A HISTORY OF BEDFORDSHIRE of King Henry's parks, as they were also from rectors and vicars of neighbouring parishes ; and the curates were so impoverished that they could scarce live upon them. It may be noted that the churches men- tioned had all belonged (except Ampthill) to various monasteries before the dissolution ; and the king or his grantee, while appropriating the rectorial tithes, had evidently forgotten the rector's duty of repairing the chancel. Another sign of the times appeared at Dunstable. The churchwardens complained that their town was populous, but neither rector nor perpetual vicar was found there ; and ' he that was hired could not preach.' The loss of the ideal of the pastor in the ideal of the preacher is always the outcome of an age of controversy, and the balance sometimes takes a long while to readjust. There were probably very few deprivations in Bedfordshire in the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth. Of the higher clergy two were found ready to subscribe to the new Act of Uniformity — the archdeacon, Richard Barbar, and the prebendary of Biggleswade, Giles Forster — while two refused and were deprived — Anthony Draycot, 1 prebendary of Bedford Major, and George Hunter, prebendary of Leighton Buzzard. No names of the lesser clergy are found on the lists of those deprived before 1562. The earliest documentary evidence as to the state of Bedfordshire in ecclesiastical matters during the reign of Elizabeth is the report of the visitations made by the archdeacon in 1578.' He held his court at Ampthill, Bedford and Woburn ; and the presentations do not give a very happy impression of the state of the archdeaconry. In three churches both nave and chancel were out of repair ; in eight others only the chancel, by the default of the parson or patron. 3 Of these some had the windows broken, and others wanted paving. Two or three church- yards were in disorder, with broken hedges. Four of the clergy were called to show by what licence they served ; one could show none at all. Three or four did not preach ; only one however is presented for not wearing the surplice. A large number of people were presented for not coming to church, or for not making their communions at Easter. Sometimes the parish priest failed to give his people proper opportuni- ties : at Biddenham there had been ' only one communion this year' ; but at Clophill there was almost certainly a weekly celebration. 4 Only about thirty parishes are named in this report, and it would be rash to draw conclusions too melancholy from such premises as these ; espec- ially as the object of the visitation was to find out what was wrong, and not what was normal. There was probably a great diversity of practice as to the number of services ; and the amount of reverence and 1 Draycot was also archdeacon of Huntingdon, and held another prebend and four livings besides. 2 At present in the office of the archdeacon's registrar at Bedford. Some extracts were printed in Beds N. and Q. iii. 16-18, 36-40. 3 Wootton had the chancel in decay in 1556, when it was in the gift of Cardinal Pole ; now it u ' by the queen's default.'
- There is mention of a celebration on Palm Sunday ; and one who had lapsed promised to prepare
1 imsclf for next Sunday. 334
