A HISTORY OF TITHES
A
HISTORY OF TITHES
BY THE
REV. HENRY WILLIAM CLARKE, B.A.
TRIN. COLL., DUB.
_Author of “The Past and Present Revenues of the Church of
England in Wales,” and “The Public Landed Endowments of the
Church in Anglo-Saxon Times.”_
SECOND EDITION
[Illustration]
London
SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO
NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
1894
PREFACE.
In my former[1] as also in my present work, I have taken Selden’s
“History of Tithes,” ed. 1618, as my chief authority. I adopted his views
on the interpretation of King Ethelwulf’s charter as having been the
first legal title deeds of granting tithes to the clergy.
After carefully consulting the best authorities, especially Mr. Kemble,
Mr. Haddan, and Bishop Stubbs, I have in my present work adopted their
views, that Ethelwulf granted a tenth part of his lands and not the
tithes of the lands of his kingdom.
I have also considered Archbishop Egbert’s alleged canon for the
tripartite division of tithes as an anachronism.
In preparing my former work, I laboured under the great disadvantage of
residing too far away from a good public library, where I could consult
the best and most recent authorities on the subject.
Just as the sheets of my former work passed through the press, a third
edition of Lord Selborne’s work, “A Defence of the Church of England
against Disestablishment,” was published. And in the following year,
1888, appeared his “Ancient Facts and Fictions concerning Churches and
Tithes.”
I could only then refer in the briefest manner in my former book to his
first work. But his two works contain so many erroneous and fallacious
statements, that I thought it a public duty to expose and refute them.
With this view and in order to prepare materials, I had taken steps
to have access to the Library and to the manuscripts in the Manuscript
Department of the British Museum.
I had not gone far with my work when I found it absolutely necessary to
_rewrite_ the whole of my “History of Tithes,” and to make the present
work, as it really is, _quite a new one_.
I had not only to deal with Lord Selborne’s works, but also with
historians, who wrote private letters to parsons against the threefold
division of tithes, which letters contradicted statements made in their
own histories which favoured the tripartite division of tithes, and the
Church Grith law of A.D. 1014.
The tithe disputes in Wales brought forward crude, erroneous, misleading
and ill-digested statements about the origin and history of tithes
in this country. “Our Title Deeds,” by the Rev. M. Fuller, is a most
remarkable specimen of that class.
Directly and indirectly, I have dealt with all these matters in my
present work. I mention these facts in order to indicate the absolute
necessity I was under of _rewriting_ the whole of my history.
And now in reference to Lord Selborne’s works, which, owing to his
high position, have influenced the opinions of many, one unsound mode
of reasoning runs through many parts of them, especially his “Ancient
Facts and Fictions.” I mean his _inferences from negative evidence_. And
these inferences are so cleverly and shrewdly expressed, in the special
pleading style, that although I knew they were wrong, yet I found it
extremely difficult to prove _how_ they were wrong, because they were
based on _negative evidence_. This mode of reasoning in the hands of a
shrewd, clever lawyer is most powerful, misleading and embarrassing;
and is at the same time most difficult to answer from the nature of the
evidence. In order to elucidate my meaning, I shall give one out of
many examples. He wants, in support of a certain cause, to sweep away
the Church Grith law (A.D. 1014) which enacts the tripartite division
of tithes, and this is his mode of reasoning:—“Selden and Spelman were
well acquainted with the Worcester (Cottonian) manuscript [he calls it
“The Worcester Volume” on the same page]; and, as neither of them made
mention of this Church Grith document, _it may be inferred that they did
not regard it as having the character or the authority of a law_.”[2] The
reader of the book would naturally suppose that Selden and Spelman _had
seen_ the “document,” although it is an unquestionable fact that _they
had never seen it_, simply because it was never in Sir Robert Cotton’s
library during his lifetime for them to see. I could not have proved this
point if I were not aided by the official catalogue of 1632.
I have often thought that Lord Selborne’s error arose in his assuming
that all the manuscripts which are now in the Worcester volume, Nero, A.
