£s.d."Spent yesterday at Gresmere when I viewed ye Painting in ye Church, and ye Parsonage new House000500
which meant tips and treats at the alehouse, and a great commotion.
Harry was still in Oxford in October, but early in December he was down, and preached to his people.
Dec. 11—This day my Son Henry Fleming preached his first sermon—upon Romans xiii in Gresmere church, where I would have been, had I had notice of his preaching.
Dec. 11—This day my Son Henry Fleming preached his first sermon—upon Romans xiii in Gresmere church, where I would have been, had I had notice of his preaching.
This statement shows Harry's nervousness in face of his clever father. It may have been with reluctance that he left the University where for nine and a half years he had lived a student's life; but that his departure was intended to be final is clear, from the fact that his box followed him, the cost of its carriage being 11s.—44 lb. at 3d. per lb.
Harry would seem to have been a quiet, unostentatious man. His tutor, the Rev. Thomas Dixon, wrote of him to his father on his first arrival from the country, "YorSon is both frugall and studious, and all that I findamiss in him is that he wants courage and heart, I do all I can to animate and encourage him and to put some more spirit into him. I hope disputeing in ye Hall will put some briskness and metall into him, and teach him to wrangle: He is one of three that yornephew Fletcher calls his Juniors in ye Hall, So that they must endeavour to bafle him and then heel cease to stand upon his Seniority or att least to triumph in it. He deserves also all the encouragemt, that may be, because he is willing to do anything and frequents Prayers and Disputacons as much as any one, though of much less Quality and honour than himselfe. He has another fellow-Pupill of ye same order that keepes pace with him, and they have combin'd to sett patterns to all ye rest of their Table: I hope theyl continue this their emulacon, and that yorSon will also excite others of his degree to ye same excellency and p'fection."[161]
It is probable that Harry was never taught to "wrangle"; and though his abilities were excellent, he rose to no high office in the Church, like his brother George. He had a true interest in his parish, as we must suppose, from the encouragement he gave to the people over the embellishment of the church; and the accounts show that "ye Dr." went over into Langdale at least once (in 1696) to preach and administer the sacraments. He neglected the bells, as has been seen, and possibly the wardens had a difficulty in getting hold of him; for from 1694, when he acquired the living of Asby, Cumberland, he resided there. He married, in 1700, Mary, daughter of John Fletcher, of Hunslet, and on his death, in 1728, left a daughter only.
With Dr. Henry Fleming was associated, as curate, the Rev. Thomas Knott. This worthy man was doubtless of the Grasmere stock that for so many generationshad supplied able and prominent members to the village community.[162]He entered his name in the Grasmere register as curate and schoolmaster in 1687. In 1694 he was promoted to the more independent (and doubtless better paid) curacy of Ambleside. The letter he wrote to his rector on the occasion of the Kelsick bequest, which does credit to them both, has already appeared in print.[163]The Rev. Thomas continued to officiate in Ambleside until his death in 1744.
The Squire of Rydal (who had been knighted in 1681) died in 1701, and it was the curate-in-charge, Dudley Walker, who preached his funeral sermon and received the honorarium of £1 1s. 6d.
The removal of this strong spirit must have made a difference in the parish. His heir, William, who purchased a baronetcy, was a man of feebler type, whose influence would be little felt in the parish. He ceased, apparently, to worship at the old church, for in 1728 he bought the two front pews in Ambleside Chapel, which had belonged to the Braithwaites. On the death of his brother Henry, he appears to have nominated for the rectory of Grasmere one William Kilner, who immediately retired in favour of another son of Sir Daniel, George, born 1667. He was totally unlike his brother Henry in temperament. Handsome in person, of good abilities, assured spirit and pleasant manners, his path in life proved an easy one. As a boy, he, of all the brothers, had found it possible to ask his father for money, whether to bet upon his cock at the Shrove-tide fight, or to enter his college library, or even to engage in a trading venture.[164]Once within the church, he advanced rapidly, for his father's old friend, Dr. Smith, Bishop of Carlisle, gave him theliving of Aspatria in 1695, and four years later made the young man his domestic chaplain. From that time he accumulated benefices and honours. Made Archdeacon of Carlisle in 1705, he became Dean in 1727, shortly before his brother's death gave him the opportunity of absorbing Grasmere. The wardens' presentment of 1729 states "Our expected Rector is not yet Instituted and Inducted, the Cure is duly Supplyed by a Curate; we know not what Salary is allowed him." The church for the moment would seem to be poorly manned, for it adds "We have no Parish Clark or Sexton at present."
