A Short History of Great Dunmow Parish Church 1926

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A SHORT HISTORY OF

GREAT DUNMOW PARISH CHURCH

A DEDICATION

A Roman road, tall elms, and ancient fane, Woodland and mead studded with Tudor towers, God’s acre, gladdened by unbidden flowers

BY

That bloom and yearly die to live again; Peace, luminous as sunshine after rain, -

W, J. HOUSE, D.D. Vicar of Dunmow and Rural Dean,

An old world peace , careless of days and hours, Sure of the blue beyond the sky that lowers, Certain that neither Love nor Faith is vain.-

AND Oh! Ye that rest beyond yon hallowed sod,

FREDK ROBUS, Churchwarden 1919-1927 (and printer) (Author of ‘Lionel Lukin’; ‘Dunmow and its Charters’ and ‘Dunmow Parish Registers’)

Yet urge with memory’s strength our feet to move In childlike steps along the path ye trod: Know that we hope and strive e’en as ye strove, Know that we seek as ye our way to God, Know that we live as ye by Faith and Love.

H. WICKHAM STEED.

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A SHORT HISTORY OF GREAT DUNMOW PARISH CHURCH PRE-REFORMATION PERIOD.

Saxon Times.

Christianity was introduced into Essex in the year 604 by Mellitus, one of Augustine’s companions, who was sent from Canterbury to preach the Gospel to the Essex King Sabaret and his subjects. Converts were made and a church built in London, but after a short time the people reverted to paganism, and drove Mellitus out of Essex.

About 50 years afterwards (653) Christianity was re-introduced into Essex, this time permanently, by St Cedd and his attendant missionaries, who came all the way from their monastery at Lindisfarne to convert the Essex people.

How soon Dunmow received Christianity it is impossible to tell, for not a trace remains of any church in Dunmow previous to the present building.

But we do know that there was a Saxon church here in 1045, because in that year, by the will of one Thurston, a half hide of land and a toft were left to the church. (1).

NOTE. The authors of this little book are much indebted to the “Royal Commission on Historical Monuments” and W.T. Scott’s “Antiquities of an Essex Parish.”

(1) Thurston’s will is translated thus, “And I give to Mervyn and his wife and their children the land at Dunmawe, except a half hide that shall go to the church and a toft.” A hide was as much land as would support one family, the actual number of acres varying at different times and places. A toft was an enclosed meadow near a house.

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Sometimes the Saxons built solidly when taught by Norman architects, who were encouraged to come over from Normandy by Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) to guide the rude islanders in the paths of civilisation. We have an example of this in the Saxon tower at Lt Bardfield. More often a Saxon church was like the one that still survives at Greensted near Ongar. The nave of this church is just a log hut with walls composed of trunks of oak trees, split down the middle , with the curved outer portion of the trees on the outside. In some such rude building as this the few inhabitants of Dunmow probably worshipped.

Norman Times.

In 1066 came the Norman Conquest, which brought England into the main current of Western civilisation, both in Church and State.

The Normans for the most part did not interfere with the native parochial clergy, though in later years (1294 & 1310) two Normans of the noble house of Clare (Roger de Clare and Richard de Clare) became incumbents of Dunmow. They contented themselves by placing Norman bishops in charge of all the most important dioceses, and as soon as William was firmly seated on his new throne, he ordered the great survey for taxation purposes to be made, which is known as the Doomsday Book, so called because it was no more possible to appeal from it than from the Last Judgement. In this famous book the English Chronicler complains that William compelled every man to declare “what and how michle he had in land and in cattle, and michle fee it was worth. So very narrowly he let speer it out that there was not a single hide, nor a yard of land, nor so much as -it is a shame to tell, though he thought it no shame to do – an ox, nor a cow, nor a swine left that was not set in his writ.”

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One result of this methodical survey of England made in 1086 is that we get a glimpse of Dunmow as it appeared to the royal surveyor in that year. The following the Dunmow entry as translated in the Victoria history of Essex :--

bringing more land into cultivation, so that the number of swine was diminishing as the forest in which they lived began to disappear. And may not the “2 hides and 30 acres” mentioned as apart from the manor be an early instance of a small holding?

“Dommawa [Great Dunmow] was held by Wisgar, in King Edward’s time, as 1 manor, and as 2 hides and 30 acres. Then as now (semper) (1) 2 ploughs on the demesne, and two ploughs belonging to the men, and 5 villeins. Then 4 bordars (2) now seven. Then as now (semper) 4 serfs.

(There was ) then wood(land) for 500 swine, now for 300. There are 15 acres of meadow. Then as now (semper) 1 mill. Then and afterwards it was worth 60 shillings, now 100. And this land is claimed by Vital, 1 knight (1 miles), as having been held, he asserts, by 1 free man in King Edward’s time. In this manor 1 priest holds, as he held (tenet semper), half a hide in almoin (3), and half a plough (was there) then as now (semper) and 2 bordars. This manor is held by Ernald (of William).”

It must have been a strange sight in the early days of the Norman occupation to see the conquered Saxons and the Norman lord and his retainers wending their way along the quiet roads and footpaths through the forest to the little Dunmow church, where they assuredly worshipped side by side, the Saxon for the time being smothering his hatred and resentment and the Norman subduing his haughty contempt. Hence, as elsewhere, owing largely to the healing influence of religion, the distinction between Norman and Saxon had entirely disappeared by the beginning of the 13th century. The Normans were great builders, and in most towns and villages pulled down the rough Saxon churches and rebuilt them in the solid Norman style. But of any actual Norman church here not a vestige remains.

There are also four other manors belonging to Great Dunmow described in Doomsday Book, viz., Bigods (Alferestune), Merks, Newton Hall and Shingle Hall. No mention is made of the church because doomsday Book was a survey of taxable property only.

So we get an interesting glimpse of Dunmow as it appeared 900 years ago. It was just a small settlement in a great forest which covered most of Essex, with four other small settlements joined on to it. The inhabitants were very few, but they were gradually clearing the woodland and (1) Then as now (semper) means both in the time of King Edward the Confessor and at the time of the survey.

(2) A bordar was one who held a cottage at the will of his lord.

(3) In almoin means free from the obligation of military service.

Concerning Rectors and Vicars.

The following five names do not appear in Newcourt’s Repertorium, and we do not know whether they were rectors or Vicars :-Geoffrey de Dunmowe Roger de Clare Richard de Clare Richard de Ludlowe John Knyvet

1197 1294 1310 1320 1345

But from 1361 to 1481 Dunmow had the privilege of enjoying the services of both a Rector and a Vicar. This does not necessarily mean that they were both responsible for the services at the church. The Rector, appointed by the patron for the time being – the Duke of Clarence, or King Henry IV, or Richard Duke of York – took for his own use the greater

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part of the tithe, and used the rest to pay a Vicarious or substitute to perform the actual duty. This curious arrangement still survives in a few parishes today. At Wimbish, in North-west Essex, there is a rector who enjoys a stipend with a sinecure, and a vicar who is paid less but does all the work. From 1481 to 1540 the “Rector” of Great Dunmow was the community of the Dean and Canons of Stoke on Suffolk. Clare Priory is now but a beautiful garden of ruins crowned and dominated by the remains of a castle, but it has left a permanent record in the English language in the name of claret. The lord of the manor of Clare had vineyards in France, and the wine shipped in those days to Clare, then a port on the Stour, was known as the wine of Clare, and called clarette.

For centuries the monasteries had been getting possession of the revenues and property belonging to the parish churches. The monks used the money so obtained to build their own magnificent abbeys and monasteries, but very often the parish churches had to put up with the services of a vicar appointed by the monastery and paid as little as possible. This accounts for a great deal of the unpopularity of the monks in the 16th century, so that when Henry VIII in 1540 dissolved all the smaller monasteries, they had very few friends to speak for them. They were popularly regarded as the robbers of the ordinary parish churches of which they happened to be Rector or Patron.

Unfortunately the “great tythe” payable to the “Rector” of Dunmow was not restored to the parish in 1540. It was given to one of Henry VIII’s courtiers, and has remained in private possession ever since. So that to this day you have a lay Rector whose sole responsibility is to keep the chancel in decent repair, who still enjoys the “great tythe,” while the Vicar does all the parochial work and is paid by the “lesser tythe”.

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Early chapels.

Until quite recently for rating purposes Dunmow was divided into three separate divisions or quarters – Dunmow Corporation, Bishopswood Quarter, and Bigods Quarter – and in pre-Reformation days each of these quarters had a chapel of their own entirely separate from the parish church.

BISHOPSWOOD CHAPEL. In Bishopswood Quarter there is a field called chapel field and it is said that men ploughing in this field have come across some of the foundations of the old chapel. It is s aid to derive its name from Theodred, Bishop of London, who owned land in Dunmow and on his death left these lands to St Paul’s church, London. It does not seem to have been used as a chapel after 1371, as the following extract from Pat 13 Eliz, pt 4, m 3, quoted in the Essex Review, shows, “A chapel called Bisshoppswarde Chapel, in Dunmow, was sold in 1371 to Richard Hill and Robert Donne.”

BIGODS CHAPEL Two fields lying in front of Bigods Hall are still called chapel field, and there are indications that an ecclesiastical building of some sort had at one time been erected on this spot. It is not known when this chapel was abolished, but Morant, who wrote in 1768, says, “There hath been near it [Bigods] a church or chapel, from which a field is still called chapel field.”

DUNMOW CHAPEL “Pope Calixtus III in 1456 granted an indult to the parishioners, who had erected and furnished a chapel of St George the Martyr, to institute init one or more priests to celebrate masses and other divine offices whenever the weather was rough. (Cal. Papal letters, vol, XI, p.92.) (1).

“Dunmow Magna.- Certain lands given by will and also put in feoffament (i)

Essex Arch. Soc. Trans., vol. xvi, pt 2.__

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to divers persons to find a priest forever. The said priest to say divine service in the chapel sett and buylde in Dunmow streat which is distant from the Parish Church there half a myle. About which chapel is the chife pte of the towne the number of 600 huslyng people (1) and above which lands ben worth by yere £9 19 3, whereof ffor rents resolute (2) 22/7 } th ffor the 10 13/4 } 35/11 “And so remaineth clere £6 3 4.

“There is neither juells ornaments goods nor catells appertaining to the chantries and ffre chapels within written” (3) The first of these extracts show when and why this chapel was erected, the second shows that it was in the chief part of the town and that it had an income independent of the Parish Church.

This chapel remained church property, as it appears in the parish accounts as late as 1541. It was a wooden building, plastered, and roofed with tiles. Later on it became the property of the Dunmow Corporation, and by them was let to “Goodman Tailor” in the 17th century. Its site is doubtful, but when some cottages in the High Street were pulled down to be replaced by the present Post Office, a very large room was found with strong oak beams, which may have been the original Dunmow chapel.

it marches with Pleshey and High Easter, so that the boundary there is more than five miles from the Vicarage. The question is naturally raised, why was the present church built almost in a corner of the parish, and almost a mile from the actual town of Dunmow?

The town has always been where it now stands, with Church End a small outlying part of the town. The very name ‘Dunmow’ means “the town on the hill”; whereas the church stands on low ground in the valley of the Chelmer, so that its fine tower is dwarfed by the rising ground on all sides of it.

The site of the present church.

The parish of Great Dunmow contains 6746 acres. Towards Stebbing it extends for little more than a mile to Dunmow Farm, but at the other end (1) “Huslyng people” were communicants. 600 communicants must seem rather a large number for a small place like Dunmow, but it must be remembered people were in those days admitted to communion at a very young age.

(2) “Rents resolute” were rents payable to the Crown from lands of Religious Houses; the “10th” of the annual income paid to the Pope, and afterwards to the Crown.

(3) W,T Scott.

The church accounts for 1527 give the names of “The Rye Street, Newe Street, “and “Church End,” amongst others, and the names of the subscribers to the re-building of the church tower. In the High Street there are 20 subscribers, in New Street17, and in the whole of Church End only 11. From these three items may be gathered the relative population of Dunmow Town and Church End. Mr W.T. Scott quotes a Chartulary (compiled 1445) which clearly defines the position of the Market Place (which market was granted by charter in 1253) as standing in the King’s highway, called Stane Srate,” in the Roman road from Colchester to St Albans, and incidentally mentions that in 1372 the monks of Tilty held a tenement in the Market Place of Dunmow, on the site of the White Horse Inn which still pays quittance to the manor of Tilty.

In the face of all this evidence we cannot but come to the conclusion that when the earliest part of the present church was built the church and town occupied exactly the same position as now.

Why then was the church built so far away from the town? Mr Scott conjectures that this inconvenient arrangement was due to a compromise between the townsfolk and the lord of the manor at Bigods.

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Originally Bigods was a separate little village, “but laid to Dunmow since temp. Ric.!. and before 2 Henry III.”, i.e. before 1217. When the church at Dunmow was built, they fixed the site exactly half way between Bigods and the town.

lord, who would in that case have been already the owner of it. It is therefore at least not improbable that he acquired the advowson by building the church, which would put its date about the middle of the thirteenth century.

13th century church.

It is interesting of course but it does not really matter why the church was built so far away from the town, or who was the builder of it; but it does matter that the romance of this old doorway should be appreciated.

