East Worlington Rectory, the Barn and the Beginning
The Glebe Terrier of 1679 makes the first documented reference to ‘a barn bult of mud walls’ within the curtilage of East Worlington Rectory and the evidence of its existence is made in a second reference of a barn is provided by the Glebe Terrier of 1727 ‘The outhouses are a barn consisting of five bays, a sheeping (shippon) of three bays and a stable of two bays all having mud walls and thatch covering…’ The need to build a barn within the curtilage of the Rectory is somewhat explained by considering the social and ecclesiastical context that existed in the late C17th and early C18th not only in East Worlington, but also nationally.
To understand the barn is to understand the evolution of Parishes
Parishes originated primarily between the 8th and 12th centuries founded by landowners and tied to manorial boundaries. In the 1600s, the establishment and function of religious parishes, particularly in England, underwent significant transformation, in response to a number of social factors, including adapting to reformation theology, the English Civil War, and the rise of nonconformity.
In East Worlington the parish would have been established long before the 1679 but the impact of the social change in part created by the reformation driven by predominantly Henry 8th, made himself Supreme Head of the Church, for personal reasons, and broke away from breaks with the Roman Catholic Church centred in Rome, in its place establishing the Church of England.
Parish founders, patrons, and landowners
Traditionally the roles of Parish founders, patrons, and landowners were held by lords of the manor, kings, or bishops, who were responsible for the establishment, building, and endowment of local churches in England. Often these local landowners-built churches to serve their own estates. These landowners became known as founders provided the land for the church building, churchyard, and a house for the Rector. This land provided for this purpose was often referred to as Glebe land.
Patrons (Advowson): In return for financing the church, founders and their descendants held the right of advowson. This is the legal right to present (nominate) a priest to the Bishop for appointment to the parish benefice.
Landowners: In the early years of parishes, it was more than probable that landowners would have been feudal lords, noble families, and prior to the Dissolution of the Monasteries, between 1536 and 1541 these religious bodies had come immense ly wealthy landowners, controlling roughly 25% of England’s landed wealth and substantial influence, on church affairs in parishes. This all changed post Dissolution of the Monasteries, becoming a wealthy landowner was the primary marker of high social status and economic power, typically achieved through inheriting established estates, marrying into wealth, or purchasing land with capital gained from trade, colonial investments, or political service. By the latter half of the C17th, land ownership was rapidly consolidating, with the “landed gentry” rising in power by consolidating smaller plots and increasing rents. As was the case of the Earl of Portsmouth who became wealthy landowner and Patron of which the parish of East Worlington was a small toe on a larger footprint.
While the Ecclesiastical Incumbent (Rector) was provided with accommodation (the Rectory) there was no salary associated with the role and no entitlement to any beneficiaries, so the living of most Rectors in most parishes and certainly this applied to East Worlington was through the two legally required national arrangements known as tithes and glebe They were a mandatory system to support the parish church and clergy. They were not voluntary donations, but legally enforced obligations attached to land ownership and agricultural production.
Tithes were a tax requiring inhabitant to hand over one-tenth of the produce of their land, such as crops, livestock, and other agricultural products, to the local church. This was known as an in-kind payment as rarely did it originally include payment by money and more often as stated here by produce. Given this was an annually paid form of taxation the Rector would have required place to store some items and process others, for example, threshing corn to create flour.
It is therefore possible to begin to understand why a barn was one building in the curtilage of the Rectory and why the Rector needed it as storage for tithe payments.
Tithe payments in-kind was extremely problematic as it was virtually impossible to accurately estimate what the income of livestock and crops might be within any given year, and very often the inhabitant grew crops or reared animals for their own use so there was no evidence of true income or its equivalent. This resulted in many variations of payment, in many cases it being a guesstimate and not a well calculated estimate. For example, two inhabitants both with similar sized smallholdings but be estimated to ow very different amount. Tax avoidance was a traditional annual ‘game’ for some parishioners.
The main attempt to address the anomalies associated with Tithes was through the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836 when traditional payments in kind was replaced by the adoption of a fixed monetary payment. It aimed was to standardise the collection process and resolve widespread disputes.
This move to monetary payment compared to produce payments meant that the Rectory no longer need a place to store and process the produce.
Glebe The second source of income for the Rector was though Glebe land income. Glebe was land, mainly agricultural land owned by the church and run as a farm, therefore raising income for the Rector. Glebe land could either be directly farmed under the direct management of the Rector or it could be leased to local farmers for them to farm, the income for the Rector coming from the cost of the lease.
