King's Briefs. The Churchwardens' accounts of the parish of East Budleigh, Devonshire, contain long lists of Collections for Briefs. These were fairly responded to by the inhabitants from the date of the first recorded collection on Nov. 5, 1669, until the last quarter of the 18th century, when the donations were few and far between. The following list contains all that relate to Yorkshire. "1684. Collected for Runswick in Yorksheere, The record of a collection made at Clent in Staffordshire, in the same year (1684) upon a brief, gives full details of its object (N. d Q. 5th s., iv. 449.) "Runswick. Collect. Aug. 3, upo' a Brief for ye inhabitants of Runswick, in ye North Riding of ye cou'ty of York, wch. sd. Town standing win a Bay on ye side of a greate Hill wch opening about ye middle ye town did slip down from it. 03.07." 1685. Collected in the prish of Est budligh for the poore suffers by fier of Sicklinghall in the County of Yorke, the sume of too shilens and one half-peny. 1706. Colected within our prish for and towards Repear of the Collegiate Church of St. John in towne of Beuerley, in the County of York, eighten pene halfpeny. 1720. Colected fore Ingman thorpe and norton vnder Cannock Conabor [Com: Ebor. ?] and Stafford fore fire ... ... S. d. 0 3 Colected fore Ingman trop and norton vnd canock in Com. Ebor and Staford fore fire County of York 0 2 [The two preceding entries follow each other. It is not probable that one brief included two places so widely apart. Very likely the recorder muddled the two collections.] Colected for Saint Olaues Church near the Cyti of York ... ... ... ... 1721. Collected a briefe for Kingson upon Hull, the sume of six pence. 1728. Collected a brieffe for Yarme in the County of Yorke the sume of three pence. 1730. Coleted for Ouston Church in Com Ebor the sum of three pens. 1732. Jan. 21.-Collectd a breefe for austerfeild 1735. Octob. 20.-Collectd a breefe for Empsay in Com Eber Y.N.Q. 0 2 1784. March ye 14, one for East Coltingwith Chaple in ye count York ... ... 0 0 March ye 28, one for Saint Anne's Chapel in ye Count York ... ... 1785. febery 27, one for Ecclesall Chapel ... 0 0 0 0 The Remainder are headed in each Annual List-" Briefs Published in East Budleigh Church," and the amounts appended to each entry, are those for which each brief was issued, except in the year 1810, which omits them. "Nothing collected" is added to most of the entries. "1788. Bolsterstone Chapel in Com. York 1798. 1799. 1800. £ S. d. 1235 18 5 566 0 0 1706 14 1 567 10 9 378 8 6 1161 13 6 Felbeck Mill Fire in Com. York 670 14 3 578 12 10 Deanhead Chapel in Com. York 1803. Alne and appleton Roebuck fire Yourk 394 8 0 1812. Froston Church in the County of York 750 0 0 Luddenden Chapel in the County of Saint John's Chapel in Com. York Fylingdale's Church in Com. York Thornton Chapel in Com. York 1821. Luddenden Chapel in Com. York 1255 15 0 530 11 4 989 7 93 1055 14 9 478 4 10 428 3 113 6000 0 0 885 18 2 382 6 0 946 8 10 ... Woodkirk in Com. York Sowerby Bridge Chapel in Com. York Kettlewell Church in Com. York 1823. Hampthwaste Church in Com. York 1824. Deanhead Chapel in Com. York Fylingdale's Church in Com. York Drypool Church in Com. York Calverley Mills Fire in Com. York [collected] 1s. ... ... Hampswaste Church in Com. York ... ... 417 5 3." 1827. Longwood Chapel in Com. York It will be noticed that when the same place for which a Collection is sought, has had its brief presented on several occasions, the amount stated to be required gradually diminishes. Presumably the difference will show the total amount received since the date on which the brief was formerly presented. To those who are interested in this subject full information will be found in a paper by the late Cornelius Walford, entitled-"Kings' Briefs: their purposes and history," in vol. x. of the Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. Salterton, Devon. J. N. BRUSHFIELD, M.D. 66 Ducking Stool. The following note is by the late Mr. Wm. Turner, of Hopton: There was formerly a ducking stool in Mirfield. On the 9th June, 1818, Mr. Hirst and self saw old Wm. Swift, of Quarry Hole (aged upwards of 87), who said he could remember it very well but never knew it used. It stood a little nearer to the church than where the pinfold now is. In the accounts of Michael Sheard, who served the office of constable as deputy for Samuel Senior for a house at the sheep ings, in Hopton, for part of the years 1719 and 1720, I find the following entry: For the cuck stool repairing.........3s. 6d.' The punishment of the ducking stool was formerly inflicted for correction and cooling of scolds and unquiet women. It was also anciently inflicted upon bakers and brewers,* offending In every Court Leet a person called an Ale-taster was formerly appointed to look to the assize and goodness of Ale and Beer within the Lordship. In the early Court Rolls of the Manor of Dewsbury of the time when Queen Elizabeth was Lady of the Manor, there are many entries of