Curious Church Customs and Cognate Subjects Part 7

These Rules peruse well before you enter, It's a hard task on which you venture.

When once a member you are freely made, These Articles must justly be obey'd.

So now, my Lads, admission money bring, 2 6 And we will Learn you presently to ring.

JOHN MARSHALL, WILLIAM SMITH, MASTER. NOTARY.

March 1st, 1770.

The following on a card was also placed in the belfry of Stow Church:--

We ring the quick to church, the dead to grave, Good is our use, such usage let us have.

Who swears or curses, or in chol'ric mood Quarrels or strikes, although he draws no blood, Who wears his hat, or overturns a bell, Or by unskilful handling mars a peal, Let him pay sixpence for each single crime, 'Twill make him cautious 'gainst another time.

So, when the bells are ceased, then let us sing G.o.d bless our Holy Church--G.o.d save the Queen.

The foregoing are a few examples of the many curious ringers' regulations which found a place in belfrys in bygone times. Mr. J. Potter Briscoe, in his "Curiosities of the Belfry" (London, 1883), gives a complete collection of these old-time rules in prose and poetry.

Ringers' Jugs.

BY ISAAC J. REEVE.

The old time belfry laws were the means of many persons being fined, and the money so obtained was spent in ale. Ringers' Jugs were by no means uncommon, and some were curious examples of the potters' art.

There is a curious jug or pitcher belonging to the ringers of Hadleigh. It is a "vas ansatum" having two ears, is circular in shape, swelling out in the middle, and being more contracted at the ends. It is brown earthenware glazed. It holds sixteen quarts, and bears this inscription, very rudely indented, apparently with a chisel when the clay was soft, the first word M E, or perhaps M. E. I., is in italics, the rest in Roman capitals:--

Me, Thomas Windle, Isaac Bunn, John Mann, Adam Sage, George Bond, Thomas Goldsborough, Robert Smith, Henry West. (No doubt the names of the eight ringers.)

Below the names,--

If you love me doe not lend me, Euse me often and keep me clenly, Fill me full or not at all, If it be strong, and not with small.

Below all, in the front, is the word Hadly, underneath one handle is the date, 17 F. G. 15, and under the other, 17 R. O. 15, the letters probably the initials of the potters. The jug is in the possession of Mr. Pett.i.tt, of the Eight Bells Inn, who holds it for the ringers, of whom he is the leader. It is still occasionally used on the occasion of any profitable wedding, and filled every Christmas by mine host, when the ringers a.s.semble for a frolic, with strong beer, which goes by the name of old King William, and strangers going in are expected to pay sixpence to a.s.sist in keeping it full, according to its own request.

The ringers' pot--a brown glazed jug with handle, holding about two gallons--having the following inscription in rude letters--

Here you may see what I request of Hanst (honest) Gentlemen My Baly (belly) filed of the Bast I com But now and then, 1716,

was formerly carried from house to house by the bell-ringers of Ixworth, in Suffolk, to receive whatever beer the liberal parishioners might be disposed to bestow. It has been disused about thirty years. It was probably made at the celebrated pottery in the neighbouring parish of Wattisfield.

A similar kind of jug, both in shape and size, to that of Hadleigh, belongs to the ringers of Clare. On one side is a crown in faint relief, under that a bell in large proportion, and on it impressed in italics:--

Campane Sonant canore.

Beneath the clapper is this,--

Clare Ringers, 1729.

Near the base there is an aperture for a tap to draw off the beer, there being no spout or lip.

At Hinderclay, in Suffolk, is a ringers' pitcher, still preserved in the church tower, of form and size similar to the Hadleigh jug: it is thus inscribed:--

By Samuel Moss this pitcher was given to the n.o.ble society of ringers, at Hinderclay, viz., Tho. Sturgeon, Ed. Lock, John Haws, Ric. Ruddock, and Relf Chapman, to which society he once belonged, and left in the year 1702.

From London I was sent As plainly doth appear, It was to this intent-- To be filled with strong beer.

Pray remember the pitcher when empty.

A similar pitcher is in the adjoining church tower of Garboldisham, Norfolk.

At the Mackworth Arms, at Swansea, a similar kind of jug may be seen in a niche on the staircase, but the colour is light yellow, and the workmanship of a superior order, it has but one handle, and the following inscription in two lines:--

Come fill me well with liquor sweet, and that is good when friends do meet, When I am full then drink about, I ne'er will fail till all is out.

Underneath were representations of flowers, birds, and fishes.

There is in the Norfolk and Norwich Museum a large jug, which was presented in July, 1831, by the Rev. G. R. Leathes, of Shrophan. It is of brown earth, glazed, dated 1676, and inscribed:--

John Wayman, J.F.

Come Brother, shall we join?

Give me your twopence--here is mine.

This most likely belonged to a company of Shrophan ringers. It has but one handle, and is rather curiously ornamented.

NOTE.--This article was written about twenty-five years ago.--EDITOR.

Customs and Superst.i.tions of Baptism.

BY THE REV. CANON BENHAM, B.D., F.S.A.