The august rector, who had other benefices, was probably little seen in his native parish; and in 1733 he resigned it in favour of his only son, William, who also became Archdeacon after him. Next year George stepped up to the post of Bishop of Carlisle; and in 1736, on his brother William's death, he succeeded to the Rydal estates and the baronetcy. His only misfortune was the death of his son in 1743. He himself died in 1747, and a nephew became possessed of Rydal Hall and of the patronage of the church.[165]
It is risky to judge from negative evidence: but there is nothing to show that George Fleming, bishop and baronet, did anything either as rector or patron to benefit the church where he had worshipped as a child, or the parish whence he and his son drew an income for fifteen years; the sole mention of him in the church books being a statement that he held a confirmation there in place of the Bishop of Chester. The wardens and the Eighteen, with the curate, kept parochial matters going; and the former, wearied no doubt of waiting for help from the rector, tackled the great bell outlay in 1730-2, as has been seen.
After he had become bishop, George Fleming erected in the choir the marble monument that commemorates (in grandiose Latin) his father and himself.
The Rev. George Briggs acted as curate-in-charge from 1722. Though he may not have enjoyed a university training, the facts of his life that have been found suggest that his ministrations were beneficial to the folk. Like the first "capellanus," of whom there is record, Adam de Ottelay, and many another simple curate, he had footing in the community as statesman, holding house and land. In 1725 he first appears as "Mr. Briggs" in the Rydal rental, paying a lord's rent of 8s. 4d. for Padmar, or Padmire (Pavement End), which had belonged to the Rydal manor apparently since the days of Squire John. In that year also the minister, described as "clerk," married Miss Jane Knott, of Rydal, daughter probably of Edward and sister of Michael, who, for so long, acted as influential agents to the Rydal lord.
Mrs. Jane Briggs remained long as widow in possession of the Padmire estate; and the name of the Rev. George Briggs—doubtless her son—appears as holder, after a gap, in 1806; in 1819 that of the Rev. William Pearson has taken its place.[166]
Meanwhile, the death of the Archdeacon had left the rectorate vacant, and an unfortunate nomination was made by the patron-bishop. The Rev. John Craik, B.A., was probably never resident—a fact quite usual: but to this was presently added the more painful one that he became incapable of managing his affairs, and his sister had to act for him. Only five years after his appointment,Sir William Fleming writes of the complaints of the parishioners, who with a church sadly in need of repair can do nothing, since the rector will not come over to see to it. Matters presently became so acute that a petition was framed, begging the Bishop of Chester to intervene, as Mr. Craik was out of his mind, and had not been near the church for three years.[167]Yet it was not till the man's death, in 1806, that this miserable situation came to an end.
The Rev. Gawen Mackereth was curate under Mr. Craik. To judge by his name, he was a native of the vales, and he apparently entered the church—like many more in this period—by the door of the village school-house. He wrote his name in the register on October 23rd, 1735, as "Ludimagister et Clericus Grasmereiensis," copying the inscription of Thomas Knott, though with a fault in the spelling. Twenty years later he preached for the last time his two yearly sermons in Langdale. Sir William Fleming chose the next curate himself; and he may have intended the Rev. John Wilson to occupy the post of rector, should this fall vacant. But that day was far distant, and Wilson—who seems from his action with regard to the owner of Bainrigg to have been a man of strong temper—lived but a short time after his appointment.[168]
He was followed by Edward Rowlandson, of whom scarcely anything is known; but who—according to the register that records his burial in 1811—served the parish for fifty years. He could not have taught the school, as the burial of Thomas Davis, schoolmaster, is recorded in 1801.
Under him and Craik Grasmere must, indeed, have slumbered spiritually. How could it be otherwise? But by this time Craik was dead, after being rector for sixty-threeyears—surely a record term for a lunatic! In the same year, 1806, Sir Michael le Fleming, the patron who had never exercised his rights, died likewise. His widow, Lady Diana, nominated as rector the Rev. Thomas Jackson. With him the long record of absentee rectors was broken. He is said to have sprung from a family of dalesfolk. He united, like some early predecessors, his spiritual office with a temporal one, and acted as "clerk" or agent to his patron. With his assistance, the heiress and Lady of Rydal Hall freed her estate from debt, bought the ruinous homesteads of the village, and replaced them by pretty cottages. Jackson was successful also with his own affairs, and left a good deal of property at his death, including Harry Place in Langdale, Tail End in Grasmere, Brow Head in Loughrigg, and Waterhead on Windermere. He lived, it is said, at Harry Place, and on most days rode his pony (according to the report of old Langdale folk) over the fell to Grasmere or Rydal Hall.