persons having brewed and sold Ale contrary to the assize, and who were therefore fined ijd. (2d.) each. We find no entries of such persons having incurred the penalty of the Ducking Stool, but possibly a more careful examination of the Rolls against the laws. It was a kind of chair or stool, fixed at one end of a long pole which hung over a pond of water, and swung upon a bar or post somewhat like a balance, and the party punished was fastened into the chair and immersed over head and ears in the pond, and the more offensive the water was and the better. This mode of punishment has been suffered to decay and become almost obsolete, though there was one of those engines existing at the end of Dawgreen, nearest to Dewsbury, about the place where the dam or reservoir belonging to Mr. Todd's oil mill is, within the memory of many persons now living. Mr. Hirst of Hagg, can recollect seeing it when he was young." Extracts from the Diary of the Rev. J. Ismay. A chronological account of some memorable events in and about Mirfield, &c. 1722. May 18th-Ripponden Flood. 1736. An apple tree near the Vicarage blossomed and set for fruit nine times, and produced ripe fruit at five different times this year, and what is very remarkable it was in blossom on Xmas Day, and a red rose full blown, in the hedge by it. 1738. Dec. 30th-An earthquake felt at Mirfield. I perceived my bed to rock, and the chamber to shake, at Kirklees, where I then lived. 1739. Methodism first propagated at Mirfield, by Ben Ingham, clerk. A great frost which began on Christmas Day and lasted 9 weeks. 1740. April 26th.-A riot began at Dewsbury, where 1,500 and upwards were assembled, and proceeded to Mirfield, &c. They mustered their crew and beat up their drum by the Vicarage in Mirfield. 1740. Aug. 25th.-Buried Ann Holdsworth, of Little London, aged 102. She could see to thread a needle, sew and knit without spectacles. which are very lengthy and difficult to read, may discover some reference to this now obsolete instrument of justice. A Court Leet is a Court of Record with power to punish offences against the Crown. It is held in some large Manors, as the Manor of Wakefield, and the Steward of the Manor is the Judge. The Lord of the Leet ought formerly to have had a pillory and a Ducking Stool to punish offenders, but these Courts are now nearly obsolete. The word assize above mentioned means a statute or ordinance of Parliament. Numerous acts of Parliaments were passed in former days regulating the sale of Bread and Ale, and these were commonly known as the assize of Bread and Ale. In January, died Mr. John Philips, of Thorner, near Leeds, in the 101st year of his age.* 1741. Feby. 4.-A new market begun at Dewsbury. 1742. June 29th.-£2 11s. 3d. collected in the parish of Mirfield for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. The Vicarage of Mirfield augmented a second time. 1743. June 22nd.-102 persons confirmed at Wakefield from the parish of Mirfield, by Dr. Thomas Herring, Archbishop of York, (now of Canterbury.) Dec. 23rd.-A very splendid comet was seen, in the signs Aries and Pisces, it continued visible to Feb. 20th. 1743. Dec. 11th.-(ye shortest day) 14 persons were published in Mirfield Church, and 24 couples in ye year. 1744. An estate purchased at Ribston in Craven for ye perpetual augmentation of the Vicarage of Mirfield. Sept. 13th. The harvest flood. A late frost which continued till near Lady Day. Fruits of all sorts in abundance this year. 1745. Subscribed and paid by the inhabitants of Mirfield towards ye maintenance of ye Yorkshire Buffs, £38 14s. 6d. A dividend of 12s. in ye pound was returned. Nine persons were drowned in Calder near Mirfield, from Nov. 1739, to Dec. 1745. Saturday, Nov. 30th.-Dies fuit memorabilis et tremebundus, commonly called runaway Saturday, because a rumour was spread thro' most towns in ye neighbourhood yt. the Rebels were approaching them. Sunday, Dec. 1st.-The people at Huddersfield, Mirfield, &c., were put into a prodigious panic by ye Lancashire Militia Officers, suspecting them to be Rebels. A woman at Huddersfield was frightened to death with the report of the Rebels approaching the place. The coal pits at Mirfield Moor and other places were stocked with clothes and provisions, and this day few women attending Divine Service for want of apparel, when ye congregation were entertained with the finest notes of a robin red breast I ever heard. The bird was both more musical and familiar than at other times. 1745. Dec. 10th.-A detachment of Marshall Wade's army proceed to Mirfield, but are suddenly recalled to ye camp at Wakefield in order to march back to Leeds. 1745, Dec. 30. Carlisle surrendered to the Duke of Cumberland. Dec. 28. The cannons at Carlisle heard to Mirfield, 61 minutes past 9. (!!) 1746. Sept.-15 young persons died of small pox in Mirfield this month, and in ye whole 39. A new tax upon windows. 1747. Orders for cattle read in Churches. * Notice the difference in age, see p. 136, Folk-Lore. |