avertissement.- — Texte explique de la Messe Icono-
graphie de la Messe. — Autels.

I Ie Vol. — Ciboria.— Retables. — Tabernacles. — Confessions. —
Chaires.

Ill"' Vol. — Ambons. — Chancels. — Julie's. — Sacristies. — Pis-
cines.— Chceurs. — Eglises.

182 HOW TO WRITE THE

IVC VOL. — Communion. — Pains eucharistiques. — Calices. —
Patenes. — Burettes. — Cuillers. — Chalumeaux, etc.

Ve Vol. — Autels portatifs. — Ciboires. — Regna (couronnes
votives). — Croix liturgiques. — Encens. — Ofifertoria. —
BeVitiers.

VIe VOL. — Lampes. — Chandeliers. — Livres liturgiques. — Lec-
toria, Lutrins. — Diptyques. — Paix. — Flabella. — Chauf-
foirs d'autel. — Cloches. — Orgues. — Vetements d'autel. —
Corporaux. — Voiles. — Fleurs.

VI Ie VOL. — Amicts. — Aubes. — Ceintures. — Manipules. —
Etoles. — Dalmatiques. — Chasubles.

VIIIe Vol. — Chapes. — Voiles de mains. — Couleurs litur-
giques.— Tonsure. — Pallium. — Surhumeral. — Crosses. —
Anneaux. — Croix pectorales. — Peignes liturgiques. —
Mitres. — Tiares. — Chassures. — Gants.

Although one of the authors is the writer of
this manual, " English Church Furniture," by-
Rev. Dr. Cox and Alfred Harvey, profusely
illustrated and first published in 1907, has been
so generously received by both critics and the
public, that it may be permitted to state with
emphasis that it fulfils a long-needed want.
In its pages attempts are made for the first
time to give descriptive lists (for the most
part arranged under counties) of old altars,
altar -rails, altar -screens, church plate and
pewter, piscinas, sedilia, Easter sepulchres,
lecterns, screens, and rood-lofts, pulpits and
hour-glasses, fonts and font covers, alms, offer-
tory, and collecting boxes, stalls, seats, pews,
galleries, church chests, almeries, cope chests,
banner staveholders, church libraries and chained

HISTORY OF A PARISH iS

6

books, embroideries, &c. A second edition,
with many corrections and additions, came out
in 1908 ; a third edition is now in course of pre-
paration, and the authors will welcome further
corrections or suggestions.

The names of different kinds of Fabrics
now obsolete, or at all events obsolete in their
nomenclature, are often puzzling in medieval
inventories. It is a pleasure to recommend a
scholarly and interesting though unpretentious
little volume, " The Drapers' Dictionary, a
Manual of Textile Fabrics," by Mr. W. Beck ;
it can be obtained from the Drapers Journal
Office for some two or three shillings.

Before beginning the description of the
church, it will be well, in the first place, in
order to insure clearness and accuracy, that
some general Plan of Procedure should be
adopted. We give the following skeleton of a
suggested outline, that has been proved to be
useful and orderly, but it can, of course, be
altered or expanded or rearranged in any
direction.

1. Enumeration of component parts of struc-
ture, remarks as to its general or special
characteristics.

2. Ground plan, i.e. dimensions of area of
chancel, nave, &c, different levels, and number
of chancel and altar steps.

1 84 HOW TO WRITE THE

3. Description of parts of the permanent
structure that are (a) Saxon, (6) Norman, (c)
Early English, (d) Transition, (e) Decorated,
(/) Perpendicular, (g) Debased, (A) Church-
warden, and (z) Restored ; or, still better, if the
approximate dates are given, as has been already
stated, under centuries or reigns. Some de-
finite order should be observed under each
head, otherwise it is likely that some details
may escape, e.g. doorways, windows, piers,
arches, &c., of chancel, nave, aisles, porches,
transepts, tower, and chapels.

4. External details — parapets, gargoyles,
niches, stoups, arms, inscriptions, " low side-
windows," lead pipes and pipe heads, lead-
roofing, and tiles.

5. Internal details — [Stone] altar or altar
stone, piscina, almery, hagioscope, Easter or
sepulchral recess, niches, brackets, roof-corbels,
and sedilia of (a) chancel, (6) south aisle, (c)
north aisle, and (d) chapels or transepts ; also
groined roofs, doorway or steps to rood-loft, and
stone screens — [Wood] altar table, altar rails,
reading-desk, lectern, pulpit, pews, benches,
poppy-heads, panelling, roofs, doors, galleries,
rood or chancel screen, other screens or par-
closes, parish or vestment chests, alms boxes —
[Iron or other metal] any old details, such
as hinges and locks of doors and chests,

HISTORY OF A PARISH 185

screens and rails to monuments, hour-glass
stands, &c.

6. Font — (a) position^ (6) description, (c)
measurements, (d) cover.

7. Monuments — beginning with early incised
stones, and carefully following them down in
chronological order, an order which should not
be broken except for the purpose of keeping
a family group together. Arms should be
correctly blazoned, and inscriptions faithfully
copied.

8. Stained glass, according to age.

9. Encaustic tiles — pavement generally.

10. Wall paintings, black-letter texts, pat-
terns on roof or elsewhere, royal arms, charity
bequest boards.

11. Bells — {a) number, (b) inscription and
marks, (c) frame, (d) remarkable peals or bell-
ringers' rhymes, (e) legends ; also sanctus bell,
or bell cote on nave gable.

1 2. Parish registers and other documents ;
church books, or library.

13. Church plate.

14. Churchyard — (a) cross, (6) remarkable
monuments or epitaphs, (c) yew tree, (d) lych-
gate, (e) sundial.

15. More recent fittings or ornaments, such
as altar appurtenances, organ, &c. ; the pre-
vious headings being supposed to be confined

186 HOW TO WRITE THE

to older details possessing some historic value.
But if the date, or probable date, is given of
each particular, it might perhaps be as well to
describe everything (if a complete account up to
date is desired) under its proper head ; thus a
modern altar cross and candlesticks might be
mentioned under the 5th head.