It is well known that the rectory was let to the poet Wordsworth. The premises had been sadly neglected, the wardens having, in 1798, "presented" the "Rectory-House, Barn, and out-Houses" as being in "a ruinous state," but the new rector was too good a business man to leave them in that condition. Dorothy Wordsworth writes (May 11th, 1810) that Mr. Jackson is willing to make the Parsonage comfortable, and will contrive a good library out of part of the barn. Later (June, 1811), she says, "There is an oblong 4-cornered court before the door, surrounded by ugly white walls."[169]
This graphic touch is interesting and suggestive. The place had apparently an ancient character, with a strongly walled fore-court, capable of being closed and defended. Such a plan—which was always that of amanor-house—might be necessary of old for rectories, where the tithe-barn, often stored with grain and hay, stood temptingly, and occasionally was the subject of dispute.[170]Now it is just possible that the rectory may occupy the site of the former offices of the demesne. No manorial lord was ever resident in this remote vale, as far as we know; but a resident bailiff and a forester there must at least have been, with a few underlings. These officers would be placed in a lodge, stoutly barricaded with wooden palisades—later converted into walls. To this nucleus would be added, besides byres and barns and smithy, a "knight's chamber," for the accommodation of the lord, if he visited the spot, or pushed so far in the chase; and nothing is more likely than that a priest's chamber or house (along with the tithe-barn) would find a place within this safe enclosure. In such a case, the decay and final abolition of the demesne would leave the rectory in sole occupation of the ground. Wordsworth gave up his tenancy, after the death of two children, in the belief that the spot was unhealthy. It must have been still more so in ancient times, while the marsh that almost surrounds it was still undrained.
On the re-construction of the rectory in 1895 the old elevation was preserved as much as possible, but the level of the ground floor was raised five feet.
Tradition also states that the Rev. Thomas Jackson served personally the chapel of Langdale, and certainly—if he lived in that valley—this would be more convenient for him than the parish church. The curates under him appear to have been men of ability and worth. William Johnson indeed secured a fame as educationalist that is recorded in theNational Dictionary. A Cumberland man, born in 1784, he appears to have come to Grasmere as schoolmaster before the death of the old curateRowlandson. He began to officiate in 1810, shortly after he had entered St. John's College, Cambridge. His stay in Grasmere was short, for Dr. Andrew Bell, when visiting Wordsworth in 1811, was so struck by his management of the village school, that he offered him the post of Master of the school then being built by the National Society in London; and thither he repaired next year. He became organizer to the Society and school inspector and rector of a London church. After his retirement from more active work, he returned (about 1848) to Grasmere, where he bought a piece of land and built the house, since enlarged, called Huntingstile. He was a friend of Edward Quillinan, Wordsworth's son-in-law, and in 1853 edited his poems with a memoir. He lived till 1864.
Johnson's name occurs in the letters of the De Quincey family. The future Opium-eater had just settled at Dove Cottage, where he was visited by his mother and sisters. The elder lady was a friend of Mrs. Hannah More, and it is a little amusing to find that the aid of that prophetess of the Evangelical Revival was invoked for Grasmere, which was evidently considered, by the strangers who began to invade the district, to be in a benighted state. At one particular evening reception at Barley Wood, Mrs. More's home, an effort was made to engage her interest in what were called "the Christian politicks" of Grasmere; but little was gained beyond a vague promise of Tracts, until the opportune arrival of Mr. Venn from Clapham, who gave hopes of help (for a time at least) from the Sunday School Society in money and books. Mrs. De Quincey, in reporting the matter to her son, looks forward to the time when "experience recommends the Institution to more effectual patronage at home, where at present it is an experiment, and viewed with indifference, if not with suspicion, by people who must very feebly comprehend the value of religiousinstruction."[171]The "good Pastor" was to be cheered, meanwhile, "under his difficult labour" by the magic of Mrs. More's name, and the promise of more substantial aid when the De Quincey ladies should arrive.
But aid was to be found at hand, which probably did not excite suspicion. To Lady Fleming religion became increasingly dear after home troubles left her a lonely woman. Her accounts show that in 1817 14s. 8d. was paid to "Mr. Noble Wilson, Schoolmaster"—possibly for books: and in 1821 a fee of ten guineas was paid him "for Teaching Sunday School." Mr. Wilson, who followed Robert Powley (inscribed as curate in 1814), must have been a favourite. He came over from his cure at Witherslack in 1831 to bury Mr. Samuel Barber, who had made "Gell's Cottage" (now Silverhow) his home.
Evil days had fallen once more on the Grasmere rectorate. The Rev. Thomas Jackson died in 1822. He left two sons, one of whom, educated for the law, succeeded him as agent at Rydal Hall. The other, William, was bred up to the church, and no doubt his father had hopes that he would succeed him as rector.[172]But the right of nomination had, unfortunately, passed into the hands of Sir Daniel Fleming. No protest to the bishop, as regards his choice, was of avail, and the nominee, Sir Richard le Fleming, took office.
