Miscellaneous papers concerning the following parishes, Christ Church Spitalfields,...

CHRIST CHURCH SPITALFIELDS

[9 November 1711]. Plan of site proposed by the parish officers and inhabitants of Spitalfields for a church, churchyard, and minister's house (ff.1v-2).

[December 1711]. Letter from Thomas Slemaker, bricklayer, enclosing a plan (missing) of land in Brown's Lane suitable for a minister's house (f.3).

[1712]. Rental of houses on lands purchased in Spitalfields (f.5).

[25 July 1712]. Petition by Philip Humphreys for payment for his land near Tenter Ground if required (f.6).

25 October 1712. Letter from Charles Wood to Thomas Rous, secretary, asking to be notified when the commission discusses Spitalfields (f.8).

6 November 1712. Receipt by Simon Beckley, solicitor, to Thomas Rous for draft agreement and plan of land in Spitalfields (f.10).

[November 1714]. Petition by Thomas Slemaker and Richard Goodchild, bricklayers, for payment of £2,375:13:0 for work on churches at Limehouse, Spitalfields, and Upper Wapping, which has reached ground level (f.11).

[17 February 1715]. Petition by inhabitants of Spitalfields for a church. The hamlet has a population of 20,000 and two small chapels (25 signatures) (ff.13-14).

23 March 1715. Recommendation by Nicholas Hawksmoor and James Gibbs that Slemaker and Goodchild be replaced owing to the poor quality of the bricks used (f.15).

[1715]. Petition by inhabitants of Spitalfields for a church (25 signatures) (f.17).

c. 1715. Proposals by Richard and Michael Crutcher, of Billiters Lane, Fenchurch Street, for mason's work at Spitalfields (f.18r-v).

[1716]. Proposals by Richard Smith, plumber, for covering Spitalfields church (f.20).

[1716]. Proposals by George Osmond for plumber's work (f.22).

[20 June 1716]. Petition by Philip Clement for allowance to prevent flooding of his tenement by building new church (f.24).

[7 September 1716]. Proposals by John Brookes, 'on Colledge Hill', for carpenter's work (f.26).

[-]. Petition by Samuel Worral for payment of £700 for carpenter's work (f.28).

[-]. Petition by Stephen Hall, watchman, for payment (f.30).

26 April 1721. Memorial by Hawksmoor and John James that a further allowance be made to the plumber to enable the church to be roofed owing to the increased cost of lead. The carpenter's work was completed in the previous summer (f.31r-v).

[24 January 1723]. Petition by the ministers, churchwarden and inhabitants for the church to be completed (47 signatures) (ff.33v-34).

6 February 1723. Estimate by Hawksmoor and James of works required to complete the church (f.35).

1 November 1723. Proposals by John Reynolds for painter's work to iron and woodwork (f.37).

14 November 1723. Letter from Nicholas Hawksmoor to J.T. Philipps, secretary, from Greenwich Hospital, for payment to Stephen Hall for repairing fences and gates (f.39).

20 March 1724. Comparative abstracts of proposals for joiner's work by John Lane and William Beaverstock, Gabriel Appleby, and John Simmons (f.41).

12 July 1725. Estimate by Hawksmoor and James for works to church, cemetery, and minister's house. Copy (f.43).

[8 October 1725]. Petition by Stephen Hall, watchman, for payment (f.45).

[4 March 1726]. Petition by parish officers and inhabitants to be included with other hamlets in a Bill to establish parishes, being willing to provide £200 a year to maintain a minister (81 signatures) (ff.47v-48).

20 March 1727. Letter from Nicholas Hawksmoor to J.T. Philipps, from Greenwich, enclosing drawings of portico, spire, and porch for Spitalfields church (f.49).

22 September 1727. Report by Hawksmoor and James of the cost of rebuilding almshouse and engine-house demolished in raising the site of the church and churchyard (f.50).

[27 October 1727]. Report by the same of the cost of rebuilding parish house for four persons and an engine-shed (f.52).

[9 October 1727]. Petition by parish officers and inhabitants of Spitalfields for compensation for the demolition of two almshouses formerly standing in Tenter Field and an engine-house containing two engines which were demolished in building the church and churchyard (31 signatures) (f.54).

[1727]. Petition by Peter Guinee, of Spitalfields, weaver, for relief from arrears of rent, having lost £1,000 in two months (f.55).