"Low Side- Windows" is still to some extent
a vexed question, and the closer attention paid
to our church fabrics has recently brought so
many hitherto unnoticed examples into light that
it may be well to refer those who have such a
window or windows in their parish church to an
illustrated " conference " on this subject in vols,
xxi. and xxii. of the Antiquary (1890). The
upshot of the discussion was that the one
theory which reasonably accounts for the great
majority of them, and which has documentary
evidence on its side, is that they were used
for the purpose of ringing the sanctus bell
therefrom at the time of Mass. All other
suggestions are put to the rout by the fact of
three or four instances having been found of
undoubted low side-windows (originally shut-
tered) in upper chapels.

One of the various theories for these open-
ings, which was at one time very popular,
and is still fondly adhered to by many country
clergymen, is as positive and stupid a blunder

HISTORY OF A PARISH 187

as can be put forward in connection with the
fabrics of our churches — we allude to that
favourite name leper - windows — the notion
being that English medieval lepers were com-
municated through them by the parish priest,
or, at all events, that through them they might
gaze upon the sacred mysteries. It is best to
thoroughly overthrow this delusion, and some
extracts will therefore be given from a paper
read at the sixth Congress of the Archaeolo-
gical Societies, held at Burlington House, in
July 1894, and printed at the request of the
Congress.

To begin with, no one, whether leper, ex-
communicate, or anything else, could possibly
(as a rule) see the altar through these wall
openings. Nor could any position more abso-
lutely awkward, aye, and often impossible, be
conceived, for any human being, in sickness or
in health, kneeling, erect, or crouching, to re-
ceive the consecrated Host, than through such
a window. After making all allowance for
possible alterations of levels, anything more
hopelessly inconvenient in nineteen cases out
of twenty it is impossible to imagine. These
windows, and not unusually two, are found in
almost every church over certain extensive dis-
tricts. Terrible as was the extent of this
disease, it is altogether idle and silly to pretend

188 HOW TO WRITE THE

that it was so generally prevalent throughout
England as to require at one period an almost
universal provision for it in all parish churches.
Such a supposition is absolutely unhistorical.

Moreover, these shuttered windows are often
found in churches that are in close proximity
to the old lazar hospitals (each with its chapel
and priest) for the special accommodation of
the lepers.

If any further argument is required, it may
be mentioned that the ninth canon of Pope
Alexander \U.,De Leprosis (promulgated in the
latter half of the twelfth century, which is just
about the date of a large number of these English
shuttered windows), states that as lepers cannot
use the churches or churchyards commonly
frequented, they shall gather together in cer-
tain places and have a church and cemetery of
their own, with a priest peculiar to them, and
that no one shall hinder the erection of such
church or chapel. We know that there were
over two hundred Lazar Houses in England,
each with its own chapel and priests.

A good deal more might be said of a cumu-
lative character to pulverise the very notion of
a leper-window having any sensible reason on
its side ; but one other fact need only be
adduced. This silly notion, to the best of our
belief, had its origin in the discovery many

HISTORY OF A PARISH 189

years ago of a wall-painting at Eton College,
which was supposed to depict the administra-
tion of the Eucharist to a leper through such a
window. But this interpretation of the subject
of the painting was shortly afterwards uni-
versally admitted to be a strange error. The
Eton picture used to be quoted to prove that
the Sacrament was poked through the window
to the leper in a cleft stick. It really repre-
sents a Jew baker (the priest) putting his son
(the leper) into the oven (the mouth of which
was the low side-window) with a peel (the cleft
stick) !

Another would-be explanation of this low
side-window gave us the ugly word Lych-
noscope. We used to be told that these
shuttered openings were for the watching of
a light, but there was some confusion in our
teachers between the sepulchre light and the
paschal candle. Why the watchers were com-
pelled to spend a cold March or April night in
the damp churchyard, instead of going into the
chancel, we were not told !

The theory that these windows were used
for confessional purposes, though supported by
one able antiquarian architect, is to our mind
too impossible and almost too comical to be
worth any grave argumentative opposition.

A few words on church " Restoration ,:

i9o HOW TO WRITE THE

may be here introduced ; for it cannot surely
be inappropriate to include a sentence or two
in these pages (whose object it is to further the
preservation of local records) that may possibly
have some small influence in preventing the
needless destruction of any part of those noble
buildings round which the history of each
English parish so closely clusters. From the
standpoint of a local annalist, nothing has been
more painful in the "restorations" of the past
fifty years than the wanton way in which
monuments, and more especially flat tomb-
stones, of all ages have been often treated.

It is necessary to enter a warm protest
against the notion that any honour can be paid
to God, or respect to the memory of those that
He created in His own image, by burying
inscribed gravestones beneath many inches of
concrete, in order to stick therein the glossy
tiles of recent manufacture. The effacing or
removal (wherever it can be avoided) of the
memorials of the dead should in all cases be
strongly resisted, no matter what be the emi-
nence of the architect that recommends it.
There are not many unrestored churches left
in the country, but there are some of much
value and interest for whose fate we tremble.
When a " restoration " (the term is a necessity
for the lack of a better) is contemplated, let

HISTORY OF A PARISH 191

it be recollected that all work — beyond the
removal of recent galleries, and the poor,
cheap modern fittings, the opening out of flat
plaster ceilings, above which good timber roofs
often lie concealed, the careful removal of the
accumulated layers of whitewash and paint on
any ashlar and mouldings, the letting in of
lio-ht through blocked-up windows, the allowing
of feet to pass through doorways closed in
recent days by the mason or bricklayer, and
the making strong of really perishing parts —
all work beyond this is in great danger of
destroying the traces of the historic continuity
of our Church, and of doing a damage that can
never be repaired. And in preserving this
historic continuity, let it not be thought that
any service is being rendered to history or
religion by sweeping clean out of the church
all fittings of a post-Reformation date. The
sturdy Elizabethan benches, the well-carved
Jacobean pulpit, or the altar rails of beaten
iron of the eighteenth century, should all be
preserved as memorials of their respective
periods ; in short, everything that our fore-
fathers gave to God's service that was costly
and good should be by us preserved, provided
that it does not mar the devout ritual ordered
by the Common Prayer, or in other respects
interfere with the Church's due proclaiming of

i92 HOW TO WRITE THE

her Divine mission to the men and women of
the days in which we live.