The rector remained at the rectory after his inhibition in 1834, and curates, named Kingsley, Magrath, and Harris did duty successively for two years each. Then,in 1840, came the Rev. Edward Jefferies, who for so long ministered to the parish as curate and rector. He remained as curate when, in 1857, the opportunity came for Lady Fleming to appoint her distant kinsman, the Rev. Fletcher Fleming, of Rayrigg (already serving the chapel of Rydal), to the rectorate, but when he retired, in 1863, the Rev. Edward was fully installed in his office. Mr. Jefferies died in 1893.[173]The men who followed him are still (1912) living; the Revs. H. M. Fletcher, W. Jennings, J. H. Heywood, and M. F. Peterson.
The Chapels.
Brief mention of the later history of the chapelries under Grasmere may be made here.
Ambleside, when the crisis of the Reformation came, took matters strenuously in hand, as we have seen. The townsmen provided a regular stipend for a curate who could teach Latin and Greek to their sons, and also kept up the fabric of the chapel, in complete independence of the mother church. Moreover the right of burial and baptism at the chapel was secured in 1676, after some opposition from the patron.[174]Nothing, perhaps, was definitely fixed with regard to the nomination of the schoolmaster-curate, when the townsfolk undertook to furnish his salary in 1584. They may have hoped that it would be left to themselves; and certainly they, with Mr. Braithwaite at their head, appointed during the Commonwealth. But the strong Squire of Rydal soon made it plain, that as patron of the mother church, he meant to establish his claim to the patronage of the daughter chapel, which stood on the Grasmere side of Stock Beck.[175]It has remained in his family ever since.
It may be well to give a list of the Post-Reformation parsons of Ambleside (rectified according to present knowledge), as well as the evidence of a provision made for them in 1584. This evidence was found amongst Mr. George Browne's MSS. too late for insertion inAmbleside Town and Chapel, where the deed of 1597 is given in full. It is an extract from a contemporaneous document, written out in a memorandum book of Christopher Birkett, who owned part of the lands of the Forrest family in Ambleside; and it records the fixed contributions of that family to the endowment.
"Forth of the Schedule conteining the sums of money granted by ye Tentsand Inhabitants of Amble' for the repaires of the Chapel and payeing the Ministers Stipend according to an Award whereto the schedule is Annexed. Dated 16th Octobr in the 26th yeare of Queen Elizibeth.John Forrest xijd.Wife of Rich: Forrest viijd.Antony Forrest iiijd.Edw: Forrest 4d.Thomas Forrest 3s. 4d.A Schedule of all the P'cels of ground named and set downe to be Occupyed by ye Rulers of Ambleside to the use and intents conteined in the Award annexed.One P'cell of ground conteining one Rood lyeing at the height of Seethwait in the possession of John Forrest.One P'cell lyeing at Kilnhow, one Rood in the pos'ion of the wife of Richard Forrest.One close above the Grove in possession of Edward Forrest.One close called Grove close in possession of Thom: Forrest."
"Forth of the Schedule conteining the sums of money granted by ye Tentsand Inhabitants of Amble' for the repaires of the Chapel and payeing the Ministers Stipend according to an Award whereto the schedule is Annexed. Dated 16th Octobr in the 26th yeare of Queen Elizibeth.
John Forrest xijd.Wife of Rich: Forrest viijd.Antony Forrest iiijd.Edw: Forrest 4d.Thomas Forrest 3s. 4d.
John Forrest xijd.Wife of Rich: Forrest viijd.Antony Forrest iiijd.Edw: Forrest 4d.Thomas Forrest 3s. 4d.
A Schedule of all the P'cels of ground named and set downe to be Occupyed by ye Rulers of Ambleside to the use and intents conteined in the Award annexed.
One P'cell of ground conteining one Rood lyeing at the height of Seethwait in the possession of John Forrest.
One P'cell of ground conteining one Rood lyeing at the height of Seethwait in the possession of John Forrest.
One P'cell lyeing at Kilnhow, one Rood in the pos'ion of the wife of Richard Forrest.
One close above the Grove in possession of Edward Forrest.
One close called Grove close in possession of Thom: Forrest."
The names of two or three priests who may have served Ambleside before the Reformation have already been given. A new era was marked by the endowment of 1584, and the appointment of an excellent and learned man followed.
