Smalley Parish Vestry

With the medieval church and Smalley's own curate, came the Vestry - a small body of village officials, answerable only to the bishop and the local magistrate, and totally responsible for the ecclesiastical and secular well being of the parish they served. Originally established in the Middle Ages for the management of ecclesiastical affairs only, the Vestry, as the Manorial Courts declined, had gradually taken upon itself more secular duties. Tudor legislation gave each parish community total responsibility for its own administration. This system of local government lasted for three centuries, until the great reforms of 1834. Members of the Vestry included the Curate as chairman, Churchwardens, Overseer of the Poor, Waywarden, Fieldmaster and Constable. Any householder could be elected to serve; the posts were obligatory and usually unrenumerated. Refusal of the office meant payment of a heavy fine, so each ratepayer in his turn, for the period of one year, took the heavy responsibility of parish self government onto his unwilling shoulders. CHURCHWARDENS The two Churchwardens, one traditionally chosen by the vicar, one elected by the people, were burdened with a host of duties; maintenance of the church fabric, ornaments, decoration and the churchyard, the securing of a vicar, provision of books, candles, beeswax, wine, etc. They were also required to to remonstrate with absentees from church services and report those missing Communion, collect alms (collections during church services are a recent innovation) allocate pews, collect pew rents, rates, burial and bell-ringing charges. They were expected to brew and sell the church ale, acquire and hire out church property (pots, pans, jewellery, furniture, etc.), sell off bequests and check that the incumbent was fulfilling his duties. As watchdogs of the parish, they had to ratify the accounts of the Overseer of the Poor, pay the Parish Clerk, present to the bishop a list of 'irregularities' in the parish, such as adultery, incest, whoredom, drunkenness, swearing, ribaldry or usury, and deal with the destruction of collected vermin - sparrows, rooks, crows, hedgehogs, etc. It was not until 1921 that the right to refuse the office of Churchwarden was granted; so with what overwhelming relief they must have sunk their teeth into the huge meal, traditionally provided for them by the parish, at the end of their year in office. OVERSEER OF THE POOR From Elizabethan times until the 20th. century, each parish was legally responsible for its own unemployed and poor people, both of these unhappy states being ongoing problems for the officers of the Vestry. Valuation of each householder's property to determine his legal contribution to the parish Poor Rate was the task of the Overseer of the Poor until 1834. The Overseer presented his list to the Vestry for approval. Churchwardens had the power to grant reductions and exemptions from the list - the scope for bribery is obvious! The Overseer had to collect the money and distribute it according to the Vestry's instructions, keeping an account of all the transactions. A fairly resilient character was needed for this office, being the recipient of a great deal of abuse from all sections of the parish community. Many extraneous duties were, from time to time, foisted on the Overseer, including the provision of a mortuary, perambulation of the boundaries, the taking of censuses, the supervision of the labour of rogues and vagabonds, and the apprehension of lunatics. However, there is an entry in the Parish Records of 1785 which demonstrates the failings of this system; and provides a sad reflection on social conditions of that time. It records that Samuel Liggett was buried as a pauper on 23rd December. Underneath the entry, in another hand, is written: 'Starved to death by the humanity of the Parish Officer.' On the following page, the Rector (Robert Wilmot) has written:- 'The Poor Rates of this Township having very considerably increased, it was thought advisable to have a Standing Overseer. A meeting of parishioners was held to appoint a man to this office distinguished for extreme parsimony and hardness of heart.The result of the appointment was cruelty and oppression to the poor and Samuel Liggett was absolutely starved to death. I was from home when he was buried and did not know of his death till many months afterwards when, although I obtained sufficient information to convince me of the fact, I could not obtain evidence to convict the Overseer upon it, and therefore he escaped the punishment he deserved'. THE FIELDMASTER As the name implies, the fieldmaster was responsible for the annual apportioning of the strips of land under the old system of open-field agriculture. Grazing rights (stinting) on the common, were allocated by him. It was his duty to provide a pound for straying animals and collect the fines when their owners redeemed them. After the Enclosure of the Commons (1784 in Smalley), this office became redundant. WAYWARDEN (SURVEYOR OF THE HIGHWAYS) If he were a concientious man, the duties of the Waywarden