The present paper is, of course, in no sense a discussion of the _doctrine_ of Christian Baptism. The names by which this Sacrament has been called, however, express, to some degree, the views which have been taken of it in the Christian Church, and these names must be briefly recounted. One of the earliest t.i.tles was _Indulgentia_, "remission of sin." This is a t.i.tle as old as the third century, and the idea has found expression in the Nicene Creed. _Palingenesia_, "new birth," is an expression equally old. It will be remembered that one of the earliest symbolical names of our Lord Jesus Christ was _Ichthus_, "Fish;" it is found on the walls of the Roman Catacombs. Now this is really an acrostic, the letters which made it up are the initial letters of the sentence, "Jesus Christ, Son of G.o.d, our Saviour," and Tertullian, the first writer of the Latin Church, says, "We are fishes, born in water, conformable to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Ichthus." Justin Martyr (middle of the second century) speaks of the baptismal water as "the water of life," and Ca.s.siodorus (fifth century) calls it _fons divinus_, "the divine fountain," whence comes our name "Font." S. Chrysostom and other Greek fathers use the name "Illumination," (_Photismos_,) and S. Augustine calls it _Salus_, "Salvation," as he calls the Lord's Supper "Life." Another word was _Sphragis_, "Seal," because it was the seal of a covenant made between G.o.d and man. This t.i.tle is as old as the second century. The same idea is conveyed in Augustine's expression, _Character Dominicus_, "the Divine, _i.e._, stamp mark."

Baptism was rejected by some of the early heretics, chiefly by the Gnostics, who a.s.serted that all religion lay in knowledge, and under pretence of exalting spiritual worship, would admit of no external or corporeal symbols whatsoever, and also by the Manichaeans, who, holding that all matter is in itself evil, consistently rejected the religious use of water. Some early heretics also objected to the use of water only, a.s.serting that this was no better than the baptism of John, whereas our Lord was to baptize also with fire, and they seem, while baptizing with water, to have also touched the ears with fire. Others, by some chemical art, created an appearance of fire on the surface of the water. (Bingham, iii. 414.)

But to come down to later times, there are curious records which tell how the matter used in the Baptismal rite was not always water as it is with us. A letter of Pope Gregory to Archbishop Sigurd of Norway (A.D. 1241) says "Forasmuch as we learnt from you, that it is sometimes the custom, on account of the want of water, for infants in your country to be baptized in ale, we hereby decree that as according to the Gospel Doctrine, it is necessary that they be born of water and of the Holy Spirit, they ought not to be accounted as baptized who are baptized in ale." And there are Bulls and decrees of Councils to the same effect. In _Notes and Queries_ (ii. 5, 524) is a quotation from an unpublished diary of the sixteenth century, telling how "at Prestone, Aug. 30, 1574, one Griffith ap Bedo Du, which dwelt at Pilleth, at the christening of his son would not have the same to be christened as the manner is, in water, but upon a proud stomach caused the water to be voided out of the font, and filled it with wine, and so caused his son to be therein christened." And the diarist goes on to say that all the country round noted from that time that "he and his continued to grow to decay in substance and credit until his race was extinguished."

Controversies concerning Infant Baptism, as well as concerning Immersion as distinguished from affusion, or pouring water upon the baptized, would be out of place here. The latter practice, rendered necessary in our northern climate, has led to the use of the font. Nevertheless, baptism by immersion is not unknown in the Church of England. Under the Church of S.

Lawrence, Reading, there is a baptistery under the pews, and in 1866, these pews were temporarily removed and a family of Quakers were baptized in it. At Trinity Church, Marylebone and at Scarborough, there are records within the last few years of adults baptized by immersion. In the parish church of Cranbrook, in the Weald of Kent, is a curious bath for immersion, of which the following is the history. John Johnson, who was Vicar there at the end of the seventeenth century, found on entering upon the inc.u.mbency that there were many of his parishioners who were unbaptized, and who, though they were desirous of attending his ministry, were in favour of being baptized by immersion. The Anabaptists were strong in that district during the Commonwealth. He therefore resolved to meet their views. There was a flight of steps leading up, on the inside, into the Parvise or room over the southern porch. At the top of these steps, on the landing so to speak, he constructed a deep bath, reaching down in fact to the floor of the church, so that the minister could take the person to be baptized up the steps and there immerse him. This charitable concession to the convictions of his people is still to be seen. I believe, however, that there are only two records of it having been used since its erection.

Similar baptisteries are to be seen at Ebbw Vale, Aberdare, and elsewhere.

The Canons of the Church order that the font shall be of stone. In some churches may still be seen a small vessel of plaster or earthenware, in which a little water is put for baptism, so as to save filling the font.

But it is illegal, and is now rarely seen. Bishop Wilberforce, wherever he found them on Visitations, ordered their removal. In the case of private baptisms, some clergy keep a basin which they carry with them, similarly to a pocket Communion set, and use it for no other purpose. And this certainly seems the more reverent method. Others however use any basin which may be handy, and then send it back to its ordinary use with a view to prevent any feeling of superst.i.tion. It seems from the following pa.s.sage in Pepys's diary, that the clergy were in the habit of performing public as well as private baptisms in private houses:--

"Lord's Day. My wife and I to Mr. Martin's where I find the company almost all come to the christening of Mrs. Martin's child, a girl. After sitting long, till the church was done, the parson comes and then we to christen the child.... After the christening comes in the wine and sweetmeats, etc...."