1585—John Bell.He was the first curate to inscribe his name in the Bible belonging to the chapel, which, after long alienation, has been restored to the church.[176]Bell's latest inscription tells that he had then served (in 1629) for 44 years. He was buried in Grasmere, December 23rd, 1634. His fine action in constructing with his scholars a causeway across the miry bottom between Ambleside and Rydal was long held in remembrance. In his latter days he must have had an assistant under him, for the burial of Leonard Wilson, "Scolmaister at Amblesyd," is entered for February 12th, 1621.1635—Thomas Mason(spelt also Mayson and Masonn). It was he, doubtless, who witnessed (and wrote out) many Ambleside deeds, though not till 1840 does the word "clerk" follow.1647—Henry Turner, undoubtedly a Presbyterian.1669—John Pearson.This nominee of the Rydal squire met with some opposition in the town, headed by Mr. Braithwaite "upon a private Pique"—so the patron reported to the bishop. He was, however, ordained and inducted; though the subsequent refusal of some of the townsmen to pay their pledged contribution to the salary of the curate was no doubt due to discontent.[177]1681—— Thwaites.The Christian name of this pedagogue has not been recovered. The diocesan registry does not give him; but his name is entered in the Curates' Bible, and moreover four of the Rydal squire's sons were placed under his tuition in January, 1681. His stay was short, and a collection was made for him in the chapel on October 20th, 1685, to which the squire contributed 5s.1682—Richard Wrightwas instituted curate before Mr. Thwaites' departure.1688—Roger Fleming.His name suggests his being a native. He united husbandry with his other occupations. His burial is entered on September 2nd, 1694, and on the 11th, his successor, who had served Grasmere, was licensed.1694—Thomas Knott.He wrote out John Kelsick's will, by which Ambleside has so largely benefited. As his name is the last in the Curates' Bible, we must suppose that he caused a new one to be bought.1744—Jonathan Myles.1753—Isaac Knipe.1786—John Wilson.1791—John Knipe.1798—— Crakelt.1811—John Dawes.Thomas Troughton.Samuel Irton Fell.
1585—John Bell.He was the first curate to inscribe his name in the Bible belonging to the chapel, which, after long alienation, has been restored to the church.[176]Bell's latest inscription tells that he had then served (in 1629) for 44 years. He was buried in Grasmere, December 23rd, 1634. His fine action in constructing with his scholars a causeway across the miry bottom between Ambleside and Rydal was long held in remembrance. In his latter days he must have had an assistant under him, for the burial of Leonard Wilson, "Scolmaister at Amblesyd," is entered for February 12th, 1621.
1635—Thomas Mason(spelt also Mayson and Masonn). It was he, doubtless, who witnessed (and wrote out) many Ambleside deeds, though not till 1840 does the word "clerk" follow.
1647—Henry Turner, undoubtedly a Presbyterian.
1669—John Pearson.This nominee of the Rydal squire met with some opposition in the town, headed by Mr. Braithwaite "upon a private Pique"—so the patron reported to the bishop. He was, however, ordained and inducted; though the subsequent refusal of some of the townsmen to pay their pledged contribution to the salary of the curate was no doubt due to discontent.[177]
1681—— Thwaites.The Christian name of this pedagogue has not been recovered. The diocesan registry does not give him; but his name is entered in the Curates' Bible, and moreover four of the Rydal squire's sons were placed under his tuition in January, 1681. His stay was short, and a collection was made for him in the chapel on October 20th, 1685, to which the squire contributed 5s.
1682—Richard Wrightwas instituted curate before Mr. Thwaites' departure.
1688—Roger Fleming.His name suggests his being a native. He united husbandry with his other occupations. His burial is entered on September 2nd, 1694, and on the 11th, his successor, who had served Grasmere, was licensed.
1694—Thomas Knott.He wrote out John Kelsick's will, by which Ambleside has so largely benefited. As his name is the last in the Curates' Bible, we must suppose that he caused a new one to be bought.
1744—Jonathan Myles.
1753—Isaac Knipe.
1786—John Wilson.
1791—John Knipe.
1798—— Crakelt.
1811—John Dawes.Thomas Troughton.Samuel Irton Fell.
An extraordinary entry appears in the Grasmere register for February 15th, 1674, "ye buriall of John Osgood of Amblesid surverer[178]for ye duty of Christ borne at Ridin in barkeshire."
Langdale was, at the Reformation, in worse case than Ambleside, where the townsfolk were rich enough to put both chapel and school on a sound financial basis. The Little Langdale chapel ceased to be. The one in Great Langdale, bereft of its particular ministering priest, was threatened with a like fate. Probably it was never closed, however. An intelligent native would be found to act as clerk for a nominal wage, and occasionally the rector would visit it, and would administer the Easter communion to those who were too old or ill to cross the fell. Two clerks appear in the register before the Commonwealth, who may have acted as lay readers. During the Commonwealth the chapel would be wholly in the hands of the sect that happened to be dominant for the moment; and the fact that its pulpit was open to any religious speaker undoubtedly caused the followers of George Fox to be more numerous in Langdale than in any other quarter of the parish. It was a Quaker who resisted the Episcopal church service, when it was revived. (See p. 88.)
