p 33 (12 April–3 April) (Receipts)
...
| Receaved of the wymen at hoctyde | xxij s. viij d. |
| Receaved of the men | iiij s. viij d. |
| Receaved of the maydes | xvj s. xj d. |
| Receaved of the men | vij s. viij d. |
p 34
| Receaved of the maydens | iij s. vj d. & xviij d. |
| Receaved of the maydens | iiij s. ij d. |
...
| Receaved ffor |
vj li. ix s. vij d. |
...
Memorandum to be deducted owt of the forsayed some of vj li. ix s. vij d. the some of xix s. and so the hole Charge is
p 35 (Expenses)
...
| In primis paid to Christofer Tapester | xx d. |
| paid for bawderyckes for belles | xij d. ob. |
| paid ffor Bredd | xij d. |
| paid ffor Calves Hedds | xv d. |
| paid ffor ffleshe | vj s. vj d. |
| paid ffor more ffleshe | xxiij d. |
| paid for bred and drink | vj d. |
| paid for spices | xj d. |
| paid for butter | ij d. |
| paid for otemele and salte | xiij d. |
| paid for bere | ij s. viij d. |
| paid to the hostler | ij d. |
| paid for a barrell of Bere | ij s. viij d. |
| paid for ijo pere of showes | xviij d. |
| paid for vj pare of showes | iiij s. iiij d. |
...
p 36
...
| paid to the mynstrells | xxvj s. viij d. |
| paid for bere | xiij s. iiij d. |
| paid for a Capp and ijo fethers | xviij d. |
...
| paid for lyveryes | xvj d. |
| paid to the singers | xij d. |
| paid for ther dynners | iiij s. ix d. |
| paid for ther Suppers | iij s. vj d. |
| paid more for lyveryes | viij d. |
| paid for iiij bushells of whete | x s. |
| paid for a Calfe | viij s. viij d. |
| paid for iij quarters of mutton | iij s. |
| paid for iij dossen of bells | xviij d. |
...
| paid for a sholder of mutten and a quarter of lamb and the portinaunce | xviij d. |
| paid for butter | v d. |
...
| paid for the mynstrells bord | xiij s. iiij d. |
...
| paid for the wymens sopper at hoctyde | iij s. iiij d. |
. ..
The Hocktide receipt entries on the foot of p 33 follow a long series of what appears to be, in the main, parish rates headed by a gift of 40s from Thomas Vachell, the son of Thomas Vachell who had died in 1553.
The payments on pp 35 and 36 are both full and tantalizing. No dates are given for the feasting. All the expenses for the year are transcribed here except those that are clearly building expenses. There is no clear combination of expenses that would add up to the 19s that was to be deducted from the Whitsuntide profit. The capital expenses for costumes – shoes, coats, surplices (and the buckram to make them), cap, feathers, and morris bells – come to 17s 8d. The addition of the liveries makes the total too high. Perhaps this explains why the amount of the 'whole Charge' was not entered on p 34.
Record title: St Mary's
Churchwardens'
Accounts
Repository:
BRO
Shelfmark: D/P 98/5/1
Repository location: Reading
The yearly accounts, in our period rendered on Good Friday, begin on p 33 with the accounts for 1555–6. The accounts to 1675 then follow on numbered pages. Subsequent accounts are also not paginated. The later parts of the book contain miscellaneous church records, including coloured plans for the church bound into the book at the year 1837. At the year 1885 there is a note on the improvement of the churchyard with a coloured plan.
1547–1907; English; paper with parchment flyleaves; ii + 415 + ii; 385mm x 275mm; modern pagination (4 unnumbered leaves, 128 leaves paginated 1–255 followed by 217 unnumbered leaves taking the accounts to 1907, these are followed by 66 blank leaves); some display capitals, later entries ruled in red; bound in tooled brown leather fraying at the edges, title stamped on front cover: 'Parish of St Mary | Reading | Churchwardens' Register | 1547 to (blank).'