ARTICLES TO BE ENQVIRED OF BY THE CHVRCH-WARDENS AND SWORNE-MEN within the Archdeaconrie of Excester in the visitation of the Right Worshipfull Thomas Barret Archdeacon of the said Archdeaconrie of EXCESTER Anno Domini 1612. LONDON Printed by William Stansby 161â— The tenor of the Oath ministred to the Church-Wardens and sworne-men YEe shall sweare that vpon due consideration of these Articles giuen you in charge Yee shall present euerie such person of or within your Parish as you shall know to haue committed any offence or omitted any dutie mentioned in any of these Articles or which are vehemently suspected famed or defamed of any such offence or negligence So helpe you God by the contents of his Holy Gospell Articles to be enquired of within the Archdeaconrie of Excester Belonging to the Church FIrst whether your Church or Chappell with the Chancell thereof and euerie part of eyther of them be well and sufficiently repaired 2 Whether haue you in your Church or Chappell 1 The booke of Common praier 2 The Psalmes 3 The Bible in the largest volum 4 The two tomes of Homilies 5 The Paraphrases of Erasmus 6 A table of the ten Commaundements 7 The table of the degrees of Marriage prohibited 8 A conuenient Pulpit 9 A decent Communion Table 10 A comely couering for it 11 A faire linnen cloath to lay vpon it 12 A Communion cup of siluer with a couer 13 A conuenient seat for the Minister to read Seruice in 14 A decent Font. 15 A comely Surplesse 16 A chest or boxe for the Almes of the poore conueniently placed 17 A Register booke for Christnings Marriages and Burials kept in a Chest hauing two lockes and keyes 3 Whether is your Churchyard well fenced and â—â—eanly kept and whether hath there beene any trées felled therein had for what vse 4 Whether hath there béene any fighting 〈◊〉 brawling or quarrelling in your Church or Churchyard and by whom or hath any interlude béene played in your Church or wares sold by chapmen in your Churchyard on the sabbaoth and holydaies or otherwise 5 Whether the mansion house of your Parson or Vicar with all the buildings thereunto belonging be well and sufficiently repayred are and maintayned 6 Whether your Parish Almes house and Church-house if you haue 〈◊〉 be kept in sufficient reparations and to what vses they imploâ—â—â— 7 Whether are there belonging to your Church-house any implements and vtensils and in whose custodie are they and whether any haue beene sold or alienated from their ancient vse and by whom Touching the Ministrie 1 WHether publike praier be said in your Church both Morning and Euening euerie Sunday and holiday distinctly reuerently and in due time and in such order as is by the booke of common prayer prescribed And whether vpon Wednesdaies and Fridaies not being holydaies the Letany and other praiers are said 2 Whether hath your Parson or Vicar preached or caused to be preached the monthly and quarterly Sermons by the Kings Iniunctions required And whether hath there béene any admitted to preach or read any Lecture or the diuine Seruice not hauing licence 3 Whether doth your Minister euery Sunday and Holyday when there is no Sermon read distinctly and plainly some part of the Homilies as by authority is prescribed 4 Whether is your Minister resident vpon his benefice if he be absent how long hath he béene so and whom hath he placed to serue the Cure in his stead 5 Whether doth your Minister vsually vpon the Sabbaoth or Holydaies in the Church openly call for heare and instruct in the Catechisme the children and sruants which are of conuenient age within your Parish 6 Whether is your Minister a Preacher or contrariwise is hee a sower of discord a haunter of Tauernes or Alehouses a common hunter hawker tâ—â—â—er carder swearer or dancer or is suspected to liue incontinently or doth frequent any suspected places or giue euill example of life 7 Whether doth your Minister vpon the Sunday about the middest of diuine Seruice openly signifie what holy daies and fasting daies are to be obserued the same weeke following 8 Whether hath your Minister baptised any children married any persons churched any woman buried any dead or administred the holy Communion in any other-sort then is prescribed by the booke of common prayer or hath he refused to reforme any of these duties according in the same 9 Whether doth your Minister vse to examine the Parishioners before they come to the holy Communion to know whether they be fit to be admitted thereunto 10 Whether hath your Minster admitted to the holy communion or into the Church any open and notorious euill liuer before penance done by appointment of the Ordinary 11 Whether is your Minister diligent in visiting the sicke comforting them with the holy Scriptures and doth he then moue such as bee of abilitie especially