e mayor,
bailiffs and corporation, on their petition, the church and its
appurtenances in Free Burgage for ever on payment of _1d._, per annum
and gave them "all the rents, revenues and profits of the said
church."

But these gifts were not sufficient to support the church and its
services, so that the latter were irregular and repairs were
neglected. In 1608 Mayor Hancox procured the delivery of a Saturday
lecture "for the better fitting of the people for the Sabbath." In
1641 Simon Norton, alderman, left property to his son Thomas, on
trust, the condition being that if at any time St. John's should
become a parish church, he or his heirs should pay _L13 6s. 8d._ to
the minister out of rents of lands in Coundon, and also the tithes of
lands in Clifton.

Prisoners from the Scottish army being quartered on the city in 1647,
many were confined in this church and wrought much damage and
desecration. From this time services were only occasionally held,
until 1734, when an Act of Parliament was obtained making it a Parish
Church, appointing a district to it and enabling the Master and Usher
of the Free Grammar School to be Rector and Lecturer of the church.
The mayor, bailiffs, and commonalty were made patrons, but in 1835,
these arrangements having failed to work satisfactorily, the patronage
was transferred to trustees who acted as managers of the school and in
1864 the lectureship was abolished, the rectory was severed from the
office of Head Master and the Trustees of the school were charged with
a payment of L200 per annum towards the stipend of the Rector. In 1874
the advowson was sold to a private person. A great deal of
restoration, justifiable and otherwise, has taken place, the decay of
the local sandstone having made large repairs necessary. In 1861 much
renewal of the external stone work was carried out. Unfortunately
shortsighted ideas of economy led to the use of the same poor stone
and much has recently had to be done over again, this time with the
harder Runcorn stone used also at St. Michael's. The interior was
restored in 1875, galleries erected in 1735 and 1838, and high pews
were removed, the floor, which had been raised three feet, lowered,
the lantern stage of the tower opened up by removing a ringing floor
and a light iron gallery above the tower arches provided for the
ringers. The original groined ceiling has thus been made visible from
below.

THE EXTERIOR

Although small in area compared w