were almost equally arduous as those of other Vestry officers. The maintenance of roads and byways of the village were totally his responsibility. He had to exhort local householders to fulfil their legal obligations in keeping the roads of their parish in good repair, apportioning the work fairly among the rate-paying population. All householders were obliged to give a few days free labour each year, digging, breaking or carting stones, collecting brushwood to fill the potholes, or lending a team of horses free of charge In the 17th. century the main road through Smalley was used, as it is today, far more by through -traffic than by the inhabitants. So there was little incentive and, understandably, resentment at having to repair it. The turnpiking of the Derby to Mansfield Road in 1764, relieved the situation minimally, some of the cost being apportioned to the Turnpike Trusts. Legally however,the maintenance of the highways was still the responsibility of the parishioners until 1888, when it passed to the county councils. It was also the Waywarden's doubtful privilege to be in charge of the parish bull! THE CONSTABLE As a sign of his authority, the Parish Constable's staff was fixed for all to see on his outside door. His responsiblities were many - to apprehend criminals, keeping them in the stocks until they could be brought before the magistrate, to hurry vagrants out of the parish with a sound whipping, to collect and deliver to the appropriate authorities the County Rates, to remove the 'poor' to their parish of origin and to reward people for catching vermin: 13th. May 1827: paid Mole Catcher £7.0.0. 5th. October 1839: paid for 624 sparrows at 1d...   £2   12s. 5th. October 1839: also 840 small birds at ½d...    £1   15s. (From Morley's Constable Accounts) The Constable was also required to attend Quarter Sessions, to inspect ale-houses and places of ill-repute, to remove unlicensed hawkers, to keep the parish armour, to provide men for the militia, and to take charge of the parish gun. Extracts from a Book of Bonds Taken between 1723 and 1743 before William Richardson, Magistrate. 1725, Jan. 10: Francis Ball, surveyor of the Highways of Horsley Woodhouse, for neglect of his office in not repairing the highways of that village leading from Horsley Woodhouse to Smalley Mill and Smalley Common. 1733, Feb. 8: John Norman, of Holbrook, husbandman, in £40, and John Weston, of Smalley, husbandman, in £20, for the appearance of John Norman at the next assizes to answer to the charge of Francis Brown for buying a black nag stolen from the said Francis Brown. 1739, Aug. 14: John Weston, of Smalley, husbandman, in £20 for appearing at the next Quarter Sessions to answer for neglect and abuse of his office as constable of Smalley, and to be on his good behaviour. 1739, Aug. 25: William Oldknow, of Smalley, husbandman, in £20, John Weston, of the same place, husbandman, £10, for the appearance of the said Will. Oldknow at the next sessions and for good behaviour. Will. Oldknow to answer for a Riot and breach of the peace in Smalley. 1742, Nov. 18: John Booth, of Smalley, collier, in £20, Richard Newton, of Smalley, husbandman, in £10, for the appearance of the said John Booth, for negecting his office as overseer of the Poor of Smalley. It is clear from these accounts that officers of the Vestry had no privileges in law and did not escape punishment if their duties were neglected. Recorded Constables of Smalley 1662 John Scooley 1739 John Weston (publican, Old Bell Inn) 1843 John Kyte (farmer, Barn Farm) 1843 Isaac Brown (farmer, Yew Tree Farm) 1854 William Wragg 1861 Joseph Kerry 1881 Henry Blackney Recorded Overseers of the Poor 1742 John Booth 1801 John Carrington (Gate Farm) 1801 Samuel Birch (Farmer, near church) 1806 John Roe (Smalley Mill) 1808 Samuel Cresswell (White House Farm) 1809 William Widdowson (Farmer) 1861-1871 Joseph Cresswell (Census enumerator 1861 and 1871) Recorded Parish Clerks John Noon (Farmer near Leys houses) 1701 Samuel Woolley 1800 Samuel Bailey (Tailor, of Bailey Croft) 1841 Samuel Rogers (kept a pound, or pinfold, for straying animals, in an enclosure just below Smalley Hall) 1854 John Riley 1881 John Spencer (Bootmaker, lived in cottages opposite the blacksmith) It is also recorded by the Rev. Charles Kerry, and in the Parish Registers of 1846 & 1847, that my 2nd.great grandfather, William Carrington, also held this office. Churchwardens 1682 John Noon 'Chappellwarden' 1747 Thomas Shotwell 1784 Joseph Booth 1808 William Widdowson (Farmer) 1809 Job Turton (Smalley Green Farm) 1811 George Garrett (Clubroom Farm) 1812 Thomas Shaw (Ropemaker) 1813 John Roe (Farmer, Smalley Mills) 1815 John Stanley (Cloves Wood Farm) 1817 Henry Kerry (Shopkeeper) 1822 John Carrington (Smalley Gate Farm) 1823 Samuel Weston (Victualler, Bell Inn) 1850 John Booth (Postmaster) For at least two centuries the affairs of Smalley proceeded under the direction of the Vestry. No Social Services; no central Police Force; no Education Authority, no National Health Service. If money was needed a local rate was levied. For the protection