The Presentment for 1702 may be given fully as a specimen of the document which the wardens were bound to furnish at the Visitation of the Bishop or his emissary. A few extracts may be added, for the simplicity and shrewdness of some of the answers make them entertaining, as in the entire repudiation of an apparitor and his dues.

During Dr. Fleming's rectorate, a difference arose between the officials who controlled the finance department of the Visitation and the vestries of the parishes of Windermere and Grasmere.[200] It was proposed by the latter to make one Presentment serve for the whole parish, mother-church and chapels together; and the rector of Grasmere stated that it was only through a mis-conception that separate Presentments had been made. This was a sound, economical plan for the parish, but it was firmly opposed (as was natural) by the higher officials, who affirmed that separate Presentments were the rule. The table of "ancient and justifiable fees" was given as follows:—

Also apparitors received at the Visitation a fee for carrying out books sent by the King and Council—as Thanksgiving Books, etc.; and for each of these he might claim a fee of 1s., which raised the sum total to be paid at a Visitation occasionally to 14s. or 15s. No wonder our wardens disclaimed all knowledge of the apparitor! For their consolation they were reminded that in other Jurisdictions the wardens were called to Visitations twice a year, which doubled the fees and expenses.

In 1691 the parish paid "To the Chancellor at the Bishop's Visitation for a Presentment" 5s. 10d. The writing of it cost 4s. 2d. A Book of Articles was bought also. Five years later a Presentment for the whole parish cost 13s. 2d.

(Presentment for 1702.)

The presentment of John Mackereth, George Benson and Edward Tyson, Churchwardens, for the Church of Grasmere, within the Arch-Deaconry of Richmond in the Diocese of Chester, at the Ordinary Visition of John Cartwright, D.D., Commissary and Official, of the said Arch-Deaconry on Friday the fifteenth day of May Ano Dom 1702, in the parish church of Kirby Kendall, as followeth:—

Articles	Tit. I.
1,	Our Church is in good repair, and no part of it
2,3,4,	demolishd, nor anything belonging to it Imbezzled or sold.
5,	We have a Font with a Cover, a decent Communion Table,
	wth one decent Covering and another of Linnen, with a
6,7,	Chalice and a cover, and two flagons for the Communio,
	&c., wth all the other things the Articles of this title
8, 9,	inquire of, and they are ordered and used as they ought
	to be, according to our Judgmts, so yt we have nothing
10.	to present in answr to the Articles of this first Title.
Articles	Tit. II.
1, 2, 3,	Our minister, the Revrend Dr. Henry Fleming, is
	qualified accordg to Law, Legally Inducted, hath read
4,	the 39 Articles wthin the time Appointed by law, and
	declared his Assent thereto, we believe and know nothing
5, 6, 7,	to the contrary. He has another Ecclesiasticall Benefice.
	He preaches, we believe, every Lords Day, unless sickness
8,	or reasonable absence hinder him. Mr. Dudley
	Walker his Curate supplys the cure in his Absence.
9,	Both our Parson and his Curate do all things inquired
	of by the Articles of this Title, and are not guilty of
10.	any of the faults therein mentioned, as we are perswaided.
	So we have not any thing to present in Answer to the
	Articles of this Title.
Articles	Tit. III.
1, 2,	We know not of any Adulteries, Fornicators or Incestuous,
	Com'on Drunkards or Swearers, or other
3,	Sinn'rs and Transgressors inquired of in the Articles of
4, 5,	this Title, wthin our Parish. We believe each person
6,	behaves himself as he ought, during the time of Divine
7, 8,	Service, nor have we observed anything to the contrary.
9,	Onely in Answer the (sic) 4th Article of this Title
10.	we present the persons whose names follow for refuseing
	to pay their duty for Easter Offerings, and for refuseing
	to contribute to the Rates for Repairing of our Church,
	and things thereto belonging, viz., Francis Benson of
	the Fold, and Dorothee his wife, Jacob Holm and Sarah
	his wife of Tarnfoot, John Holm and Jane Holm his
	mother of Skelwath Bridge-End. All Quakers and
	come not to Church or Chapell to divine service. Francis
	Benson, of Under How, and Jane Benson, widow in Grasmere,
	Quakers, and come not to church to divine service.
Articles	Tit. IIII.
1.	We have a Parish Clark belonging to our Church aged
	21 years at least, of honest life, able to perform his duty,
2.	chosen by our Parson, and dos his duty diligently in his
	office of Parish Clark, as we are perswaided.
Articles.	Tit. V.
1,	We have no hospitall, alms-houses, nor freschool.
	But we have a School and a Schoolmaster, licons'd by
	the Ordinary, who teaches his schollers in the Church
	Catechism, and doth ye other things inquired of in the
2,	Articles of this Title, as in duty he ought. The Revenue
	of the School is Ordered as the Founder appointed, and
	as ye Laws of ye Land allow, to the best of our knowledges.
3.	We have none that practiseth physick, Chyrurjery,
	or midwifery in our parish w'thout License from the
	Ordinary, that we are privy to, or know of.
Articles	Tit. 6.
1,	Our church-wardens are chosen duly, and have done
2, 3.	their duty, as we think they ought to have done, in all things here Inquired of.
Articles	Tit. VIII. (sic).
1,	We do not know wt faults the Officers of our Ecclesisticall
	Courts are guilty of, and wh are Inquired of by
	these Articles of this Title. We have heard that they
	take greater fees then of Right they ought to do, and
2,	if they do so, we wish they may reform such Injuryous
3,	practices: But because we are privy to no thing of
	this kind done by any Ecclesticall Officer, we dar not
4,	upon Oath present it, and here ends our Presentmt.