It is still necessary to emphatically point out
that the builders of our parish churches never
intended the irregular masonry between the
windows or over the arcades, in the interior of
the fabric, to be left bare and naked, revealing
all its ugly anatomy. No ; it was invariably
covered up with a decent application of plaster,
and on the plaster were figure-paintings or con-
ventional coloured designs, which were renewed
from time to time according to the taste of the
generation or the progress of art. But the
average English church restorer, be he parson,
layman, or even architect, is still so deficient in
knowledge as to blunder to the conclusion that
it is highly correct to strip the place to the bones.
Even architects who can add R.A. and F.S.A.
to their names have been guilty of this barbarism
within the last few years. They have not shrunk
from even thus treating some of our cathedrals.
See a paper on " The Treatment of our Cathe-
dral Churches in the Victorian Age," by Dr.
Cox, which formed the opening address of the
Architectural Section of the Archaeological In-
stitute meeting at Dorchester in 1897.

The reaction against over-restoration has now
happily set in, but a word of caution is also
necessary lest that cry should be adopted as

HISTORY OF A PARISH 193

the cloak of a lazy indifferentism, or be used
as an excuse for regarding the parish church as
a local museum illustrative of bygone times,
to be carefully dusted and nothing more. Where
much new work, or any considerable extent of
refitting, are absolutely necessary, it is best to
hasten slowly, and to do a little well rather
than to aim at a speedy general effect. Thus,
if one of our old grey churches requires fresh
seating, how much better to fill a single aisle
or one bay of the nave with sound and effectively
carved oak, and only repair the remainder (or
supply chairs), rather than to accomplish the
whole in sticky pine. The best material and
the best art should surely be used in God's
service, and not reserved to feed our pride or
minister to our comfort in private dwellings.
It has often been noticed how far better the
work of redeeming the interior of our churches
from that state of dirt and negflect that had
degraded some at least below the level of the
very barns upon the glebe, has been carried
out where money has come in slowly, and at
intervals, rather than where some munificent
patron has readily found the funds to enter
upon a big contract.

The unhappy destruction of the chief interest
and historic beauty of the Abbey of St. Albans,
by the lavish use of money in the creation of

N

i94 HOW TO WRITE THE

new work, has already brought about a keen
philological revenge, which we should think
would penetrate even the hardened armour of
the Chancellor of York. The Athenczum,
Antiquary, and Builder of 1890-91 began the
use of a new verb, " to grimthorpe," as applied
to old churches and other buildings of antiquity.
An American dictionary of considerable repute
has enshrined the word among the :new terms
of our flexible English tongue : " Grimthorpe,
v.t.^ to spoil or disfigure an ancient building by
lavish and tasteless expenditure. Ex. : ' Fre-
quent and continuous repairs would leave no
foothold for the future grimthorping of this
venerable structure.' — Antiquary Mag., vol.
xxi. 35." The transepts of the cathedral
church of Lichfield have quite recently suffered
grievously, and their historic feeling has been
blotted out, owing to the rage that certain
architects have for lofty Early English lights.
Not a few village as well as town churches
have been sadly maltreated for a like cause.
Perhaps the greatest satisfaction that the writer
of these pages has ever enjoyed in the way of
averting vandalism, was when he succeeded in
saving the pulling down of the east end of the
famed Anglo-Saxon chancel of Repton church ;
it was about to be done by an architect of great
repute, in order to put in a triple "Early English"

HISTORY OF A PARISH 195

window, which, it was thought, would look so
graceful. These feelings were renewed in
1908-9, when the protests of the Derbyshire
Archaeological Society were successful in saving
the Edward I. chancel of Ilkeston church from
demolition.

We venture most earnestly to implore the
clergy, churchwardens, and others concerned
with the few unrestored fabrics of our historic
churches that yet remain, on no account to
employ an architect without the most careful
and cautious inquiry, nor to rush into any work
of restoration without striving in the first in-
stance to see if quiet and unobtrusive repara-
tion will not suffice.

It would be doing a grievous injustice to
architects if it was to be assumed that they are
generally, or as a body, responsible (particularly
of late years) for the irreparable mischief that
has been done ; nine-tenths of the mischief
has been done by half a score of men (who un-
fortunately gained a great repute), who could
undoubtedly do much pretty imitative work of
their own, but whose one chief aim seems to have
been to stamp their own nineteenth-century
notions all over every building that they
touched. The Royal Institute of British Archi-
tects issued in 1888 two wholly admirable docu-
ments on this subject, each of which can be

196 THE HISTORY OF A PARISH

obtained from the Secretary at the modest price
of 6d. One is entitled "Conservation of Ancient
Monuments and Remains," and consists of
general and carefully tabulated advice addressed
to promoters of the restoration of ancient
buildings ; and the other, which is eminently
practical, consists of "Hints to Workmen"
engaged in such-like work.

If any one is desirous of obtaining advice as
to a suitable architect to employ, it might be
well to communicate with the Council of the
Society for the Preservation of Ancient Build-
ings, 9 Buckingham Street, Strand.

RELIGIOUS HOUSES

IF the parish includes within its boundaries
the remains or the site of any abbey,
priory, hospital, monastic cell, or other religious
building otherwise than the parish church, the
history and description of such places must
of course be separately undertaken. And let
not the local historian consider it is needless
for him to explore into a subject that has
probably been treated of with greater or less
detail in the original edition of Dugdale's
Monasticon, with more precision in the ex-
panded English edition, or with still greater
research in the recent volumes of the Victoria
County History scheme. The English abbeys
or priories whose history can be said to have
been exhaustively written could certainly be
counted on the fingers of both hands.

Should any one desire to thoroughly search
into the history of a religious house, it will
be best in the first place to ascertain whether
there are any chartulary or chartularies extant
(to printed lists of which we have previously

referred), for Dugdale and subsequent writers

197

198 HOW TO WRITE THE

have often only quoted some two or three
out of a hundred charters, or ignored them
altogether.

In addition to a few chartularies that have
been printed in extenso, or in abstract, by
private societies, chartularies or chronicles of
the following religious houses have been printed
in the Master of the Rolls series : Abingdon ;
Bermondsey ; Brixton ; Bury St. Edmunds ;
St. Augustine's, Canterbury ; Christ Church,
Canterbury; Dunstable; Evesham; St. Peter's,
Gloucester ; Malmesbury ; Meux ; Osney ;
Ramsey ; St. Albans ; Tewkesbury ; Waver-
ley ; Hyde Abbey, Winchester ; and Wor-
cester.

