The Parish Churches & Religious Houses of Northamptonshire
Their dedication, Altars, Images & Lights

By the Rev. R.M. Serjeantson, M.A. F.S.A. & the Rev. H. Isham Longden, M.A.

Parishioners often left legacies to the church or to the incumbent; though many bequests towards the maintenance of the churchyard or village crosses, and to various other objects of a more or less sacred character, such as church ales, Whitsuntide processions were made.

Every church had a high altar, and devout parishioners left a legacy of some kind to the high altar "for tithes and obligations forgotten or not duly done,"

Figures or representations of the Trinity occur in various places, and most churches of any size or importance contained a trinity chapel or altar. Altars in honour of the second Person in the Trinity were also fairly common.

A Jesus altar stood at Potterspury. At Blisworth there was apparently a representation of the first Person in the Trinity, for in 1528 a parishioner left "to the Father of hevyn a pownde of wax".

Probably every church contained a figure of our Lady, and in most cases an altar or chapel was dedicated to her honour. Even when a church was definitely dedicated in honour of the Virgin, it often contained a lady-chapel as well. This was the case at Blakesley

Chapels, altars, images, and lights in honour of the various apostles are to be found everywhere. A figure of St. Eramus at Alderton , St. Leonard at Yardley Gobion, St. Roch at Blisworth and St. Sebastian at Stoke Bruerne. At Potterspury in 1557 a testator bequeathed 20d. "to the light that cometh downe before the blessed Sacrament."

The Torches

The torches, or serges, were great candles found more or less in profusion in all our English pre-reformation churches. They were burnt by the side of the body during the obsequies, and at the requiem mass. They were not of pure wax, and were brown in colour, owing to the large proportion of resin - in some cases nearly half - used in their manufacture. The wealthier members of society provided their own torches for their funerals, but it was usual for each parish to provide a certain number ready for the burial of the poorer classes. These were used not only for funeral purposes, but also for burning on special occasions before the various altars.
Almost all mediaeval wills contain a legacy towards the maintenance of "the torches"; and in numerous instances one or more new torches were bequeathed to a church. The cost of these torches varied considerably in size and quality.

The Fabric of the Church

From a careful perusal of early wills we learn the exact date at which various portions of our Nothamptonshire churches were built. In 1500 the people of Blakesley were building an aisle of Our Lady in their church, towards the cost of which a parishioner left 6s 8d. From another will we learn that a new porch was being built at Potterspury in 1510.
The "steeples" or towers of various Nothamptonshire churches were evidently undergoing extensive repairs at the beginning of the sixteenth century.

The Rood

In mediaeval days every church had its rood and rood-screen and in the period (1450-1558), a rood-loft as well.
Almost every parishioner in pre-reformation days left a legacy to the maintenance of the lights before the rood; and bequests to defray the cost of painting or gilding the rood-loft.

The Easter Sepulchre

A necessary adjunct to every English mediaeval church was the Easter Sepulchre. It was a small chest or receptacle in which, on Maunday Thursday or Good Friday, was deposited the Host enclosed in a pyx, together with a cross. This "sepulchre" was placed usually, if not invariably, on the north side of the chancel and was constantly watched till dawn on Easter day, when the pyx was taken out and replaced upon the altar. The sepulchre was usually of wood, though in many cases permanent stone receptacles were made for it.

The Altar

The religious changes brought about by the accession of Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth are suggested by bequests. --------- On accession of queen Mary the old altars were restored, and --------- On the accession of Elizabeth "the Lord's table" again took the place of the high altar.

Plate, etc.

Legacies for the purchase occur very frequently. The following will serve as examples:--------

Candlesticks.
In 1492 "ij candilstikks of laten, price xvjs. viijd." were left to the high altar of Alderton;

Altar Cloths

In 1531 a parishioner left to the church of Cosgrove "iiij bushel of barley to bye a paynted clothe to hang before the high aulter."

Other Cloths for Lent

It was customary during Lent to cover the great rood and all pictures and images, and entries of sheets or cloths for the purpose are "To our Lady of Wittilbury ij ells of brode cloth to be drawne upon wyre befor hir ": R. Fennymore, 1522

Jesus Mass

This mass made its first appearance in the Sarum books as a votive mass. In various Northamptonshire wills bequests were made for the maintenance of the mass of Jesus; "The mass of Jesu" was maintained at Stoke Bruerne.

The Mass of the Five Wounds

The legend which precedes this mass in the Sarum missal is briefly this. St. Boniface lay on his deathbed: to him appeared the archangel Raphael with the said mass. "Rise and write out this office," saith he, "and say it five time, and thou shalt be healed: and whosoever shall say it for himself or for any sick person five times shall be healed, and if for a soul in purgatory, it shall be delivered." St. Boniface then inquired who he was, and on learning, conceded to all rite confessis et bene contritis, who should say this mass five times, the seventh part of the forgiveness of all their sins; and to all who got it said, forty days' indulgence of mortal, and a year's of venial sins.