when they make their testaments to consider the necessitie of the poore and to giue to their boxe or chest their charitable deuotion or almes 12 Whether doth your Minister quarterly read in the Church the Kings Iniunctions publikely as is required 13 Whether hath your Minister conferred with and perswaded all persons within your Parish suspended or excommunicated to submit themselues to the Ecclesiasticall censure and to seeke their restitution from the Ordinary and whether doth he vse it in the presence of one of the Churchwardens at the least 14 Whether doth your Minister kéepe a note of all excommunicants in your Parish and the first Sunda euery moneth about the middest of Morning prayer recite their names and admonish the Churchwardens to remoue them out of the Church Cocerning Parishioners 1 VVHether haue you in your parish any dweller or soiourner which is a fauourer to the Romish or forraine power a maintainer of popish doctrine or any that haue said or heard Masse or which haue in their Custody any popish or schismaticall bookes or are any way suspected to maintain heresies errors or false doctrine 2 Whether there be any in your Parish that vse sorcery or witchcraft or be vehemently suspected for the same or that vse soothsaying charmes vnlawfull prayer or inuocations and whether any do resort to such for helpe and counsaile and who be the offenders therein 3 Whether your parishioners do diligently resort with their children and seruants to your parish Church on the sabboth day and holidaies both morning and Euening and there remaine the time of common prayer preaching or reading of Homilies catechising and other seruice of God there vsed reuerently and deuoutly hearing the same 4 Whether haue you any common resorters vnto your Church which are not of your Parish nor licensed by the Ordinary vsually to repaire thither and what be their names that so resort and of what Parishes are they 5 Whether any of your Parish while they are in the Church in the time of diuine Seruice vse to walke or spend the time in talking or whispering together or doe sleepe in the Church or haue
their heads couered vndecently in the time of prayer or doe make any noise or disturbance in the time of Seruice 6 Whether any of your Parish absenting themselues from the Church haue in the meane time vsed any gaming abroad or sitting in the stréete or Churchyard or in any Tauerne or Alehouse in the time of any part of diuine Seruice or exercise of Religion and by name in whose house Whether there be in your Parish any shops open of any artificers and tradesmen and buying and selling vsed by them vpon the Sundaies and holydaies in the time of diuine Seruice 8 Whether any of your parishioners do worke vpon Sundaies at any time of the day or any Butchers kill any flesh on the Sunday or any Millers set their Milles to worke on the Sabboth or holydaies in the time of Seruice or Sermon or whether any man hath gone with Cart or occupied himselfe in worldly labours vpon those daies 9 Whether there be any in your Parish that receiue the holy Communion in any other sort then knéeling or doe there vse any vnséemely or vnreuerent behauiour 10 Whether there by any of your Parish or soiourning in your Parish being of conuenient age that haue not receiued the holy Communion thrise this last yeare at the least and namely at Easter last or thereabout for once 11 Whether any young persons of your Parish haue contracted themselues and married without the consent of their Parents or gouernours 12 Whether there be any in your Parish that be married within the degrées of consanguinitie forbidden or that haue married two wiues or two husbands both liuing or are famed or suspected so to haue done or whether any being diuorced or separated yet doe notwithstanding cohabite and company together or marry againe the former wife or husband yet liuing 13 Whether any couple being lawfully married haue the one forsaken the other of their owne willes without authoritie of the Ordinary of the place and doe liue a sunder to the offence and euill example of others and who do so offend 14 Whether there be in your Parish any adulterers fornicators incestuous persons bawds receiuers or close fauorers of naughtie and incontinent persons or such as harbor any woman with child vnmarried or haue conueyed away the said woman or suffered her to be conueyed or to goe away before that she hath made satisfaction to the congregation by order of the Ordinarie 15 Whether there be in your Parish any blasphemers of the name of God common swearers or such as haue taken vp a custome of any vaine oath and what be their names that so offend 16 Whether are there any in your Parish that are common drunkerds or are common haunters of Tauernes or Alehouses to the offending