The Rev. John Wells was vicar of Deopham from 1736-1737.
Contents
1736
He was instituted as vicar of Deopham on November 11th 1736 by Bishop Robert Butts, and moved on to Exning (near Newmarket) in July 1737. He formally relinquished his Deopham post on August 5th 1737.
1737
On June 25th 1737 John Wells wrote to the Revd Dr Lisle at Canterbury with the following description of the profits of the Deopham vicarage. The letter is written from “Milk Street” without further definition of where that might be. The way the letter is written implies he does not visit Deopham very often.
| Article | Item | Calculations | Total | Comments by John Wells in his accompanying letter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hay | 41 acres at 8d an acre | £1:7:81 | This is the actual amount received |
| 2 | Herbage | 180 acres at 6d an acre | £4:10:0 | This is the actual amount received |
| 3 | Poultry | 3 Chickens at 3d each 4 Geese at 9d each 1 Turkey at 9d | 4:6 | This is the actual amount received |
| 4 | Compositions2 of five Persons | in part due | £2:8:2½ | This is the actual amount received |
| 5 | Remainder of Some Compositions | due this Midsummer, but not yet received | £1:13:11½ | Due this MidSummer, but not yet received The reason why the Compositions are divided into two payments is because the last Incumbent’s Executors had received Part of them before I was down, as being due to him. |
| 6 | Turnips | 102 acres at 2s an acre | £10:4:0 | Not yet received. The number of acres throughout the Parish sown with Turnips is 102. This Acct I go t ny Enquiring of Each Parishioner distinctly, How many acres of Turnips he had. And I have put them down at 2s an Acre because they are reckond worth so much this year, tho’ the usual price has been only 1s:6d. However the Parishioners do not plead any Modus3 in this Case. |
| 7 | Easter Offerings and Hearthage | 28 families at 5½d each | £0:12:10 | There are but 32 Families in the Parish that pay tythes, 4 of which are to be excused in this Case by reason of their Compositions which reduces the Number of Families to 28. I am afraid that but few of the Parishioners have paid this article of Offerings and Hearthage to the last Incumbent and I imagine that I shall meet with some Difficulty in the Getting of it. |
| 8 | Surplice Fees | 6s a Burial 6s a Churching 5s a Wedding | at most not above £1:0:0 | In a Parish that has not above 32 Families in a capacity of paying Anything, What can be expected? … I reckon that 20 Shillings a year is the Utmost that they can amount to altogether. |
| 9 | Annual Pension from the Rector | £6:0:0 | These are certain and fixed | |
| 10 | The Great Tythes of Hawfield | £2:10:0 | These are certain and fixed | |
| 11 | Glebe 6 acres together with the Church-yard4 | £4:0:0 | These are certain and fixed | |
| 12 | Augmentation by Queen Anne’s Bounty | An estate at Shipdham 5 miles distant from Deopham containing 23 acres & ½ Let for £17 | £17:0:0 | There are great deductions to be made:- Land tax at 2s in the pound = £1:2 To the Tenant yearly for Firewood £1 The Uncertain Expense of Repairs The Tenant paid for the half year to Michaelmas last only £7:5:1. And now he insists on having £2 a year abated in his Rent and likewise upon having the House repaired from Top to Bottom. But these being, as I thought, too hard for me to be complyd with, I have given the Man Warning to remove at Michaelmas next . After he is removed, the best way I am sure would be to get a Faculty for the Bishop for pulling the Old House down … and to Let the Land and Barn to some Substantial Farmer in the Neighbourhood. For the House, as long as it stands, will always be a Heavy Burden upon the Estate; it will require yearly to be repaired, & will eat up a great share of the yearly Rent. |
| Total | £51:11:2 |
According to the Bank of England5, £51 in 1737 would be worth £9,469 in 2023.
On a separate page, he listed the Deductions to be made: these include “The Curate Stated Allowance – £20”
The Rev. John Wells died in 1748 whilst still at Exning.
Footnotes
- Should be £1:7:4d – there’s an error in his arithmetic! ↩︎
- The Compositions were cash payments for tithes replacing the payments in kind of earlier years. These payments could vary from year to year according to the crop volume and its value. ↩︎
- A modus is a variation of the standard tithe calculation for special circumstances. ↩︎
- Five acres are the site of the vicarage built in 1851 (now The Grange) plus one acre for the churchyard = 6 acres. ↩︎
- https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator ↩︎
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 30/11/23 | Published |
Deopham History 