Secondly, the numerous references to national
records, all now to be found at the P. R. O.,
which are given in Tanner's Notitia, or in
the big Dugdale, should be referred to seriatim.
Thirdly, the indexes and calendars to the various
Rolls, &c, at the P. R. O., which have been
mentioned under the manorial history, should
be looked through for those more or less
frequent references that are almost certain to
have been omitted by Tanner. Fourthly, the
Deeds of Surrender, the Ministers' Accounts,
the Particulars of Grants, and other likely
documents at the P. R. O., of the time of
the suppression of the monasteries, should be

HISTORY OF A PARISH 199

overhauled, referring especially to Mr. Scargill
Bird's index to his Guide. Fifthly, special
MSS. and books, dealing with the order to
which the house pertains, should be sought
after in P. R. O., B. M., &c. Sixthly, search
should also be made through the indexes of the
various Blue Book Reports of the Historical
Manuscript Commission, and inquiries set on
foot as to local private libraries. Seventhly —
and though last, this suggestion will often be
found to be of great value — questions should
be asked through the pages of that invaluable
medium between literary men, Notes and
Queries.

It may also be found of use to study the
precise statutes and regulations of the parti-
cular Order. They will be found in full in
the bulky folios of Holstein's Codex Regit-
larum Monasticarum et Canonicarum (1759)*
Dugdale only gives an abstract of the majority
of them.

If the house is of the Gilbertine Order,
reference should be made to the interesting
though not very complete book by Miss R.
Graham, entitled "St. Gilbert of Sempring-
ham and the Gilbertines". (1901). If it is °f
the Premonstratensian Order, valuable infor-
mation cannot fail to be found in the three
recent volumes of Abbot Gasquet on these

200 THE HISTORY OF A PARISH

White Canons, printed by the English His-
torical Society. Another most notable book,
just (October 1909) issued, which is sure to be
considered a standard work, is Miss Rotha M.
Clay's " The Medieval Hospitals of England " ;
such foundations are rightly included under
religious houses.

By far the best general book on this im-
portant question is " English Monastic Life,"
by Abbot Gasquet (3rd ed., 1909), which is
absolutely trustworthy, as well as interesting
and comprehensive ; it concludes with the only
good hand list of all the monastic foundations
of England. It is, of course, assumed that no
one will be so bold as to write anything on a
monastery without having first read the learned
abbot's work on " Henry VIII. and the Mon-
asteries," which has passed through over a
score of editions. Mention, too, may just be
made of a small book by Dr. Cox, "English
Monasteries" (1904, Palmer & Sons).

GENERAL TOPICS

UNDER this head brief allusion may be
made to the more general and modern
subjects that should not be left out of any com-
plete parochial history, but which it is sufficient
just to indicate without further comment, only
premising that the annalist should keep con-
stantly before him that it is the history of a
parish, and not of a county or country, on which
he is engaged, and that the more sparing he is
of general disquisitions, the more likely he is
to please his readers.

The value of a thorough study of the field-
names, of which we spoke in the first section
of this manual, will now also become apparent.
Some names will tell of a change of physical
features, of swamps and islands where all is
now dry and far removed from water, or of
forest and underwood where the blade of corn
is now the highest vegetation ; whilst others
will point to the previous existence of the vast
common fields, and their peculiar cultivation,
concerning which Maine's "Village Commu-
nities," Seebohm's " English Village Com-
munity," and more especially Gomme's "The

202 HOW TO WRITE THE

Village Community " (Walter Scott, 1890), with
maps and illustrations, should be read. Some
names will indicate the foolish ways in which
special crops were attempted to be forced by
law upon the people, for it is few parishes that
have not a " Flax Piece" as a witness to the
futile legislation of 24 Henry VIII.; whilst
others tell of trades now extinct, or metals long
since worked out. Some speak of those early
days when the wolf or the bear roamed the
woods and fields, the beaver dammed up the
streams, or the eagle swooped down upon its
prey ; whilst others tell of the weapons whereby
these fauna were rendered extinct, for scarcely
a township can be found where some field is
not termed "the Butts," names that sometimes
date back as far as Edward IV., when it was
enacted that every Englishman should have a
bow of his own height, and that butts for
the practice of archery should be erected
near every village, where the inhabitants were
obliged to shoot up and down on every feast
day under penalty of being mulcted a halfpenny.

It will, of course, be a matter of taste whether
the topics here enumerated should precede or
follow the manorial and ecclesiastical history.

I. Situation — extent — hill and valley — river,
lakes, and ponds — sea, its encroachment or the
reverse — caverns and springs — scenic character

HISTORY OF A PARISH 203

— climate and temperature, with recorded ob-
servations of the thermometer, barometer,
hydrometer, &c.

II. Geology — mineral workings — quarries.
We have been asked by several correspondents
to name an elementary book on geology. One
of the best is Jukes' " School Manual of
Geology" (6th ed., 1892). Of recent more
advanced and interesting volumes, mention
may be made of G. A. J. Cole's "Open-air
Studies in Geology" (1902), and the same
writer's "Aids in Practical Geology" (1902).

III. Special vegetable productions, past and
present. Trees — prevalence of particular kinds
— size, age, or beauty of particular specimens.

IV. Special Fauna — mammalia — birds (local
times of their migration)— fish — reptiles — insects.

With regard to headings I. to IV., "The
Naturalist's Diary, a Day Book of Meteo-
rology, Phenology, and Rural Biology," by
Mr. Charles Roberts, and published by Swan
Sonnenschein at the modest price of 2s. 6d.,
cannot be too strongly recommended. It con-
sists of a page for every day of the year. Half
of each page is occupied with printed matter
relating to the meteorology and natural history
of each day, while the remainder is left blank
for new entries.

V. Agriculture, past and present. Inclosures

204 HOW TO WRITE THE

of different dates. Inclosure Acts. For the
mostly sad effects of these most selfish acts,
which profited the rich at the expense of the
poor, for lists of inclosures from time of Queen
Anne, and for other valuable information on
this topic, see " General Report on Enclosures,"
drawn up by the Board of Agriculture in 1808.
The Board of Agriculture, in the first quarter
of last century, drew up valuable Surveys of
Agriculture for the different counties, many of
which are replete with varied and interesting
information. On the economic and antiquarian
side of this question, read Professor Rogers'
" History of Agriculture and Prices in Eng-
land." See the remarks on Inclosure Award
maps in the second chapter.

