Diocesan Annual Boxes

DIOCESAN RECORDS ANNUAL BOXES

These are a miscellaneous collection of documents relating to the working of the Diocese of Hereford. This covers, in addition to Herefordshire, those parts of Worcester, Shropshire and parts of the counties of Monmouth, Montgomery and Radnor that are - or have been - within the See of Hereford.

The HD10 documents are in annual boxes, and this catalogue covers the period from 1850 to 1941 in detail. The sequence does go up to the year 2000 but these later boxes are not yet recorded in detail.

Though by no means exhaustive, listed below are the types of records to be found, and the sort of information available that might be of interest to workers in non-ecclesiastical fields.

There are two major divisions within the records. One set is concerned with the purely clerical (in the ecclesiastical sense of the word) Diocesan business, Included are presentation of incumbents to livings, ordination, licences to cure, permission for non-residence etc.

The second major group comprises the more material Diocesan and subdivides as follows:

1. FACULTIES,

Every change, however minor, in the structure or furnishings of a church, or the churchyard or buildings appertaining to the church in general, needs to be granted a Faculty from the diocesan authorities before it can legally take place. Thus in theory (it is hard to know to what extent practice followed theory) records should exist for all such works. Faculties range from the building of a new church on the one hand to the demolition of pigscots on glebe land on the other; during the late 19th, century faculties for memorial stained glass windows, carved oak screens, new organs and brass memorial tablets increase. The possible interest of these records to parish historians is obvious; however, most (though not all) of the earlier faculties include sketches and plans of the proposed work, so that details about other parts of the building may be obtainable. Very occasionally, after the late 19th, century, photographs are also to be found with faculty applications.

A small group of faculties is concerned with family vaults and burial plots, and the occasional exhumation of a body for reinternment elsewhere, Early in this century the first faculty appears to allow the burial of an urn containing cremated remains.

Another area for faculties is in the reservation of a grave space or spaces; this seems to be very much the fashion in some parishes (eg. Pembridge) whilst unknown in others, it would be interesting to know if this reflects a real difference, or whether reservation took place at an informal level in other parishes.

Faculty documents usually have with them an initial document, a Citation Leading to a Faculty; some of these citations occur without any corresponding grants of faculties; these may represent work not carried out, or refused, in some instances anyhow,

After the Great War there is a substantial increase in the numbers of faculties. From 1918 comes a spate of faculty requests for war memorials; sometimes these are for individuals from the big family of the parish (and the names, or at least a mention, of the others from the parish may or may not be allowed to keep company) often they are specifically for the parish as a whole, War memorial faculties are still being requested, though less frequently, in the late 1920's; the latest found was dated 1937, War memorials apart, it is difficult to know whether the increase in faculties at this time reflects an increase in structural changes in churches, or merely an increased efficiency on the part of the diocese in enforcing the law; as the documents themselves become more formal (and less interesting, plans not always being included, and with an increase in faculties for minor items such as moving a table or erecting a memorial tablet) one suspects the latter.

By the 1930's Faculties for electric lighting become more common (though contemporaneously some parishes are installing gas lighting!).

Vicarage buildings are included in the requirements for faculties, though generally only major works are represented; anyone who lives in an "old vicarage" who wishes to trace the history of their house should look for faculties relating to its building or renovation.

2. NEW BURIAL GROUNDS

A continuing theme throughout the series is the need of many parishes to enlarge (sometimes more than once) their churchyard / burial ground. Conveyances of the land are usually, though by no means always, to be found, However, even the formal Deeds of Consecration generally contain a map delineating the newly-consecrated land; these vary from mere sketches to quite detailed maps of the surrounding village, and might be of interest to those concerned with parish histories, land tenure, topography etc, It will be found that, in general, conveyances and deeds of consecration are filed together.

3. REPAIRS DUE UNDER THE ECCLESIASTICAL DILAPIDATIONS ACT.

Most years have a bundle of these documents. They are only small and look insignificant; however, they tend to contain surveyors' reports on parsonage houses (usually following the resignation or death of an incumbent) listing defects which might be chargeable to the incumbent or his estate. Detail varies, but most could be of interest to present-day occupants of these houses. In a similar category comes the occasional "Schedule of fixtures" listing additions to the parsonage house €“ eg. wall-shelves - now held to be the property of the diocese, These documents seem to cease by the second decade of the 20th century.

4. LICENSING OF PROTESTANT MEETING HOUSES

At one time protestant (ie. non-conformist) assemblies were only legal if premises had been licensed by the diocesan bishop. The early boxes contain quantities of such applications. At worst they merely refer to "a house", "a building" or even "a room"; some do allow identification of a specific building and give details of the name(s) and occupation(s) of owners/tenants, These cease, of course, during the 19th century.

5. SEQUESTRATORS ACCOUNTS.

These vary in detail; in general they represent expenses incurred by sequestrators, that is, persons managing the affairs of a parish, usually during a vacancy, sometimes as the result of bankruptcy, Some parishes appear to have been sequestrated for many years, and to discover why might be of interest to a parish historian.

6. TITHE RECEIPTS

Some receipts exist following the Tithe Commutation Acts; details given are generally scanty.

7. CONSISTORY COURT RETURNS.

Generally these are no more than a list of the granting of faculties; every so often a matter occurs under the Church Discipline Acts, where a priest is arraigned for some alleged misdemeanour - sometimes a matter of excessive bowing (or failing to bow) or elevating the chalice too high (hr not high enough) at consecration, Sometimes drunkeness is alleged, occasionally it is a more salacious matter. Unfortunately the eventual outcome is not always clear. These proceedings may be of interest to a parish historian, or even to someone conducting a personal family history, as they may contain statements from named villagers as accusers or defenders, (More recent proceedings of a serious and sensitive nature may be closed for 100 years).

8. MISCELLANEOUS.

These include special licences for marriage (a bishop's daughter; an American divorcee) various Orders in Council uniting (or sundering) benefices, including a series following upon the creation of the new See of Birmingham. A further extensive series of proposals for the union of benefices occurs from 1927, usually with reports of Commissioners on the merger, Sometimes these reports are to be found with the union proposals, but often the commissioners' reports antedate the proposals by one or two years, Some mergers are recorded as not proceeded with, In one instance an Order in Council is necessary to legalise retrospectively marriages carried out in a "new" (50 years old) church, not licenced (by an oversight, presumably) for the purpose at the beginning of its use. There are also a group of extracts from wills, relating to advowsons and rights of patronage, as well as sales, transfers and registrations of such advowsons. Several copies of the "London Gazette" are also to be found, generally recording approvals to orders in council or similar mentioned elsewhere in the records.

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