[1727]. Petition by Robert Norris, of Spitalfields, weaver, for the same because of the decline of trade (f.57).

8 January 1728. Report by Hawksmoor and James that £40-45 is adequate compensation for the demolition of almshouses and engine-house (f.59).

[4 July 1729]. Petition by parish officers and inhabitants to be relieved of the cost of an Act for endowing the new church (22 signatures) (f.61).

[1729]. Petition by parish officers and inhabitants for assistance in paying the cost of an Act establishing the parish of Christ Church (28 signatures) (f.63).

[1729]. Petition by the churchwardens to mend the roof of the church (f.64).

[14 March 1738]. Petition by Hesther Wright, widow of Thomas Wright, Rector of Christ Church, for the payment of interest due to her husband on sums invested for maintenance of the minister (f.66).

Also another petition by her for the same (f.67).

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CLERKENWELL

Inventory of papers (f.68).

[5 December 1711]. Petition by the Revd. William Richardson, formerly a Dissenter, that chapel in parish of St. John be made one of the new churches (f.69).

18 July 1712. Proposals by Francis Browne to sell messuages, tenements, and a garden called Pardon churchyard, leased from the Charterhouse, for £200 (f.71).

7 January 1714. Request by the Governors of the Charterhouse for a plan and offer for part of Pardon churchyard (f.73).

17 June 1714. Plan and estimate by Joseph Gardner of freehold in St. John's Street in parish of St. James Clerkenwell, known as Pewter Platter Inn, belonging to Joseph Pardner, of Mitcham, Surrey (ff.75v-76v).

[22 December 1718]. Petition by the minister, churchwardens, and inhabitants of St. James Clerkenwell, to the House of Commons, that the parish church be rebuilt or enlarged as one of the new churches. Copy. (ff.77-8).

[7 December 1722]. Memorial by Simon Michell, esq., offering to sell St. John's chapel, Clerkenwell, which is the choir of the ancient church of St. John of Jerusalem, and land fronting St. John's Street. The parish of St. James is fit to be divided; he and his under-tenants have built 80 new houses (f.79r-v). Also a copy of the same signed by Michell, with a note that he will sell for £4,000 and give £1,000 for endowment in return for the right of patronage (f.81).

[9 August 1723]. Protest by inhabitants of Clerkenwell against the proposal to convert Aylesbury chapel into a parish church. The church of St. James is large enough, and its patronage belongs to the parish by deed enrolled in Chancery on 2 June 1656. The minister's salary, consisting of fees, a stipend of about £11, and contributions, would be largely lost by making the chapel parochial, and the poor would suffer (numerous signatures) (f.83).

10 August 1723. Answer by Michell to the previous item, stating that the church of St. James is too small and is served only by a lecturer (ff.84-5). Also a signed copy (ff.86-7).

[16 August 1723]. Reply by the inhabitants of Clerkenwell to Michell, reciting the grant of St. James' church, which is declared to be a vicarage, and opposing division of the parish. They ask for proof that St. John's chapel was the choir of the church of St. John of Jerusalem, and state that after conversion for the Aylesbury family it was used to store wine and tobacco and as a meeting house. There are 1,600 houses in the parish and half are cottages which pay no scot or lot. About a third of those who pay are Dissenters. St. James is large enough, the isles containing the inferior sort standing, and additional pews and galleries will provide accommodation equal to St. John's chapel (ff.88-9).

23 August 1723. Minute of the commission undertaking to purchase St. John's chapel (f.90), with (ff.92-3) two papers concerning the payment of £2,950 to Michell.

2 September 1723. Memorial by Michell describing the services in the chapel. He has paid two ministers £50 each and has provided an organ and organist. Offers to continue to meet the expenses of the chapel from pew rents until made parochial (f.94r-v).

15 November 1723. Memorandum by John James on the boundaries of the parishes of St. John and St. James (f.100r-v).

[22 November 1723]. Memorandum by Michell concerning the boundaries of the new parish to be allotted to St. John's chapel (ff.96-7). Enclosed (ff.98-9) are two tables of a proposed division of houses and rateable values for the two parishes.

[1723]. Memorandum by the minister, churchwardens, and inhabitants of St. James Clerkenwell, contesting Michell's proposals for division of the parish (ff.102-3). Also a further paper on the same (f.104).

[1723]. Order of the commission authorising Michell to manage the chapel of St. John until converted into a parish church, and requiring a scheme to be drawn up for division of the parish (f.105).

