The Parish Clerk | Page 9

the spoliation of his church
by the greedy Commissioners of Henry VIII and Edward VI, the
introduction of the First Prayer Book of Edward VI, the revival of the
"old religion" under Queen Mary, the triumph of Reformation
principles under Queen Elizabeth; so did the parish clerk continue to
hold office also. The Reformation changed many of his functions and
duties, but the office remained. The old churchwardens' account books
bear witness to this fact. Previous to the Reformation he received
certain wages and many "perquisites" from the inhabitants of the parish
for distributing the holy loaf and the holy water. At St. Giles's, Reading,
in the year 1518-19, appears the item:
EXPENS. In p'mis paid for the dekays of the Clark's wages vis.
In the following year we notice:
WAGE. Paid to Harry Water Clerk for his wage for a yere ended at
thannacon of our lady a° xi° ... xxvi s. viii d.
In 1545-6, Whitborne, the clerk, received 12 s. towards his wages, and

he "to be bound to teche ij children free for the quere."
After the Reformation, in the same town we find the same clerk
continuing in office. He no longer went round the parish bearing holy
water, but the collecting of money for the holy loaf continued, the
proceeds being devoted to the necessary expenses of the church. Thus
in the Injunctions given by the King's Majesty's visitors to the clergy
and laity resident in the Deanery of Doncaster in the second year of the
reign of King Edward VI, appears the following:
"Item. The churchwardens of every Parish-Church shall, some one
Sunday, or other Festival day, every month, go about the Church, and
make request to every of the Parish for their charitable Contribution to
the Poor; and the sum so collected shall be put in the Chest of Alms for
that purpose provided. And for as much as the Parish-Clerk shall not
hereafter go about the Parish with his Holy Water as hath been
accustomed, he shall, instead of that labour, accompany the said
Church-Wardens, and in a Book Register the name and Sum of every
man that giveth any thing to the Poor, and the same shall intable; and
against the next day of Collection, shall hang up somewhere in the
Church in open place, to the intent the Poor having knowledge thereby,
by whose Charity and Alms they be relieved, may pray for the increase
and prosperity of the same[3]."
[Footnote 3: _The Clerk's Book of 1549_, edited by J. Wickham Legg,
Appendix IX, p. 95.]
This is only one instance out of many which might be quoted to prove
that the clerk's office by no means ceased to exist after the Reformation
changes. I shall refer later on to the survival of the collection of money
for the holy loaf and to its transference to other uses.
The clerk, therefore, appears to have continued to hold his office shorn
of some of his former duties. He witnessed all the changes of that
changeful time, the spoliation of his church, the selling of numerous
altar cloths, vestments, banners, plate, and other costly furniture, and,
moreover, took his part in the destruction of altars and the desecration
of the sanctuary. In the accounts for the year 1559 of the Church of St.

Lawrence, Reading, appear the items:
"Itm--for taking-downe the awlters and laying the stones, vs.
"To Loryman (the clerk) for carrying out the rubbish x d[4]."
[Footnote 4: Rev. C. Kerry's _History of S. Lawrence's Church,
Reading_, p. 25.]
Indeed, the clerk can claim a more perfect continuity of office than the
rector or vicar. There was a time when the incumbents were forced to
leave their cure and give place to an intruding minister appointed by the
Cromwellian Parliament. But the clerk remained on to chant his
"Amen" to the long-winded prayers of some black-gowned Puritan.
That is a very realistic scene sketched by Sir Walter Besant when he
describes the old clerk, an ancient man and rheumatic, hobbling slowly
through the village, key in hand, to the church door. It was towards the
end of the Puritan regime. After ringing the bell and preparing the
church for the service, he goes into the vestry, where stood an ancient
black oak coffer, the sides curiously graven, and a great rusty key in the
lock. The clerk (Sir Walter calls him the sexton, but it is evidently the
clerk who is referred to) turns the key with difficulty, throws open the
lid, and looks in.
"Ay," he says, chuckling, "the old surplice and the old Book of
Common Prayer. Ye have had a long rest; 'tis time for you both to
come out again. When the surplice is out, the book will stay no longer
locked up." He draws forth an