A HISTORY OF LONDON less, and three over 800. The parishes without the walls were far more populous, all but one having over 800 and St. Sepulchre's 3,400. St. Mar- garet's with 2,500 was the largest in Westminster. The certificates mention eighty-nine rectors and vicars and forty-four curates or priests placed in charge by non-resident incumbents, but the total number of priests serving in London at this time was probably about four hundred, excluding those serving at St. Paul's." The distribution of the priests, however, was very unequal, for at St. Laurence Jewry, with only 148 communicants, there were a vicar, ' his curate in his absence,' and six chantry priests, while at St. Stephen's Coleman Street, with 880 communicants, there were only the vicar and a stipendiary priest. In some instances the parishioners leased the parsonage from the incumbent, as at St. Andrew Hubbard (worth about j^2o a year), where the parishioners paid the rector {jj ioj. and defrayed the salary of the curate and other charges. According to the certificates non-residence was a prevalent evil, at least 10 per cent, of the City rectors being permanently absent and about 20 per cent, more only resident for part of the year.' There were great differences of opinion amongst the citizens on religious matters at this time, and consequently many irregularities were committed. On ID February 1546—7 the curate and churchwardens of St. Martin Ire- monger were charged before the Council with having made unauthorized alterations in their church. They had removed all the images and pictures, substituting texts of Scripture, and had set up the king's arms in the place of the crucifix on the rood-loft. They urged in excuse that some of the par- ishioners ' committed idolatry ' to the images. The Council accepted their submission, but ordered them to restore the crucifix immediately.* Free discussion and preaching about the sacraments, the use of images, &c., was permitted until June i 547, when some effort was made to restrain it.' In the autumn took place a royal visitation of the Church, with the issue of a set of Injunctions. Bonner and Gardiner protested against these, and both were imprisoned for a time.' The changes made in the arrange- ments and equipment of London churches in consequence of this visitation can be illustrated from the parochial records.' The Paraphrases of Erasmus were bought in 1548, and in some cases were chained to a desk in the church. Most of the London parishes * seem to have possessed a Bible since 1539. It may be inferred from the wardens' accounts that every church had a pulpit for preaching, the only expenditure of that kind 'This calculation is based on the pension lists of 1555 (Add. MS. 8102). The names of over two hundred pensioners are given, exclusive of those who had died since 1548. To this must be added incumbents. ' Chant. Cert. 34 ; Chwdns.' Accts. S/. Mary-at-Hill (Early Engl. Text Soc), 41 1 ; St. Andrew Hubbard, 1548-50.
- Acts ofP.C. ii, 25. Cf. Foxe, op. cit. vi, 61. See also Corp. Rec. Repert. xi, fol. 338 ; Foxe, op. cit.
V, 704-5. ' VVriothesley, Chron. (Camd. Soc), i, 184 ; Odet de Selve, Corretp. (Inventaire Analytique des Archives), 24 Apr., 23 May, 16 June, 1547. Important extracts from these letters are translated by Gasquet and Bishop, Edxv. VI and the Bk. of Common Prayer ; Stow, Annals ; Foxe, op. cit. vi, 24 et seq., 58.
- Lend. Epis. Reg. Bonner, fol. 2491^, 250, 266 ; Acts of P.C. ii, 125, 517, 131, 157 ; Wriothesley,
op. cit. i, 185 ; Monum. Franc. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 2 1 5 ; Stow, Annals; De Selve, Corresp. 27 Sept. ' The following churchwardens' accounts, more or less complete for this period, have been consulted : St. Alphage, Sa Andrew Hubbard, St. Botolph Aldersgate (these give summaries of receipts and expenditure, and but few details), St. Margaret Pattens, S/. Mary at Hill, St. Mary Magdalen Milk Street, St. M.iry Woolnoth, St. Matthew Frid.iy Street (from Christmas 1547), Sa Michael Cornhill, St. Stephen Walhrook (from Lady Day 1548), St. Marg.iret Westminster, St. Martin in the Fields, St. Olave Southwark. See Appendix. ' The only possible exception among those mentioned in the last note was St. Olave Southwark.
