PARISH CHURCH OF WEAVERHAM n i^Uu 229

" That uppon everie Sunday the Parson or Curat after Morning and Evening Prayer shall reade openlye what was registered everic daye, and at the end of everie leaf the Minister and the Churchwardens shall subscribe their names ; wh being done diey shall locke upp the sayde booke in a chcst, and provide for that purpose 3 keys, when one shall be kept by the Minister and the other two by the Churchwardens, tiiat the *ayde booke shall nother be taken out of the Chest nor putt in without die presence of the Minister and the Churchwardens."

The original chcst has not survived, but its successor stands against the north wall, and there you may see its " 3 key holes." Chest purchased 1725.

The book is of parclimcnt and considering its age and the number of times it has been handled, it is in good condition, but as the entries arc in.Latin and the ink faded, it is no easy task to read its contents. The first baptismal entry is that of "Roger Woodward," 1576.

In the Register beginning 1678 there is a copy of the Act of Charles II for the "Burying in Woollen" to " lessen the importation of linen from across the seas, and to encourage the Woollen and Paper manufactures in this kingdom." It enacts that" no corpse of any person or persons shall be buried in any Shirt, Shift, Sheet or Shroud made or mingled with flax, hemp, silk, hair, Gold or Silver, or in any stufTor thing other than Sliceps Wooll onely ... 011 pain of a penalty of Five Pounds of lawful English money," and so for many years we find alongside the entry of a burial an " affidavit " made either by a relative or some other responsible person, stating that the law had been complied with, or the penalty paid.

About the year 1770 the burial entries become very interesting. The parish clerk who entered them indulged in elaborate and sometimes lengtiiy and amusing comments on the cause of death and the character of the deceased. The following are a few typical extracts :— ■