Scope and Content
The regular business recorded in the accounts includes:
Visitation and confirmation expences,
purchase of forms of prayer etc.,
payment of clerk's wages,
cleaning,
purchase of bell ropes,
communion bread and wine,
payments for minor repairs,
vermin, and mole catching etc.
Also includes minutes re nomination of churchwardens and passing of accounts etc.
Also contains:
(at front)
Agreements for lease of Church Land
i) to James Mee, baker, for three years at an annual rent of £4 16s., dated 8 April 1774, and
ii) to James Mee for three years at £3 6s. per annum, 28 March 1780
Agreement with William Neal to keep the church clock in order etc. for 2s. 6d. a year, 10 May 1759
(Among entries and at back)
Distribution lists for payments to widows under the Jolliffe and Mead Charity, 1773, 1776, 1779, 1782, 1788, 1791, 1794, 1797, 1800, 1803, 1806 (continued at back of volume) 1800, 1808, 1810, 1811, 1814 and 1817
(At back of volume)
Memorandum that no clergyman was appointed, and no service held in the Church, October 1798
Receipts for rents of Church Land allotments, 1811, 1815, 1816, 1817 and 1818 [earlier receipts among accounts, noted below] Articles of agreement for leasing Church Land, the Pitt, Church Mead, and Dungey Headland, 17 April 1759, and 2 April 1762
Receipt to Mr.Mee for a year's rent of Church Land, 7 May 1763
Note of letting Church Land as allottments, with signatures of tenants etc., 2 November 1810
Note on old lead sold to Mr. Church, 1793
Note of the weight of old lead "from the first bay [of the roof of the nave] next the steeple" delivered to Mr.Rootham, "plumber of this parish", 8 July 1823.
The occasional business recorded in the accounts includes the following:
1760 "Gowing to Mr.Birt to let Miler out of prison" 5s.
1761 Forty Aresum paid 2s. 6d. for cleaning the Church clock [the payments to Aresum for this work continue annually to 1773]
1765-6 Paid for an Almanack, 6d. Paid Mr. Green for dying the pulpit Cloath, 12s.
1768 New lock for the Church chest, new key for one of the three locks, putting the locks on, and mending the chest
1769 "Fuller Reynold & Mr.Mawby's boy going with Town Plough 2s. 6d.
Mending the churchyard wall
Mending "the way at the North Gate"
1775 "To Francis Pratt for Rail to Pulpit & Mending ye Stile 1s. 3d.
"To Wm Faulkner for an Inventory & a duplicate of the Church Land, Plate & Vestments for the Archdeacon when he visited the Church 1s." [see P33/2/1/2 for the actual Inventory]
Purchase of 2 dozen basses [kneelers] from Daniel Hipwell, 15s.
"To Barthm Hyat for a Book of Common Prayer £1 5s."
1779 "For his Majesty's letter wth ye Bishops for a Collectn for ye Propagation of ye Gospel in Forigin parts 1s."
1782 Payment to Eaton Jeffrey for mending the clock, £1 1s. [this item recurs occasionally to 1801]
1785-98 Receipts for rent of Church Land paid by James Mee
1792 21 Feb. Payment to the ringers for ringing "for the execution of Tom Paine" 5s.
1793 Pd Mr. Hipwell for 6 long hassacks made with fine matting, £1 16s
"A New Paul for the Parish", £1 8s. 6d.
1794 New bell wheel put up, and a new iron spade bought for the church
1795 Cleaning the church after the flood, 2s.
1796 Paid John Mathews Destroying Ratts in the Church, 1s. and 7s. 6d
1798 Washing and cleaning the Church after the Flood, 2s. 6d. (April )
1800 "Pd Men for gravelling Church Yard walk" 5s.
1800-9 Receipts for rent of Church Land £9) paid by Messrs. Faulkner & Co. from Michaelmas. 1799
1802 Ringers' beer paid for on 29 May, 4 June, 5 November, and 25 December.
1805 "Pd Lownes Wright 3 Days worke doing the Church walke & diging the Gravel 4s."
1810 Receipt for rent of Church Land of Messrs. Tue & Garner & Co. [later receipts for allotment rents at back of volume]
1812 Mention of work at the gallery in the Church
1815 Appointment by Robert Woodward, Vicar, of John Farey as Vicar's Warden in place of William Church, who died in office
1816 Purchase of strings for the bass viol [this item recurs later]
1817 List of clergy who preached at Harrold during the Rev. Mr. Woodward's confinement in prison, March to June 1817 [also at back of volume] June to August 1817.
1818 Repairs to church clock by John Atkinson
Purchase of register chest, lock and keys, bought from Mr. Green of Bedford for £4 10s.
Payments for unspecified work on the church by Mr.Nornabel (£23) James Crouch (£3), and James Hensman (£11)
Purchase of two chairs for the vestry, cost 14s.
1821 New pipes for the stove, £5 15s. 6d.
1822 Purchase of a coil chain and weight for the "chandilier"
1824 Carriage of timber to church, and payments to Wm.Rootham (£39) and Mr.Nornabel (£30) [repairs to roof of nave ? - see also note on lead delivered to Rootham, entered at back of volume
1826 Purchase of stove pipes, £13 9s. 9d.
Other memoranda etc. at the back of the volume are noted above.