A list of places on the Inclosure Awards
from 1757 to 1837 is given in the 26th Report,
and a list of the awards themselves, from 1756
to 1853, in the 27th Report of the P. R. O.

VI. Industries, past and present. The
amount of interest pertaining to their discus-
sion can be gleaned from the various volumes
of the Victoria County History scheme, wherein
they have been discussed, notably for Surrey,
Essex, and Derbyshire.

VII. Fairs and markets.

Under this division, as well as under number
viii., much information ought to be gleaned from
the Ouarter Sessional Records of the County.

HISTORY OF A PARISH 205

VIII. Roads, canals, railways, and bridges
— past and present. Care should be taken in
tracing out disused roads, bridle paths, or pack-
horse tracks.

IX. Folk-lore. Under this head will come
customs and ceremonies relating to child-bear-
ing, churching, christening, courtship, betrothal,
marriage, death, and burial — public-house signs
and their meaning — customs and superstitions
pertaining to wells and streams — used and dis-
used sports and games — obsolete punishments,
such as ducking-stool or stocks — omens — witch-
craft — sfhosts — charms — divinations — and other
quaint or original customs. Several handbooks
have lately been published on this subject, but
they are mostly instances of book-making, and
none come up to or surpass Ellis' edition of
Brand's " Popular Antiquities." Another good
but heavy book by the same author is " Folk-
Lore as an Historical Science" (1908). A
most useful publication society was, however,
established in 1878, termed "The Folk-Lore
Society," which issues a quarterly journal, and
has also published many other volumes. One of
its smaller publications — a "Handbook of Folk-
Lore " (1890) — edited by Mr. G. L. Gomme,
president, is invaluable. The same author's
admirable " Folk-Lore Relics of Early Village
Life " should be read by every one who aims at

206 HOW TO WRITE THE

being a local historian. " Folk Memory, or
The Continuity of British Archaeology " ( 1 908),
by Mr. Walter Johnson, is a notable, valuable,
and in many respects an original work ; it deals,
inter alia, with such matters as dene -holes,
linchets, dew -ponds, incised figures on chalk
downs, and old roads and trackways.

X. Dialect. On this subject see the excel-
lent publications of the " English Dialect
Society," now (1909) in the thirty-eighth year
of its existence. It has issued upwards of fifty
volumes. Three of the most generally useful
of their publications, which can be obtained by
non-subscribers, are "A List of Books relating
to the Dialect of some of the Counties of Eng-
land," " A Dictionary of English Plant Names,"
and "Old Country and Farming Words."
Halliwell's "Dictionary of Archaic and Pro-
vincial Words" will often be found very useful.

XI. Poor Law and general rating, history
and statistics ; taxes such as hearth money,
window tax, and hair powder licences. Here
again the County Records ought to prove
of preat service. See Dowell's "History
of Taxes and Taxation" (Longmans, 1884,
4 vols.).

XII. Population, inhabited houses, and other
census details at different periods.

Information under this heading is for the

HISTORY OF A PARISH 207

most part to be obtained from Blue Books and
big county histories ; but three little known
sources for census and other statistics may with
advantage be named.

The Subsidy Rolls of the P. R. O., which
begin in some cases as early as the reign of
Henry III., but they do not usually till about
1300, give the whole of the names of those who
were taxed for every village of some shires, but
only the names of the collector and the amounts
received for others. Sometimes the trade and
occupation of each householder is given. At
all events they are always worth searching for ;
the lay subsidies have been carefully calendared
under counties ; the calendars are to be found
in the Round Search Room of the P. R. O.
Many a local annalist fails to consult these rolls,
so that it seems well to again call attention to
their existence.

In the Salt Library, Stafford, is a MS. return
of the year 1676, of the population of the
parishes of the province of Canterbury, over
sixteen years of age, divided into three classes :
"Conformists, Papists, and Nonconformists."
The return was ordered by Henry Compton,
Bishop of London. We believe that Tanner
MSS. No. 150, at the Bodleian, is another
copy of this return, but have not ourselves
consulted it. To form a general total of the

208 THE HISTORY OF A PARISH

whole population, when the numbers are given
of those over sixteen years of age, it is neces-
sary to add about 40 to every 100.

The Taxation Act of 1695, of five years'
duration, which imposed duties on births, mar-
riages, and burials, as well as on bachelors and
widowers, brought about a singularly complete
and interesting census of the kingdom. The
returns of the local collectors for the parish are
sometimes found in the parochial chest, and in
some cases they have been met with among
the Clerk of the Peace's county records, but it
seems very doubtful if they were retained by
any central authority after the Act expired.
See a paper of Mr. Chester Waters' in the
seventh volume of the Derbyshire Archceo-
logical Journal.
.
It is a pleasure to conclude with naming
the unambitious but admirable local histories
recently brought out by two Yorkshire clerical
friends of the writer, each rector of the parish
he describes — " Slingsby and Slingsby Castle"
(1904), by Arthur Sinclair Brooke, and
" Nunburnholme: Its History and Antiquities"
(1908), by Marmaduke C. F. Morris. Either
of them would well serve as a model for the
smaller kind of parish history.

INDEX

Addy's " Evolution of the Eng-
lish House," 107

Advowsons, 142-4

Agriculture, 203-4

Akeman Street, 36

Akerman's " Remains of Pagan
Saxondom," 47

Allcroft's " Earthworks of Eng-
land," 40

Allen's "Celtic Art," 34

Ancient Deeds, 82

Anderson's " Book of British
Topography," 5

Anglicr Notitia, 46-9

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 134

Churches, 159-62

Industrial Arts, 47

Antiquary, The, 10

Archaeological Proceedings, In-
dexes to, 10

Societies, Lists of, 6-9

Architecture, Styles of, 156-7

Armitage's " Key to English
Antiquities," 26, 103

Armour, 172

Army Lists, 1 16

Assize, Records of, 72

Attainders, 115

Bacon's Liber Regis, 122
Haines' " Lancashire," 2
Baker's " Northants," 2
Ballard's "Domesday Inquest,"