2 December 1723. Report by Edward Waddington, William Melmoth, and John Ellis on the division of the parish of St. James Clerkenwell (ff.106-7).

[1723]. The Proceedings before the Commissioners for building Fifty New Churches, &c. relating to a New Church in the Parish of St. James, Clerkenwel, extracted from their Books, and Papers, and Copies of their Minutes relating to a Division of the said Parish (ff.108-110).

31 January 1724. Report by John James that houses in St. John's Street purchased from Michell are unsuitable for a minister's house, and stating various improvements to the chapel desired by the parishioners (f.111r-v).

27 March 1724. Proposals by Michell to sell a house, which is described, on the east side of Red Lyon for a minister's house (f.113).

10 April 1724. Petition by the vestry of St. John Clerkenwell for a steeple and portico and internal improvements (13 signatures) (ff.115-16).

[1725]. Petition by the minister, churchwardens, and inhabitants of St. James Clerkenwell to the House of Commons, against a Bill to divide the parish. Copy (f.117).

[23 March 1725]. Petition by the rector, churchwardens, and vestry of St. John Clerkenwell to the House of Commons, for the endowment of the parish. Copy (f.119r-v).

[2 April 1725]. Petition by inhabitants of the new district taken out of the parish of St. James Clerkenwell to the House of Commons against the division of the parish. Copy (f.121r-v).

16 April 1725. Minute of the vestry of St. John Clerkenwell to seek assistance of the commission towards the cost of a new ceiling, altar rail and vestry (16 signatures) (f.123).

16 April 1725. Memorial by the rector, churchwardens, and vestry of St.John Clerkenwell that the Bill for endowing the parish be expedited (16 signatures) (f.125).

[1725]. Petition by John Ekins and Simon Michell, churchwardens of St.John Clerkenwell, for assistance with the cost of various works (f.127).

[3 February 1726]. Petition by the rector and churchwardens of the same that the endowment of the parish be forwarded, the rates yielding only about £60 a year and £1,500 being offered towards endowment (f.129).

[1726]. An Account of the Endowment by a Pound-Rate, of Churches in London, and of such New-Churches within the Bills of Mortality, the Parishes whereof have been taken out of the larger Parishes (f.131).

1 January 1742. Letter from J[ohn] Day to [John] Sherman, agent, inquiring about deeds of Clerkenwell churchyard (f.132).

ST. GEORGE BLOOMSBURY

5 May 1732. Report by Nicholas Hawksmoor and John James on a gallery added to the church without consent of the commission, repairs to the roof and other works (ff.134-5).

2 March 1733. Table of burial fees agreed at a vestry (f.136r-v).

30 January 1738. Legal opinion by William Straham concerning the commission's power to prescribe burial fees (f.138r-v).

8 February 1738. Letter from Edward Vernon, Rector of St. George Bloomsbury, sending a table of fees agreed by the vestry and asking that it be not confirmed by the commission as detrimental to the rector (f.140).

Enclosed (ff.142-5) a memorial by him on the same subject.

1738. Legal opinion by J. Andrew and J. Strange on burial fees. Copy (f.146).

[15 April 1738]. Reply by the churchwardens and vestry to Vernon's memorial (ff.142-5) (17 signatures) (ff.147-51).

14 April 1738. Affidavit by Margaret Presser, of Vine Street in the parish of St. George, widow, that her daughter was refused burial without payment of a fee (f.153).

15 April 1738. Affidavit by Thomas Cawthorne, parish clerk, concerning the burial of Margaret Presser's daughter (f.156). Also an affidavit by Isaac Holder, sexton, and William Smith, gravedigger, 18 April 1738 (f.157r-v). Endorsed with a note that the delay in burial was not due to the rector or parish clerk.

20 April 1738. Affidavit by Isaac Holder and William Smith concerning the burial of the parish poor (f.159).

[22 April 1738]. Reply by the Revd. Edward Vernon to the reply by the vestry to his memorial (ff.161-7). Also (f.168r-v) a further reply by the vestry, 26 April 1738 (13 signatures).

28 March 1701. Table of fees for the parish of St. Giles-in-the-Fields agreed by the vestry (f.170r-v).

4 June 1725. Table of fees for the parish of St. George-the-Martyr approved by the commission (f.172).

[22 May 1738]. Tables of fees [by the Revd. Edward Vernon] (ff.173-6).

