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Article by Sue Comont based on records in the Northamptonshire Record Office Ref: 285p/5 and 285p/11
Rushden Churchwardens Accounts 1718 - 1890

The Churchwardens were responsible for the fabric of the church and all the property owned by the parish. Two wardens were appointed each year, one by the rector and the other by the congregation and they raised money by levying a rate on parishioners.These accounts begin with an account of money paid by parishioners for putting their horses out on the horse commons. Other payments relate to the maintenance of the church and church yard, purchase of registers, surplices, candles, instruments and sundries for the small band which provided music before the introduction of the church organ, prayer books and bread and wine for Communion. The churchwardens also paid a bounty on creatures regarded as vermin, which included sparrows, moles, foxes and polecats. They were responsible for providing the parish militia with powder and shot, and kept the town plough before enclosure put an end to co-operative agriculture.

August ye 15th 1718 Tho Mallery Rec’d for horses being teller of cattell with Mr Richards as followeth
Hen Herbert one horse
3s
4d
Tho Mee one horse
3s
4d
Rich’d Mallery one horse
3s
4d
Willm Ffrench two horses
6s
Tho Mackerness Senr two horses
6s
8d
Willm Oaks one horse
3s
4d
Willm Barker one horse
--
--
Samll Hall two horses
6s
8d
Ed Margets one horse
3s
4d
Richd Mackernis
1s
6d
Total
£1
14s
6d








Horse common money received by Hen. Hall and Lewis Tapp
August the 24th 1727
Willm. Clark one horse
3s
4d
Tho. Serjant ditto
3s
4d
Willm. Barker ditto
3s
4d
Willm. Oaks ditto
3s
4d
Ffran. Mee ditto
3s
4d




Tho. Barber and Robt. Achurch churchwardens 1739.
Tho. Barber rec’d of Ffran. Mee upon balance of his accounts Churchwarden for 1737
4s
0d
Robt. Achurch rec’d of John Darnelly upon balance of his accounts Churchwarden for ye year 1738
4s
0d




Tho. Barber rec’d by 3 levies £13
5s
7¾d
Rec’d of Ffran. Mee
4s
0d

£13
9s
7¾d








1741 Rec’d for horse commons
£1
19s
11d
1740 Rec’d for horse commons
15s
9d
Rec’d in all £16
5s
3¾d








Disbursed by Tho. Barber1739


For crows, moles, sparrows etc
17s
10½d
The glazier, plumber’s bill
£1
1s
Pd Tho. Burges for powder and shot
6s
5½d




1740


Spent at a Visitation
£1
6s
6d
Paid Ephraim Cox for powder and shot
7s
3½d
Pd Tho Saunders for wine
10s
8d
To Ephr Cox for powder and shot
4s
10d
To Ed Warren for work
6s
To W French for powder and shot
5s
7½d
To W Blossom
1s
1d
To W French for powder and shot
5s
4d




1741
To John Corby
2s
6d
To Sam Dickens
£1
0s
2d
For moles, sparrows, foxes, polecats etc
£1
11s
4¾d
For crows, moles etc
18s
1½d
For wine
14s
7d
To John Morris
8d
Paid to J Chambers & W Hobbs
£1
15s
10d
To Mr Hall
4s
3d
Disbursed in all
£12
0s
2¼d
Remains due to the town from Thos Barber
£4
5s
1½d




Robt Achurch Rec’d by 3 levies
£15
11s
3d
Rec’d of John Darnelly
4s
4d

£15
15s
3d
Disbursed in ye years 1739-1740-1741 for
Sparrows, moles, powder & shot, at visitations etc
£4
19s
4½d




1740
John Corby’s bill
7s
6d
Samll Dickens bill
11s
11½d




1741
Joseph Wright bill glazier
10s
5½d
Willm Blossom’s bill
£1
9s
4d
Peter Saunders bill
8d
Powder and shot
3s
4½d
Glazier bill
18s
3d
For wine
17s
3d
Wood & work for ye church gates
16s
6d
Samll Dickens
6s
8d
Eliz Walker
1s
6d
John Wollaston
8s
4d
Robt Achurch for bell ropes
£2
17s
4d

£14
8s
6d




Rec’d £15
15s
3d
Disbursed £14
8s
6d
Due to ye town
£1
6s
9d




1744 Willm Barry Church warden disbursements included:
For sparrows
£1
2s
7½d
For polecats, for treating ye children at the Visitation
16s
1d
For whiteing ye church
£5
16s
0d
The glaziers bill
£3
0s
6d
To Robt Stevens for lodging the town plough
1s
0d
For writing a copy of the register
1s
6d
A faggott for ye glazier
2d
To John Achurch for bell ropes
14s
2d
Samll Dickens for work done at ye church
3s
0d
Paid at ye Visitation & for stone and mortar
£2
6s
4d