56
Banks' " Dormant and Extinct

Baronage," 108

Barrows, 32

Baleman's "Ten Years' Dig-
gings," 32

Batsford, Mr., 1 06- 7

Beatson's " Political Index," 117
Beck's " Drapers' Dictionary,"

183
Bells, 178
Bell's "Saints in Christian Art,"

155
Bewes' "Church Briefs," 142

Bibliothecas, 4-5

Bigelow's " History of Procedure,"

Plaata Anglo -Nor manica,

75
Birch's Chartularium Saxomum,

53
Black Book of the Exchequer, 58
Bligh Bond on Screens, 177
Blomefield's "Norfolk," 2
Blomfield's "Renaissance Archi-
tecture," 106
Blount's " Ancient Tenures," 57
Bloxam's "Gothic Architecture,"
150, 158

" Monumental Architecture,"

168
Bodleian, 22-3
Bolton Book, 55
Bond, Francis, on " Fonts," 176-7

on "Gothic Architecture in

England," 158
on "Screens and Galleries,"

177
Pond's " Handbook of Dates," 25

Book of Ely, 55
Book of Exeter, 55
Book of Winchester, 55
Borough Records, 1 19
Boutell's "Christian Monuments,"
165

"Manual <>i Heraldry," 175

" Monumental Brasses," 169

O

2IO

INDEX

Boyd-Dawkins' "Cave Hunting,"

35

"Early Man in Britain," 33

Brady's "Dictionary of Parochial

Law," 132

Brasses, 169-70

Bray's " Surrey," 2

Briefs, 141-2

British Museum, 12-17

Roads, 36-7

Bronze Implements, 33

Brooke's " Slingsby," 208

Brown, Baldwin, "Saxon Archi-
tecture," 161-2

Bruce's "Handbook to the Roman
Wall," 44

Burke's "General Armoury," 175

"Key to Parish Records,"

124

"Landed Gentry," 108

Burn's "Parish Registers," 124

Calamy's "Ejected Ministers,"

151
Cambridge University Library, 24

Castles, 102-3

Catalogue of Dublin Museum, 25

of Edinburgh Museum, 26

Celtic Monuments, 163

Certificates of Colleges and Chan-
tries, 136-7

of Institution, 149

Chaffeis' Gilda Aurifabroniiu,
179

" Hall Marks," 147

Chancellor's Rolls, 62

Chancery Rolls, 63

Chantries, Suppression of, 136-7

Charities, 133

Charity Commissioners' Reports,

133
Charnock's -'Local Etymology,"

29
Charter Rolls, 65-6
Chartularies, 198
Chartularium Saxonicum, 53
Chesterfield Records, 121
Chests, 178
Church, Description of, 156

Goods, I37~8

Plate, 179

Church Restoration, 189-96
Churchwardens' Accounts, 128-9
Clark's " Military Architecture,"

102
Clephon's " Armour," 172
Clerical Subsidy Rolls, 150
Clinch's "Costumes," 173
" Handbook to English An-
tiquities," 26

"Old English Churches,"

158

Clodd's "Story of Primitive

Times," 33
Close Rolls, 63-4
Clutterbuck's "Herts," 1
Cobden Club Essays, 132
Cockayne's "Peerage and Baron-
age," 108
Codrington's " Roman Roads,"

45

Cole's "Geology," 203

College of Arms, 20-2

Commonwealth Survey, 140-1

Constables' Accounts, 129-30

Coram Rege Rolls, 71

Corblet's Manual lV Archeologie,
180

Costume, 172-3

County Records, 1 1 7^9

Court-leet, 86

Court of Chancery, 63, 7^

Court of Exchequer, 60

Courts, Baron, 86

CoweU's " Interpreter," 1 44

Cowper's " Art of Attack," 172

Cox, Rev. Dr., on " All Saints',
Derby," 129

on " Anglo-Saxon Ceme-
teries," 48-9

on " Churches of Derby-

shire," 162

on " Derbyshire Annals,"

91, 118

on "English Church Furni-
ture," 179-80, 182

on "Mining Operations of

the Romans," 41

on " Monastic Life," 200

— — on " Royal Forests," 95
Cripps' "Old Church Plate," 179
Cross-legged Effigies, 170-2

INDEX

2 I I

Crowther-Beynon, V. B., on Saxon j

Cemetery, 49
Curia Regis, 69-72
Cussan's " Heraldry," 175
Cutts' " Dictionary of the Church,"

181
" History of Early Christian

Art," 155

Dane and Norseman, 50-2

Danelagh, 51

" Dates, Handbook of," 25

Davis' Crania Britannica, 33

Day's "Windows," 173

Dedications, 15 1-4

De Fleury's La Messe, 181

Demmin's " Arms and Armour,"
172

Dialect Society, 206

''Dictionary of National Bio-
graphy," 123

Didron's " Christian Icono-
graphy," 155

District Registries, 18-20

Doggett Books, 71

Dolman and Jobbin's "Analysis
of Domestic Architecture," 105

Domesday Book, 53-6, 134

Domestic Architecture, 102-7

State Papers, 82-1,

Donkin's " Bells," 178^

Dugdale's " Baronage," 108

Monasticon, 197

" Warwick," 2

Duignan's "Staffordshire Place-
Names," 30

Earthworks, 38 40

Earwaker's " Manchester Court-
Leet Records," 87

" Roman Remains in Ches

ter," 42

Edmondson's Baronaginm Genca-
logicum, 108

Edmund's " Names of Places," 29

Effigies, 170

Ellacombe's " Bells ofthe Church,"
178

Ellis' "Introduction to Domes-
day," 54

Emblems, 154-5

Encaustic tiles, 173-4
•' English Church Furniture,"
^ 177-9, 182

Episcopal Registers, 145-8
Ermyn Street, 37
Evans' "Ancient Bronze Imple-
ments," 35
" Ancient Stone Imple-
ments," 33
Eve's " Heraldry as an Art,"

176
Exannual Rolls, 62
Kxtract Hundred Rolls, 68
Eyton's " Domesday Studies," 55
"Salop," 28-30

Fabrics, 182

Fairholt's "Costume in England,"
172

Fauna, 203

Fawsett's Inventorium Sepul-
chrale, 47

Feet of Fines, 79-81

Ferguson's " History of Archi-
tecture," 80

" Northmen in Cumberland

and Wales," 52

" River Names," 29

"Teutonic Name System,"