16 June 1738. Table of fees proposed by the vestry, with a memorial on exemption of the poor from payment (14 signatures) (ff.177-80).

[2 March 1739]. Table of burial fees (ff.181v-182).

4 March 1739. Resolution of the vestry approving a table of burial fees for submission to the commission. Copy (f.183).

10 March 1739. Letter from the Revd. Edward Vernon concerning amendment of fees (f.184). Encloses (ff.186v-187) a comparative table of fees proposed by the rector and churchwardens.

28 March 1739. Memorial and proposed table of fees by the vestry, complaining that the commission has departed from the principle of the vestry that all persons buried in a plain deal coffin provided by the parish with 'the poors red letter'd cloth' and buried in the Poors Ground shall be buried free, in favour of defining the poor as those who die in the workhouse, or whose names are in the overseers' books, or who are poor by accident or sickness and relieved by the parish (16 signatures) (ff.188-91).

[-]. Table of fees (f.192).

[1739]. Table of fees (f.193).

28 May 1739. Letter from the Revd. Edward Vernon asking the commission to defray the legal expenses of buying an estate for endowment of the living (f.194).

31 May 1739. Order of the commission appointing burial fees. Copy (ff.196-198v).

[1739]. Writ of summons to Joseph Porter, John Sherman, and Nathaniel Barnardiston, gents., to give evidence in Chancery for Nathaniel Blackerby (f.202).

[19 June 1740]. Order of Chancery in Andrewes v Cawthorne for the production of books and papers (f.203).

1741. Subpoenas to John Sherman to testify in the Court of Common Pleas in John Andrews v Thomas Cawthorn (ff.205-8).

[30 March 1743]. Account of South Sea stock belonging to the rector of St. George according to the accounts of Nathaniel Blackerby (ff.209-12).

6 April 1743. Petition by the Revd. Edward Vernon for payment of money held for the endowment of the living by the late Nathaniel Blackerby, treasurer (f.213).

22 April 1743. Minute of the commission that payment to Vernon be deferred until Blackerby's estate settled (f.217).

ST. CLEMENT DANES

[9 November 1711]. Representation by the minister, churchwardens, and inhabitants of St. Clement Danes stating that the parish is in the liberties of the Duchy of Lancaster, in which the church stands, and Westminster, and includes Clements, Lyons, and New Inns. There are 1,690 houses and about 10,140 persons. Sites for a church are Craven House in Drury Lane, and Grange Inn in Little Lincoln's Inn Fields. A churchyard for the old church could be found in Milford Lane (19 signatures) (f.218r-v).

[18 December 1711]. Further representation by the minister, churchwardens, and inhabitants, protesting at proposal to attach Savoy Ward to the parish of St. Mary Le Savoy because it would increase the burden of the poor in St. Clement Danes and because it contains the house of the Earl of Exeter, patron of the same parish (13 signatures) (f.220).

15 February 1713. Minute of a meeting of churchwardens and inhabitants that Grange Inn be suitable as the site for a church. Copy (f.222).

[-]. Resolution of a general vestry that no part of the parish be detached to the parish of St. Mary Le Strand (f.223).

[26 July 1723]. Estimate by John James of the seating capacity of the church of St. Mary Le Strand (f.225).

ST. DUNSTAN STEPNEY

[1711]. Resolutions of the minister, churchwardens, and vestry of St. Dunstan Stepney, that Tenter Ground in the hamlet of Spitalfields is a suitable site for a church, churchyard, and minister's house, and recommending sites at Limehouse, Wapping, and Bethnal Green. A chapel at Black Wall would make a convenient church (24 names). Copy (f.227).

16 October 1711. Report by William Dickinson on sites recommended for churches by the parish of Stepney. Has also viewed a site in Lower Wapping, but advises against it because of the low level and four storehouses of gunpowder on it (f.228).

1 November 1711. Letter from Robert Shippen, Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford, to Thomas Rous, requesting that the number of churches to be built in Stepney be reduced to four unless means are found to improve the revenues of them (f.230).

[3 February 1727]. Petition by Edward Baldwin, parish clerk, for relief, the parish being divided (f.232).

[29 January 1728]. Estimate of the number of communicants and of the dues to the rector of Stepney in the hamlets of Bow, Poplar, Bethnal Green, Limehouse, Wapping, Spitalfields, and St. Dunstan; an estimate of the loss in collecting Easter offerings and garden pennies from the same; the clear annual value of each district (f.234).

235 ff.