Think how many years it has been in existence and used under many social and religious changes – 670 years. Now 765 years. Think of the many generations of happy parents who have proudly brought their children to be baptised and received into the church; of the confirmation candidates who have solemnly dedicated their lives to Christ and received the benediction of the bishops of their day; of the many who have confessed and received comfort, counsel and absolution; of the happy brides and bridegrooms; and last but not least of those who have departed this life and are buried I the church or churchyard. A large majority of the inhabitants of Dunmow for 670 years have passed or been carried under this old doorway and we who live in the present day have the privilege and consolation of walking under it and worshipping in the church as all our forefathers did.

There is nothing left to show us what our 13th century church was like, except (1) the beautifully moulded archway, supported by two slender columns with projecting capitals (probably re-set and partly restored), which encloses the doorway leading from the porch into the south aisle; and (2) some deeply moulded voussoirs (stones forming part of an arch) now re-used mostly in the north arcade of the nave.

These voussoirs were originally part of an arcade dividing the nave from the aisle, so that we may safely assume that our 13th century church possessed a nave and an aisle divided by an arcade; that there was a chancel also may be taken for granted. It is also said that some stones used in the clerestory windows are of 13th century date.

We have no evidence to show the names of the builders of this 13th century church, neither is there any means of discovering who was priest in charge of the parish at the time, for there is a lapse of nearly 100 years between the appointment of Geoffrey de Dunmowe in 1197 and Roger de Clare in 1294. But Mr Scott ventures to put forth the following conjecture: “There is however a M.S. which throws some light on the matter. This states that Richard Fitz Symond (who seems to have held the manor of Dunmow under the lord) made over to Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester (Lord of the manor; died 1262), a rood of land in Great Dunmow, together with the advowson of the church there. Now this Richard Fitz Symond could not have held the advowson in the same way as he held the manor ; or he would not have been able to convey it to his

Rebuilding of the chancel and the north and south aisles about 1350.

About the year 1350 (during the reign of Edward III.) the ecclesiastical authorities in Dunmow were busy with the great restoration and rebuilding of their church. The chancel and both north and south aisles were re-built in what is known as the Decorated style – a style that was prevalent in church architecture during the greater part of the 14 th century. This re-building gave us practically the present chancel and north and south aisles.

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The chancel is 54½ft. by 23 ft., and is remarkable for its loftiness, its length, and its three successive rows of steps that raise the altar an imposing height above the floor of the nave. The roof inside is a good specimen of trussed rafter work; the outside is covered with lead, and at the east end is a much-weathered cross.

An aumbrey or locker (a small plain recess in which the chalice, paten and other small and valuable appurtenances were kept when not in use) may still be seen at the east end of the chancel. Doubtless originally the opening was covered with wooden doors, but these have long since been removed.

The very fine east window (1350) has five lights, with tracery in a two centred head, the arch being occupied by a very graceful wheel. The stained glass is modern, being filled in in 1891 and 1913 to the memory of various Dunmow folk. A small round window over the great east window may just be seen opening into the roof.

Also in the south wall may be seen a 14th century double piscina, with two basins and drains divided by a small column. Above the basins are three niches, two for resting the chalice on and one for resting the paten.

This has been much damaged. Piscinas were used in mediaeval times for washing the hands of the celebrant priest and cleansing the sacred vessels; draining the water into the earth was thought the most reverent way of disposing of it.

There are four windows (1350) on the north side of the chancel, each of two trefoiled and sub-cusped lights, with a sub-cusped quatrefoil in a two centred head. The westernmost window is filled in with modern stained glass in memory of Annie Crawley Thring, and beneath it is a low sided window, now blocked. These four windows are considered to be well proportioned and fine specimens of the Decorated period. On the south side is a window similar to those on the north side, which is filled with modern glass to the memory of Rev’d H.L Majendie, and in the far west another blocked up window matching the one on the north side. On the outside of the chancel may be seen two windows blocked up and plastered over.

Built in the south wall of the chancel is a much-damaged 14th century triple sedilia, each seat rising a few inches above the other towards the east. Some of its ornamentation bears the impress of deliberate destruction, its outer mouldings having been knocked off and left rough.

These seats were originally used by the priest and his attendants during the celebration of Mass.

The north aisle is 10 ft. wide. In the east wall is a window of three trefoiled lights with tracery in the square heads- much restored. In the tracery of this window is some 15th century, stained glass foliage. In the north wall are four windows. The easternmost is of the 15 th century, but much restored. It contains the most remarkable glass in the church and is the work of Mr Lewis F. Day. The fine figure of our Lord, in his priestly robe, raises His hand in blessing, from a bower of vine leaves, enshrining the text, “I am the true vine,” etc. The colouring is perfectly wonderful.

The only thing that can be said against it is that the brilliant colouring takes the eye as soon as you enter the church, and makes you look there instead of at what should be the central feature of the church – the altar and the east window. This glass is in memory of Charlotte Young. The second window from the east end contains some 15th century foliage, the third 14th century canopus with figures of St mark and St Luke, and the fourth some 15th century fragments of medallions with figure of Christ. In the west wall is a blocked window of 15th century date. All these windows are smaller and inferior in design to the chancel windows.

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The south aisle is 10 ft. wide. The three windows are of the same date (1350) but much restored. The window near the font (West end) contains modern glass to the memory of William Johnson, and the one to the east of the doorway a strange medley of old glass of the 15th, 16th and 17th century work.

From the above particulars can be reconstructed the Dunmow church as it stood in 1350. There was a nave, north and south aisles and a chancel but no south chapel, no clerestory and possibly no tower.

Mediaeval builders.

During the 15th century our church at Dunmow grew to its present glorious dimensions. To the 14th century church were added, between 1400 and 1450, the west tower, one of the finest features of the church, and the south aisle was prolonged to the west. Immediately afterwards the arcades of the nave were re-built, the chancel arch widened, the south porch added, and the clerestory, which with its windows makes the church so beautifully light, built over the nave.

Roughly we may say, therefore, that it took 150 years, from 1350 to 1500, to make the church as we know it now. So, we find the remarkable differences which strike us at once when we compare an ancient mediaeval church like our own with any modern imitation of it built during the Gothic revival of the 19th century. The modern church is the work of one man, a trained architect, belonging to a learned profession, and producing very often beautiful results. But the whole work bears the impress of one man’s character and individual taste. The mediaeval church was the result of the collective effort of several generations of church people. Ther was no architect in our sense of the word. Master builders of course took general control from time to time, but the church was actually built by the people themselves, for the people. Architecture

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Was not a highly specialised profession but the whole nation was artistic, keenly interested on the church building that was going on. The actual building was done by the village stonemason and the carving cut, not by professional sculptors, but by the men on the spot, the ironwork hammered in the forge of the local blacksmith, the wood carving by the local carpenter. There was scope for the expression of the infinite variety of men’s gifts and capacities, because the humblest craftsman could point with pride to some piece of work in the parish church for which he was himself responsible. In this way a mediaeval church grew with a natural growth, like that of an oak tree, through the centuries. It was a real expression of the soul of a people. The modern church is necessarily one imported from outside, put together artificially. Its builders bring in from outside its fittings and ornaments manufactured in some far off workshop. All that people on the spot can do is to find the money for the building in which they are to worship. Everything else is done for them by the professional architects, builders, sculptors and craftsmen. Thus inevitably the modern church lacks the charm and graciousness of the mediaeval church which it tries to copy. There is an atmosphere about the older building because it expresses in stone and mortar the love and aspirations of the whole community., all working together to one perfect and lovely achievement raised to the glory of God.

The Tower.

Somewhere between 1400 and 1450 the west tower, one of the finest features of the church, was built. It is 15 ft. square (inside measurement) and 73 ft, 10 in, high to the top of the battlement, and is built in three stages, with square buttresses which have splayed angles and are carried up as small embattled turrets, the parapet also being embattled.

Originally within the south-west turret there was a winding stone staircase, which was filled up about 1580 in order to strengthen the

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tower. The blocked up doorway may still be seen.

Outside the west doorway has moulded jambs and two-centred arch in a square head with traceried spandrils, each containing a plain shield; the moulded label over the doorway has two modern headstops, one showing the features of bishop Festing of St Albans and the other those of the Rev A.C. Roberts, vicar of Dunmow 1888-1905. Above the doorway are thirteen square panels, alternately cusped and quatrefoiled, divided by narrow panels with trefoiled heads, each containing a shield formerly charged with arms, one of which was the Royal arms of England as borne

by Ed.III, Ric.II, and Henry IV, but now plain. On each side of the west door are holy water stoops much damaged. There are three windows in the second stage, each with two trefoiled lights in a two centred head with a a moulded label and grotesque stops, but on the eastern side there is a loop, or small narrow light, looking out onto the roof of the nave. The third stage, or bell chamber, has four windows, each with three cinquefoiled ogee light, with tracery in a square head and a moulded label; the east and west window have each one blocked light, all much restored. Inside the tower is a lofty 15th century archway, of great dignity and beauty, leading into the nave, moulded and two centred, the moulded responds each having an attached shaft with a moulded capital and base. The ceiling of the lowest stage of the tower is a fine specimen of wood carving, probably of the same date as the tower itself, and consists of four interesting beams having carvings of three heads and a quatrefoil on bosses at the intersection.

Building of the clerestory and other 15th century work.

In the 15th century the clerestory (the upper story of the nave) was added, and all the very attractive-looking battlements on the nave and aisle. In the clerestory there are four windows on the north side and four on the south, each of three cinquefoiled lights under a segmental head

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The south aisle was lengthened towards the west, and the chancel widened, many of the old stones being re-used.

Porch and gallery.

The south porch measures 15½ ft. by 10 ft., and was built in the 15th century in the Perpendicular style. Viewed from the churchyard gate, its unusual height, its embattlements, and its panelled and crocketed pinnacles gives an impression of grandeur scarcely equalled by any other church porch in Essex, and a nearer view presents beautiful windows, niches for statues of saints, holy water stoops (though the carving is sadly decayed), and consecration crosses that must appeal irresistibly to any lover of church architecture or church lore.

The approach to the upper chamber is inside the church, through an old oak door studded with nails and insetted in a low and narrow arch, up a stone winding staircase, built at the north-west angle of the porch, at the top of which another low arch forms the entrance to the upper room.

In the chamber over the porch (which was doubtless in pre-Reformation days used as a chapel) is a beautiful stone niche that once contained a statue of the Blessed Virgin, usually styled in the old chuch accounts “Owre Lady of Bedlem (shortened form of Bethlehem)”. The Blessed Sacrament, reserved in a pyx (a sacred box in which the Host was kept after consecration), was hung in front of the statue, and over it swung a light, constantly kept burning in honour of the Sacrament.

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19 The wooden gallery still remaining in the church is probably unique, inasmuch as it was built in pre-Reformation days. There is no sign of a piscina or any trace of an altar in this upper room, but doubtless many worshippers knelt before “Owre Lady of Bedlem,” and as the room was small it is suggested that this gallery was built for the accommodation of the overflowing congregation who said their devotions before the patron saint of the church. The well-worn steps of the winding staircase are abundant evidence that the chamber was well used.

The gallery rests on oak beams standing close to the second and third columns of the south arcade. These beams, (Wholly ancient work), continued upwards, not only support the gallery, but the roof of the gallery as well, which is distinct from the aisle roof. And runs north and south concurrently with that of the porch. Three sides of the gallery are protected by wooden panel work about three feet high, and above this panel work rise wooden mullions (or upright divisions between the panels) surmounted by boarding reaching to the roof; beneath this boarding is a little simple tracery. Only six of these mullions and about ten feet of panelling are ancient; the remainder are a modern restoration. The inside measurement of the gallery is 10 ft. by 11 ft. 8 in., and the height from the underside of the plate to the floor is 12 ft. The floor of the gallery is 3 ft. 4 in. lower than that of the porch chamber. The workmanship of the roof of the gallery is of a totally different style from that of the roof of the upper chamber of the porch.

We have no record of this gallery earlier than that contained in an old manuscript kept at the Herald’s College, dated 1637, which states that it was at that time “the seate belonging to Newton Hall.” Old inhabitants can remember this gallery being used as the family pwe of he residents of newton Hall, and state that it was approached by an imposing wooden staircase erected inside the church on the west side of the gallery.

This gallery had a narrow escape from destruction in the restoration of 1872. The architect (the late Mr Street) realised what a unique structure the church possessed, and when some of the parishioners wished to make away with it with the other galleries he strongly protested, and declared that if it were taken away, he would not carry on or complete the restoration. We owe the late Mr Street a debt of gratitude for this at least.

The chapel of St John the Baptist.

The south chapel is 34 ft. by 16 ft. and was built in the 15th century. The work necessitated the removal of the three windows from the south wall of the chancel and the building in their place of an arcade of two bays to make the new chapel open into the chancel. The remains of some of the stonework of these windows may still be seen incorporated in the new work. In the south wall are two windows, one modern and the other partly restored, and between these two windows is a small doorway almost entirely modern. The east window is 15th century, but much restored, and the western arch is modern.

Our 15th century church.

Roughly we may say that it took 150 years, from 1350 to 1500, to build the church as we know it now, and a very good 150 years work it was too.