of residents, local by-laws were made. The churchwardens, by law, had to exhibit their accounts twice yearly for inspection by the parish; anyone who could read was free to question or criticise them. Serious complaints were brought before the bishop or magistrate. For an interesting and comprehensive account of the role and duties of Vestry Officers, refer to 'The Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer' Burn (1800) and Burns, 30th. edition (1869). A Commission of Enquiry in the early 1800's uncovered so much corruption and mal-practice in the country as a whole, that the secular power of the Vestries was gradually transferred to central authorities. The office of churchwarden lost its civil status and power within village communities and reverted to its origin, that of custodian and lay representative of the church. The Churchwardens' Accounts, along with the Parish Registers, and other church documents, were kept in a strongbox known as the Parish Chest. It is not known whether a Smalley Parish Chest ever existed. Perhaps as a mere chapelry of Morley, it was just a church cupboard or an old trunk. Certainly account books once existed. Charles Kerry writes: 'The early church accounts have long been lost. The late Mr W. T. Barber had the custody of those which remain, commencing about 1770'. Many of the old records from the turn of the 19th. century are missing, including the Churchwardens' Accounts and the Parish Council Minute Books. Were they, in a fervour of patriotism, given to a salvage collection? Have they suffered the fate of 'house clearance'? One can only hope that these valuable historical records are lying in someone's attic and that someday they will come to light. However, researchers of the Parish of Smalley are fortunate in that successions of Curates, Rectors, and others, including the Rev. Charles Kerry, have added notes and explanations to the Parish Registers. The Church Registers As Smalley was formerly a Chapelry of Morley and its postion was therefore subordinate, the early registers appear to have suffered in comparison with those of Morley. The first burial entry records that Robertt James was buried in 'Smaley Chancell' on 26th. September 1627. There is a gap in the Smalley Registers between 1640 and 1655, owing to the persecution of the Church during the Commonwealth. An entry in a register commencing in 1656 records - 'Thomas Holland and William Holland his son, and Catherine Holland, his daughter, were all three shotten and killed by lightening on Thursday, six and twentieth day of August, Anno Domini 1680, and were buried in Smalley Chapelyard on Friday, the 27th day of August in ye said year of our Lord, one thousand six hundred and eighty'. The Reverend Wilmot, Rector of Morley and Smalley, makes many interesting comments as memoranda in the Church Registers between 1779 and 1795. Some entries recorded are:- 1779 - Smallpox was rife in Morley and Smalley. In Morley 30 persons had it and 2 died; in Smalley 43 persons had it and 12 were buried there and several unbaptized children of Baptists were buried in a field at Kirk Hallam. The Rector expressed the thought that there were fewer deaths in Morley as they kept cleaner. 1781 Jan 3rd. - Christopher Smith of Hayes Farm buried, age 45. Caught a fever by sleeping in a damp bed. He died universally lamented, leaving a widow and 7 children. 1781 Nov. 14th. - Simon Wilmot buried, aged 30. He was the 4th. son of the late Rector of the Parish. In the service of his King and Country in America, he was wounded and taken prisoner by the Rebels. His wounds were undressed as he languished in prison for several days and this laid the foundation of a consumption of the lungs, which brought him to his grave. 1783 - Records illness and starvation resulting from poor corn and potato crops. 1785 - Records the Enclosure of the Commons. (Kerry comments that this was a remarkable and eventful affair for Smalley: it was an ill-fated period, especially for the poor). 1792 - This entry reflects the French Revolution and singled out Derby as a hot-bed of disaffected persons, as they sent two representatives over to France to invite the French to this country to create the same. 1793 - Mentions the beheading of the King and Queen of France 'in circumstances of horrid cruelty never before known to be practised in any civilized country, and it is expected that their unfortunate children will meet as hapless a fate'. Both Statement and Investigation of 1800 and Returns from the Registers 1801 are to be found in the Parish Registers, with pertinent comments about their parishioners, from either Joseph Jackson or Joseph Bradshaw. As the comments were not signed, it is not possible to be sure of the authors but both were Curates around 1800.

Smalley village Smalley OPS Home

Sources: This account was written using material from the publications 'Footsteps through Smalley' (1994) and 'The Church of St. John the Baptist, Smalley' (1990) Thanks and acknowledgements go to the authors, Joyce Crofts and Joseph Read; Roy & Betty Hughes, and the Smalley Village History Group.