OLD ENGLISH VILLAGE LIFE. 1 65 



extract, bearing date 1737, will serve as an illustration: — " 9th 

 Oct., 1737. Joseph Holmes, of Twyford, buried, being a poor 

 man, and no affidavit of his being buried in what was made of 

 sheep's wool only was brought to me within eight days inclusive, 

 .in default of which I gave notice forthwith to the proper officers, 

 the churchwardens and overseers of Twyford." But whether 

 this refers to the absence of the affidavit or to default in the 

 burial is not quite clear. At length, by slow degrees, the growth 

 of corn displaced the herding of sheep, and the latest enclosures 

 in 1804, which certainly affected what remained of the common 

 land on Sinrin, were made with a view to the encouragement of 

 this growing industry. We are familiar with the causes of its 

 decline, and the least observant of us can see many fields, once 

 ploughed for corn, laid down for pasturage. Dairy farming is 

 the most profitable form of industry now, but possibly better 

 times may yet give heart to the farmer, and bring about a return 

 to the old methods under more prosperous conditions. 



The living, as we have seen, was sadly reduced in value after 

 the dissolution of the Order of Hospitallers in 1540. There was 

 not, until the last fifty years, a vicarage house. Under these 

 conditions pluralism and non-residence followed as matters of 

 course. The clerical duties at certain periods were conducted 

 for many years by curates, whose faithful services may not have 

 met, in some instances, with a too generous reward. Even as 

 late as the second quarter of the last century the vicar of Barrow, 

 from his post at Etwall, had the charge not only of Twyford, 

 but also of Foremark and Ingleby across the river, and of a 

 parish elsewhere, Newton-in-the-Thistles. He died in harness 

 at the age of ninety. Added to these untoward circumstances 

 was the troublous period in church life, starting with the 

 Reformation, and causing anxiety and unsettlement until " the 

 glorious Restoration." 



Let us peep within the church at Barrow in the days of 

 Edward VI., and let us look inside the vestry cupboard, as it 

 was then. What do we find ? " i. chalis of silver parcel gilt, 

 iii. vestments, hi. albs, i. of silk and the other two of changeable 