Mr Ekins in 1745 paid:
For a fox and polecat
1s
4d
For two otters
2s
0d




1758 Payments included
Thos Ekins and Robert Stevens Churchwardens
Pd for 5 briefs
5s
0d
Bill of presentments
3s
0d
Pd for ye Fast Book
2s
0d
Pd for ye Book of Articles
1s
0d
Pd for ye Proclamation
1s
0d




1758 Receipts included
Levies
£22
18s
1d
By the town grass
14s
2¾d
By horse commons
£1
4s
6d
Mr Ekins rec’d by horse commons
4s
0d
Mr Stevens rec’d by town plough
10s
0d
Rec’d of Heny Henishe for Meadow Dike
3s
6d
Rec’d of Mr Boswell for Mill Hole
5s
0d




Other items paid for were:
1777
Prayer book
17s
0d
Bread for Communion
8d
A copy of ye register
1s
0d
Willm Hawks for wood
1s
9d




1778
Pd John Abbott for making the cloths for the pulpit
& bread for the Communion & copy of ye register
£1
4s
2d




1779
To John Abbott for mending and washing the surplice, bread for ye Communion and a copy of the register
£1
0s
0d
Pd for a lock
2s
6d




1780
Pd Peter Cowper for putting up ye Dials
£1
1s
0d
Saml Knight ditto
10s
0d
Pd for the use of the poles for ye Dial
3s
6d
Pd for two locks
1s
0d




1783
Pd Thos Botton for Brasses
8s
0d
Pd for ropes Rbt Achurch
13s
6d




1805
Pd Mr March for Register
18s
6d
Pd carriage for lead, gravel and stone
7s
0d
Pd for Church Buckets
£1
6s
0d
Pd for marriage register
18s
6d
Pd for Hair
2d
Pd for Basses
16s
0d
Pd for stone carrying
1s
0d




1809
Pd Chas Marriott fastening the Dial
£1
14s
6d
Pd Mr Bolton for Basses
18s
0d




Note
The weight of the lead that layd upon the high leads in July 1750
£1555 at fivescore to ye hundred
Multiply 15 by twelve
12
30
15
180
Subtract 1555
by 180
Subtract 1375
by 17 the weight of the string
1358
The old lead weighed £1013




