"Item the Minister hathe ever chosen the parishe Clarke and
one of the Churchwardens and bothe the Sydemen.
"Item if they bring a beere or poles with the corps the
Clarke is to have them.
"If any Corps goe out of the parish they are to pay double
dutyes and to have leave.
"If any Corps come out of another parish to be buryed here,
they are to pay double dutyes besides breakinge the ground;
which is xiij s. 4 d. in the church, and vi s. viii d. in the
churchyard.
"For marryage by licence double fees both to the Minister and
Clarke[89]."
[Footnote 89: _Sussex Archaeological Collections_, 1873, vol. xxv. p.
154.]
In addition to the fees to which the clerk is entitled by
long-established custom, he receives wages, which he can recover by law
if he be unjustly deprived of them. Churchwardens who in the old days
neglected to levy a church rate in order to pay the expenses of the
parish and the salary of the clerk, have been compelled by law to do so,
in order to satisfy the clerk's claims.
The wages which he received varied considerably. The churchwardens'
accounts reveal the amounts paid the holders of the office at different
periods. At St. Mary's, Reading, there are the items in 1557:
"Imprimis the Rent of the Clerke's
howse .
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