A list of possessions at St Cuthbert’s church Fishlake in 1552.

 

The background to this survey. During King Henry VIII’s Reformation and the Dissolution of the Monasteries from 1536 various attempts were made to suppress Catholicism in England. This became an opportunity for the King to appropriate land and property belonging to the church. To execute this plan a number of Acts and Commissions were set up during the following decades to gather information and in many cases take possession of church goods deemed to belong to the old faith. It began with the Monasteries, larger churches and chantry chapels. Finally the focus turned to parochial churches. The Act of 1552 enacted by King Edward VI extended to Yorkshire Parochial Church goods, Fishlake being part of this survey.

 

Many of these surviving records have been transcribed and published by the Surtees Society in 1896, entitled ‘Inventories of church goods for the counties of York, Durham and Northumberland’. 

 

Fishlake appears on page 105. See the original published transcript at the end. Although the parish name is missing from the original document it is certain to be Fishlake given the name of the vicar and the other witnesses. There are few unreadable words shown as dotted line. I have modernised the spelling with a glossary of terms at the end to facilitate understanding.

 

                                                …………….

……….. bells in the Steeple 3 chalices ……….., 1 sacring bell, 1 ……… 1 silver pax parcel gilt, …… Book of Paraphrases and a book of Homilies ……. Common prayer and a Salter, a vestment of ….. with an alb, a vestment of white ….. alb, a vestment of white fustian with …… suite of vestment of blue worsted, priest, deacon, and subdeacon, 1 old cope - silk, 2 copper crosses with their clothes ……. corpraxes, 9 old alter cloths and 14 ….. towels, 1 old veil of linen, 2 candlesticks and 2 cruets, a copper pyx and 2 candlesticks, 1 alms stok, 2 chestes …1 pax of ivory, 1 black velet ……. a vestment and 2 tunics with their albes - white bustean vestment, an old red . vestment, 1 holy water fatt……..

 

[witnesses] Henry Johnson vicar, Roger Robinson, Richard Nayle Robert Atkinson, John Perkins.

 

 

Glossary of words:

 

Alb. Similar to a surplice.

 

Alms Stok. A vessel or container for alms.

 

Bustean. Bustian. A coarse cloth.

 

Cope. A deep and broad wooden chest.

 

Corpraxes, Corporal. A square piece of linen, so called because the Corpus or Sacrament Body of  Christ is placed on it during the Holy sacrifice.

 

Cruets. Two small vessels or flagons for containing the wine and water during  Holy communion.

 

Deacon. A cleric in the lowest degree of Holy Orders who assisted the priest.

 

Fustian. A kind of cloth made of cotton, flax or wool. A coverlet.

 

Pax. A small tablet of ivory, of wood overlaid with gold or silver, used for giving the kiss of peace during the offering of the Christian sacrifice.

 

Pyx. A box or vessel of precious metal in which the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist (bread) is preserved.

 

Sacring bell.  A small bell to call the attention of the faithful. It is rung by the server at mass.

 

Salter. Psalter a book of Psalms.

 

Subdeacon. The first of the holy orders and abolished at the Reformation.

 

Veil. A covering.