Project Gutenberg's The Parish Clerk (1907), by Peter Hampson Ditchfield

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Title: The Parish Clerk (1907)

Author: Peter Hampson Ditchfield

Release Date: September 3, 2004 [EBook #13363]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PARISH CLERK (1907) ***

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[Illustration]

THE PARISH CLERK

BY

P.H. DITCHFIELD

M.A., F.S.A.

WITH THIRTY-ONE ILLUSTRATIONS

_First Published in 1907_.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. OLD-TIME CHOIRS AND PARSONS 1

II. THE ANTIQUITY AND CONTINUITY OF THE OFFICE OF
CLERK 16

III. THE MEDIAEVAL CLERK 31

IV. HIS DUTIES OF READING AND SINGING 48

V. THE CLERK IN LITERATURE 63

VI. CLERKS TOO CLERICAL--SMUGGLING DAYS AND
SMUGGLING WAYS 79

VII. THE CLERK IN EPITAPH 90

VIII. THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF PARISH CLERKS 104

IX. THE CLERKS OF LONDON: THEIR DUTIES AND PRIVILEGES 115

X. CLERKENWELL AND CLERKS' PLAYS 130

XI. THE CLERKS AND THE PARISH REGISTERS 140

XII. THE CLERK AS A POET 154

XIII. THE CLERK GIVING OUT NOTICES 169

XIV. SLEEPY CHURCH AND SLEEPY CLERKS 179

XV. THE CLERK IN ART 195

XVI. WOMEN AS PARISH CLERKS 201

XVII. SOME YORKSHIRE CLERKS 206

XVIII. AN OLD CHESHIRE CLERK AND SOME OTHER WORTHIES 225

XIX. THE CLERK AND THE LAW 245

XX. RECOLLECTIONS OF OLD CLERKS AND THEIR WAYS 255

XXI. CURIOUS STORIES 306

XXII. LONGEVITY AND HEREDITY--THE DEACON-CLERKS OF
BARNSTAPLE 318

XXIII. CONCLUSION 333

INDEX