But order was again established at the Restoration. Weekly services were apparently conducted by a lay clerk, and the Grasmere curate in charge came over once a year to administer sacrament (at a charge of 2s. 6d. to the township), and twice or thrice to preach (1s.). From 1680, when Langdale secured the privilege of a separate communion, she ceased to contribute to the bread and wine consumed at the parish church celebrations.
The ritual of the chapel is disclosed in a Presentment of its wardens for 1732, preserved among the general accounts.
They have (they say) the Commandments set up within the chapel; a Communion table; linen cloth; patten; flagon and Chalice; Reading-desk and pulpit; a Surplice; books, etc.; with bell and bell-rope. "Our minister resides with us; he is not in Holy Orders: he reads Prayers and Homilies." He is allowed "the usual salary." Sacrament is administered every Easter. Baptisms and marriages are solemnized by the curate of Grasmere. No alms are received from the Communicants; and they have no alms-box.
The separate parochial accounts kept for Langdale continually give items for repair and upkeep of the fabric and its adjuncts. One of these was a "common stable," doubtless used for the accommodation of those who rode to worship. After consultations, the re-building of the chapel and school was decided on in 1751, and the work was slowly proceeded with, at the expense of the township, through the next three years. There may have been always a priest's lodging in the valley. In 1762 the "Parson's House" was repaired for 13s. 31⁄2d.
The following is a list—incomplete in its earlier part—of clerks, readers, and curates who served the chapel after the Reformation:—
William Gollinge "of The Thrange in Langden,clerk" had a son baptized 1590.Charles Middlefell "clerke of Landale" died 1643.Richard Harrison, clerk; died 1670.Daniel Green, d. 1829.Richard Steele, d. 1780.Owen Lloyd, d. 1841.Thomas Jackson, d. 1821.Stephen Birkett, d. 1860.William Jackson, 1821.[179]James Coward, vicar; 1885.Thomas Sewell, 1822.R. S. Hulbert, ret. 1900.
Owen Lloyd was the son of Charles Lloyd, who wasthe friend of Charles Lamb and for some time had resided at old Brathay. He inherited considerable poetic gifts, and composed the Rushbearing Hymn always sung at the Ambleside Festival. He lived for a while with his friend, Mrs. Luff, at Fox Ghyll, Loughrigg.
Rydal.—The chapel of St. Mary, Rydal, was built by Lady Fleming in 1824 and consecrated by the Bishop of Chester on August 27th, 1825. This new foundation took a large slice out of the old parish, though customary dues and tithes continued for some time to be paid to the rector. (See later.)
Brathay.—The church, which was built here in 1836 by Mr. Giles Redmayne, stands on the Lancashire side of the river, but its parochial boundary took another slice off the old parish, which was now wholly robbed of the township of Rydal and Loughrigg.
So the old mother church, robbed of her daughter chapels and the folk she so long fostered, rules to-day only the little valley of Grasmere.
Latter-day clerks and schoolmasters present a tangled subject, difficult to unravel. Sometimes the clerk taught school. More often there was a separate schoolmaster who served as curate, entering holy orders for the purpose; for by this economy of labour two meagre stipends were put together, and the rector might even effect an economy on the one.[180]Sometimes each of the three offices was served by its own functionary; and yet again it seems likely that they were occasionally all filled by one man—in which case a deputy was hired for the menial work.
The school of Grasmere was doubtless an ancient institution, taught in days before the Reformation by the resident priest. It is not unlikely that it would be supervised by the visiting monk from York, for monasteries were then the centres of learning. It would, of course, be held within the church, or the porch, according to the season, as was the custom. After the Reformation, and during John Wilson's fifty-two years' term as rector, followed by that of the erratic Royalist, Henry Wilson, tuition must have been a good deal neglected, or left to the clerk. One Michael Hird was serving as clerk in 1613, and a Robert of the name in 1638, who may have been a son, since the office was kept in a family whenever possible. Robert Hird, "clarke," was buried in 1680, which looks like ejection by the Presbyterians, and subsequent restoration.
For we are left in no doubt as to the appointments made by the new religious authorities. George Bennison, proud, no doubt, of his office and of his smattering of Latin, wrote in the register, "I began to teache Schoole att Grassmire the 3 day of May 1641 being et Ludimagister et AEdituus."[181]
From his spelling of the place-name—which never had been anything butGresmer—we suspect him to have been a stranger; and it would probably be difficult to fill posts on the spot that had been summarily made void. Next comes "Thomas Wilson clarke at Gresmere in 1655." He it must have been who fought the battle of ritual with John Banks, bailiff, before a trembling congregation, after the minister Wallas had decamped. (See p. 87.) He, in turn, must have lost the post at the Restoration.