If we could see the church as it was immediately before the Reformation from the outside it would look almost exactly as it does today. The only addition is the vestry built on the north-west corner at the end of the last century. Our forefathers, like ourselves could admire the exquisite proportions of the general design, the long line of walls and roof, culminating in the noble tower, and broken on the south side by the

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beautiful south porch, with the turret from the staircase skilfully masking the junction of the two walls, and the chamber overhead. The consecration crosses still remain in the buttresses north and south of the porch, and the grotesque gargoyles, through which the rainwater from the roof still flows. But the large holy water stoops in the south porch and by the west door have been smashed, and the stone figures of saints over the porch have disappeared.

But in the interior, though walls and pillars and roof remain the same, the church presents a very different appearance. Our mediaeval forefathers rioted in colour. Living, like ourselves, under grey English skies, they tried to escape their dullness by clothing themselves on state occasions in many-coloured garments, and in their churches, they revelled in all the colours of the rainbow. They filled their windows with painted glass and covered the walls with frescoes. Books were rare and expensive, and few could read or write, but most people knew the Bible stories as well as we do today, because they saw them in picture in the windows and on the walls every time they came to church. The plays at Corpus Christi, Christmas and other festivals given in the church itself familiarised every child with the story of our Lord and the saints.

They not only painted the walls, but even the stonework of the tracery over the piscina and sedilia in the church. Some fragments still glowing in purple, gold and crimson are preserved in a box in the parvise. Like the Greeks, our forefathers had no scruples in painting stone. They would seem at all costs to have tried to escape from the greyness which is the predominant note in a modern church, and Dunmow church today would seem to them a somewhat cold and cheerless place of worship.

The churchwarden’s earliest account book.

Dunmow church is very fortunate in being the possessor of a very valuable and interesting old churchwarden’s account book. It dates from

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1526 and carries on more or less regularly to 1621. It gives year by year the ordinary everyday receipts and payments for the upkeep of the church, and the names and the amounts of the contributions of the parishioners to any special work of the church, and it incidentally throws much light on the history of Dunmow church and its inside furnishings and the social life of the town during Mediaeval times, the transition period, and after the Reformation. Fromm its contents we learn much of guilds, the revels indulged in at Christmas, Plough Monday, May day, All Saints Day, and above all Corpus Christi Day, which seems to have been the great festival of the church.

The book contains 97 leaves (measuring about 16 ins. By 10 ins.) of closely written manuscript, the earlier part of which is a beautiful specimen of the scrivener’s art. At the ned of the accounts are some interesting notes of vestry meetings, and a list of the churchwardens and sidesmen, overseers of the poor and surveyors of the highway from 1679 to 1768.

It is enclosed in a very solid and beautiful leather binding or cover, back and overlapping flap. The back is strengthened with five strips of leather, just over an inch wide, sewn on with narrow strips of white leather and strong cord, the middle one forming a clasp (now broken off).

There is an inscription on the front of the cover in Gothic letters about two inches long, and one on the flap an inch long; both inscriptions are enclosed in a plain and ornamental border, the whole embossed or stamped with dies from the back, so that it stands out in relief. The top and bottom of the cover and flap are ornamented with scored lines. The cover is first lined with a thick white parchment, sewn on with stout linen thread, and then strengthened with another sheet, with folded over edges, which was formerly pasted on but now is loose.

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There is some doubt as to the meaning of the inscription on the cover; also as to the reason why such an ornamental cover should be used for an ordinary church account book.

The Rev. L. A. Majendie (Essex Arch. Soc. Pub. 1863) says: “This cover, which is of leather, wuld seem to have originally been the cover of some service book, if we may judge by the inscription ‘Jesus maria’ which appears upon it in embossed letters.”

W.T Scott (Atiq. Of an Essex Parish) says: “On the cover are stamped the words ‘Jhesus Maria’ with the abbreviations ‘Na-Ca. Be Mie.’ I have little doubt that the last two are for ‘Beate Maria.’ ‘Na-Ca may possibly stand for Natus Carne.’ I only suggest this interpretation, however, for want of a better. The meaning would then be ‘Born of the flesh of the Blessed Mary.’ “ Dr Andrew Clark (Essex Review, 1910) says: “The inscriptions on the front are JHESUS and MARIA in two panels, in letters two inches high. On the flap, which folded over this and was secured by a clasp now lost, we read, in four panels (a) NA; (b) SA, the S very shaky, apparently from a false stroke of the die; (c) BE; and (d) ILLIS, the S a badly formed letter. I take these to be a continuation of the JHESUS, viz, NASRENUS BENEDIC ILLIS: [Jesus] of Nazareth, bless them, i.e. those donors to the church who are mentioned within the book.”.

THE RESTORATION OF THE CHURCH TOWER, 1526.

The church account book gives a full record of receipts and expenditure for the restoration of the tower undertaken in 1526, from which we extract the following interesting particulars: The total amount spent was £18..15..9, of which sum £7..7..6 was paid to the masons. Twice a messenger was sent to Thaxted to obtain the

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services of one Buttoll, who was an expert in scaffold building, but without success, for Robarde Kelynge was paid xjs. For making the staging. The stone was quarried in the Midlands, brought down in barges to Ditton near Cambridge, thence brought by road to Dunmow. The lime came from Hadham, by Bishop’s Stortford, and from Shelford, near Cambridge. The nails were brought from Takeley. The bricks came from Easton and cost £4s 8d for 1200. The bellhanger came from Chelmsford.

Mr Kynwelmerch was paid 18s for “oks and hardell rodds” – just the amount of his subscription to the restoration. The trees were cut down and used in a green state. A labourer was paid 4d. a day and a journeyman 6d. Thomas Savage, probably the churchwarden, gave the magnificent sum of £.3..6..8, by far the largest subscriber in the whole list. In the above accounts a Thomas savage was paid 5s for fifteen days work (4d a day); and he took a two days’ journey on horseback to Cambridge and Ditton to seek for stone, for which he received 2s. It may seem strange to us in these days, but it is not at all unlikely that this generous churchwarden and this worker at a labourer’s pay of 4d. a day were one and the same person.

Altars.

In pre-Reformation times there were three altars in the church, all built of alabaster. (1) The High Altar dedicated to the Blessed Virgin; (2) the altar in the chapel to the south of the chancel, dedicated to st John the Baptist; and (3) an altar dedicated to St George, which stood at the east end of the south aisle. The piscinas of these three altars still remain in situ.

Extract from account book: “Itm payde for dressyn the iij alters of alabaster ijs.” Again “Itm payde for the burnyscheyng of Seynt Johns arter & Seynt George auter iijs. iiijd.”

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Over the High Altar, in a tabernacle or movable shrine, stood a statue of the Blessed Virgin, commonly called “Owre lady in the chancel,” and sometimes “Our Lady Petty,” to distinguish it from the larger statue in the porch chamber. Both the tabernacle and the statue were newly gilt in 1527 and in 1538 a new tabernacle was bought at Hatfield for 20s.

The statue was covered by a curtain suspended on rods of iron, with rings attached to enable the curtains to be drawn and the statue shown to the worshippers. Above this was a canopy or framework of metal, supported by staves, with a rich cloth of velvet ornamented with little bells. This canopy was not attached to the altar, but was so arranged that it could be removed and carried over the statue of the Blessed Virgin in procession, or over the Host when taken to the sick.

Extract from church accounts, 1526: “Item payde to Burle in zernest [money paid to seal the bargain] off ye gyldyng off owre lady xxd.” And in 1527, “Ite pade to Burle for the rest of the gyldy of owre lady vjs. viijd.” In 1538, “Itm payd to Mr Nooke for a tabernacle bought at Hatfield xxs.,” and again in 1526, “Item for claperynge of iij letel bells for ye canepe jd.”

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The largest contribution was £1; there were 45 at 2d and 13 at 1d. The organ was bought at Saffron Walden and cost £9. £2 was paid first, when the agreement to purchase was made, as a kind of earnest money, £5..6..8 when the organ was brought home, and £1..13..4 as a final payment. During the progress of building the organ, visits were made to saffron Walden by the church officials to see how the work progressed.

The church employed a paid organist. In 1543 he was paid at the rate of 40s a year. The first organist’s name mentioned in the accounts is Cock, and he is once styled “Sir Cocke” (a courtesy title given to an important church officer), “to make up the wagys for won quarter of Sir Cocke xjd.”

Extracts from church accounts: 1527, “Ite for mendynge off ye organ bels [bellows] ijd. 1531, “Itm to Thomas Rolfe for gluing the bellys of the organs ijd.” 1531 “Itm to the organ maker in pty of payment xls.” “Itm spent when John Clarke were at Walden to see the orgayne vjd.” “Itm payd to the orgayn maker when they came home vli vjs viijd.” “itm gevyn to hys suannt [servant] in rewarde ijd.” “itm payd to organe maker in full paymt xxxiijs iiijd.”

Organ.

Dunmow church possessed an organ as early as 1527, and perhaps very much earlier, for it was in that year that the churchwardens spent 2d. on repairing the bellows. It is rather unusual for the church of a small town to have an organ at this early date.

In 1531 the churchwardens purchased a new organ. A special subscription was gathered to defray the cost. The following interesting particulars are culled from the church accounts: There were 148 subscribers.

The Easter Sepulchre.

An entry in the church accounts for 1527, “for pins and nails for the canopy and sepulchre iiijd, “reminds us of an interesting ceremony in Holy Week. The Host was placed in the “sepulchre” on the evening of Good Friday and left until Easter Eve, surrounded by lights and attended by watchers. So we get the entries in the church accounts: “Item paid for charcoal to watch the sepulchre vjd.” “It payd to Harry Tomson ffor ij busshells of coly to watche the sepulker att Estr wt all iiijd.” And “Item paid to William George for tending the sepulchre light iiijd.”

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On Easter Day the Host was taken from the sepulchre and replaced in its former position before the High Altar. The whole rite was a symbolical representation of the burial and resurrection of our Lord. In some churches, as at Frating in Essex and Hawton in Notts., the sepulchre was a permanent shrine, which still survives today on the north or south wall of the chancel. But at Dunmow, as at most English parish churches, the sepulchre was only a temporary arrangement, made of wood, put together with pins and nails, erected each year, and taken down when the service was over.

Bells.

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1532 there is an entry of 21s extra paid to Lawrance, “Item payd to Larance belfonder of London in recompence for that he sayed ower bell wayed more than they dyd before he shotte (cast) theyme xxjs.”

In 1530 the churchwardens entered into a contract with “Father Hasyll of Hadley Smytthe” to keep all the ironwork of the bells in order “for viijs a zer as longe as he doth leue ([live] & ys abyll to wark.” Although this contract covered the ironwork, there are many entries for other repairs.

In 1536 a new bell was bought, and a subscription list was opened to raise money to pay for it.

It is evident from the old church accounts that Dunmow people in preReformation times – even as they do in the present day—took great interest in and spent much money on their bells, though it is impossible to tell how many were hung in the tower.

In 1526 the following items of money spent on repairs appear: “Item payde to John Oltynge for mendynge of the clapers the zere a ffore that we cam on vjs viijd.” “Item to Kynge for trussynge up of ye bell clapers id.”

When a portion of the tower was re-built in 1526 the bells were apparently re-hung. There is a long account of money “Layde owte for ye Belframe & ffor ye Bells.”

In 1527 the bells received a good deal of attention by way of repairs. In 1538 it was agreed that the whole of the bells should be re-cast, and an agreement was made with a London bell-founder (probably Thomas Lawrance, a then well-known London bell-founder), to do the work. “Item payde to the belfownder to do the work in yernest of the bargain iijs iiijd.”

The date of the earliest of our present bells is 1613. We have no record of what became of these pre-Reformation bells. They were probably confiscated by the State, taken down and removed or broken up and sold for the value of the old metal. It is said that according to the Essex Church Inventories of 1552 scarcely a bell at that date was left in any of the Essex churches.

For this purpose a collection was made throughout the town, realising £6..3..9. There is a detailed account of how the money was spent, and in

In the word “licke”, the K is turned the wrong way round. There is no special meaning in this; it is simply an error of the craftsman.

There are six bells hanging in the church tower at the present time.

INSCRIPTIONS. I.

THE COMMORD OF MENS MIND PRODVCED ME LICKE TO ITSELFE PEFECT IN HARMONY. 1671. I.D.

The word comord is a misspelling of the word concord. In those days (1671) very few people could read, and the artisan, no doubt, used the nearest stamp that he thought represented the letter of his copy.

30 29 The initials I.D. stand for John Darbie (1656 – 1685) an Ipswich bellfounder, of whose personal history little is known, although he cast many bells for Essex and other churches.

It is thought that this bell was subscribed for voluntarily by the parishioners and that this inscription was written to place on record the fact that they were unanimous in desiring the bell and ready and willing to pay for it.

The Rev, W. L. Scott, writing on this inscription in the Parish Magazine for November 1879, says: “I suppose it means that all the people joined harmoniously together in providing the money for the new bells. It was produced by the concord of men’s minds, and its own harmonious sound was a type of the harmony of Dunmow people’s minds at that day—a good lesson to us for all time.”

II. No inscription.

The parish accounts for the year 1613 state that a special rate was made to pay for the re-casting of a bell. This may refer to Bell No. 2 and give the date of its casting.

III. JOHN DARBIE MADE ME. 1673.

Between each word of this inscription there is a length of very effective scroll ornament.

IV.

JOHN DARBIE MADE ME. 1674

V.

