CHURCH WARDENS' ACCOUNTS
Church Wardens were first appointed in the Middle Ages to look after the "goods of the church". Usually one was appointed by the church and one by the parish. (Possibly because the parish was responsible for the nave and the minister, the chancel). They were unpaid so were often the wealthier (and literate) members of the parish and this was certainly so in Trunch. In the 1700s the names HOWES, BANE, MASON, DIXON, all appear and in the 1800s PRIMROSE, POSTLE, AMIES, LONG, LEGOOD, and BIDWELL are all found.
Old English coins
INCOME The wardens collected parish rate money and paid out expenses, so needed to keep accounts. Luckily the Trunch accounts from 1732 to 1850 are available in the Norfolk Record Office and most of them are readable. In 1732 the accounts list 40 people who paid church rates. The highest amounts were £5 0s 2d from Robert BANE, £6 6s 2d from Thomas BERRY, £9 2s from John CARR, £9 3s 3d from Henry HOUSEGO, £6 1s 2d from John HOWES, and £8 9s 1d from John NEALL. So these were the wealthiest residents in Trunch at that time.
Interestingly in 1732 William PRIMROSE only paid £1 10s 2d so this family who later became the major landowners, had not yet bought up much land. Mary PRIMROSE however paid 1s 2d in her own right in 1732. A few other women do appear in the records, often as widows but not exclusively.
By 1760 the amounts paid were much less, although the value of the £ hadn't changed much; only £7 18s 9d was collected in total from 30 residents. The highest payers were Thomas BERRY. John EMERY, Robert HARMER, William HOWES, John MASON, Henry NEALL, Jonathan PRESS and William PRIMROSE. By 1845 a similar amount was collected from 53 residents with William PRIMROSE (senior) paying by far the most, other farmers paid most of the rest and some residents only paid a penny or half penny. Compulsory church rates were abolished in 1868.
EXPENDITURE Common items of expenditure were the clerk's wages (£1 - £1 10s a year for the entire 120 years), communion bread and wine, new brooms, prayer books, cleaning of suplices and vermin killing. Blacksmiths, carpenters, plumbers, glaziers and stonemasons were paid for their work on the church and sometimes they were named. Bell ringers were paid 10s a year in the 1730s and 5s extra in 1761 for the coronation of George 111.
More unusual items were visitations by bishops, 6d for a traveller in 1731, a new church gate in 1734, prayers for George 111 in 1789 and 1820, and burying cloth in 1792 when the Wool Act forced bodies to be wrapped in wool to encourage the wool trade. Apparitors who carried out the orders of church or civil courts were also paid and the terrier is mentioned, which was a list of land belonging to the church. In 1830 someone was paid 1 shilling for clearing snow from around the church.
In 1828 there was concern about the boundary of the parish and several people were paid for checking parts of it and the following was recorded:
May 13th 1828 memorandum
That is going the bounds of the parish of Trunch we met with Henry Norgate of Southrepps. We asked him if he knew the bounds of his parish against Trunch and he led in the same that we always go and said its the same that old Mr. Baker always did go many years since. And gave Bradfield parish notice to meet us again at Mr. Temples which they did not do at 12 o'clock - we have set down boundary posts there.
That is going the bounds of the parish of Trunch we met with Henry Norgate of Southrepps. We asked him if he knew the bounds of his parish against Trunch and he led in the same that we always go and said its the same that old Mr. Baker always did go many years since. And gave Bradfield parish notice to meet us again at Mr. Temples which they did not do at 12 o'clock - we have set down boundary posts there.
Contact me if you would like more information or the names of those mentioned in the records.