Based on White’s 1850 directory of Devon, the Reverend Benjamin Clay, M.A., was the incumbent of East Worlington and held 66½ acres of glebe land. While the records establish that he held this land as part of his rectoral property, they do not explicitly state whether he personally farmed it or leased it out. However, in the context of Victorian Devon, a clergyman holding a significant amount of land (66+ acres) often leased it to a local farmer or used a farm bailiff to manage it, rather than farming it himself.
As the land was leased to farmers who had their own buildings and facilities necessary to run their farms, the Recor became a landlord and not a hand on farmer, resulting in not requiring his own barn.
So, by the mid C19th several factors influence the future use of the barn.
No need for a barn to store and process tithes In-kind payments
The Rector was a landlord and not a farmer.
.Nationally and internationally, there was a fundamental transformation in agriculture, often described as the “second agricultural revolution” (approx. 1815–1880), shifted farming towards a more commercial and technology-driven business. This period was marked by the widespread adoption of mechanization, chemical inputs, and specialized, large-scale farming,
The Earls of Portsmouth as major landowners across the region including East Worlington and were Patrons and, in such positions, had influence on the Parish and the lives of parishioners.
Basically, the days of the Barn as a barn were ending by the mid C19th.
A Community Facility
Evidence that the barn was been used as a community facility started to appear, soon after the 1850s, mainly through newspaper articles.
The driving force for this community use of a disused barn appears to have come from the Rectors
ADD PRESS CUTTING?S
Earls of Portsmouth , the barn and its use as a community facility
The Earls of Portsmouth were in the C19th major landowners in the Parish of East Worlington with the responsibilities and rights that behold a Lord of the Manor, and held t he Patronage. While the Earls did not have any direct responsibility for the management of the barn through their position of the Ecclesiastical Patron they held a connection with the barn hrough that connection had influence on its re designation as a community facility
As politician and landowner had influence and at that time the Earls supported the importance of community facilities. Newton Fellowes (1772–1854), 4th Earl of Portsmouth for a short period (1853–1854), was an advocate for regional infrastructure development, particularly in North Devon. Newton Wallop, 6th Earl of Portsmouth (19 January 1856 – 4 December 1917), was a British Liberal politician represented Barnstaple (from 1880) and South Mlton, (from 1885) in Parliament and landowner known for his roles in government and his vocal religious advocacy.
Rectors: The following Rectors who were instrumental in the change of use from barn to Parish Hall
ADD PRESS CUTTINGS TO PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF THEIR ROLE
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1796 |
Benjamin Clay M.A. |
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1852 |
Richard Syndercombe Bryan B.A. |
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1877 |
Walter Meddon Bruton B.C.I. |
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1886 |
Thomas Holford Buckworth |
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1902 |
Horace Ayton Hill B.A. |
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1919 |
Henry John Hodgson M.A. |
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1937 |
Twyneham Heron Encombe Woods |
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1942 |
William Humberstone Maddock Lth. |
Written evidence that the Barn was used as Parish Rooms
A document (East Worlington Kalendar of Quotidian Quotations published by Rev. H. A. Hill in 1910) describes the barn in a similar way to the earlier documents thereby confirming it is the same building. By 1910 the building was being used as Parish Rooms, which indicates an earlier date for use for the purpose. During this period the building was still owned by the church.
Writing his ‘East Worlington Kalendar of Quotidian Quotations’ in 1910, Rev. H.A.Hill was happy to accept that the barn of 1727 – and presumably also that of 1679 – was the very same that had recently been converted into a Parish Room. In 1910 the fabric, he tells us ,’is the same as that described in the terrier of 1727: ‘built of mudd and consisting of five bays.’ The old cob walls,’ he continues, ‘are good and of a soft and matured hue: the roof is of thatch and a pent-house over the doorway has been added and a verandah. Everything has been done in the restoration to preserve the rustic appearance and effect. An old oak window frame with deep moulded mullions was rescued from one of the village cottages, and inserted in the north wall; and two others of similar design have been put in and filled with diamond leaded panes. The courtyard in front has been paved in the old Devonshire fashion…’
He also describes features of how the building had been restored and converted.
ADD DETAILS OF THE SALE OF THE HALL FROM THE CHURCH TO PARISH COUNCIL AND ADD SOME EXAMPLES OF ITS USAGE POST 1920
So the answer to the Question ‘When is a barn not a barn?’ is ‘When it is a Parish Hall’