co HISTORY OF SKELTON IN CLEVELAND
SKELTON - IN - CLEVELAND
IN HISTORY

HOW THE CHURCH RATES WERE SPENT
Church Contents, Wages, Killing Vermin, Payments to Needy, Dog Whipper.

CHURCH FURNISHINGS, CONTENTS AND CHURCH TASKS.
1725 Spent when the Bell was hung 1s 0d

1726 For new Bell ropes 4s 6d
To William Dixon for making the Church door and a ladder 15s 3d.

1730 For a key to the Vestry door 4d.
For two iron plates for the pulpet 2d

1731 For coals, candles and Ale at that time 2s 5d

1735 To 3 pecks of coals 6d
To Candles 1d
To 6 pecks of Lime 1s 3d.
To the plummer for 15 pound of Sodr at 10p the poound 12s 6d.

1739 To George Dixon for Work at pulpit and Reading Desk 6d
To Shovelling snow off Church lands 6d

1741 For binding Church Prayer books 2s 6d.
To Thomas Carter for a Key and a Lock 8 pence.
To binding Church Prayer Book 2s 6d.

1742 For making two matts 1s 0d.
For making pins to hang hats on 8d
To a boy for going for William Duck when a plummer came 2d

1745 To John Clark for hatpins 6d.

1746 For cleaning the pewther 1s 6d

1750 To a new shovell 1s 2d.
For Coals 3d

1752 12 yards of cloath for Suplice £1 4s 0d.
To making suplice 5s 0d.
5 times washing suplice 5s 0d
,br> 1753 Paid for 1 Quire of paper and a cover for a Register 1s 1 and a halfpence.

1756 For washing y lining and cleaning puder 1s 6d.
For a broom, a haporth of paper and haporth tallow 2d.
To William Dixon for a new ladder 9s 0d.

1762 To binding the Church Bible 8s 6d.

1767 For taking list of Popish names 4s 0d.

1771 To the Psalm singers of Danby 1s 0d

1772 To the Psalm singers of Brotton 2s 0d

1776 Given to Marsk singers 1s 0d.

1783 Given to Easington Singers 2s 6d.
Given to our own Singers 2s 0d.
To William Dixon for mending old pews 4s 0d.

1791 To 2 towels for Communion table 5s 0d.
To a new spade and shovel 7s 0d.

1796 To half a sheet of parchment 10d.
Paid for 22 lb of candles for Singers 18s 4d.

1797 Spent at overlooking the Church Library 2s 0d.
Paid to John Stephenson for going round the Parish 1s 6d

1800 Paid for 2 coffin ropes 3s 0d.

1801 Paid expences for the Minister at Confirmation at Stokesley 4s 0d
Paid for a Book of Psalmody for the Singers to James Dixon 7s 0d
Paid to ditto for repairs of strings etc to the Base Violin 5s 0d.

1802 Paid for 12 yds of Irish Linen cloth for a new Surplice at 4s a yd £2 2s 0d.

1813 Paid for an Iron chest £3 4s 6d.

1814 Paid for Parchment for Baptisms, Marriages, Burials and postage 7s 9d.
Paid for 2 keys for chest of Iron 3s 6d.
Paid postage for letters from York for Register 1s 0d.
Paid for a looking glass for Vestry 4s 8d.
Paid James Watson for transcribing the Registers of Baptisms etc 3 sheets 7s 6d.
Paid Anthony Stephenson for going round the the Parish to bid to a Vestry Meeting 2s 0d.

1815 Paid for taking Account of Population 6s 0d.
Paid to Richard Carrick for altering Names on the Church Pews 6s 0d.



CLERK WAGES.
1718 Paid to Robert Lamb for Clerk wages 13s 2d.

1801 Clerk wages and washing Linen etc £1 11s 6d.



SEXTON WAGES.
1739 To John Mason for saxton wages 5s 0d.


PAYMENTS TO THE NEEDY.
These entries occasionally appear in the Church Rates as payments to travellers, but usually belong in the records of the Overseers of the Poor.
1719 Paid to a pettitioner 6 pence.

1720 Giveing to 2 travelers 1s 0d

1786 Expenses at attending the donations to the Poor 8s 6d.


KILLING "VERMIN".
Most pages of the Skelton Church Rates show payments for the killing of the fox.
People depended on their pieces of land and livestock to survive.
With large areas of woodland around Skelton, free ranging hens and none of today's wire netting etc, it is not hard to see how the Fox became a creature to be exterminated.
1718 For fix fox head 15s 0d.

1730 For four fox heads 6s 0d



Dog Whipper.


DOG WHIPPER.

People allowed their Dogs to roam free in local villages until not so long ago and there were possibly starving feral ones as a result.
The dogs no doubt cocked a snook, to put it politely, at what was considered sacred land.
The "dog whipper" was armed with tongs to capture them at a distance and a whip to disperse them from the Church and its grounds.

1727 Paid to John Mason for dog whiping 5s 0d

1766 Paid to William Thompson for whiping dogs 10s 0d.

1801 Paid to John Judson as dog whipper 19s 0d.


Go to Next page - Church Rates - How the Money was gathered in.
Go to previous page - How Church were Spent - Church Repairs and Rebuilding.
Go Back to Index of Emails.
Go Back to Main Contents.