THE XVTH AND XVlTH CENTURIES 91 



in fixing the duty of road repairs on any particular 

 persons. Sometimes the sheriffs seem to have taken 

 responsibility, sometimes lords of the manor, some- 

 times the monasteries, sometimes private individuals. 

 These haphazard methods did not lead to effective 

 administration, and the old roads fell into further decay. 

 The government at last decided to lay down some 

 general rule. In the year I555 1 a statute was passed 

 which definitely fixed the responsibility upon the 

 parishes, subject to the supervision of the justices ; and 

 it was further decided that the parishioners them- 

 selves were to do the necessary repairs. The leading 

 farmers were to provide carts and horses or oxen, and 

 the smaller holders and labourers were to give their 

 services. The work was to be carried out under the 

 direction of the highway overseer, an unpaid official. 

 This system never worked well, and the condition of 

 the roads of England remained a scandal for many 

 generations. 



From the XVth century onwards the influence of 



the Church on village life waned. This was due to a 



variety of causes. The commercial spirit 



toe e gji<Ss Cl1 ' seems to have been accompanied by the 

 and poverty, decadence of religion of the old type, whilst 

 under its influence some parsons went 

 into business or concerned themselves more with the 

 collection of their dues than the care of their parishioners, 

 while others held many parishes and gave attention to 

 none. Monasteries, before their dissolution, were often 

 centres of every sort of irregularity, and personal in- 

 dulgence and extravagant habits took the place of 

 relief of the poor and the entertaining of travellers. 

 1 See Appendix, p. 173. 



