194 



By F. A. Carving ton, Esq. 



Mr. Warton then adds that — 



"The nature of the merriment of the church ale was often licentious may 

 he seen in the language of the Witches' Song in Ben Johnson's Masque of 

 Queens, at Whitehall, in 1609, where one of the witches boasts to have killed 

 and stole the fat of an infant which derived its pedigree from the drunken piper 

 of a church ale." 



Sir Richard Worsley, in his History of the Isle of Wight, 1 in 



speaking of the parish of White well, tells us — 



"There is a lease in the parish-chest, dated 1574, of a house called the 

 church-house, held by the inhabitants of Whitwell, parishioners of Gatcombe, 

 of the Lord of the Manor, and demised by them to John Brode, in which is the 

 following proviso — 1 1 Provided always that if the Quarter shall need at any time 

 to make a Quarter ale or church ale, for the maintenance of the chapel that 

 it shall be lawful for them to have the use of the said house with all the rooms 

 both above and beneath during their ale." 



"The Maner of Church Ales in England," is given by Stubs in 



his "Anatomie of Abuses," 2 as follows: — 



"In certaine townes where drunken Bacchus beares swaie against Christmas 

 and Easter, Whitsondaie or some other tyme, the churchwardens of every parishe 

 with the consent of the whole parishe provide halfe a score or twenty quarters 

 of maulte, wherof some they buy of the church stocke,* and some is given them 

 of the parishioners themselves, every one conferring somewhat according to his 

 abilitie, whiche maulte being made into very strong ale or beere, is sette to sale 

 either in the church or some other place assigned to that purpose. Then when 

 this is set abroche, well is he that can gette the soonest to it and spend the most 

 at it. In this kinde of practice they continue six weekes, or a quarter of a yeare, 

 yea halfe a yeare together." " That money they say is to repaire their churches 

 and chappels with — to buy bookes for the service — cuppes for the celebration of 

 the Sacrament — surplesses for Sir John, f and such other necessaries. And they 

 maintaine other extraordinarie charges in their parish besides." 



Richard Carew, of Antonie, Esq., in his " Survey of Cornwall," 

 printed in 1602, gives 3 the following account of this ale : — 



" Church Ale. — For the church ale, two young men of the parish are yerely 

 chosen by their last pregoers to be wardens, who deuiding the task make collec- 

 tions among the parishioners of whatsoeuer prouision it pleaseth them voluntarily 



1 p. 210. 



2 8vo. Ed. of 1585, p. 95. 



3 Folio 68. A copy of this work is in Lincoln's Inn Library. 



* The Church Stock was money left to the churchwardens for the repair of the church or other 

 ecclesiastical purposes in the parish. The Poors' Stock was money left to the churchwardens for the 

 benefit of the poor, which was usually placed at interest, and the interest given in bread, or otherwise 

 bestowed on the poor.— F. A. C. 



t The clergyman, see vol. I., p. 329. 