QVE SONITV DISCORS PVLSAT CAMPANA REFECTA SVMPTIBVS ANDREE EST CHRYSOGVNES QVE IENOVR. 1613. R/O.

The use of the letter “V” for “U” was very usual at the time this inscription was written. Translation. “The bell which strikes (pulsat should be read as pulsabat, used to strike) inharmonious in sound was re-cast at the cost of Andrew and Chrysogynes Jenour.”

The Rev. W. L. Scott, writing on this inscription in the Parish Magazine for November, 1879, says : There is a word in the first line which is rather puzzling, but the meaning of the sentence is that the bell having become inharmonious in sound, it was re-cast at the charge of Andrew and Chrysogynes Jenour. To put it plainly, the bell had got cracked (as our own tenor bell lately) and the baronet and Lady of Bigods restored it. It appears then, referring to the parish accounts and to this inscription, that in the year 1613 two of the bells had to be re-cast and that Sir Andrew and Lady Jenour provided the cost of one and the parish levied a rate for the other.

In front of the word “Que” there is a beautiful little ornamental cross, after the word “refecta” an ordinary cross, at the end of the inscription a lozenge charged with four fleurs-de-lys meeting in cross, and below the bell-founder’s trade mark, an arrow in pale, barb downwards, between the letters R.O. in base and a quatrefoil and fleur-de-lys in chief. The R.O. stands for Robert Oldfield, bell-founder.

There is a coat of arms above the inscription of the family of the donors— az., a cross patonce between four fleur-de-lys, or impaling Smythe: sa., a fess between three saltires couped, or. The Jenour family came originally from Stonham Aspall in Suffolk, but became possessed of the manor of Bigods in 1529.

Round the sound-bow of the bell is a plait band. The inscription is in small thick lettering with fine Gothic capitals as initials.

VI.

Rev. W. L. SCOTT, Vicar. J. C. BARNARD and D. CARTER, Churchwardens, MEARS & STAINBANK, FOUNDERS, LONDON. RECAST 1879. This bell before it was re-cast was inscribed— D. ROOT & SAM PIBROW CARPINTERS T: LESTER MADE ME. 1741.

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It is quite a common custom to place on a newly-cast bell the names of the incumbent and churchwardens of the parish for the time being, perhaps in recognition of their labour of love in getting the money together to pay for the work and in seeing the matter through.

The Rev. W .L. Scott was vicar from 1863 to 1888. Dansie Carter was the people’s Churchwarden from 1876 to 1888. J. C. Barnard was Churchwarden for 16 years—one year chosen by the parish and 15 years Vicar’s warden.

Concerning this bell the Rev. W. L. Scott says in the Parish Magazine: “No 6 was less fortunate than its fellows. It was the youngest of the company—67 years younger than the youngest of the others, and 128 years younger than its next neighbour No. 5- and yet was the first to fail. I trust its present representative may render a very long service, and hand down the new names it bears to distant generations.

In 1893 an very pretty set of 15 handbells were purchased from Messrs, Mears & Stainbank. These are chiefly used by the ringers for learning new combinations of change ringing, but they are also sometimes used at Christmas time when the ringers take them round the parish and give merry peals at all the principal houses in the neighbourhood.

In 1925 the timbers of the bell frame were in such a dangerous condition that it became necessary to take the bells down and replace them in a steel frame. The Contractors, Messrs. Taylor, of Loughborough, reported that Nos. 2 and 3 were structurally and No. 1 musically defective and should be re-cast. This was done, but care taken to reproduce exactly the ornamentation and inscriptions of the old bells, and on bell No. 3 is added the inscription— W. J. House D.D. Vicar, F. Robus } J. N. Gardiner, M.D. } Churchwardens.

The ringers themselves in their spare time a a labour of love put in the girders and planking of the new floor, and the bells were re-dedicated by the Rv. J. Evans, our former Vicar, on April 18th, 1926. The addition of two smaller bells, which we hope to hang in 1927, will make our peal one of the finest in Essex.

The weight and musical notes of the present six bells are as follows: Cwts

QRS

LBS.

Treble

Tenor

2

6

1

0

C

3

7

3

16

A sharp

4

9

2

20

5

10

1

7

21

1

6

D Sharp

Clock and sundial.

In 1527 Dunmow church possessed a clock of its own, mounted in a clock-house entered by wooden stairs, with a little bell to strike the hours, and a strange and wondrous clock it must have been, with its sail made of canvas and its Jack and hammer to strike the bell.

Church accounts, 1533, “Ite resayvd for the olde stayers of ye clok howse xijd,” 1527, “Ite ffor mendynge of ye letell bell of ye clokk ijd.” 1529, “Item payde for setting on of the barrell to make the clok to go ijd.“ “Item for sprynge for the cloke hammer to ryse upon and another peys to make Jakk to smyghte ijd obolous,” 1533, “Ite for a C nayls for the clocke howse iiijd. Ite D a yerde of canvas for the sayle of ye clocke jd ob. Ite for pack nedlys & threde to ye same ob. Ite for making & setting of the clocke viijs. xd.” “Ite to Kelyng & Marryon for making of ye clocke howse iijs. Ite for ropys for the same clocke ixd.”

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In 1542 there was a sundial in the church, as witness the entry, “Ite payd to Thomas Glaskos ffor payntyng the dyalls in the church xxd.”

Our present clock bears the following inscription on a brass plate, “Johannes Fordham de Dunmow Magna Fecit Anno 1706. No. 179.” It originally had only one hand and had to be wound up every 30 hours; in 1898 it was converted into an eight-day clock, with a new dial and two hands.

Corpus Christi Plays.

Corpus Christi Festival, the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday, was set apart by the church to commemorate the mystery of our Lord’s Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. A special service was compiled for it, and the ceremony consisted in a procession of the Host through the streets, escorted by the clergy and the chief representatives of the guilds and other local bodies. Later, plays were attached to this great festival, probably taking place after the procession of the Host.

The annual festival of Corpus Christi sees for many years to have been a great day in Dunmow. The Dunmow players, then as now were a talented company, but in those days they acted not only in their own parish but in all the surrounding villages. A collection was made at each town, and after all expenses had been paid the proceeds were handed over to the churchwardens.

To these plays there are many interesting references in the churchwardens’ accounts. One years’ receipts and expenses will give a good idea of how things were run.

“1536. Rs off

ye

Corpus Crysti ffeste a s

yt

dothe apere hereafter

34 Itm Moche Canffyilde Itm Moche Estyn Itm Llytylle Estyne Itm Barnyston

iiijs vjs iiijc iiijs ijd

} } } }

Itm Hy Ester

vijs

} Sma xxxviijd

Itm Llynssll ijs viijd Itm Donowe Pryere viijd Itm Moche Donowe xs yd Ye chargys Itm ffor a welle [veal] Itm ffor a moton [mutton] Itm ffor a welle

} } } ijs xiiijd xxijd

} } }

Itm ffor sspyce & hone [spice and honey ] vjd ob } Sma viijs vijdob Itm ffor wood [for cooking] vjd } Itm ffor the kocs & hastyllars xiijd } Sma de xlars [balance clear] xxxs jd ob”

So the players collected£1..18..9.spent 8..7½ on a feast, and handed the balance, £1..10..1½, over to the churchwardens for current expenses.

Christmas Plow Fest, May Day, &c.

It is wonderful to think how in the old days all the joys and sorrows of thje people of Dunmow centred round their parish church—Christmas, Plow Fest, May Day, Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths.

In 1528 in the accounts we have, “Ite res of John Foster yt was gathered wha[n] he was lorde [of misrule] iiijs iiijd.” The lord of misrule was a person chosen to direct the Christmas sports and revels.

1526 “Item off Nycolas P[ar]car of dansynge mony iiijs iiijd.”

This dancing money was probably collected at Christmas, May Day or Whitsuntide revels when dancing took place either in the church or churchyard.

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“Item payd ffor a blakk morris coott xijd.” This was a coat worn by the Morris dancers, evidently bought at the expense of the church and not hired as was sometimes the case.

Plow Fest was the first Monday after the twelfth day, the last day of the Christmas holidays, when the farm labourers dragged a plough, gaily decked with ribbons, through the streets, and gathered money in the town , to be devoted mainly in mediaeval times to the support of the plough lights which were kept burning in churches before certain images in order that the farm labourers might obtain a blessing on their work.

This festival is referred to in the entry “Item resayuyd att ye plowfest in ye town viijs jd. “ On May Day the Morris dancers and others danced round the May pole.

“Ite off May mony the hole su xxviijs iiijd.”

The following extract from the accounts for 1547 give some idea of the games played in those days by the Dunmow people.

“Receved at our playe fyrste the games of the Bysshope of Seynte Andrewe and for the shtyng of the same viijs vijd. Re for the games of our running ijs jd. Re for the games at the leaping ijs. Re for the games of the tavell and the shotyng of the same iiijs. Re for the games of the pyke and shotyng of the same xxs xd. Re for the games of the lods pryke and the games of the same vs.

It is no wonder that thew churchwardens took advantage of all these festivals to raise money towards the church expenses, for there were no general collections at the end of the services as now.

Then again there are references to Boy Bishop ceremonies, when on St. Nicholas Day a choirboy was chosen to be bishop, was dressed up in bishop’s robes, and exercised for the day the authority of a bishop. In 1537, “Receyvyd of the busshop at Seynt Nicolas tyme iijs iiijd.”

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Palm Cross.

In the churchyard there was erected a Palm Cross. The first mention of it is in the accounts for 1540. “Ite pa to Mr Kynwelmersh for timber for ye Palme Cross vjd. Ite payde to John Storyar for the mendynge of the sade crosse xijd. Ite for borde for the same wt iijd in nayles ixd. There are also entries of payments for the Palm Cross in 1550 and 1572.

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REFORMATION PERIOD.

The Reformation The long series of changes in Church and State, which resulted not in the formation of a new church but in the reformation of the old Church of England, can be traced with some difficulty in the Dunmow churchwardens’ accounts. For the most part , with some exceptions which will be recorded, the parishioners seem to have quietly acquiesced in the many changes forced upon them by the authorities in London. In these troublous times, though Church Convocation and Parliament legislated for Church and State respectively, the real power was in the hands of the Sovereign, or the group of statesmen or adventurers in London who for the moment had the ear of the Sovereign. So sometimes the pendulum swung towards extreme Protestantism as during the reign of Edward VI, sometimes towards extreme papalism during the reign of Queen Mary, and finally came to rest in the settlement under Queen Elizabeth. It may be incidentally mentioned that in 1536 the Cistercian Abbey of Tilty and the Augustinian Priory of Little Dunmow were dissolved.

Sale of church plate.

About 1536 or 1537 there are two entries in the church accounts of the sale of church plate.

(1) Ressayffyd ffor ye cherche pllt ssold by Robard May & Robard Howchyn & Rycherd Dykellyng wetnesse John Bycner & John ffoster the ssome of xxxij ovmssses cxixs. Ijd. (2) Solde syne the laste a counte by the cherche wardens Robt Maye Rychard Dyglotte Robert Howchon xvte ounssys plate a paxe of sylur & ij creuetts for iijs viid a ounssse wetness of the sale and the weite Mr Richard Kynaldmrshe & Mr Edmunds, fower marke & xxd.

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It is difficult to account for this action on the part of the churchwardens, unless they were unusually far sighted, realised that the State would eventually confiscate the plate, and thought that they might a s well sell it and use the money obtained for their own church. Not till 1548 did any instruction come from London to dispose of church plate in this way.

The women of Dunmow, if not the men, must have been very indignant at this sale of plate, for we read in the accounts for 1538 that they made a collection in the church and bought back the “pax” that was sold. “Itm rec of the wyffes of the pyssh [parish] which they gathered in the church for to redeme the paxe vs.” “In p’mis payd to Robert May for the syluer pax xxixs iiijd.”

About 1547 “Re olde latten [brass] solde at London waying C qr xviijli after xxijs the hundred which amounteth in the hole xxxjs.” About 1548, “Itm re for latyn xxxiiijs.” “Itm re of George Raymond for gylt xviijd.”

“Itm re for leade aishes ijs. Itm re for chyrch plate first sold by Thomas Colfyld & Cock & Willm Drapyr viijli xd. Itm re for plate sold by Thomas Colfyld John Mellow Alexander Sturton & Cocke & Willm Draper xlvli xijs vjd. “ In 1558 two chalices were sold, and a communion cup bought in their place. “Rec for ij chalyces sold wayenge xxxij ownce & a quarter at fower shyllings & fower pence the ownce vjli xvs vd.” “Itm payde for the communion cupps waying xvij ounce lacking xijd [12 pennyweight] in wayte after vjs viid the ounse vli vijs.”

In 1572 the churchwardens received “of Mr Jenyur for the crysmatrie of sylur wch he hadd comytted to his keeping xlviijs ixd.”

The following inventory of Dunmow church plate is taken from the Essex Archaeological Journal, vol 13, p. 17,

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‘Myche Dunmowe. William Glascocke, William Dente, Thomas Colfield, John Turour, churchwardens haue sold of the same chuche plate these parcells ensuing, videlicet: a cross of sylvar, parcel gylte, alytle crucifix of sylver, a chalice of sylvar parcel gylte, two sensers parcel gylte, a pyxe, two paxes parcel gylte, one shippe with a spone, a lytle box, and two candelstyckes all of syluer for the somme of liiijli ijs iiijd. And they haue bestowed in lead to repayre the same chuche and other necessaries thereunto belonging xxiijli xvjs. And the reseydue of the same somme of liiijli iiijd remayneth in theyre hands.”