1810
Pd for the Communion clothmaker
2s
6d
Pd for Ribbon for the table cloth
2d
Pd Pulpit cloths mending
1s
6d
Pd for 3 weeks washing the Lead
8s
0d
Pd for a Lock
2s
4d
Pd for the Communion Table Cloth
8s
6d
Pd for a Account Book -
-
-
Pd for Lime
3s
6d
Pd for a Brush
3s
6d
Pd for the Repairing the Bass
12s
6d
1813
Pd for the Iron Chest
£5
0s
0d
Pd the ringers
6s
0d
Pd for Clock Cleaning
7s
0d
Pd for the Town Bass
8s
0d
Pd for the Church Bible
£4
14s
6d
1814
Pd James Bolton for a mat
9s
0d
Pd Jno Wright for Gravel
1s
0d
Pd for strings and repairing the Town Bass
7s
6d
1815
Pd washing surplices, Table linen, Sacrament Bread
8s
6d
Pd 2 Brushes and Hand Brush Brooms
9s
0d
Cleaning Leads etc
3s
0d
1816
Pd the Schoolmaster
£1
16s
6d
For taking up the Weather Cock
£1
0s
0d
1819
Pd Mr Linnit taking bell to St Neots
£1
0s
0d
Pd Mr Turnbull’s bill for repairing the Dial
£2
16s
6d
Pd Pomeroy for ditto
£1
15s
0d
1820
Pd Gross for felchen holes to put the Dial up
5s
0d
Pd the ringers for the Kings birthday
6s
0d
Pd for clock hammer
5s
0d
Pd Thos Marriotts bill for mending church buckets
7s
6d
1821
Pd for mending the Bell Ropes
3s
5d
1822
Pd Morris Hensman for digging and forming road & churchyard
6s
0d
Pd for fetching stone and gravel
10s
0d
1824
Pd for fetching lime and the tollgate
2s
6d
1825
Copying registers 5 years
12s
6d
1826
Pd Wm Margetts for mending church wall
3s
0d
Pd at Visitation at Well for a curate’s licence
10s
0d
Pd Fr Mee for reparing the Church Clock
17s
6d
1827
Pd for strings for the Bass
7s
6d
Pd for making a new surplice & repairing the old one
10s
6d
1830
Pd at the Confirmation
£2
10s
0d
Children expenses
5s
0d
My expenses
8s
6d
Pd Wm Coales for repairing candlesticks for pulpit
2s
4d
1831
Pd for coals for the stove
12s
9d
Pd Wm Denton for lighting the lamps
12s
0d
Pd for candles for the pulpit
7s
0d
Pd for Roman surment
7s
6d
Pd for 12 hymn books
15s
0d
Pd Henry Baker for fetching the oil for the lamps
3s
0d
1835
Mending stile into churchyard
1s
0d
J Hewitt repairing clock
£2
0s
0d
Lock for clock loft door
1s
6d
Mr Gill’s bill for oil
£2
10s
9d
1847
Washing surplices
2s
6d
J B Tuck – Brushes
5s
6d
Firewood for glaziers
3s
0d
Wages, 2 men & Boy cleaning walls etc of church
£1
13s
6d
Brush handle
4½d
Repairing steeple door lock and bell clapper
2s
9d
1 man 3 days helping to clean walls of the church
6s
6d
Brushes and flannel for scouring the church
5s
0d
Soap and flannel ditto
1s
3d
3 women 6 days scouring
£1
10s
0d
Packwood & boy 5 days
15s
0d
Coal for warming water
3s
0d
Soft soap
8s
9d
Repairing floors, seats, pulpit, communion table etc
15s
9d
Hire of planks for scaffolding
2s
6d
Attending church clock ¼ year
5s
0d
Fr Iliffe thatching clerk’s house
£1
12s
9d
2 new stays for bell, repairing etc
13s
0d
Levelling, turfing etc churchyard after building the wall
11s
0d
1848
Mending bell wheel
2s
6d
Prayer book for reading desk
£1
10s
0d
Building wall for churchyard £10
6s
11d
Repairing ancient tomb
1s
6d
Repairing Packwood (Clerk’s) house as per agreement
£2
4s
6d
1851
Cleaning leads
1s
6d
Taking down the stoves
4s
6d
Hymn books
6s
0d
Oliver for repairing stove
1s
6d
Bailey for haysacks
14s
0d
Mr Butcher for tiles
£1
4s
0d
1852
Man 4 days at drain in churchyard
6s
0d
Knight for removing rubbish
1s
0d
1854
Packwood for drying etc papers in Award Chest
1s
6d
Packwood for clearing snow from leads
2s
6d
Tom Knight for clearing snow in churchyard
1s
6d
Mr Laughton for mending windows
5s
4d
Thos Margetts for Yorkshire stone work at steps
£1
15s
0d
1855
5 men weeding and cleaning church yard
5s
6d
Mr Clarke new church doors repairing bells, floors, porch gates etc
£7
1s
6d
1869
Repairing and matting pews
16s
3d
Sconces for pulpit
5s
6d
Church Bible repairing and carriage
6s
2d
Removing Xmas decorations
2s
0d
Lewis (Gas fitter)’s bill
£4
15s
6d
Lamp and post (Paid by H W Currie Esq)
£2
5s
6d
South Porch lamp (Paid by G Walker)
£3
1s
0d
Mr S Knight for Torch Staff
6d
Church chairs
1871
Gas account for March Quarter
£2
9s
9d
Gasman for fixing lamps
1s
4d
Cleaning church after carpenter
2s
0d
Matting for the aisle etc £10
12s
10d
Pointing by Baye
£1
17s
3d
Radbourne for carpet
2s
6d
Balaam for cushions etc
6s
10d
Door keeper
4s
0d
Clayton for warming apparatus
£2
10s
0d
Coke
£2
19s
4d
1873
Organist
£4
0s
0d
1874
Coals for School tea
1s
4d
Organist
£6
0s
0d
1875
Mrs Clayton cleaning school
10s
0d
1876
Organ blower
£1
0s
0d
1877
Choirmaster
£5
0s
0d
1884
Smith Enos Organist £18
0s
0d
1885
Wilmott levelling church yard
£6
3s
6d
Foskett gravel 5 loads @ 2/6
12s
6d
Tailby gravel 2 loads
5s
0d
Leather for ropes
1s
0d
Tapers
6d
1890
Repairing church yard gate
1s
0d
Extra cleaning after Harvest
2s
0d


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