George Benson}
John Mackereth} Churchwardens.
Edward Tyson}

The later presentments, up to 1732, are—except where quoted from elsewhere—largely repetitions of this. One or two answers to queries, however, are naive. In 1712 "we have no physitia's, nor Sargions in or parish."

Concerning officers of Ecclesistiall Courts, we know not their Officers; nor wh their Officers are; nor now they perform them, well, or ill; nor wh their just Fees are, and can therefore give no account of ym.

In 1717 "Concerning Apparitors. We know not how Apparitors do their office, nor can we present them, or any of tm, for any undue Fees exacted by them, and we think we ought not to pr'sent any man for faults wch we know not by him."

Between 1702 and 1732 only one woman is "presented" for "fornication"; and only occasionally, in a later set of Presentments, between 1768 and 1796 is the fault—which the registers show to have been not infrequent—mentioned.

Briefs.

Printed briefs, that called upon the churches to succour the unfortunate by offerings in money, reached Grasmere, remote as it was. Such of these sheets, as were found to be sufficiently intact, were quite recently gathered together and bound as a volume. Within the register-book the amount realised by some of these collections is set down. At Christmas, 1668, the offering made for the poor of London after the fire, reached the high figure of £17 6s. 3d., which shows how that great calamity affected the popular mind. Among other recipients of the parochial bounty are found: "Captives at allgeeres" (Algiers), 3s. 1d., also "A breife beyond ye seaes and for ye suply of printing The bible for one John de Krins..y," 7s. 3d. Very frequently individuals or towns that had suffered loss from fire or other causes were relieved. Perhaps there was grumbling then, as now, at the many collections, and 8d. only was realised for the relief of Hartlepool. The Squire, who generally gave one shilling for a brief, was doubtless absent that day.

Charities.

The care of the poor was of old a parochial matter. The regular supply of money for this purpose came from the offertories at the great feasts of the church, and was distributed (at least after the Reformation, if not before) by the wardens. There were other and casual sources, such as the doles given at the funeral of a person of gentle birth. The scale of the dole differed according to the rank of the individual. In the seventeenth century four pence (the old silver penny) was the usual sum, though at the funeral of William Fleming, of Coniston (claimant to Rydal Manor), only 2d. was given. Squire John Fleming was buried quietly, on the evening of his death, like many another recusant. There was no time, therefore, for that extraordinary and seemingly magnetic gathering of the poor, that sometimes occurred, even on a day's notice—for such news sped like a telegraphic message.

But some indigent folk collected next morning, when £1 10s. was distributed. This, at 4d. a piece, would represent 90 persons. The concourse was far greater when Squire Daniel's wife was interred, when it numbered over 1,800 persons; the amount given reaching £30 10s. 4d., while the dole-givers spent at the inn 3s. 6d. The gathering at his little son's funeral, two years later (1677), was naturally smaller. The entry in the account-book is as follows:—

The first bequest on record to the poor of Grasmere is that of old Mrs. Agnes Fleming, the shrewd mistress of Rydal Hall. Her will, dated 1630, directs that threescore and ten pounds shall be devoted to the poor of Staveley and "Gressmire," the interest to be distributed every Good Friday. In this distribution George Dawson "beinge blinde" was to receive during his life-time a noble, which was 6s. 8d. or half a mark. Accordingly, after her death, the bailiff entered in his accounts £1 13s. as "paid the poor folke at Easter 1632 for my old mis"; the blind lad's noble was also set down. This charity seems, however, to have been lost during the "Troubles" that presently overtook family and country. An effort to re-institute the one at Staveley at least was made by Squire Daniel.

Mention of an extraordinary gift appears in the same account-book. The young Earl of Thanet had lately, as Lord Lieutenant of Westmorland, entered the county in great state, and with a lavish expenditure of money. His generosity (which may have had a political bias) extended even to this remote quarter of the Barony. In those days £10 was a large sum; and the coin (as a precise entry under February, 1685, informs us) was conveyed to Kendal by a servant, delivered to the mayor, who passed it on to the Rydal Squire. One half was for Windermere, the other for Grasmere; and one wonders how large was the gathering at the church for the dole.

Other charitable gifts to the poor are written on boards hanging in the church, viz.:—

Edward Partridge and others of Grasmere £50, the interest to be distributed on St. Thomas's Day to such poor as do not receive parochial relief. (Undated.)

William and Eleanor Waters, in 1807, £200, the interest to be distributed under the like restrictions on Lady Day.