The breaking down and re-building of the Altars.

In 1549 came the first Prayer Book of Edward VI and the first Act of Uniformity. On November 24th all Altars were ordered to be removed in parish churches.

In 1550 Bonner, then Bishop of London, of which diocese Essex was then part, was deprived and Ridley appointed in his place. He apparently held a Visitation in Dunmow itself in 1550, and as it was in that year that our altars were taken down and a communion table put where the High Altar had been, it is probable that this was done at his direct order.

The church accounts give the following: “Itm for making clene of the cheyrche ijs. Itm the counion tabyll xijs. Itm to Yngra & Parker for taking downe alters & caryeng awaye the rubrshe iijs. Itm other expensys at the removing thereof vjd.”

In December, 1553, the Latin Mass was restored, and our church accounts give an account of General Expenses, The making of the High Alter.”

In 1558 (ist year of Eliz.) Bishop Bonner came to Dunmow, as the following extract from account shows: “It for the artycles & the confession & for owr dyner whan the Bysshop sate here iijs iiijd ob.”

In that year the altars were finally taken down and so carefully destroyed that there is not a particle of alabaster now left about the church.

Church accounts 1558: Itm payd to John Keme for helpyge downe ye awter vjd.” “Itm for takge down of ye ij awters & for pavyge ijs ijd.”

In May, 1551, a new set of churchwardens succeeded and remained in office until Michaelmas, 1563: so that they not only superintended the rigidly plain Protestant worship at the end of Edward VI’s reign, but helped to restore the old ceremonies and ornaments under Mary, and to pull them down again under Elizabeth.

The Rood Screen.

In 1550, when Ridley gave the order for the destruction of the Altars, he apparently also ordered the Rood Screen to be pulled down and taken away.

The church accounts show “Item for drykne at the pullyng downe of ye roode iiijd.”

The accounts for 1553 show £3..9..3½ spent in “the making of ye roode,” and includes such items as “for making ij stayes for ij images Marie & John,” “for breade & ale at ye setting vpp of the rood.”

In 1558 the rood was taken down and actually burnt, as the following shows: “Itm spent at the burnyge of the rood ijs.”

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The only part of this structure that remains to us is the low doorway on the north side of the chancel arch, which was the entrance to the spiral stairway that led to the loft. This stairway was built partly within the wall and partly outside the church, but it is now filled up with masonry. You can still see the blocked up slit light that lighted the staircase.

Robbing the graves.

The following entry appears in the church accounts for 1550- “Item for xxxjli of latten of yt w laye on the graves stones iiijs viid.“ This entry records a deplorable act of vandalism—for the sake of a paltry 4s 8d.- for which it is hard to find any excuse. The brasses were torn from the gravestones in the chancel and elsewhere and the matrices left in their present condition, so that none can tell whose graves they cover.

Even the most bigoted Protestant could not plead that any “superstitious” purpose was served by the old memorial brasses. They were the memorials of former priests and benefactors of the church, wantonly destroyed to make a little money out of the broken brass.

Sale and purchase of church books.

In 1538 a large English Bible was ordered to be set up in every parish church and the clergy were commanded to teach the paternoster, Creed and Ten commandments in English, and to keep the registers of every wedding, christening and burial. Owing to the apprehension that the King intended to tax every wedding, etc., the last injunction was very unpopular, and seems for the time being to have been generally disobeyed. But the Bible was duly purchased, the vicar and parishioner each paying half the cost. In 1539 the outgoing churchwardens handed over the balance of the account to their successors with the sum of “ viijs

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wych was toward the bying of the Byble.” In 1540 they pay for the “halfe of the Byble vjs iiijd.”

In 1545 the English Litany was published and used at St Paul’s Cathedral for the first time on Sunday, Oct. 18th, but no mention of its use appears in the Dunmow records.

About the year 1550, or rather before, there are several interesting items in the church accounts of the sale of old service books and the purchase of books more in keeping with the views of the Reformers. “Itm re of Launcet Madynson for old books viijs.” “Itm payd for the half of the paraphrasyhe vs. Itm for the comunyon books ijs. Itm for iiij Saltyr books vjs.”

The “paraphrasyhe” was the Paraphrase of the New Testament by Erasmus. In 1546 the clergy were ordered to get a copy for themselves, and in 1550 to set it up in all the churches so that the people might have the opportunity of reading it. As in the case of the Bible the expense was shared equally between the vicar and the churchwardens.

In 1550 was bought a book of parchment containing a venite book and hymnal, and a book for dirges and burials for 6s 10d.: for mending an antiphon 20s,; and for binding it 10s.

In 1552 came the second Prayer Book and the second Act of Uniformity.

Evidently the drastic changes forced upon the congregation by the extreme Reformers were not welcomed by large numbers of the people.

In the preamble of the Act we read “A great number of people in divers parts of the realm do wilfully and damnably refuse to come to the parish churches, “ but Edward Vith died on July 6th, 1553, and with the accession of Mary the reaction began. Bonner was once more Bishop of London, and Ridley was sent to the Tower.

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In 1558, the first year of Elizabeth’s reign, there was purchased a book of homilies for 10d., 22 chapters of “Jeremye” for the Bible for 1s. 8d., and in 1563 various small sums were spent for books of prayers. The homilies were books of sermons intended to be read by the clergy who were not qualified to write their own. The first book of homilies appeared in 1547, the second in 1563.

Sale of vestments etc.

The church accounts for 1572 show that there was in that year a great sale of vestments. “Sold to Edward Sexton & Hugh Tompson all our vestments coapes & tuycles in our custodie for ixli” -- £9, probably about £108 of our present money. These vestments must have been unusually good for a country church to realise so much money, for they could only have been cut up and turned to private use.

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Two Obits were yearly paid out of church money, one to the vicar of Hatfield Peverel and the other probably to the Vicar of Dunmow.

In December, 1547, an Act of Parliament was passed confiscating to the Crown all revenues belonging to any church for anniversaries, obits or lights.

What happened to these obit lands it is hard to say, as the accounts at this period are very confused, and three important pages are missing from the book, but we do know that after about this time there is no record of rent received for “the little mead in church end,” as it was often called, and that the churchwardens when “at Brantree befor commissions for the chanter & obyte lands” spent 2s. 8d.

It is rather curious that this church mead (which is the little meadow between the present churchyard and the river), after being alienated from the church for over 350 years, should have been re=purchased for the church in 1915 (by order of the vestry) by the then churchwarden. In the 1926 church accounts it brings in an annual rental of £2 10s.

Alienation of church lands.

The plunders of the church during the reign of Henry VIII, and that of the boy king Edward VI, were not content with taking away plate, bells etc., but they must needs lay their greedy hands upon church lands.

Dunmow parish church held several tenements and pieces of land, the rents of which went to pay for Masses to be said yearly for certain persons’ souls on the anniversary of their dearth. These were called Obits.

There are frequent mention of rents being received in the church accounts, and payments made for Masses. For instance in 1546 we have “ffyrst rec off Thomas Parkar the hole zers rent ffor the Downes croft endyd att mycklemas last year iiijs. Rec off Nycolas Parkar ffor the hole zers rent off the Church End mede endyd att the sayd terme iijs & iiijd.”

These two fields are both returned in 2nd Edward as Obit lands.

Religious intolerance.

During the Reformation period religious intolerance was the order of the day amongst Protestants and Romanists.

A DUNMOW PROTESTANT MARTYR On the 6th of June 1556, ten persons appeared before Darbyshire, Bishop Bonner’s Chancellor, all of whom were of this county; one was Thomas Bowyer, a weaver of Great Dunmow, aged 36, committed because he would not go to church. He was burnt at Stratford-le-Bow, in company with ten other men, mostly labourers or artizans, and two women (the largest number that was ever burnt together at one time) towards the end of June, 1556. Bowyer was brought before one Master Wiseman of

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Felsted, and by him sent to Colchester castle, and from thence was carried to Bonner, Bishop of London, to be by him further examined. The Sheriff, on their way to execution, divided them into two bands, and told each band separately that their brethren had recanted and would be spared; they answered that their faith was not built upon the wisdom of man, but on Christ crucified. The eleven men were tied to three stakes, but the two women were loose in the fire.” In the churchyard of the modern church of St John, Stratford, the Marty’s Memorial duly records the name of Thomas Bowyer among those who were “faithful unto death”.

UNCHRISTIAN BURIAL OF ROMAN CATHOLICS.

Several entries like the following are to be found in the burial register of the church, which seems to show that the life of a Roman Catholic could not have been a very happy one when even in death he was refused Christian burial:-- “Elizth Cranish was buried in the earth the xxvj day Nov. [1627] as unworthy of Christian burial, because she died an obstinate and wilfully Popish Recusant.”

How the Reformation affected the services and furnishings of the church.

So ends the story of the Reformation as far as Dunmow is concerned—a reformation that robbed Dunmow church of all its rich inside furnishings, such as altars, plate, bells, vestments, etc., and left it cold and bare, but, thank God, it did not greatly interfere with the fabric of the church itself.

Dunmow church itself may stand as a parable of what actually happened at the Reformation. The Church of England remained in all essentials the same church before and after these troubled years. Legally and ecclesiastically the Church of England remained the same, before the

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Reformation in communion with the Church of Rome, after the Reformation maintaining its independent existence but the same church still. But we cannot but deplore the fact that the Reformers did not content themselves with sweeping away old abuses and the institution of services that could be understood by the people. But they destroyed at the same time much that was beautiful, and for some centuries left the interior of the church bare and cold. They forgot that though in the Psalmist’s words the Church as the Bride of Christ must be “all glorious within” and the spiritual graces are essential for her true life, it is none the less true that “she shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needlework and her clothing is of wrought gold.” The craving for beauty in our worship is as natural as in every other department of our life, and beauty wrought by the craftsman’s hand can be legitimately dedicated to the use of the service of God.

Some notable Vicars.

JOHN BIRD, 1554-1559.

Mr Scott found in a fragment of Foxe preserved in the British Museum an interesting account of Bishop Bonner to this parish when Dr. Bird was Vicar of Dunmow and Bishop Suffragan of Colchester. Foxe, who is a bitter partisan, records a scandalous story of Dr. Bird, for which he quotes as his authority merely “the voyce of the parish,” so there is no need to repeat it here, but his description of the reception of Bonner in Dunmow is as follows, given in modern spelling:-- “Dr. John Bird had been Bishop of Chester, and thereof lately deprived, March 16, 1554, for that he was lawfully married. For which notwithstanding he showed himself so repentant, saying that he married against his will and for bearing with the time; and thereupon did unlawfully repudiate his lawful wife, was again invested, and not only made Vicar of Dunmow but also Bishop Bonner’s Suffragan.

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This Dr. Bird was well stricken in years, having but one eye.” Bird preached at the Bishop’s Visitation, “for it was not meet nor seemly that the Bishop being occupied with other weightier affairs of more importance, should debase himself to such petty functions of preaching, but to commit them to other inferior substitutes. Bird took for his text ;Thou art Peter and on this rock I will build my Church,’ intending to prove the stability of Peter, and so successively of the Pope’s seat, but unfortunately wandered away into the account of Peter’s fall. These two contraries, standing so disjointly, were more than a wonder to the audience, and no less trouble to the preacher himself, who still dwelling on this fruitless fable, and (as you would say) harping still upon a note, might not tell how to wind himself out. All this while the Bishop was disquieted not a little, and stood upon thorns, for he made faces, his elbows itched, and so hard was his cushion whereon he sat, that at many times during the sermon he stood up, looking towards the Suffragan, giving signs (and such signs as almost had speaking) to proceed to the full event of the cause in hand.”

Here the Foxe manuscript ends, but according to Burnet the unhappy preacher finally broke down altogether and brought his discourse to an abrupt close.

From Wood’s Athenae, quoted by Mr. Scott, it appears that Dr Bird was a Carmelite friar, made Provincial of that order in England in 1516, was a D.D. of Oxford, and one of the persons sent by King Henry to Catherine of Aragon to advise her to forbear the title of Queen; preached some sermons before the King in 1537 against the Pope’s supremacy, and was therefore made first Bishop of Chester in 1541 having previously been Bishop of Bangor. In 1554 he was deprived for being married, but on the

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of November in the same year was instituted Vicar of Dunmow, to which living he was presented by Bishop Bonner.”

Fortunately for himself Dr. Bird died in October, 1558, just a month before the death of Queen Mary, and was buried here. The entry (in Latin) in our register is “John Bird, Doctor of divinity, late Bishop of Chester, but now Vicar of Dunmow, was buried on the 15 th of October, 1558.

Bishop Bird, like our own churchwardens at that time, was a timeserver, swimming always with the tide of the moment, whatever direction it might take, but it must be reckoned to him for righteousness, that though acting as Suffragan Bishop for Essex, he seems to have taken no part in the persecution of the Protestants which disgraced Mary’s reign. His name nowhere appears in the examination of the martyrs who were ready to die for the faith that was in them.

RICHARD ROGERS, 1560-1566.

Richard Rogers was born at Sutton Valence, Kent, about the year 1530; educated at Christ College, Cambridge; B.A. Oxon and M.A. Cambridge 1552, B.D 1562.