30

Fergusson, James, " Rude Stone
Monuments," 32

Feudal Aids, 69

Field Names, 28

Fine Rolls, 66

Fletcher's " History of Architec-
ture," 106

Folk-Lore, 205

Folk-Lore Society, 205

" Folk Memory," 206

Fonts, 176-7

" Fonts and Font Covers," 177

Forbes' " Our Roman Highways,"

45
Foreign Account Rolls, 63

Forestry, 94-101
Forests, 94-8
Forfeitures, 1 15

Fowler's " Bells and Bell-ring-
ing," 178
Freeholders, 1 15

212

INDEX

Fuller's "Worthies," 122
Furniture, 107

Garner and Stratton's " Domes-
tic Tudor Architecture," 106

Gasquet's "English Monastic
Life," 200

" Parish Life," 132

Gatty's "Sundials," 105
Geikie's " Prehistoric Europe," 33
Gentleman s Magazine, The, IO
Gentry, 115

Geology, 203

Glass Painting, 173

Glossaries, 144

Godwin's "English Archaeolo-
gist's Guide," 25

Gomme's " Folk-Lore Relics,"
205

" Local Institutions," 119

"Village Community," 92,

202

Gotch's " Renaissance Architec-
ture," 106

Gough's " Sepulchral Monu-
ments," 170

Greene's " Saints and their Sym-
bols," 155

Green's " Town Life in the Fif-
teenth Century," 122

Greenwell's " British Barrows,"

32

" Grimthorping," 194
Gross' " Municipal Bibliography,"
122

"Sources and Literature of

English History," 27

Guest's Origines Celtics, 34

Guildhall Library, 22

Guilds and Fraternities, 138-40

Haines' " Monumental Brasses,"

169
Halliwell's "Archaic Words," 206
Hamilton's "Quarter Sessions,"

118
Hardy and Page, Messrs., Record

Agents, 84
Harrington's "Consecration of

Churches," 154
Harrison, J. P., "English Archi-

tecture before the Conquest,"
160

Hartshorne's " Recumbent Effi-
gies," 170

Hasted's " Kent," 2

1 Iaverfield's "Roman Inscrip-
tions," 45

Haydn's "Book of Dignitaries,"

Heraldic Church Notes, 140
Heraldry, 175-6
Heralds' Visitations, 1 10-12
Hewitt's "Ancient Armour," 172
Hibbert's " English Guilds," 130
Historical MS- Commission, 121,

199
Hoare's " Wilts," 2
Hobhouse, Bp., "Churchwarden

Accounts," 129
Holstein's Codex Regularum, 199
Hone's "Manor and Manorial

Records," 92-3
Hope's " English Liturgical

Colours," 181
Hiibner's Inscriptiones Britannia

Romance, 44
Hundred Rolls, 67-8
Husenbeth's "Emblems of the

Saints," 154
Hutchins' " Dorset," 1
Hutchinson's " Prehistoric Man

and Beast," 34

Ikenield Street, 36

Incised slabs, 168

Inclosure Award Maps, 28-9

Incumbents, list of, 145-51

Independents, 128

Index Library, 114

Index to Archaeological Papers,
Annual, 8-10

Indexes to Archaeological Pro-
ceedings, 6-7

Inquisitiones ad quod damnum, 77

post mortem, 75

Inventories of Church Goods,
137-8

Jacob's " Law Dictionary," 144

Jesuit Records, 115

Jewitt's " Grave Mounds," 32

INDEX

213

Johnson's " Folk Memory," 206
Juke's " Geology," 203
Justices in Eyre, 72

Itinerant, 72

of the Forest, 72

Keller's " Lake Dwellings," 35
Kemble's " Saxons in England,"

S3

Kennett's " Parochial Antiqui-
ties," 132

Kerry's "History of St. Law-
rence," 100

Keyser's " Mural Decorations,"

175
Kirby's Quest, 58
Knights' Fees, 56-60

La Messe, 150

Laborde's Glossaii-e du Moyen

Age, 180
" Lake Dwellings," 35
Lambert's " Gild Life," 139
Lambeth Library, 20
Lapidarium Septentrioyiale, 44
Le Neve's Fasti, 151

Monumenta Anglicana, 167

Lee's "Glossary of Fcclesiology,"

180
Leicester Borough Records, 122
Leo's " Local Nomenclature," 29
" Leper-windows," 187-9
Library of Society of Antiquaries,

25
Lipscombe's "Bucks," 1

Litchfield's "History of Furni-
ture," 107
Low side- windows, 186-7
Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times,"

33

Lychnoscope, 189

Mackenzie's "Castles of Eng-
land," 103

Macklin's" Monumental Brasses,"
169

Maigne's Lexicon Manuale, 144

Maine's "Village Communities,"
201

Maitland's " Select and Civil
Pleas," 71

Maitland's "Select Pleas in

Manorial Courts," 92
Manchester Court-leet Records,

37

Manning's " Surrey," 2
Manor Court Rolls, S6-93

History of, 5

Manorial Society, 93
Manwood's " History of Forest

Laws," 94, 98
Maps, 28-9
Marshall's " Genealogist's Guide,"

109
Martin's " Record Interpreter,"

84, 144
Mason's "Origin of Inventions,

33

Maynard's " Year Books," 74

Mayors of Boroughs, 117

Meeting Houses, 127

Members of Parliament, 117

" Memorials of the Counties," 4

Merewether's "History of
Boroughs," 123

Meyrick's "Ancient Armour,"
172

Minuscule Inscriptions, 164

Monasteries, 197-200

Monuments, 162-72

Morant's " Essex," 1

Morgan's" Romano-British Pave-
ments," 43

Morris' " Nunburnholme," 208

" Yorkshire Folk-Talk," 52

Mortimer's " Forty Years' Re-
searches in E. Yorks Burial
Mounds," 32

Munro's " Archaeological and
False Antiquities," 34

"Lake Dwellingsof Europe,"

Murray's " Museums, their His-
tory and Use," 27
Museum Association, 27
Museums, Provincial, 26
Muster Rolls, 115

Nash's "Worcestershire," 2
Natural History, ^03
Neville's "Saxon Obsequies," 47
Nicholas' Notilia Historica, 113

