World History

Nichols, Illustration.

5.

A. Churchwardens’ Accounts of St. Margaret’s, Westminster.

Page 11.

1541. Item, given, by the consent of the Worship-fuls of the parish, of the church-money, towards the repairing of the highway towards the Eye-cross. . . .

£ s. d.

3 0 0

Page 13.

1548. Also paid to Philip Lentall, for making clean of XI pair of harnesses [armor], IX daggers, and VIII bills, prices every harness 1s. 4d.

0 14 0 [sic]

Also paid to XI men for wearing of the same harnesses at the muster-day. . . .

0 5 6

Page 15.

1559. Item, paid for a book of the names of all such persons as were buried within this parish, from Midsummer-day, A.D. 1558, unto Midsummer-day in the year 1559, delivered to the visitors.¹

0 2 0

Page 18.

1567. Item, paid for a certificate made of all the strangers within the parish.

0 0 6

Page 19.

1572. Item, for a new register book, for to write in the names of every burial, christening, and marriage, that is in the parish.

0 5 0

Page 19.

1581. Item, paid for a book of the Abridgment of Statutes, to remain in the church.

0 9 0

Page 22.

1589. And the churchwardens aforesaid have delivered the sum of forty pounds in money, which was the money given by Mr. Feckenam, late Abbot of Westminster, to the use of the poor of the same parish to buy wood; which sum the said churchwardens have delivered into the hands of the new churchwardens now appointed.

40 0 0

Page 23.

1592. Item, paid to the dog-killer for killing dogs the first time of infection. 0 16 0

Item, paid more to the dog-killer for killing more dogs. 0 10 10

Page 24.

1595. Item, paid for bread, drink, cheese, fish, cream, and other victuals, when the Worshipful of the parish, and very many others of the poorest sort, went the perambulation¹ to Kensington, in this hard and dear time of all things, as may appear by a bill of particulars. 7 10 0

Page 27.

1602. Item, paid to two surgeons, to search a corpse suspected to be of the plague. 0 6 8

Page 31.

1616. Item, [received] of Sir Richard Wigmore, Knight, for his part of a pew. 0 13 4

Page 38.

1628. Item, [received] of divers persons, the parishioners of this parish, for their fines for swearing, and being drunk, and for breach of the Sabbath, and being otherwise presented according to the penal laws, as by a particular of their names and several fines appeareth, which hath been employed to the use of the hospital children. . . . 3 9 4

Page 43.

1634. Item, for drawing and writing out the names of the inhabitants to make the assessment of the ship-money. . . . 1 3 4

Page 49.

1642. Item, received out of the black chest at several times for the building of the new pest-houses.

200 0 0

Item, receipts of moneys collected towards the payment for the building of the courts of guard, making posts and chains, and other works for the safety of this town, sum: 50 0 0

Page 52.

1645. Item, for seven lanterns to hang in the streets. 0 18 0

Page 72.

1671. Item, [received] of Dr. Busby, to pay Mrs. Hooper, for teaching the parish children three weeks at 2s. 6d. the week. 0 7 6

Page 76.

1686. Item, to Mary Booth, for keeping 8 children 8 weeks at Clerkenwell, at 3s. per week.

9 12 0

¹ This referred to the representatives of the bishop, who made visits at stated times to inspect the parish and try persons guilty of offences against the canon law.

¹ By a "perambulation" was meant the walking around a parish once a year to define its boundaries. In Catholic times it took the form of a semi-religious procession of all the inhabitants, but that was later forbidden and the duty was at length turned over to a few men appointed for that purpose.