In 1559, while yet in Deacon’s orders, Rogers was made Archdeacon of St Asaph. In 1561 he came to Dunmow as its Vicar, and soon afterwards was presented to the rectories of Llanarmon, county Denby, and Little Canfield in Essex, holding all three livings at the same time. He was installed as Canon of St Paul’s Cathedral in 1566, resigning his three livings, but in 1567 he was preferred to the living of Great Chart, in his native county of Kent. On the 19th of May, 1568 he was consecrated at Lambeth Suffragan Bishop of Dover, and in 1584 by letters patent became Dean of Canterbury Cathedral where he took a keen interest in the welfare of the King’s School and its scholars.

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In 1595 there was a great dearth in the county, and the poor suffered grievously. Rogers, being of a very benevolent disposition, was instrumental in doing a great deal to alleviate the distress.

He died on May 19, 1597, and was buried in the Preacher’s Chapel of the Cathedral at his special request.

It has been written of him, “he may, I think, be emphatically called a good Dean; not a man of any great parts, but one who, in a devout spirit, endeavoured to do his duty in the position to which he had been promoted.”

POST REFORMATION PERIOD Vicars of Dunmow.

RICHARD VAUGHAN, 1591.

B.A. St John’s, Cambridge, 1573, M.A. 1577, D, D, 1589. Rector of Chipping Ongar, 1578 to 1581; rector of Little Canfield, 1580 to 1590; Prebendary of St Paul’s, 1583, Archdeacon of Middlesex, 1588; Vicar of Dunmow, 1591; Rector of Moreton, 1591 to 1596; Bishop of Bangor, 1595; Bishop of Chester, 1597; Bishop of London, 1604; died 1607 and buried in Old St Paul’s.

While Rector of Canfield he married a Dunmow lady. The marriage is entered in our register as “Richardus Vaughan Minister et Joanne Bewers, ‘nupt,’ June 25, 1581.”

He assisted William Morgan in his translation of the Bible into Welsh.

RALPH RAVENS, 1597-1616.

Dr. Ravens deserves honourable mention because through his loving care the records of the parish registers are carried back for 20 years longer than in most parishes. In 1598 copies were ordered to be made of the paper registers dating from 1st of Elizabeth 1558. The clerk here duly and literally obeyed the order, and the vicar himself added the record of the previous 20 years, carrying the record of baptisms back to 1538. So our baptismal records are complete for 388 years—a very rare occurrence.

THOMAS WEEKS, “THE ET CETERA OATH,” 1635-1639.

The name of Thomas Weeks appears as one of the representatives in the House of Convocation, which in 1640, under the direction of Archbishop Laud, passed the “Constitutions and Canons Ecclesiastical.” At the time Weeks was Rector of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate. These new Canons imposed an oath of approval of the doctrines of the Church of England

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On all graduates in divinity, law or physic, all schoolmasters, and all candidates for ordination, and were intended by Laud to act as a counter blast to the Scottish “National Covenant” of 1638. Popularly known as the “Et Cetera Oath” because those compelled to take it promised “never to consent to alter the government of the church by archbishops, priests, deans, archdeacons et cetera,” the proposal met with a storm of indignation, which found free expression in the Long Parliament which met for the first time in November, 1640. The political struggle between King and Parliament was thus embittered by the poison of theological controversy, and by 1642 it was clear that the issue could only be decided by civil war.

Civil War and Protectorate.

On the 10th of June, 1642, a meeting of the “Traned Band” and “Volunteer Companies” was held at Dunmow, and the following resolution was “received with universal approbation, by holding up of hands, throwing of hats, and acclamations, professing that they held them unworthy to live, that should dislike it.” The resolution was signed “by ten thousand hands,” and within three days presented to Parliament in the form of a petition. Printed on a broadside by order of the House of Commons, on 17th June, 1642, it is too long to quote here, but one or two of its ringing sentences will give its main import :-“We, understanding, not by misinformation of flying report, but by the late votes of both your honourable Houses, that his Majestie, served by wicked councell, intends to make warre against the Parliament: that so to doe is a breach of the trust reposed in him by his people, contrary to his oath; and that whatsoever shall serve or assist him in his warres are trayters to the fundamental lawes of the kingdom ………… with our hands upon our swords, we stand ready at your command ……….. to spend our dearest blood in the defence of the lives and liberties of our countrymen,

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the lawes which are the life of our liberty and peace, and religion more precious than both.”

In 1643 the Solemn League and Covenant was signed to secure Scottish support in the struggle with Charles, and every Englishman was ordered to swear allegiance to the Presbyterian system of religion and worship. In 1645 the ordinance was passed abolishing the use of the Book of Common Prayer. In 1646 appeared the “Directory for Publique Worship,” and an Act passed by which any person using the Book of Common Prayer was fined for the first offence £5, for the second £10, and for the third suffered a whole year’s imprisonment; and any person saying or printing anything to the disparagement of the Directory was liable to a fine of not less than £5 or more than £50.

Vicar Joseph Crowther.

The Vicar of Dunmow from 1639 was Joseph Crowther, a prebendary of St. Paul’s Cathedral, a fellow of St. John’s College, Oxford, and a strong supporter of the King. Sometime before 1646 he had summarily ejected from the living, and until the Restoration in 1660, was a homeless wanderer like so many of his clerical brethren. In 1651 he fled with Charles II to the Continent. After the Restoration he did not return to Dunmow, but in 1660 took his D.D. at Oxford and became lecturer in Greek there. On August 25th he was made Precentor of St. Paul’s, and at the same time Rector of Teddington. March 17th, 1661, he was installed prebendary of Worcester, and the December following admitted Principal of St Mary’s Hall, Oxford. Misfortune again overtook him in his latter years, as he was imprisoned in the Fleet Prison where he wrote” A disquisition upon our Saviour’s sanction of tithes—Mat. xxiii, 23, Luke xi, 42.” London, 1685. 4to. He died in the Fleet December 16th, 1689, and was buried in the ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

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Here in Essex the full presbyterian system was established after the ejection of the Church of England clergy, and proved in experience to be as tyrannical as the prelatical system which it superseded. “New Presbyter” in Milton’s words was only “Old Priest writ large.” In 1648 Ministers in Essex signed a testimony calling for immediate action by Parliament not only against “all former cursed doctrine of Popery, Arminianisme, Socianianisme.” But also against “the damnable error and blasphemies of these present times,” by which they meant any teaching that did not correspond with the Presbyterian shibboleths.

John Smith, Minister.

I have approved of the said choice, made by ye Parishioners as aforesaid, concerning his faithful performance of the same office, and have sworn him the said Samuel Gentrie the first day of April 1654. T. Millton J.P. In the marriage register for 1657 we find a reference to the new Act allowing civil marriage:-- “William More & Widow Mortlock were three times lawfully asked in this market by me Robert Cooke, Register, and the last day of these askings was the 25 June.”

Vicars of Dunmow and their work.

WILLIAM PARSONS, 1660-1671.

Meanwhile at Dunmow, after the ejection of Joseph Crowther, Mr John Smith, “a preaching godly minister,” appears as Minister of Dunmow till 1660, with Robert Milburne, gent., Robert Calthorpe, gent., and William Swallow to form the Cassis or board of elders governing the church.”

Election of lay “Register.”

The following appears in our register dated 1 April 1645:-Election of the lay “Register” under the Act of the Commonwealth.

The names of those persons who did chuse Samuel Gentrie for to be Register.

Robert Milburne William Swallow Geofrie Draper Samuel Wayborhn John Houtchin

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John Smith Minister Henry Saggs Mattw Pinchback James Raymond.

John Barnard John Barker Newman Meade Thos. Perrie.

Whereas Samuel Gentrie of Much Dunmow was lately elected and chosen to be a “Register” of the said parish according to an Act of Parliament of the 24th of August, 1635.

At the Restoration John Smith suffered the same fate which had been inflicted on his predecessor, Joseph Crowther. He was thrown out of the living and a Church of England priest, Dr. William Parsons, reigned in his stead. In 1662 the Act of Uniformity was passed, and on August 24 th (St. Bartholomew’s Day) “about 2000 clergy resigned their cures for conscience sake, as their opponents had in the times of Puritan domination, been driven from their cures rather than take the Covenant..” (S.R.Gardiner.)

Looking back over this sorry story of persecution, it is clear that neither “Anglicans” nor “Free Churchmen” can throw stones at one another. All alike persecuted when they had the power to do so, and even Cromwell, who figures in the history books as an apostle of religious liberty, allowed freedom of worship to all except Papists and Prelatists. The actual wording of his Instrument of December, 1653, is the grant of toleration “of all professing faith in God by Jesus Christ, provided that liberty not extend to Popery and Prelacy, nor be abused to the disturbance of civil peace.” By the law of the land not only was the use of the Book of Common Prayer absolutely forbidden, but even the observance in any way whatever of Christian festivals like Christmas Day.

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Dr. Parsons was Rector of Birchanger 1641 to 1660; B.L. of New College, Oxford. Newcourt says, “He was a great sufferer in the late rebellion; was kept in gaol at Cambridge nineteen weeks for his loyalty to King Charles I. Afterwards retiring to his small living at Birchanger, he did usually read the Common Prayer there in the times of usurpation; and therefore was beloved of the loyal gentry in those parts.” He was made Vicar of Dunmow in 1660; created Doctor of Civil Law in 1660; was Subwarden of New College; prebendary of Chichester; and Rector of Lamborn. He died of apoplexy in 1671, and was buried at Dunmow. The entry in the register book is as follows, “Dr. William Parsons, Vicar (xi Annos). Aet 72. 11 July, 1671.”

THOMAS BEAUMONT, 1678-1710.

One of the Beaumont family so long connected with Dunmow. The most distinguished member of the family was Sir George Howland Beaumont (1753-1827), prime mover in the foundation of the national Gallery, by persuading the Government to purchase the Angerstein collection in 1818, and the presentation of 16 of his own collection of pictures in 1820.

He lived at the Clock House. And was the friend and patron of Wordsworth and Coleridge.

ROBERT FALCONER, 1710-1729.

Robert Falconer seems to have been distinguished by peculiar zeal in getting children baptised at the earliest possible moment. Here are some of his entries:-- 5 May, 1714, Elizabeth Wright, daughter of John and Mary, born that morning. 12 July 1714, John Clarke, son of Robert and Elizabeth, born this morning. 28 July, 1714, James and Sarah Wasket, twins of Robert, Senr., and Rebecca, born today. 26 Feb., 1714/15, Brett Perry, son of Thomas and Ruth, born last night. The climax comes with this entry—19 Dec., 1718, Robert Wasket, son of Robert and Elizabeth, born this instant.

56 JOHN MANGEY, 1754-1782.

Son of a distinguished father, Thomas Mangey (1688-1755) who was a D.D. of Cambridge, Rector of St. Mildred’s Bread Street, London, and a Canon of Durham. John Mangey himself was a prebendary of St Paul’s Cathedral. By his will he left a bequest for the education of the poor in the principals of the Church of England, which is still used for our National Schools, bring in an annual income of £4 15s 6d.

JOHN HOWLETT, 1782-1804

John Howlett was born in 1735 at Toppesfield, Essex. He entered Peterhouse and in 1761 took his degree as 8th Wrangler. Afterwards he was curate to the Rev. Beilby Porteus, at Hunton, near Maidstone. When Porteus became Bishop of London he presented Howlett to the Vicarage of Dunmow in 1782. In those days of pluralities, he was also Vicar of Haverhill in Suffolk, 1774-1794. He died at Bath 29th February, 1804, aged 69, and was buried in the Abbey Church where there is a tablet to his memory.

List of writings:--1. An examination of Dr. Price’s essay on the decrease of the population of the country. 2. A pamphlet on the uncertainty of the present population. 3. A pamphlet on the population of Ireland. 4. An essay on the influence of enclosures on population. 5. Enclosures a cause of improved agriculture. 6. Insufficiency of causes assigned for the increase of the poor and of the rates. 7. Examination of Mr. Pitt’s speech on the condition of the poor. 8. Dispersion of gloomy apprehensions respecting the corn trade. 9. Sermon preached at Dunmow before two companies of volunteers, Yeomanry and Cavalry. 10. Thanksgiving sermon after the battle of the Nile and destruction of a French fleet off Ireland, 1798. 11. Monthly reviewers reviewed. 12. Influence of tithes upon agriculture.

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From this long list it is clear that John Howlett wielded “the pen of a ready writer.” He lived at a time when the Enclosure Acts were bringing new productivity to agriculture and making England a model of scientific farming for the world. But he never ceased to protest against the unnecessary suffering caused to the former freeholders and copyholders by the new system. Popular history imagines the parson to have identified himself with the interests of the landed aristocracy during the years of the Enclosures, and to have been always the defender of the rights of property. The fine record of John Howlett proves that there were clergy ready to defend with tongue and pen the cause of the poor and oppressed.

JOHN SMITH, 1829-1834.

John Smith was the founder of the Dunmow Friendly Society in 1832. The first report, 1833, gives number admitted 164—9 females, 78 agricultural labourers, and 77 artisans; balance £174 18s 2½d. The balance in 1925 was £41,852 16s. 0¾d.

HENRIE LEWIS MAJENDIE, 1834-1863.

