To the Revd the Minister of Ottery St. Mary

Chanter 232A, 224

  1. Residence, curate and lecturer: Ans. Reside personally, in the School house. I serve as Lecturer as our Parish was sequesterd, and only £20 per year allowed by the Charter for the Vicar's Service; the Parishioners or rather Governors appointed by the Charter have the same as a Sort of Chaplain Priest, to read Prayers, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday in the Afternoon, for which they allow £20 per year.

  2. Other benefices: I have no other Benefice.

  3. Divine service at other churches: I perform divine Service at no other Church.

  4. Frequency of divine service: Divine Service is performed twice on every Sunday, with a Sermon both forenoon & afternoon. We have prayers every Wednesday, Friday & Saturday in the Afternoon and once every month a sacrament Sermon on the Saturday afternoon, as preparative for the Sacrament.

  5. Frequency of communion: The Sacrament is administerd on the first Sunday in every month, besides the appointed Seasons of Christmas, Easter, Whitsunday. We have about 70 and sometimes 100 Communicants. In last Sacrament the distribution continued for nearly an hour.

  6. Catechising of children: The Children are catechised in the Spring of the year, during Lent in general.

  7. Church fabric: Our Church & Chancel are putting in repair, and things are tolerably decent.

  8. Glebe terrier: The Clergyman has no Property. The Easter dues, and indeed every the most minute Income is given over to the Governors by the Charter; and the Vicar is still paid but his £20 per year, tho' money is so much sunk in value since Henry 8th's days. There is a Vicarage House which is untenantable, partly by some hurt done by a Tenant, and partly by want of timely repairing.

  9. Number of families: To this I can give no definite Answer. Our Parish is large, and contains several little villages in it as it's Circuit is at least 18 or 19 miles. I should think that we must have 300 families; I suppose that we have between 1000 and 2000 People often at Church.

  10. Chapels: We have no Chapel.

  11. Papists, dissenters and meeting houses: We have not one reputed Papist. We have one Presbyterian meeting house, of which Mr Buncomb is teacher.

  12. School, alms-houses, hospital and charitable endowments: We have a public School endowed also by King Henry 8th with £10 per year of which I am Master. Mr Buncomb also keeps School. We had a Library but the Books were carried away as I suppose, in the civil war. I have put a few Books there by Presents from Gentlemen.

  13. Charity: There have been many Lands left; and, as I suppose, they are applied duly. But I am not concerned in the Trust; and the Trustees hold themselves not accountable to others but themselves.

    Priest's orders and institution: My institution is dated December 27 1760
    My deacon's Orders are dated September 24 1749
    and I was ordained Priest the Year following.

    My Lord, I am sorry to say that I have mislaid or missed my Priest's Orders. The last Confirmation at Honiton, I did not know that the Papers would be called for, but the Bishop requested me to send them to Exeter, which I did to Mr Geare; who, as I thought, sent them all back by the Man who carried them. Without examining every Paper, I put them aside; but now miss my Priest's Orders so that I must send to Mr Geare's to have his Papers searchd as I doubt that in putting them up, he might omit to put up that parchment.