PAP 052

The Poet and The Paupers

IX.052


In 1825 the parish received as a gift a large pile of cinders from the Duchess of Dorset. That, at least, is what the Vestry Minutes state; however, as the 5^th Duke of Dorset never married it cannot have been his wife who made the gift. Possibly it was his mother, whose husband, the Earl of Plymouth, owned Park House Farm where the cinders had been dumped. Richard, it seems, judging that the sooner the cinders were used in repairing roads the more the parish would benefit, on his own initiative called a special public Vestry meeting at “the Six Bells” on June 15^th. The farmers in the Vestry viewed his action with disfavour. Richard was, after all, only the Clerk, a servant of the Vestry and not one of its leading members; and as far as financial involvement in road repairs was concerned, his contribution to the Highway Rate annually was around a mere 4 shillings, whereas the farmers paid much more: Elizabeth Funnell at Park Farm over Ł12 and Thomas Day and Robert Reeves over Ł9, for instance. It was not for a mere schoolmaster to tell them when to come to a meeting and so they passed the following resolution: “Resolved: that in future the Vestry Clerk shall not be authorized to convene any special public meeting without the sanction of the parish officers for the time being in whatever department, whether relating to the Highways, Land or Assessed Taxes or to the Parish generally.” It seems, however, that they were almost as annoyed with the Duchess of Dorset as they were with Richard Lower, for they also passed a resolution which, after thanking the Duchess for her gift, acknowledged it at 3d. per pound, thus transforming the cinders from a gift into a purchase, and leaving the Vestry under no obligation to the owner of Park Farm, a move quite probably proposed by the Funnells themselves. The Vestry also promised to make good all damage that might ensue to the land in getting the cinders out to the roads. Normally, except for the annual nomination of Surveyors, roads featured rarely in the Vestry Minutes; but in 1831, the Surveyor’s Accounts showed that Robert Reeves and Richard Pelling had charged the cost of some personal bridge repairing to the parish Highway Rate. Who spotted this misuse of public money is not stated but it could well have been Richard Lower. The upshot was that Reeves had to agree to do further work on the roads with four carts for one day and Pelling to work with two carts for one day without charging this to the parish.

In 1825 the parish received as a gift a large pile of cinders from the Duchess of Dorset. That, at least, is what the Vestry Minutes state; however, as the 5^th Duke of Dorset never married it cannot have been his wife who made the gift. Possibly it was his mother, whose husband, the Earl of Plymouth, owned Park House Farm where the cinders had been dumped. Richard, it seems, judging that the sooner the cinders were used in repairing roads the more the parish would benefit, on his own initiative called a special public Vestry meeting at “the Six Bells” on June 15^th. The farmers in the Vestry viewed his action with disfavour.

Richard was, after all, only the Clerk, a servant of the Vestry and not one of its leading members; and as far as financial involvement in road repairs was concerned, his contribution to the Highway Rate annually was around a mere 4 shillings, whereas the farmers paid much more: Elizabeth Funnell at Park Farm over Ł12 and Thomas Day and Robert Reeves over Ł9, for instance. It was not for a mere schoolmaster to tell them when to come to a meeting and so they passed the following resolution:

“Resolved: that in future the Vestry Clerk shall not be authorized to convene any special public meeting without the sanction of the parish officers for the time being in whatever department, whether relating to the Highways, Land or Assessed Taxes or to the Parish generally.”

It seems, however, that they were almost as annoyed with the Duchess of Dorset as they were with Richard Lower, for they also passed a resolution which, after thanking the Duchess for her gift, acknowledged it at 3d. per pound, thus transforming the cinders from a gift into a purchase, and leaving the Vestry under no obligation to the owner of Park Farm, a move quite probably proposed by the Funnells themselves. The Vestry also promised to make good all damage that might ensue to the land in getting the cinders out to the roads.

Normally, except for the annual nomination of Surveyors, roads featured rarely in the Vestry Minutes; but in 1831, the Surveyor’s Accounts showed that Robert Reeves and Richard Pelling had charged the cost of some personal bridge repairing to the parish Highway Rate. Who spotted this misuse of public money is not stated but it could well have been Richard Lower. The upshot was that Reeves had to agree to do further work on the roads with four carts for one day and Pelling to work with two carts for one day without charging this to the parish.

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