Church Wardens, Vergers, etc.

In an October issue of Telstar, Neil (Langridge) explained the roles of some official duties  associated with parishes.

  • Churchwarden–  day to day maintenance of the church , paying for work done, keeping accounts and liaising between the laity and the minster.
  • Sidesman – greeting and seating congrgations and taking the collection.
  • Overseers – responsible for collecting the poor rate and allocating relief for the poor of the parish.
  • Assessors – assessed the poor rate
  • Constables – responsible for peace keeping.
  • Surveyors – had a duty to maintain the unsurfaced roads and supply workers to fill potholes with flints gathered from the fields

Prior to the building of Holy Trinity in Stowupland, parishoners of Stowupland and Stowmarket worshipped together in St Peters and St Marys in Stowmarket but each congregation had their own church wardens.

In 1959 when the Rev Lark came to Stowupland the churchwardens were Mr H.E. Marhall and Mr Sidney Scarlett.

Ken Thrower was verger and caretaker for Holy Trinity Church for 30 years, he died in 1992.

press cutting
1930s report of a meeting of the Stowupland vestry and Parochial Council

This 1930s cutting comes from Margaret Catchpole’s scrapbook that is held in our archives. As can be seen there were two wardens, the vicar’s warden and a people’s warden.

Mr Catchpole was Margaret’s father.

From the early 1920s we have some examples of church expenses claimed by the church wardens. These come from expense accounts kept by Charles Catchpole.

expense account
Church expenses for 1923 and 1924

In 1907 Mr A.G.Bramhall was a church warden, at that time he was head master at the Council School in Stowupland.

In 1869 we know of 2 church wardens Robert Boby and Alfred Skingley.  The Boby family were major farmers in Stowupland. Alfred Skingley was a Bailiff for Stowupland Hall

In 2015 Neil (Langridge) wrote the following in Telstar about some parish officials named at the end of the 18th century

article
article

Although UNDERTAKERS were not church parish officials it seems appropriate to list them here.

 1868, ‘Mr Robinson has a contract to supply coffins to Sto Union WorkHouse.’{(Ipswich Chronicle, 26th March}

1927 (Kellys)  the Wilden Bros

Meakins

1892 – Arthur Ambrose is a wheelwright, woodcraft and undertaker.