1, were in the same volume when Selden and Spelman consulted it during
the life of Sir Robert. If I am right, it is a clear proof how unsound it
is to draw inferences from negative evidence, and how careless he must
have been in not having made himself _quite certain_ that the “document”
was in the volume for them to see. As this is a vital point in the
discussion, I have devoted the whole of chapter x. in defence of this
Church Grith law. But the _most unfair_ part adopted by the opponents of
this law is, that whilst they parade, with a great flourish of trumpets,
the opinions of Price and Wilkins against the law, they carefully omit
_material evidence_ furnished by Archdeacon Hale, which is dead against
their opinions (see pp. 107, 108).
Since my former work was published, there appeared in July, 1887, the
Parliamentary Return of the Tithes Commutation of 1836. I have dealt with
this important information in Chapter XIX., and also in the Appendices.
In Chapter XVII., I have given a very full account of the enormous
revenues received from tithes and house rentals by the incumbents of
parishes in the City and Liberties of London for the spiritual work
of small populations, and which revenues have become a public scandal
because valuable endowments are thus wasted.
The “Redemption” of tithes is dealt with in Chapter XVIII.
I have inserted in Chapter XX. the Tithe Act of 1891.
Appendix F contains a summary by counties of the rent charges of England
and Wales, taken from the return of 1887.
Appendix G is an analysis of the Tithe Commutation Return as regards (1)
the number of old parishes; (2) parishes appropriated and their vicars;
(3) parishes which had not been appropriated. Nearly one-half (or 3,864)
in England were appropriated. It was worse in Wales, for of 834 old
parishes, 468 were appropriated. When we add the sinecure rectories,
pluralities and non-residence of incumbents, we can form a correct
conclusion as regards the cause of the present position of the Church of
England in Wales.
In addition to the above, I have also given the number of parishes
in receipt of lands and money payments in lieu of tithes by numerous
Inclosure Acts.
But the most important statistics are given at page 257 as regards the
gross aggregate amount of the “Revenues of the Church of England.”
Hitherto, very small and misleading amounts of these revenues have
been given. But the Parliamentary Return, made up in the office of the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners and just published, has now given the
public, for the first time, a generally correct idea of the gross annual
amount, from _permanent sources_, of these revenues, and also the number
of benefices and parsonage houses with their _rateable_ value, which is
_much less_ than their _actual_ value.
The Return is defective; (1) because it is framed on values in 1886, and
(2) it omits the large fluctuating income—about a million a year—from
fees, pew-rents, and Easter offerings. Correctly, the gross income
in 1890, was £6,825,730. But the permanent income capitalized equals
£140,000,000.
My best thanks are due to Walter de Gray Birch, Esq., of the MSS.
Department of the British Museum, for his kind assistance and courtesy;
also to the officials connected with the Library.
HENRY WILLIAM CLARKE.
CONTENTS.
_Introduction, pages xvii.-xxiv._
Difficulties in writing a true history of tithes, xvii. No tithes
paid for centuries after the Christian Era, xviii. Canons passed for
their payment, xviii. Papal interference in the British Church, xix.
Custom of paying tithes in eighth century, xix. Population of England
then, xx. Norman monks initiated appropriations, xx. Infeudations
condemned by Lateran Councils, xx. Monastic lands granted by
Henry VIII. and his children, xxi. Changes made by Ecclesiastical
Commission, xxi., xxii. No physical transfer of Endowments at the
Reformation, xxiii. Present trustees of Church Endowments have only
a Parliamentary Title, xxiii. A Roman Catholic Bishop’s views on
present movements in Church of England, xxiii., xxiv.
CHAPTER I.
_Before the Christian Era, pages 1-3._
Abraham the first recorded payer of tithes, 1. Old Testament passages
for payment of tithes, 1. When tithes ceased to be paid by Jews, 2.
Heathen nations paid tithes, 2. Story about Adam having paid tithes,
3.