The Parliament passed a law in 1653 obliging every parish to supply a layman for the care of the registers, who was oddly called a "parish-register."[182]Accordingly this was done, and certified by the non-conformist magnateof Ambleside Hall. "Bee it remembered that John Benson of Gresmere being elected and chosen Parish Register of Gresmere by the inhabitants ther was approved of and sworne before me the 9th of Aprill 1656.
Tho: Brathwaite."
John kept the office, as an entry in the accounts shows, at least twenty years.
Rector Ambrose, when he left £50 to the parson and "twenty-four" of the parish, in trust for the school, gave an impetus to education in the place. The sum—or part of it—may have been used for the erection of a school-house. At all events, the quaint little house still standing by the lych-gates was already there when Anthony Dawson, statesman—incited perhaps by the parson's example—bequeathed, in 1635, the sum of £7 to a "School Stock in Grasmeer."[183]He expressly entrusted it to the patron, rector, and incumbent, "towards the maintenance of a Schoolmaster teaching Scholars at the School-House built at the Church Yard Yeates in Gresmere."[184]
These legacies gave importance to the office of schoolmaster. The choice lay then, as now, with the rector and the lay representatives of the parish, at that time the Eighteen, now only six. The appointment of young Thomas Knott as schoolmaster, shortly after this accession of funds, was an excellent one. Curate as well, there is a question as to whether he did not occupy also the post of clerk. He was termed clerk in the wardens' accounts, when in 1694 he was paid 2s. for attending the Visitation and Correction Court. But a man who could appear at so dignified a function could hardlyhave swept out the church, or dug the graves—and these, according to the Declaration of the Wardens "We have no sexton belonging to our Church"—were among the clerk's duties. He may have paid a deputy to do these things, since there were perquisites belonging to the post worth gathering in.
Income of the Clerk.—The parish clerk was, in his way, as important a functionary as the parson. Like the rector, he had no fixed salary, but took from early times the offerings of the folk, which became fixed and proportionate, like the tithes. From every "smoke" or household fire, he had one penny a year. For church ceremonials, when he acted as Master of the Ceremonies, he received a fixed fee, 2d. for a wedding and 4d. for a funeral. He was the accredited news-agent or advertizer. For instance, when the Rydal and Loughrigg Overseers wished to put a pauper out to board, in 1796, they gave him 2d. "for advertising her to let." (See Tithes.) He was paid 2d. for every proclamation in church or yard.
These ancient fixed fees lessened in value through the centuries, as did the tithes. Various small emoluments however became attached to the post as time went on. If the clerk was a good penman—as he was certain to be when acting as pedagogue—he might be employed on the church writings. Besides the joint Presentments, charged at 2s. 6d. (of which Grasmere and Langdale paid 1s. each and Rydal with Loughrigg 6d.), there were the wardens' accounts to be drawn up, at a fee rising by degrees from 3s. to 5s.; as well as a fair copy to be made into the large register-book from the parson's pocket-register. This last duty—oft, alas! negligently performed—was long rewarded by 1s. annual payment, which afterwards rose to 3s. 6d. These items occur in the accounts:—
£s.d.1672—"For writting ye burialls Christenings and Mariages out ye Register Bookes 2 times"002001675—"Itt. for writting a coppy out of ye RegesterB ook etc£00200"1790—"To writing Marriage Register 1s. 0d. to drawing Copy of Register 2s. 6d."
1672—"For writting ye burialls Christenings and Mariages out ye Register Bookes 2 times"
1675—"Itt. for writting a coppy out of ye RegesterB ook etc
1790—"To writing Marriage Register 1s. 0d. to drawing Copy of Register 2s. 6d."
The contract for bell-ringing was given to the clerk, and doubtless he secured a profit upon it. He had an annual payment for lighting the vestry fire; another (5s.) for "attending" the hearse. In 1822 the accounts give—after an item for "cleaning" the church-yard and windows:—
"To Ditto Sentences and Window and Church throughout self and Boy" 7s. 6d.
"To Ditto Sentences and Window and Church throughout self and Boy" 7s. 6d.
This was clearly not a school-master clerk, who enjoyed—instead of receipts from menial labour—the scholars' pence and the small stipend. If we turn back to enumerate the men who served the office, we find Robert Harrison (1695 to 1713) followed by Anthony Harrison.
There was no clerk in 1729, according to the presentment. Gawen Mackereth (1736 to 1756) is entered as "clarke and schoolmaster," though he certainly entered holy orders; so he may possibly, with a deputy, have combined the three offices. John Cautley was clerk in 1756.