214

INDEX

Nichols' Collectanea, 115

" Encaustic Tiles," 174

" Leicestershire," 2

Nisbet's " Our Forests and Wood-
lands," 101

Nona Rolls, 59-60

Nonarium Inquisitiones, 59

Non- Parochial Registers, 127-8

Norseman and Dane, 50-2

Northampton Borough Records,
122

Northumberland, History of, 2

Notes and Queries, 10

Notltla Parochlalis, 141

Nottingham Borough Records.
122

" Nunburnholme," 208

Ogham Inscriptions, 163-4
Originalia Rolls, 62
Ormerod's " Cheshire," 1
Overseers' Accounts, 130

Paley's "Baptismal Fonts," 176

Palmer's Indexes, 83

Papworth's "Armorials," 175

Pardon Rolls, 67

Pardons, 115

Parish Registers, 123-7

Parker's " Calendar of Anglican

Church," 153
"Domestic Architecture,"

i°5

" Glossary of Architecture,"

157 .
Parochial Records, 124-33
Patent Rolls, 64-5
Payne's Collectanea Cantiana,

Peacock's " Church Furniture,"
138, 1S0

Pedes Finium, 79-81

Personal History, 10S

Phillimore's " How to Write the
History of a Family," 109

Phillips' " Dictionary of Bio-
graphical Reference," 122

Pipe Rolls, 60

Pipe Rolls Society, 61

Pitt-Rivers on "Romano-British
Villages," 42

Place-names, 28-30
Placita, 69-71

Placita de Quo Warranto, 72-3
Planche's " Cyclopedia of Cos-
tume," 173
Plea Rolls, 70
Population, 206-7
Prehistoric remains, 32-5
Pre-Norman stones, 164-7
Presbyterians, 127
Protection Rolls, 67
Provincial Museums, 26
Public Record Office, 11-12
Pulpits, 177-8

Quakers, 128

Queen Anne's Bounty, 135, 149

Quo Warranto Rolls, 72-3

Raven's " Bells," 178
Record agents, 83-4
Records of the Jesuits, 1 1 5
Recusant Rolls, 114
Red Book of the Exchequer, 58
Registers, Episcopal, 145-8
Non-parochial, 127-8

Parochial, 124-7

Religious Houses, 197-200
Reliquary, The, 10
Restoration, 168-9
Revenue Rolls, 60
Reversion Rolls, 63

Roach Smith's Collectanea Anti-
gua, 47

Roberts' "Naturalist's Diary,"
203

Rock's "Church of our Fathers,"
180

Rogers' " History of Agriculture,"
204

Romano-British Churches, 159

Period, 41-5

Romilly Allen's " Christian Sym-
bolism," 41-5

"Monumental History of

British Church," 159

Round's " Domesday," 56

"Feudal England," 54, 57

Roy's " Military Antiquities," 43
Runic crosses, 162-3
Ryknield Street, 37

INDEX

215

Scargill Bird's "Guide to the [
Public Records," 148-9, 199

Scarth's " Roman Britain," 44

Scotland, Society of Antiquaries
of, 25-6

Screens, 177

Scutage Rolls, 58

Seebohm's " Village Community,"
201

Sequestrations, 92, 115

vSharpe's " Seven Periods of Archi-
tecture," 157

Shaw's " Specimens of Pave-
ments," 174

Sheriffs, 117

Silchester Excavations, 42, 159

Simpson's "Fonts," 176

Sims' "' Index to Pedigrees," 112

"Manual," 1 12

Skeat's " Hants Place Names,"

30

"Slingsby and Slingsby Castle,"
208

Smith, R. A., on Anglo-Saxon
Remains, 49

Somers Vines' " Municipal Institu-
tions," 122

Somerset House, 1 7- 8

Stahlschmidt's "Bells," 178

Stalls and Seats, 170

St. Paul's Ecclesiological Society,
180

Stephen's " Dictionary of National
Biography," 123

Stokes' "Christian Iconography,"

J55

" Early Christian Art in Ire-
land," 167

Stone Implements, 34

Streatfield's " Lincolnshire and
the Danes," 52

Stubbs' Rcgislrum Sacrum, 1 50- 1

.Stylus of Architecture, 157

Subsidy Rolls, 116-7, 150, 207

Surtees' " Durham," 1

Tanner's Notitia, 198

Tax.U io Ecclesiastica, 134
Taylor's " Words and Places," 29
Testa de Nevill, 58
Textile Fabrics, 1 5 1

Thorpe's Diplomatarium Angli-

cum, 53
Tiles, Encaustic, 173— 4
Topography, 1-5
Toulmin Smith's "English Gilds,"

134

"The Parish," 132

Traill's " Social England," 51
Turner's "Select Pleas of the

Forest," 95
Turton's "North Riding Forests,"

94-5 ,
Twining's "Christian Symbols,"

154
Tysson's "Bells," 178

Unwin's " Gilds of London," 140

Valor Ecclesiasticus, 133, 149

Vicarages, 1 43-4

Victoria County Histories, 2-3,
3}, 40, 45, 56, ioi, 167, 204

"Village Community," 202

Vinogradoff s " Growth of the
Manor," 92

" Villainage in England," 92

Viollet-le-Duc's " Military Archi-
tecture," 103

Wall Paintings, 174-5

Wall's "Ancient Earthworks," 40

Walcott's " Sacred Archaeology,"

1 So
Walker's " Sufferings of the

Clergy," 151
Waters' " Parish Registers," 124
Watling Street, 37
Weaver's " Ancient Funeral

Monuments," 167
Wells, Holy, 174
Westlake's " History of Painted

Glass," 173
Wilde's "Catalogue of Dublin

Museum," 25
Wills, 113, 152
Wimbledon Court Rolls, 87
Windle's " Prehistoric Life in

England," 34
Winston's "Glass Painting," 173
Wood's "Athene," 123

216 INDEX

Woodward's "Heraldry, British I Worthies, 122-3

and Foreign "175 Wright's " Court Hand," 84, 127

Worrall s Bibhotheca Legum "The Celt, the Roman, and

Anglice 74 the Saxoni- 4I

Worsaae's "Antiquities of Den-
mark-" o

mark," 52

" Danes and Norwegians in

England," 52

- Saxon," 41
Wrottesley's "Introduction to
Plea Rolls," 70

C^tSL,

THE END ^

/T««

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