Church Ales

An important source of income to the officials of our old parish churches was the "church ale." "The church ale, says bishop Hobbouse, "was the most universal resort for eliciting the bounty of the parish," It was a parish feast, and corresponded to a certain extent with the modern parochial tea. The church ale, however was on a much larger scale, and often lasted for several days. The "ale," so called, which was brewed for a church ale, was a sweet beverage made with hops or bitter herbs. It was not like our modern beer, but was much less heavy, and was probably hardly intoxicating.

When all was ready, invitations were sent to the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages, who felt it a point of honour to come and assist their neighbours, and, of course, to make their offerings towards the expenses. Sometimes the material for the feast were all given, and those participating in the good things made their offering. Sometimes the food was purchased; nut in either case the proceeds went to the church funds.
In early days the church ales appear to have been frequently held in the sacred building itself and even in latter days this was sometimes the case. Usually, however, at least in later times, the church ale was held in the church-house built for the purpose; or, as in the Somersetshire example just quoted, in a barn.

Rogationtide Processions

Parochial processions or perambulations were customary from a very early date on the three days immediately preceding Ascension day. On these occasions litanies were sung involving a blessing on the growing crops, and praying for the prevention, or for the removal, of plague and pestilence. These days were usually known as Rogation days.

Mortuaries

The mortuary was a charge quite distinct from the burial fee paid to the rector or to the church officials for breaking the ground in the church or churchyard. In theory the mortuary was "a gift left by a man at his death to his parish church as a set-off against personal tithes or offerings that had not been duly paid during his lifetime. By custom the voluntary and occasional offering became a regular due in most districts, and eventually grew into an impost that was enjoined, both by civil and ecclesiastical law, in all parishes where the custom had obtained. The mortuary of the rector was the analogous liability to the heriot of the lord" As the lord always claimed the tenant's best beast, the second best beast went as a mortuary to the rector and in case the deceased possessed no beast, his best wearing apparel was claimed as a mortuary.

In course of time abuses grew up in connection with this system, and excessive mortuaries were claimed. To remedy this an act was passed in 1530, by which it was enacted that for the future mortuaries should not be demanded from any person whose movable goods were worth less than ten marks. On property worth from ten marks to £30 the mortuary was fixed at 3s. 4d ; from £30 to £40 at 6s. 8d ; and exceeding £40 at 10s. This last was the highest sum fixed. The custom lingered on well into the nineteenth century. In Northamptonshire the mortuary seems to have been usual y known as the "principal," though the term mortuary often occurs; and occasionally the payment is called the "corse-present." Provision for the payment of the "principal" or mortuary occurs in almost all Northamptonshire wills, except in the case of the very poor who did not come within the act.

Usually, in Northamptonshire the mortuary given was the best horse. Those who had no horse or cattle left their best robe, or cloak or jewel or other article.

Hermits & Anchorites

All through the middle ages Northamptonshire appears to have had it's full share of anchorites and hermits. The essential difference between an anker or anchorite and a hermit appears to have been that, whereas the former passed his whole life shut up in a cell, the later, although leading a solitary life, wandered about at liberty.

Agricultural Bequests

From the foregoing notes it will be seen that the forms of bequests adopted by testators in these Northamptonshire wills was exceedingly varied. One of the commonest was a strike of barley or malt, or more rarely of wheat, rye or maslin.[1].

In one or two instances an "acur of peysse" was given. More often, however, bequests of this nature took the form of a "land" of wheat or barley or pease. The term "land" here used doubtless means one of the long strip s into which a cornfield was divided by water-furrows.
Beasts and sheep were also very often bequeathed to the church. In some cases they were intended to be sold for the benefit of some particular altar or light; in other instances they were to be added to the church stock and let out to hire. With regard to beasts, a very frequent bequest was a heifer.Bequests of horses to the church are not very common, but they occur now and then in Northamptonshire wills. Sheep, however were constantly bequeathed by pious parishioners under a great variety of names: chivers, hoggerells, shere-hogs, ewe-hoggerells, wethers, wether-hoggerells, ewes and lambs.[^2].

1. Maslin = mixed corn, generally wheat and rye (Halliwell)
2. A chilver appears to denote a ewe. The meaning of the word hoggerell seems to have varied considerably at different dates. At least in Northamptonshire a hoggerell means a sheep under one year; a shear-hog denotes a sheep that has been once shorn; a theave means a shearling ewe.