The churchwardens' accounts of St Mary's Devizes 1633-1689

摘要

The Wiltshire Record Society is to be congratulated on producing a handsome, scholarly edition of the churchwardens' accounts for St Mary's, Devizes at a very reasonable price. Alex Craven has served the society well in his work as editor and rightly notes that here we have a valuable text spanning tumultuous times. The volume covers activities under the Laudian regime of the 1630s, how the parish coped during the Commonwealth and Interregnum, and then fared between the Restoration of the Church of England in 1660 and the Toleration Act of 1689. There are many excellent features to this volume, notably the addition of valuable maps and illustrations, details of the extensive property holdings of the church, and lists of the churchwardens, sidesmen, and feoffees. Full details are given of the 'charge' (income) and 'disbursements' (expenditure) on an annual basis; and there is usually a full inventory of church goods and ornaments, until at least 1678. It is noteworthy that the set of accounts is continuous, for such material has not always survived in such good order for the 1640s and 50s. In fact, it is a relatively full set of accounts, even if there is little dramatic to record regarding the building, other than a new set of bells in 1664.