p 285 (29 September–29 September) (Gatherings)
...
| Item the gatheringe at hocketyde | xviij s. j d. ob. |
| Item ye gatheringe of ye yonge folkes & maydens on maye daye & at whyttsontyde this yere | nichil |
| Item the saide churchwardens gatheringe at ye kinge ale in the whytsontyde, at the churche ale suppars | xlviij s. |
...
p 286 (Expenses)
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| Item for iij barelles of beere, spent at whytsontyde | xij s. |
| Item for ij Dosen of bred to Radly at that tyme | ij s. |
...
p 287
...
| Item for fetching the sommar pole | ij d. |
| Item for a breakfast to the yonge men | xvj d. |
| Item for a quarter of veale & a quarter of Lambe | iij s. iij d. |
...
The last entry for a king ale is on p 285, although the hocking event continued for one more year before the accession of Elizabeth and the termination in St Laurence parish of all customary activities.
John Radley was a baker who was very active in the parish in the 1550s and 1560s. He first appears in the accounts in 1551 and was churchwarden in 1553–4. He was very active in petitioning the Crown to provide a new churchyard through the 1550s and early 1560s, although Dils remarks that he 'remained a traditionalist in religion.' During this time he became a protestant clergyman and was vicar of St Laurence from 1565 to 1574 (Dils, St Laurence Churchwardens' Accounts, pt 1, p lxii; pt 2, pp 218–19).
Record title: St Laurence's
Churchwardens'
Accounts
Repository:
BRO
Shelfmark: D/P 97/5/2
Repository location: Reading
The churchwardens rendered their accounts on the feast of the Annunciation (25 March) until 1516 when they adopted the Michaelmas–Michaelmas pattern rendering their accounts on 29 September.
1498–1626; English; paper; 250 leaves; 330mm x 225mm; modern pagination; some display capitals; pp 1–2, 490–3 are separated but have been repaired and put separately in a brown paper wrapper; bound in boards covered in parchment, title on front cover: 'The Book of the | Church-Wardens Accounts | of the Parish | of | St Laurence.'