A few of our older inhabitants still remember the kindly, dignified presence of Mr. and Mrs. Majendie. They sent a daily portion from their dinner table to any sick neighbour, but live in tradition as being somewhat “arbitrary.” This means that any boy who did not cap the Vicar was likely to hear of it again, and girls coming late to their school, then in the vicarage garden, were summarily punished by Mrs Majendie herself.

But beneath this stern exterior lay hidden a real love for the children and devotion to their interests. In1836 a Boy’s School (now St. Mary’s Room) was built and an ancient house, which used to stand in the vicarage garden, was used as a Girl’s School. Mr. Majendie never failed to teach regularly in the schools, and just before he died had acquired from Miss Maynard, the Lady of the Manor, the ground for a new Girl’s School on the Downs.

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In 1836 the Tithe Commission act was passed, which put and end to constant squabbling between Vicar and tithe-payer. Till then the Vicar and, at Dunmow, the representative of the lay rector, took their tenth of the crops from the actual harvest field, taking each tenth sheaf of corn or cock of hay at the time of carting. Naturally disputes arose if Vicar and lay rector failed to turn up in time, the farmer always thought the Vicar took the largest sheaves, and the Vicar constantly complained that the smallest were foisted upon him. All this was happily changed by the commutation of the tithe into a half-yearly payment based upon the price of corn. This arrangement lasted until 1917 when the clergy wisely gave up their full legal rights and declined to become war profiteers.

Old residents still remember the great box pews, which filled up the church, and shut out everything from their view except the pulpit, and an occasional glimpse of the long staves of the “Dog-rappers.” Two men Jarvis and Holgate walked silently about during sermon-time to tap on the head any talking child or sleeping member of the congregation.

In 1855 the plaster ceiling concealing the piscina and sedilia was removed and these beautiful mediaeval remains once more exposed to view.

On April 27, 1856, the new churchyard was consecrated, the land being the gift of Sir G. H. Beaumont.

About 1860 or 1861 the fabric of the chancel chapel was restored.

WILLIAM LANGSTON SCOTT, 1863-1888.

The memory of this model parish priest and of his family, devoted like himself to all good works, is still fragrant among us. Mr. Scott had been curate of St. Giles, Northampton, and was Vicar of Abthorpe in Northamptonshire, when the Bishop of Peterborough, (Dr. Davys) sent

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him to spend 25 years of devoted service as Vicar of Dunmow. He was instituted by Dr. Wigram, Bishop of Rochester, in whose diocese we then were, on the 22nd of February, 1863, and inducted on the 18th of April.

The first of many problems he had to settle was that of the Church Day Schools. The national conscience was stirring with a new sense of responsibility on educational matters, and Mr. Scott rightly called upon his church people to make a big effort. He persuaded Miss Maynard to give a large piece of land on the Downs, so that a school could be built to take all church children. £1,800 was raised from the pockets of church people, and on 8th May, 1868, the new schools were opened with a service of thanksgiving, conducted by Dr. Claughton, Bishop of Rochester.

In 1874 the Infants Room was added at a cost of £400.

In 1868 Mr. Gladstone’s Government abolished the compulsory church rate by which hitherto the church expenses of the parish had been met.

Mr. Scott notes that till that year the levy made on the parishioners was passed without opposition. For four years the experiment of a voluntary rate was tried, but every year resulting in a harassing deficiency. At the Easter Vestry of 1872 it was resolved to raise the money required by collections at the ordinary services. This system was first tried on Sunday, April 14th, 1872, and has been worked with success ever since. Like all other novelties in church matters the new method was loudly denounced at the time, but now everybody takes it as a matter of course that they must help to pay for their own comfort and convenience in church.

In 1870 Mr. Scott turned his attention to the church itself.

The Restoration of the Church in 1872.

Writing in the Parish Magazine in the year 1870 the Re. W.L. Scott gives a description of Dunmow Church before the restoration, which is well worth preserving, because it is typical of the state of so many churches at that period.

“The state of Dunmow Church is a reproach to us. I doubt whether there is a church in the whole diocese which is in so cheerless and neglected a condition.

Some improvement was begun 10 years ago but there has been insufficient life and zeal to carry it on. The old and ugly pews still hold their place in the main part of the church, and are becoming every day meaner and shabbier; the coarse brick pavements becoming more worn and uneven; the boarded floor more broken and imperfect; the stonework of the windows more crumbling and wasted; and every winter the temperature more chilling from increased draught and increasing damp. Many persons experience positive suffering in attending the house of God. The stoves which are at present in use serve but to overheat a small space immediately around them, and leave the larger part in intolerable coldness.

“The present arrangements of the church, moreover, are such as to operate injuriously upon the character of our worship. Each family is shut up in a box by itself, and cut off from any sensible communion with the congregation. Often in these enclosures it is impossible to kneel down during prayer, and with the disregard of the proper posture of prayer, the spirit and reality is too often lost.

Children are absolutely buried between the high partitions, and the service of worship is made to be one of pain and weariness. The heat of the pews in summer encourages sleep—indeed makes it almost impossible not to sleep.

These high enclosures, moreover, offer an encouragement to light and unseemly behaviour. This is especially the case in the galleries. On every ground they should be got rid of. They are a moral evil, to say nothing of the way in which they interfere with the comfort and airiness of the space beneath them.

As a matter of taste they are nothing short of hideous. The west gallery divides, with its huge unsightly bulk, the beautiful western arch, which would upon its removal be thrown open, in its singularly graceful proportions, from the floor almost to the roof of the nave; while the northern gallery completely destroys the effect of the fine arcade which separates the nave from the aisle.”

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The following are the lines upon which the restoration was carried out :-“we are simply endeavouring to restore to its original dignity and propriety and comeliness a beautiful church, upon which our forefathers expended a great deal of money and a great deal of that taste which was a striking feature of that age. We are endeavouring to re-adapt our church to the purpose of common worship, from which the unpractical as well as tasteless ideas of a former age had strangely perverted it” The following is a description of the church after the restoration :-“The church is now made quite clear, and all who have visited it are astonished at the noble appearance which it assumes. It is, without doubt, one of the finest churches in the county of Essex. The removal of the old pews and galleries has greatly increased its apparent size, and the effect of the pillars and arches, now showing their full height and proportions is very striking. But, perhaps, the best effect is that we obtain by looking westward from the chancel ; the arch of the tower, now cleared of all obstruction, is a very beautiful feature, and may divide, with the great eastern window at the opposite extremity of the building, the chief architectural honours of the church.”

The church was re-opened on the 19th of June, 1873.

A contemporary newspaper says :-“The original contract for the works was only £900. This has been far exceeded and the liabilities when the work is finished will be quite £2,000, of which about only £1,500 is secured. The restorations have been carried out under the direction of G. E. Street, Esq. R.A., who has certainly aimed at, and succeeded in, restoring this stately church to its pristine beauty and original design. The Contractor is Mr. S. C. Parmenter, builder, of Upper Railway Street, Braintree. The stonework has been executed by Mr. J. H. Wray, mason, Chelmsford, under the able management of Mr. T. Ward, of the same town; Mr. Thomas Gibbons, of Dunmow, being clerk of the works. ___________

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In 1877 Captain Herbert Ray, then living at Brick, or Clock House, as it is now called, gave Mr. Scott a cheque for £1,346 which was invested in Great Western Railway 4 per cent. Debenture Stock, the income to be devoted by the Vicar and Churchwardens “for the relief of the sick and infirm, and other needy persons of the parish of Great Dunmow.” The annual income for “Captain Ray’s charity” is £53..16..10. This generous benefactor also gave the money for the building of the Mission Church at Philpot End in 1875.

For many years Mr. Scott’s daughters and Miss Sophia Cock used to walk over to Philpot End every Sunday afternoon to hold a Bible Class for the people there. The foundation stone of the Mission Church was laid in July, 1878, and the building opened with a service on 6th April, 1879. It was not consecrated but only licensed, as Mr. Scott himself notes “for any object that the Vicar might deem to be fitting, and conducive to the religious and general advantage of the people.” From that day till now the little Mission has never lacked willing helpers to minister “to the religious and general advantage of the people” living there. We recall with gratitude the memory of Samuel Luckin, William Luckin, and the devoted work of Charles Luckin, and our many helpers today for the services and meetings, which make the “Mission” a real spiritual and social home for the people in that far off countryside.

ARTHUR COURTNEY ROBERTS, 1888-1905.

Mr. Roberts, then incumbent of St. John Baptist Epping, was offered the living of Great Dunmow by the Lord Chancellor on March 3rd, 1888: instituted by Bishop Claughton at Danbury Palace on March 19th, and inducted at Dunmow on 6th of April, by the Ven. Frank Johnson, then archdeacon of Essex and Rector of Chelmsford, and subsequently Bishop of Colchester.

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On October 10th, 1888, the choir were vested in cassocks and surplices for the first time.

By August, 1889, the new choir vestry on the north-west of the church was completed. The architect was Mr. F.G. Knight of Westminster. The work was carried out under the supervision of Mr. Gibbons, of Dunmow.

Mr. Ayton carved the presses and the table. Mr. Day carved the gargoyle.

The foreman bricklayer was Mr. Thomas Goodey, who is still happily with us, and Mr. Brazier was responsible for the ceiling and walls.

In November, 1889, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Wiggett presented the brass alms dish to the church. On Christmas Day, 1889, the carved oak credence table, the gift of Mr. Gibbons, was dedicated, together with the jewelled altar cross, given by Lady Brooke and Lady Dalton Fitzgerald. The engraved brass flower vases were the gift of Mr. F. Bartley, and the white festal frontal worked by Miss Frances Wade, and the orphreys by Miss Gibbons.

In 1891 the stone work of the great east window was restored. Mr. Roberts notes that on Wednesday, July 22, at 12.15 pm, he himself keyed the last joint with a threepenny bit dated 1891. Sir Brydges Henniker put in the centre light of the crucifixion at a cost of £85. The four side lights of the baptism, St. Mary, St. John, and the Agony were given in 1913 by William Blackburn Clapham, J.P., in memory of his wife, Frances Ellen.

During Mr. Robert’s incumbency the tracery and shields over the west door were restored and the carved heads of Bishop Festing and Mr. Roberts placed on the north and south side. He died at White Colne,

where he had been Vicar since 1914, on January 31, 1926, and was buried there on February 3rd.

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In 1895 Miss Mary Ann Moore, of Coggeshall, left £600 to the vicar and churchwardens of Great Dunmow to be invested “for ther purchase of great coats, gown pieces, blankets or flannel to be distributed by them for ever hereafter to the poor of the parish in the month of January in each year.” The annual income is £14..1..0.

JOHN EVANS, 1905-1914.

Mr. Evans, M.A., Jesus College, Oxford, was now Vicar of St. Giles Colchester, spent ten happy years in Dunmow, where he is still a frequent and welcome visitor.

In 1907 the funds were raised for the thorough restoration of the exterior of the church. The plaster was stripped from the walls and the flints repointed. The guttering was renewed and channels provided all round the church to keep the water away from the fabric. By this means, not only is the building secured from damage by water, but the beauty of the fabric is greatly enhanced. The only pity is that we have never been able to persuade the Lay Rector to complete Mr. Evan’s work by carrying out the same improvements in the Chancel. At the end of 1914, Dr. Watts Ditchfield, the first Bishop of Chelmsford, sent Mr Evans to take charge of the parish of St. John the Baptist, Southend, and summoned the present incumbent from Fryerning to take on his work.

WM. J. HOUSE D.D. 1915-1926 When the present incumbent came in 1915, we were at the beginning of the four war years. Owing to the lighting restrictions the clerestory

windows were painted black and the other windows heavily curtained., so that our sorrow and anxiety seemed to be reflected in the dark and gloomy appearance of the church. In spite of the alarums and excursions 65

of the air raids, we never missed a single service between 1914 and 1918, though our congregations were naturally small. We could often hear the roar of the guns in France—it was seldom that we did not know by the dull continuous murmur in our ears when a battle was being waged in Flanders. And several times when we came to church on a winter’s evening the star-shells going up when an air raid was threatening, lighted us on our way.

Elaborate but unnecessary plans were drawn up by the military authorities for the removal of all our people to the west, in the event of a German landing on the East Coast. Farm carts were allotted for the carriage of women and children, the sick and infirm, while the ablebodied were to march on foot. There route was to be by Green Lane to Stansted, avoiding the main roads, and their final destination was to have been Oxford. More fortunate than the inhabitants of big towns we never really suffered from the food shortage, caused by the submarine menace; we never saw a queue of people in Dunmow waiting outside the provision shops for their ration of tea, sugar, meat or margarine.

When news of the Armistice came, 11am 11th of November, 1918, the townsfolk spontaneously came to church that evening and held a memorable thanksgiving service together. That very week Mr. Goodey cleaned all the paint off the windows, the curtains were taken down, and as the blessed sunlight streamed once more into the old church, it

seemed as if all the clouds of darkness and sorrow that had overhung us so long, were rolled away.

In 1920 we had the dull job of providing the new heating apparatus, which cost us £600. But we seized the opportunity to clear away the front pews, which blocked the space by the pulpit and lectern.

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The War Memorial.