of others and euill example who are they that so offend 17 Whether there be in your parish any malitious contentious or vncharitable persons common slaundeoers of their neighbors raylers scoulders or such as be sowers of discord betwéene neighbors and what are theyr names that offend therein 18 Whether theyr are in your Parish any that haue vncharitably contemned or by any means in word or déed vnreuerently abused your Minister in what sort or manner the same was done by whom 19 Whether any in your Parish giue the Churchwardens and Swornemen or any of them euil words for doing theyr duty according to theyr oath and conscience in making presentment of any fault 20 Whether do you know or haue heard say that within your parish there is any person that offendeth in letting mony to vsury contrary to the lawes rules of charity christianity and who offendeth therein 21 Whether there be in your Parish that do administer theyr goods of the dead without any authoritie and whether any suppresse the last will of the dead or be there any Executors that haue not fulfilled their Testators will especially in paying of legacies giuen to the Church or to the reliefe of the poore to Orphans poore Scholles poore Maidens marriages high waies Schooles and such like and by whom they are so detained 22 Whether any of your Parish doe see ay secret conuenticles or haue any Preaching or Lectures in any priuate house or either of the Sacraments administred or any prayer there vsed and what they be that offend 23 Whether do any of your Parish refuse to pay to the reparations of your Church as they are seuerally seassed at at a lawful vestry or do any other which hold any land in your parish refuse to pay which are not of your parish and what be their names that so refuse to pay 24 Whether any youth in your Parish doe neglect to come to Church to be catechised hauing had notice of the daies and times appointed for them by your Minister and what be the names of such youth and of their gouernours 25 Whether any person suspended or excommunicated be suffered to heare diuine seruice or the Sermon to receiue the Sacrament to be married churched or buried in Christian buriall or to be partaker of any of the rites or benefits of the Church 26 Whether any woman knowne or suspected to be unlawfully begotten with child haue béene married or churched in your Parish before she and the partie with her offending haue béene ordered for their offence by the Ordinary 27 Whether any haue béene married without banes thrise publikely asked vpon thrée seuerall sabboth or festiuall daies in time of diuine Seruice or haue any béene married in the time of Lent or within the other times wherein marriage is by law restrained or in any other place then in the Church without sufficient licence 28 Whether haue any of your Parish béene Christned married Churched or buried out of your Parish or haue any receiued the communion out of the same 29 Whether hath the Perambulation of the circuite of your Parish béene obserued once euery yeare or not according to the kings Maiesties Iniunctions 30 Whether haue all women in your Parish that haue béene deliuered of child come at conuenient time after to the Church to giue thanks and whether haue they béene churched according to the forme in the booke of common prayer 31 Whether any in your parish refuse to be examined by your Minister how he is prepared before he commeth to receiue the communion 32 Whether haue you in your Parish any Schoolemasters and whether do they together with their Schollers frequent your Parish Church on the sabbaoth and holydaies do they giue any offence or euill example of life and whether are they licensed to teach 33 Whether is your Parish Clarke dutifull and seruiceable to your Minister doth he read plainly and distinctly doth he liue soberly and honestly as becommeth him 34 Whether doth your Clarke or Sexten kéepe your Church cleane and whether doth he kéepe the dores thereof safely locked or is there by his default any thing lost or spoyled in the Church or doth suffer vnreasonable ringing or any prophane exercise in your
