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Some Account of Ancient Churchwarden Accounts of St. Michael's, Bath.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 February 2009
Extract
The notices which have appeared in the Transactions of the Royal Historical Society of the accounts of God's house at Southampton, and other documents of a like nature, have led me to think that some accounts of the churchwardens' accounts preserved in the vestry of St. Michael's, Bath, might prove interesting to the members. Their existence was known only to a few, and as far as I am aware no accurate examination has ever yet been made of them, or if made, not published to the world. I became acquainted with them about a year ago, and gave a short account of their contents to the Bath Literary Club, in consequence of which the members determined to have them copied by a practised decipherer in the British Museum; and the Somerset Archæological Society has undertaken to print portions of them in their Transactions. As these, how-ever, will not circulate much beyond the county, and in many respects the documents in question differ a good deal from any already printed, as far as I have been able to ascertain, I think my paper this evening will not be regarded as a repetition of what is already known.
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- Copyright © Royal Historical Society 1878
References
page 312 note * 1460 occurs “cotagium Dionysii Dyer, vocatum Berehowse.” Was this a house in which the bier was kept, or was it a bear house? anyhow I don't think it was a beerhouse.
page 312 note † There are a multitude of other words referring to building materials, English and Latin,–helme, tessel, spykys, lach-nayles, borde-nayles, hacche-nayles, stroke-nayles, bochelle-nayles, ston-nayles, crestes, serres, asseres-stoffe, rudyng, brekyng, &c, &c.
page 313 note * 1430, in factura de duo smokeholys in domo Wi. Osborne 3½d.
page 313 note † 1509, pro duobus bushell viridiumfab arum emendis cum facturaearundem in potagio, 8d. 1532, 8d. pro dimidio modeo novarum fabarum.
page 313 note ‡ John of Tours, the bishop to whom Bath was granted, and who accordingly constituted himself ex officio Abbot of Bath (whereby the monks, after having been governed by a resident abbot for about 110, years, were put under priors, subject to the bishop as abbot), gave back to the priors and monks for their maintenance, among other things, “the land of Hugh with the beard, to wit, Claverton, Docne, Merffield which is probably Marshfield and Eston.”
page 316 note * To show how the old customes survived in post-Reformational times, I may mention that in 1631 the Swanswick account ends thus:–“So there remaineth to the next Churchwardens 2s. 9d., and one Communion cup, and the cover of silver, a clothe to keep it in, the carpet and one clothe for the table, one pot of pewtere, one surplice, one Bible, two Communion books, two Homilie books, Bishop Jewell's works, and Erasmus his Para-phrases, a cushion for the pulpit and one glass bottle, covered with leathere.”
page 317 note * My reason for hazarding this conjecture is that there is mention of repairing defects over the window of the rood-loft, and in the same roll, of XV. Judas lights for the rood-loft, and making three standards of iron, and one rod of iron with three fleurs-de-lis and three roses, upon the rood-loft.
page 318 note * In the accounts of St. Mary Hill, London, 1511, occurs “Mem.:that the Funds of the pastal, i.e., the tymbre that the wax of the pastal is driven upon, weigheth 7 ibs.; and in those of St. Margaret's, Westminster, 1512, “pd. for 12 Fundacis to stand with the tapers, 2s.”
Among the cups belonging to the monastery of Durham before the dissolution is mentioned “a goodly great mazer, called Fundas cup, edged about with silver, and double-gilt, with a foot underneath it to stand on silver, double-gilt, which was never used but on Maundy Thursday at night in the Frater House, where the Prior and the whole Convent did ment to keep their Maundy.”
page 318 note † The special saint of lepers and the like, and therefore to be looked for as having an altar in Bath.
page 319 note * 1536.–“8d. p.c. lathes ad faciendam laticiam fenestris turris;” also, 1532, 18s. 1½d. is set down for repairing and pointing the tower, and 4s. for a load of stone tiles for it.
page 319 note † In 1400 occurs, “de loco ubi campanile stat 4s.,” a charge which goes on to 1527.
page 319 note ‡ In 1484 one of the bells was taken to Bristol, at an expense of 5s. 6d. for carriage there and back, and cost 41s. for recasting, and 1s. for rehanging inthe campanile–equal to about £30 now.
page 319 note ‡ 1518 is recorded a payment to Walter Merch, for hanging the 2nd. bell, and for nails and bolts, 16d., to Ths. Bellete de Borstelles (the bell-founder at Bristol?) £413s. 4d., and for repair of the bawdry kes. 4s. 2d.
page 322 note * 10th Elizabeth occurs “12d. to the ryngers to ryng when the Duke came yn.” This is explained to be the Duke of Norfolk, who is stated by Bristol history to have come “from Bath to Bristol, 1568, with the Earl of Worcester and others, but was sent for by the Queen from thence with all speed, and was-soon after beheaded.”—Athenaum Sept., 1878.
page 323 note * Several items prove that Queen Elizabeth visited Bath in 1574, although she is generally supposed not to have been there till 1592:–
Reed, of Wm. Acton for taxe money againste the Quene's coming 3s. Given to the Queresteres of Wells att the Quene's Majestie being heare 10.
Pd. to one that kepte cleane the walls of the cittie at the Quene's Majestie's being heare 2s.
Pd. to the tapster of the Harte for the gentlemen ushers and hys companys dynner 12s. 4d.
Pd. to Forte for glasing of Stall's Churche windows at the Quene's Majestie being heare 4s. 4d.
Pd. to John More the foremason for making of the ring of the West-gate against the Quene's Majestie coming heare 5s. 5d.
page 325 note * This marks the beginning of the transfer of Land Tax from the bishop to the Crown.
page 326 note * Ad theloneum or teloneum, i.e., according to estimate. The carpenter and his man hired for four days to make an upper chamber, or Solar, according to estimate 4s., i.e., is. p. day for the two, equivalent to 12s. now, of which probably Galfridus had 8s. and his man 4s., not bad wages.
page 326 note † Or louvers, a wooden contrivance for escape of smoke.
page 326 note ‡ Possibly the barge boarding.
page 326 note § I cannot explain these words, apparently peculiar to the mason's work of the period.
page 327 note * Thin spars of wood, al. stays.
page 327 note † Latches and bolts apparently. The words occur in connection with doors frequently. Du Cange quotes under gumphus (Gesta Consulum Andeg., c. 3, n. 26), “Cum ostio fusili, quod gumphis et vertinellis et quatuor clavibus firmabatur.”
page 327 note ‡ Hedges.
page 327 note § Solder, or soder.
page 327 note ǁ Bundles of rods or laths.
page 327 note ¶ Sabulo, sand.
page 327 note ** Bundles of straw straightened for the thatcher's use. The word is still common.
page 328 note * Wooden spikes for thatching; so called now.
page 328 note † A latch.
page 328 note ‡ hewing.
page 328 note § Sawing.
page 328 note ǁ One stair and one partition wall.
page 329 note * Large torches calculated to burn for a day.
page 329 note † Bawdrick (spelt in half a dozen different ways), a leathern thong for the clapper of the bell.
page 329 note ‡ I imagine spitting.
page 329 note § Fur parures for Albes in winter.