St Margaret, Spaxton - seating
| Pew | In 1618 | In 1726 |
| The north side of the church, the Men's saits (6 pews) | ||
| Pew 2 | John Leave | Robert Kidner for hier Pightly |
| The North side of the church. The womens saits (9 pews) | ||
| Pew 5 | Simon Legg | Richard Kidner now called Leggs. |
| Pew 8 | Richard Kidner | Richard Kidner for South house. |
| Pew 9 | Thomas Duckam | Richard Kidner now called Duckhams |
| The north side of the middle row. The mens saits (6 pews) | ||
| Pew 4 | Richard Kidner | Richard Kidner now called lower Pightly or north hous. |
| Pew 4 | Edward Fisher | Robert Kidner now called Fishers |
| The South side of the church. The mens saits (6 pews) | ||
| Pew 4 | Simon Legg | Richard Kidner now called Leggs |
| Pew 5 | Thomas Duckham | Richard Kidner for Duckhams |
| The South side of the church. The womens saits (6 pews) | ||
| Pew 3 | Richard Kidner | Richard Kidner now called lower Pightly or north house |
| Pew 5 | Edward Fisher | Robert Kidner for Fishers |
|
All
the seats in the Ile belongs to the Parish
|
||
Churchwardens (extracts)
| 1587 | John Keedner with John Raffe |
| 1621 | Rcd Kidner with John Crosse |
| 1637 | Robert Kidner with George Daves |
| 1654 | Robert Kidner with Thos. Jenkins |
| 1664 | Robert Kidner with Henry Cole |
| 1670 | Robert Kidner with William Hodges |
| 1679 | Robert Kidner with Richard Biffen |
| 1681 | Robert Kidner with Robert Streat |
| 1686 | Robert Kidner with William Thorne |
| 1689 | Richard Kidner with Thos. Trott |
| 1694 | Richard Kidner with Christopher Ruscombe |
| 1695 | Richard Kidner with Christopher Ruscombe |
| 1697 | Richard Kidner with William Blake |
| 1698 | Richard Kidner with William Thorne |
| 1699 | Richard Kidner with Thomas Reason |
| 1701 | Richard Kidner with Thomas Reason |
| 1715 | Richard Kidner with Luke Parsons |
| 1716 | Richard Kidner with Arthur Blake |
| 1722 | Richard Kidner with William Locker |
| 1723 | Richard Kidner with William Locker |
| 1724 | Richard Kidner with Thomas Reason |
| 1744 | John White with George Kidner |
| 1748 | George Kidner with John White |
| 1753 | George Kidner by himself |
| 1754 | George Kidner with Thomas Grant |
1658 Church Rate
"A Rate made the Eleventh day of June 1658 for the Reparation of the Parrish Church of Spaxton aforesaid by Roberte Seagar and Symon Legg Church-wardens together with John Ruscombe, John Headford, Thomas Gander and Steven Grave Overseers for the Poore for the said yeare 1658."
Odlum calculates the total collected as £10-16-2d.
| Robert Kidner of Pightlye | 1-10 |
| Alice Kidner of Pightlye | 1-10 |
| George Kidner of Pightlye | 0-3d |
1664/65 Hearth Tax and 1670 Hearth Tax Exemptions
Dwelly's National Records explains that Hearth Tax was a payment to the King of 2/- on every hearth 'in all houses paying to Church and Poor', that is proprty rated at 20/- or more, the owners of which were liable for Church rates and Poor rates.
| Robert Kidner | 8/- |
| Robert Kidner | 0. Not rated to Church or Poore. |
No Kidners were exempt from Hearth Tax in 1670; Robert Kidner and William Hodges, the churchwardens, were among those who signed the list of qualifying owners.
1687 - The Churchyard Bounds
It is quite unclear what was meant by the Churchyard Bounds (the word may be 'Bourd', for one idea is that a 'bound' was a heavy plank that formed part of a fence. Perhaps the listed property owners, of whom there are over 60, were each responsible for a short section of the boundary fence. The list starts at 'The wall against ye Church house belongs to Mr Arindell and Mr John Blak for Tuxwell' and continues:
| The hach belonging to ye parish |
| Ye gate next to that to ye Rector, and then includes.... |
| Next Mr Kidner for higher Pightly.... |
| Next Mr Robert Kidner for Fishers,.... |
| Next Robert Kidner for his south hous .... |
| Next Robert Kidner for his north hous,... |
| Next Robert Kidner for Duckhams,... |
| Next Robert Kidner for Millses,... |
| Next Robert Kidner for Leggs,... |
| and ends with |
| And John Richards for Cornewalls Mill |
Overseers of the Poor (extracted from John Thomas's Book)
| 1697 | Robert Kidner |
| 1698 | Richard Kidner |
| 1701 | Richard Kidner |
| 1703 | Robert Kidner |
| 1707 | Richard Kidner |
| 1710 | Richard Kidner |
Highways Surveyors (extracted from John Thomas's book)
| 1699 | Robert Kidner |
| 1728/29 | Richard Kidner |
| 1746 | George Kidner |
| 1791 | Pd Mr Kidner (a/c) |
John Thomas's Survey of 1720
An assessment of the acreage and rateable value of that acreage by owner (extracts)
| Pightly |
Acres
|
Rate
|
| Richard Kidner for his Estate in lower Pightly |
14¾
|
£18
|
| Richard Kidner for Duckhams, now Mr Jasper Porters |
17
|
£8
|
| Robert Kidner for Fishers, now John White |
16
|
£18
|
| Robert Kidner for hier Pightly, now John White |
16
|
£18
|
| Richard Kidner for ye first pt. of Dayes, now John White |
10¼
|
£10
|
| Splat | ||
| Richard Kidner for Leggs |
22
|
£18
|
The History of the Church and Village of Spaxton by M.J. Odlum (1974) is essential reading for anyone researching Spaxton.
Amongst the parish papers Odlum records is a book compiled by a churchwarden, John Thomas, between 1720 and 1755, the year in which he died. Odlum explains: "His book...not only contains a great deal of information about... Spaxton in his own age but also has many references to earlier records and documents which were once in the parish chest".
John Thomas's book includes details of the church seating, churchwarden accounts and the churchyard bounds.
Right,
St Margaret's Spaxton, photo by Simon Kidner
Appendix 31 - Spaxton Parish Miscellany
Last updated on 2nd January 2008
© Simon Kidner 2007/8