Church or doth liue offensiuely amongst you 35 Whether haue you any in your Parish which practise Phisicke or Surgery and whether are they licenced by the Ordinarie or not Of Churchwardens and Swornemen 1 WHether the Churchwardens of the last yeare haue giuen to your Parish a iust account of the Church goods and rents together with the Collections Seasments and Summes of money committed to their charge according to the ancient custome of the Parish and whether they haue disposed the Church goods and laid forth the Church money to the profit of the Church or no 2 Whether all Churchwardens and swornemen of your Parish doe at the end of euerie quarter méete and conferre about the answering of these Articles and who hath after intelligence giuen to the time and place of méeting negligently or carelesly absented himselfe 3 Whether forfeiture of twelue pence for absence from Church appointed by a statute to be taken to the vse of the poore be leuied takin and imployyd according to the same statute by the Churchwardens of your Parish of euery person that offendeth 4 Whether the said forfeiture be in speciall leuied and taken of such as wilfully stand suspended or excommunicated so are absent from the Church for euery day that they so do according to the statute 5 Whether the Churchwardens and swornemen of your Parish do diligently confer with your Minister at Easter Michaelmas yéerely and giue in their presentments to master Archdeacon or his Officiall for intelligence of those things which by his helpe and information they may the more truly directly present according to these articles 6 Whether doe you the Churchwardens Constables or Officers vsually about the midst of diuine seruice walke forth of the Church and sée who are in any Alehouse or other house or abroad elsewhere absent or euil imployed in the time of common Prayer or the Sermon haue presented to the Ordinarie all such as you shall finde so to offend 7 Whether do you the Churchwardens kéepe a true Inuentorie of all the ornaments goods rents lands and leases of the Church as also an Inuentorie of all the implements and vtensiles of your Church house and whether do you deliuer the same together with your accounts to the Churchwardens which do succéed you 8 Whether if any more be giuen to your Church or Church-house then are entred into the said Inuentorie and if any be lost sould or detained haue you presented the same to the Ordinarie 9 Whether haue you the Churchwardens or one of you at the least béene present with your Minister and haue heard him conferre with and perswade euerie person standing wilfully suspended or excommunicated within your Parish to submit themselues to their Ordinaries 10 Whether do you know of any offence committed or dutie omitted by any of your Parish before your time and heretofore presented to the Ordinarie or as yet not reformed and you shall present the same 11 Finally whether you know or vnderstand of any matter or cause being a breach to his Maiesties Iniunctions of Canons and Lawes Ecclesiasticall héere not expressed and you shall present them Certaine directions and orders giuen to the Ministers INPRIMIS It is inioyned to the Ministers of this Archdeaconrie that euerie of them for the better procéeding in Catechising of the youth of his Parish shall take a note in writing of the names of all such youth of both sexes as are of sufficient age to be catechised and shall assigne them their seuerall daies and times on the Sabbaoth and holy daies to come to the Church to be instructed in the Catechisme set downe in the booke of common Prayer with the additions of late set forth by authoritie and if any of the said youth shall neglect so to do that then the ministers shall deliuer the names of such youth with the names of their parents or gouernours to the Churchwardens to be presented in their quarter billes 2 It is enioyned to the Ministers that they shall kéepe euerie one a booke conteyning the names of all such as are méete to receiue the Communion in euery family within their seuerall Parishes that thereby they may be able to deliuer a true note to the Churchwardens of the names of all those which shall not receiue the holy Communion thrise in the yeare and especially at the time of Easter for ance as is by authoritie required And for the better obseruation héereof they shall giue publikely warning in the Church that all the Parishioners do giue sufficient knowledge before time of their comming to the Communion and shall not admit any thereunto which haue not giuen such sufficient notice of their comming 3 It is enioyned that the Ministers shall performe these offices both with the suspended and excommunicated first priuately and after in the presence of one of the two Churchwardens if his former labour take not effect that both the diligence of the Minister may the better appeare and the parties wilfull disobedience be more sufficiently testified when they shall be iustly puunished by his Maiesties high Commissioners 4 It is enioyned the said Ministers that for their better procéeding in the premises they shall kéepe a note in writing of the names of such persons as shall be excommunicated and shall wilfully so continue and the same note they shall publikely read in the Church the first Sabbaoth day euery moneth about the midst of Morning prayer vt magis pudefiant with admonition to the Churchwardens that they then remoue such persons out of the Church FINIS