This was designed by Mr. Edward Gunn in memory of the 84 men who were killed in the war. It was dedicated on Sunday, 17th July, 1921, by John Edwin Watts Ditchfield, D.D. the first Bishop of Chelmsford, in the morning, and the same afternoon a very old friend of Dunmow, General the Lord Byng of Vimy, unveiled the town memorial in the High Street.

Lord Byng (then Sir Julian Byng) lived for some years at Newton Hall, and was a regular worshipper at Dunmow church.

The Priest’s Desks.

The priest’s desks were both carved by Mr. Samuel Marshall of Coggeshall, in oak given by Mr. T. Goodey. The desk on the south side was given “In memory of a dear friend and fellow choirman, “James Edward Ellam, in 1921, by the choirmen and the Sunday School teachers and scholars. For six years Mr. Ellam had been superintendent of the Sunday School and for many years a keen member of the choir. In 1922 Dr. Gardiner and his wife gave the desk on the north side in memory of their little son, Herbert Napier Gardiner.

The Choir Stalls.

The choir stalls were designed by Mr. Duncan Clark, of Colchester, and carved by Mr. Marshall. Those on the south side were dedicated on April 19th , 1925 by the Bishop of Colchester, in memory of Joseph and Hannah House, together with the oak table by the south door, carved by Mr.

Frank Pepper, and given by his family in memory of his brother, Frederick John Pepper, who was taken prisoner in the German drive March 18th, 1918, and suffered great privation during his captivity. He returned at the Armistice and was a regular and faithful churchgoer. The choir stalls on the north side we hope to see completed this year, 1926.

Some day we shall get rid of the machine-made Victorian altar rails and replace them with carved oak to match the choir stalls, bringing them

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down to the top of the three steps in the chancel. The spaciousness of our noble sanctuary will then be clearly revealed to the most casual visitor.

Church furniture.

ALTAR CHAIRS.

In the chancel are three chairs. Two of these, made in the early 17 th century, have inlaid and carved backs, curved arms, carved rails, and carved and turned legs. The third chair is of the mid 17th century, similar to the other two but not inlaid.

PULPIT.

The pulpit is made of oak, octagonal in form with ornamental panelling, and stands upon a pedestal of white stone. It was designed by Mr. Rogers, of Lincoln Inn Fields. A brass plate, with the following inscription is inserted in the stone-work: -- “This pulpit was erected by the parishioners of Saffron Walden as a memorial of their regard for Charles Henry Scott, formerly curate of that parish, and second son of Willam Langston Scott, Vicar of Great Dunmow, 1876.” The pulpit lectern and candlesticks were presented by the Rv. Frederick Burnside, Rector of Hertingfordbury, the clergyman with whom the Rev. C. H. Scott was curate after he left Saffron Walden.

LECTERN.

The lectern, a fine brass eagle, bears the following inscription : -- “To the glory of God and in loving memory of Dansie Carter, people’s churchwarden of this parish, 1876-1888, and of Elizabeth Ann, his wife, and their six sons and infant daughter, all of whom are interred in the adjoining church-yard. This lectern is given by their two surviving daughters, Whitsun Day, 1902.

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The handsome brass candelabra with sockets for twelve candles in the chapel of St. John the Baptist, used formerly to hang in front of the altar.

The inscription is “The Gift of John Henniker, Esqr. to this Parish, 1766.”

THE ORGAN. Reference has already been made to the Pre-Reformation organ. Previous to the year 1809 the singing was accompanied by a small Barrel Organ, which stood in the nave, nearly opposite the pew where the font then was. In 1809, General, afterwards Sir Brydges T, Henniker, built a West Gallery, in which singers sat, and placed a new organ of the same type there. A somewhat fulsome letter of thanks to the donor from the then Vicar, the Rev. Alexander Richardson, is still to be read in the Baptism register for that year. This gallery, with the Ringing Floor, completely blocked the Tower Arch, and access to it was by stairs from the ends of the north and south aisles. The organ stood in the middle and the singers sat in front of it. In 1832 (Vicar John Smith) another organ, played like its predecessor by machinery, was set up in the same position. The present organ was presented to the church by our generous benefactor, Captain Ray, and used for the first time at the harvest Thanksgiving, 1876, by Mr. Studolph, the organist of t. Mary’s Chelmsford. It has been moved three different times to get the best effect in sound, but even now its position is not satisfactory, with the organist’s ugly seat projecting into the chancel. After 50 years of service the organ begins to show signs of wear

and tear, and some kind benefactor will soon be needed to give us a new instrument.

THE FONT.

The font used last century was a marble basin placed first in a “Christening pew” near the tower arch, on the right of the main passage leading up the church. Sometime before 1821 it was moved to the S.E. corner of the chapel. In 1843, in consequence of a charge by Bishop Blomfield, inculcating the duty of public baptism before the congregation, 69

it was brought back again and placed in the middle of the main passage in front of the tower arch. In 1847 a new stone font, which is still in use, was erected by voluntary contributions. It is octagonal in form, consisting of bowl, shaft and plinth, resting on a single step. Each compartment of the bowl is ornamented with tracery in panels. Three of the panels were carefully traced from the mutilated remains of an ancient font, now kept in the corner near the present one. For years this old font had formed part of a rockery in the vicarage garden, but the Rev. H. L. Majendie, shocked by this sacrilege, placed it near the south porch in the churchyard, and eventually the Rev. W. L. Scott gave it its permanent resting place. The marble basin was sold by the churchwardens to Mr. Ashurst Majendie and is probably to be found in his house at Castle Hedingham.

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EPILOGUE – THE PARISH CHURCH. Adapted from Dean Stanley.

No. 2. Silver-gilt; weight, 161/4 oz ; dimensions; height 21/4 in.; diameter, 81/4 in; diameter of foot 3 in.; date 1709. Maker’s mark, BA, a cinquefoil above and below, within a shaped stamp (for John Backe). This is a very handsome piece. The face is encircled with a broad band of répoussés work, the design being flowers and foliage. It was most likely at one time a fruit dish, which has been presented to the church for sacred use.

A small silver cup and paten, inscribed “To the glory of God and in loving memory of Mary Scott this chalice and paten were given by her brother and sister to the Mission Room at Philpot End, All Soul’s Day. 1905.”

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APPENDIX 1.

Church plate.

Cups. – No. 1. Silver-gilt: 17oz. 12 dwt.; dimensions: height, 9½ in.; diameter of bowl, 5 in.; diameter of foot, 5 in ; date, about 1684. It has neither assay marks nor date letter. The maker’s mark is FS within a plain shield. It has no inscription. This cup possesses a large cylindrical bowl on a short and rather thick tubular stem, divided by a ring in place of a knop. It has rounded moulded feet, and is altogether rather a clumsy looking vessel.

Nos. 2 and 3 (a pair). Silver-gilt; weight 13½ oz. and 12 oz 19dwt.

Respectively; dimensions for each: height 8¾ in; diameter of bowl, 3¾ in; diameter of foot, 3⅝ in; date 1841. Maker’s mark RG in script lettering, a crown above within a shaped stamp (for Robert Garrard). Inscribed “Great Dunmow Church, Essex. A gift from some of the members of the congregation. Whitsunday 1841,” and with the sacred monogram en soleil. The inscription is on each of the cups. These vessels are made with U shaped bowls on a quasi balister stem, and have a rounded moulded foot.

Patens. – No. 1 (cover to Cup No 1). Silver-gilt; dimensions: height, 1½ in.; diameter, 7½ in.; diameter of foot, 3 in ; Mark similar to Cup No. 1. No inscription. This vessel is just a plain cover on a foot.

APPENDIX II.

Register books.

The register books of Dunmow, previous to 1813, are six in number, and contain entries for the following years :-I. II. II. IV. V. VI.

Baptisms.

1538-1632.

1632-1705.

1705-1751.

1752-1812.

---

Marriages.

1558-1632.

1632-1705.

1705-1754.

-1754-1784.

1784-1812.

Burials.

1558-1632.

1631-1705.

1705-1751.

1752-1812.

---

Book 1 is about 16 in long and 6½ in wide, made of parchment and bound in a parchment cover. It is written in Latin, and divided into months and years by headings in English black letters, It is divided into three parts and an appendix—baptisms, marriages and burials. This book was no doubt started in obedience to the order of 1597, which made compulsory the keeping of register books on parchment. The appendix is in the handwriting of Robert Ravens, Vicar of Dunmow 1597-1616, and records the baptisms from 1538-1558, a period of 20 years. If it had not been for

the energy of this Vicar the names of 701 baptised persons would have been lost from the Dunmow registers. The appendix consists of seven pages of names, pages one to three in single columns, pages four to seven in double columns.

†

Book II is of parchment, bound in a limp parchment cover, size about 14½ in. long and 11 in. wide, and contains 52 folios, numbered. It is in three divisions, with baptisms first.

Book III is of parchment, about 15 in. long and 11 in. wide, and is in three divisions.

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Book IV, is about 15½ in. long and 12 in. wide. It contains Baptisms and Burials from Jan., 1752, to Decr, 1812, and was then closed, though unfilled, by Rose’s Act of Parliament, which placed all registers under the control of the Registrar General, and necessitated new books of a uniform design.

Book V, is a printed register book of marriages ordered to be kept by what is known as Hardwicke’s Marriage Act of 1753, which took effect 26 March, 1754. It has four entries on a page, and dates from 1754 to 1784.

Book VI, is a printed register book of marriages like Book V. It dates from 1784 to 1812, but it is not fully filled up on account of its form not meeting the requirements of Rose’s Act of 1812.

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APPENDIX III.

Monumental Brasses.

Dunmow church does not seem to have ever been rich in ancient monumental brasses, though the old parish account books show that there were originally more than we now possess.

There is a brass affixed to the south wall near the west end of the church which bears the following description :-“Claudit Huthersauli corpus lapis iste Joannis, quem sacrum in Thalamos Martha relicta dedit Obiit 3 Decembris Ano Dni 1604. Etatis sue Ao 33” As many folk have asked the meaning of this inscription a translation is given here :-- “This stone, dedicated by Martha his widow in memory of her marriage, marks the grave of John Huthersaul, who died 3rd December, 1604, aged 33.”

The parish register gives the burial of John Ethersall as December 4th 1604.

On the west wall of the church is the figure of a lady dressed in the typical costume of the period, with her hands clasped as in prayer (size 17 in. x 5½ in. ) Close beside the figure are two escutcheons and indents of a man’s figure and two inscription plates. One escutcheon represents the coat of arms of the Glascock family—on a chevron (a “V” shaped band) between three cocks, a mullet; the other, the same, impaling (placing side by side) the Wiseman arms – a chevron between three cronels (crowns) .

The third escutcheon is said to have been the Glascock arms impaling Jocelyn of Hide Halll, and the missing inscription, “Hic jacet Gulielmus Glascock et Philippa uxor ejus, qui ob 3 Dec. 1579. Et Philippa ob. 19 Sept.

In the Chancel floor there is a sti-one with the indent (the place where a brass ought to be) of an elaborate cross and a defaced marginal inscription, dated early 14th century.

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1608. (Here lieth William Glascock and Philippa his wife, who died Dec. 1579, and Philippa died 19th Sept. 1608).

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3rd

These three escutcheons and the inscription are keys to the history of the lady. Willam Glascock, the bearer of the first named arms, was lord of the Manor of Mynchins in Dunmow. The Wiseman arms were impaled because Philippa, the wife, was the daughter of John Wiseman of Great Canfield. The Jocelyn arms were impaled because Philippa’s mother, Agnes, was the daughter of Sir Ralph Jocelyn, Lord Mayeo of London in 1464, whose principal residence was at Hyde Hall, Sawbridgeworth, but who was also lord of the Manor of High Roding and of the Manor of Olives, in Dunmow. Hence the lady here represented was the wife of William Glascock of Mynchins, the daughter of John Wiseman of Great Canfield, and the grand-daughter of Sir Ralph Jocelyn, of Hyde Hall, High Roding and Olives.

APPENDIX IV. Church Chests.

Dunmow Church possesses two chests; the oldest one, probably made early in the 16th century, is in the room over the south porch; the other is kept in the Vicarage dining room.

The following is a description of the oldest chest given in Lewer & Walls “Church Chests of Essex” ;-“The chest is roughly made with boards of great thickness, and the iron strap bands—not nearly so numerous as in more ancient examples—are of thin metal. Of the five perpendiculars, only two were carried to the full height of the front; and the one horizontal band turned at the angles, but not in a line with the iron at the ends. Two perpendicular and three horizontal bands crossed on the sides, the latter turned on to the front and back; one of them, weakened by rust and corrosion and broken off, is carelessly replaced somewhat higher than its original position.

“The lid, which is very slightly coved, originally had three long and six cross bands which were supplemented by five others at a subsequent period; an addition which may possibly be referred to in the entry [in the

Churchwarden’s Account Book) of 1526, when nails and ironwork were bought for mending the hutches. Small pieces of iron were also put on the ends to keep the grain from opening.

“About the middle of the lid three of the bands are beaten to a broad, simple decorative form—similar to those on the chests at Little Waltham and West Mersea—and these carry three hasps, the two outer hasps fall on to lock-plates of unequal size, and the middle one, of greater size and strength, closes over a staple for a padlock.

“All the iron is corroded and fragile; and the handles large but weak, are fixed into the wood and not in the iron bands.

“Length 4ft. 5in, width 2ft. , depth 1ft, 11in.”