After this came three generations of Mackereths: George of Knott Houses; the second George, who filled the office from 1785 to his death, at 81, in 1832; and David, his son. These men were clerks, pure and simple.[185]David pursued the calling of a gardener, working for Mr. Greenwood at the Wyke. In his time it was decided to give the clerk a salary. It began in 1845 at £4, and was advanced in 1854 to £5, with the stipulation, however, that one J. Airey should receive 13s. 6d. of it. But David did not prosper, and he emigrated to Australiain 1856. He is remembered by Miss Greenwood as a tall, fine man, like his successor; he used, after giving out the psalm to the congregation at the desk, to march into the singing-pew (which stood where the organ is) and there lead the voices. Indeed, the parish clerk of old, besides a tuneful voice, was generally endowed with a fine presence. The family is spoken of in an old newspaper of nearly a year ago. Grasmere, December 31st, 1909: "Death of a noted Guide.—Last week there died at Grasmere one of the best known guides in the district, and one of the best known characters in his day—John Mackereth. He was descended from a very old family of Grasmere statesmen, intimately connected with Grasmere Church in three generations of parish clerks, and earlier still as 'Ludi magister et clericus.' The Rev. Gawin Mackereth held these offices from 1736 to 1756. George Mackereth, of Knott Houses, parish clerk, was buried July 23rd, 1785. His son George became parish clerk, and was buried 22nd October, 1832, aged 81 years. He was succeeded by his son, David Mackereth, who held the office up to the fifties. David's son, George, was much disappointed that he was not chosen clerk after his father's time. He was a tailor, and also a noted guide. He died in 1881, and Johnny as he was always called took his place as guide. He was also boatman in Mr. Brown's days at the Prince of Wales Hotel. In these capacities he was known to hundreds of visitors, who never came to Grasmere without looking him up. Of late years he worked on the roads for the council. He was great on wrestling, and for many years collected money for prizes at the rush-bearing. He had no children, but four brothers and three sisters, all of whom have left Grasmere, survive him." One Brian Mackereth was, in 1677, ranked among the Freeman Tanners of the City of Kendal. (Boke of Recorde.) In the same year Squire Daniel gave 5s. "at ye Collection of Brian Mackereth'sHouseburning." James Airey, the next clerk (1856 to 1862), must have been a clever, ingenious man, for he kept the clock in order from 1831. He was also appointed schoolmaster—an office that had often changed hands, and been united with the curacy—and Edward Wilson was taught by him (along with the younger De Quincey children) until he went with his brother to the Ambleside school.
The school, meanwhile, had received other benefactions. The church list records £80 given by William Waters, of Thorneyhow, in 1796, towards the master's salary; and good Mrs. Dorothy Knott followed this, in 1812, by £100, the interest of which was to be spent on the education of five Grasmere children, born of poor and industrious parents. John Watson, yeoman and smith, made a similar bequest in 1852, stipulating that the recipients should be chosen annually by the trustees of the school. In 1847 Mr. Vincent G. Dowley gave £10.
While the salary of the master was paid out of the school "stock" or endowment, the township took upon itself the maintenance of the school-house; and the expenses were duly entered in the accounts of the Grasmere "Third." The waller of those days was differently remunerated from the workman of these. For instance, the large statement of 1729 "For mending the School-house" is followed by the small sum of 14s. 6d. Naturally the windows wanted "glassing" from time to time. Occasionally new forms were procured—four in 1781 cost 5s. 4d.; or a new table, in 1805.
A loft or upper floor was constructed in the small house in 1782, the opportunity apparently being taken when the Grasmere township had bought an oak-tree for the renewal of their decayed benches in the church, and while workmen were on the spot. The expences stand as follows:—
s.d.24 ft. of oak boards for school-loft at 3d. per ft.6081⁄2days carpenter laying school loft1401000 nails for the same462 Jammers for door and some hair10
The little house, so stoutly built and prudently kept up, remains the same, only that partitions have been erected for rooms, and the entrance has been changed from the church-yard to the outer side. The cupboard where the boys kept their books, the pump where they washed their hands, may still be seen. School was held within its walls till 1855, when the present schools were built.
With James Airey, who acted as both, the record of former schoolmasters and clerks may be closed. But one who, appointed in 1879, served the office of verger (substituted for clerk) up to 1906, must be mentioned. Edward Wilson was son of the carpenter of the same name, and he pursued the craft himself. No custodian of old could have filled the office with greater reverence or dignity, nor graced it by a finer presence. Intelligent, calm, quietly humourous, he was also gifted with an accurate memory of the events of his youth; and his death, in 1910, at the age of 88 seems truly to have shut to finally the door of Grasmere's past.