Election to the office of churchwarden was a sign of social distinction and duty to the community. It was a role particular to the middling sort, generally not undertaken by the aristocratic gentry. These accounts are from Ipswich in 1625. A parish like St Mary’s, from which they are taken, usually had two churchwardens. They were responsible for keeping up the physical and behavioural standards of the parish and were elected annually by parishioners. Accounts like these show the combination of literacy and numeracy required to undertake such a role, for which precise record keeping was essential. Numeracy was not taught at grammar schools in this period but was learnt outside of school, usually as specific training for a trade.<br /> <br /> These particular accounts use Arabic rather than roman numerals. The use of Arabic numerals became more common in the seventeenth century and did require some level of literacy, unlike roman numerals which could be taught using devices such as counting boards or tallies. Such accounts also testify to the various locations in which literary activity took place: this volume might have been compiled, variously, in one’s parlour, in an inn, or at the vestry within the church. To be elected churchwarden signified a person’s knowledge, trust in the community and social repute amongst one's peers, and bestowed authority and status.
Churchwardens’ Accounts (Churchwardens’ Accounts), 1614-1640

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Churchwardens’ Accounts

Churchwardens’ Accounts (Churchwardens’ Accounts), 1614-1640

Election to the office of churchwarden was a sign of social distinction and duty to the community. It was a role particular to the middling sort, generally not undertaken by the aristocratic gentry. These accounts are from Ipswich in 1625. A parish like St Mary’s, from which they are taken, usually had two churchwardens. They were responsible for keeping up the physical and behavioural standards of the parish and were elected annually by parishioners. Accounts like these show the combination of literacy and numeracy required to undertake such a role, for which precise record keeping was essential. Numeracy was not taught at grammar schools in this period but was learnt outside of school, usually as specific training for a trade.

These particular accounts use Arabic rather than roman numerals. The use of Arabic numerals became more common in the seventeenth century and did require some level of literacy, unlike roman numerals which could be taught using devices such as counting boards or tallies. Such accounts also testify to the various locations in which literary activity took place: this volume might have been compiled, variously, in one’s parlour, in an inn, or at the vestry within the church. To be elected churchwarden signified a person’s knowledge, trust in the community and social repute amongst one's peers, and bestowed authority and status.

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Object Type Churchwardens’ Accounts
Year 1614-1640
Material Manuscript (digital reproduction)
Owned By Ipswich St Mary Tower Parish, f.22r FB91/E/1
Keywords writing; recording; processing; remembering; administration; civic; memory; office-holding; Ipswich; manuscript
Image Credit Digital reconstruction of Ipswich St Mary Tower Parish FB91/E/1 in Suffolk Archives (Churchwardens’ Accounts), image © Grant Cox/Artas Media.

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