262:. Tithe and glebe from the locality continued to go to the lay impropriator or diocesan; or in the case of the newer perpetual curacies were retained by the ancient parish which had been divided to establish them. Where the new church had been established in a new ecclesiastical district the patron of the new living would normally be the incumbent of the ancient parish, while where the ancient parish had been split into new independent parishes then the patron of the ancient parish would normally be patron of all the new livings; but the legislation also allowed for donors of substantial endowments to acquire the patronage of new livings subject to the existing patron having first refusal. Further legislation abolished sinecure benefices and drastically restricted the permissible occasions for pluralism, compelling the decoupling of long-standing joint livings (including perpetual curacies) which did not qualify as exemptions. By 1864 less than 1,000 parish cures were being served by assistant curates; while numbers of perpetual curates had increased to over 4,000. From being viewed, at the beginning of the century, as the most favoured class of curates; perpetual curates had by the 1850s become the least favoured class of incumbents. Perpetual curacies had long been liable to remain poorly paid and inadequately housed relative to other full incumbencies of the Church of England, even when augmented from
293:
for existing worshipping congregations with the minimum of disturbance to long-standing spiritual and temporal property rights, other than the transfer of those rights out of the hands of the monks and into those of lay tenants and grantees. Where these congregations were in unbeneficed parishes, it is likely that few would otherwise have been able to provide a competent living for a vicar had they instead been restored as beneficed vicarages; where the congregations were in former priory churches or chapels, they could not otherwise have been endowed as parochial chapelries except at a financial cost to the rector of the parish. The expedient remained for three centuries a relatively rare exception to the general rule of parochial provision; not least because (unlike rectories or vicarages) perpetual curacies had no corporate personality, and hence endowments could not be settled on the office rather than the individual. This disability was remedied for some churches, when those perpetual curacies which qualified for augmentation from
190:
themselves fulfil the spiritual obligations of a parochial cure, and nor was it considered proper that they appoint stipendiary priests for the function, as the canons had done. Instead lay purchasers of appropriated tithes, termed 'impropriators', were required in these instances both to nominate a clergyman to the diocesan bishop to serve the cure, and also to provide a fixed stipend of appropriate annual value to support the new perpetual curacy. In practice, most of the nominated incumbents to the new perpetual curacies were the canons or stipendiaries who had been serving those cures before the dissolution. Over the years, the arrangement by which the impropriator acted as both patron and paymaster of a perpetual curacy proved liable to break down, especially as the original cash stipend could be reduced to a small part of its former value through
153:
principle that only the glebe and "greater tithes" of grain, hay and wood could be appropriated by monastic patrons in this manner; the "lesser tithes" had to remain within the parochial benefice; the incumbent of which thenceforward carried the title of "vicar". By 1535, of 8838 rectories in
England, 3307 had thus been appropriated with vicarages; but at this late date, a small sub-set of vicarages in monastic ownership were not being served by beneficed clergy at all; monasteries having petitioned for papal dispensation from this obligation. In almost all such instances, these were parish churches in the ownership of houses of
250:
curate began to appear less as a historical anomaly, and more as a potential solution. If chapels-of-ease, endowed with sufficient regular income, could be re-established as perpetual curacies; this would provide livings for displaced assistant curates, while greatly improving the quality of pastoral care provided to these cures. Crucially, there would be no need to change ancient parish boundaries or disrupt rights of tithe or glebe; while the incumbents of the ancient parish churches could continue as joint patrons with the trustees of the new perpetual curacies.
194:. In some cases continued appointment to the cure was possible if the diocesan bishop was able to assume the responsibility of paymaster, having been provided with an enhanced portion of the tithe income from the parish or other endowment to do so. Otherwise, the impropriator might nominate a neighbouring incumbent to serve the cure; taking advantage of the fact that, as the curacy did not then count as a benefice, there was no legal barrier to its being held in
254:
South East. A rapid expansion of urban parish numbers was required, and it was found that the status of perpetual curate (following its re-classification as a 'benefice') provided a readily available legal template for the creation of new incumbencies. Various Church
Building Acts greatly increased the number of perpetual curacies by establishing new parishes and ecclesiastical districts; their incumbents paid initially with stipends from
318:, and in practice was almost always the farmhouse of the parish glebe. But, again as with vicars, the standard of housing expected for perpetual curates increased from the 18th century onwards; and it became necessary to provide a means by which loan finance could be made available to these incumbents for the construction of new parsonage houses, secured against the income of themselves and their successors. Such loans, through
171:
355:(1866) the inviolable position of Josiah Crawley, perpetual curate of the parish of Hogglestock, is a cause of dissent between Bishop Proudie and his domineering wife; Mrs Proudie believes Crawley to be guilty of theft and urges her husband to remove him, whereas the bishop knows that he has no power to do so without the authority of the ecclesiastical courts. In Season 4, Episode 3 of
211:
28:
302:
initially with wholly inadequate endowment and no parsonage house. Although thereafter a "beneficed clergyman", unlike a rector or vicar, a nineteenth or twentieth century perpetual curate was neither instituted to receive the spiritualities nor inducted into the temporalities, admission by episcopal licence rendered both ceremonies unnecessary.
68:(name of the combined Anglican churches of England and Ireland from 1800 to 1871). The term is found in common use mainly during the first half of the 19th century. The legal status of perpetual curate originated as an administrative anomaly in the 16th century. Unlike ancient rectories and vicarages, perpetual curacies were supported by a cash
198:. As was also the case for the much larger numbers of inadequately funded rectories and vicarages, the continued provision of incumbents to serve perpetual curacies now depended on the living attracting additional endowments, a process that became much easier when perpetual curacies were brought within the terms of
148:
and rents from rectors, and could moreover petition for exemptions by Papal dispensation. Initially it had not been unusual for religious houses in possession of rectories also to assume the capability to collect tithe and glebe income for themselves, but this practice was banned by the decrees of the
161:
canons, orders whose rules required them to provide parochial worship within their conventual churches; for the most part as chapels-of-ease of a more distant parish church. From the mid-fourteenth century onwards these canons were often able to extend this hybrid status to include vicarages in their
232:
By the beginning of the nineteenth century there were 10,500 ancient parishes in
England and Wales; their boundaries fixed, and until 1818, only able to be changed or split by private acts of Parliament. In addition, there were around 2,000 chapels of ease with defined parochial districts, mainly in
152:
of 1215. Thereafter, over the medieval period, monasteries and priories continually sought papal exemption from the
Council's decrees, so as to appropriate the income of rectoral benefices to their own use. However, from the 13th century onwards, English diocesan bishops successfully established the
147:
almost all these rights were extinguished for lay patrons, who were able only to retain the residual power to nominate the rector to a benefice, and many lay notables thereupon gave up parish churches into the ownership of religious houses, which were less inhibited by canon law from extracting fees
301:
by the
Pluralities Act of 1838. This could be a two-edged sword however for those perpetual curacies, a substantial number, which had by this date become effectively annexed to a neighbouring vicarage or rectory, but which the Pluralities Acts required now to be served as an independent cure; often
253:
A much bigger problem was raised by rapidly expanding urban populations. Even with former ancient chapelries upgraded to perpetual curacies, there was still a gross under-provision of churches and parishes in industrial towns and cities; and a corresponding over-provision in many rural areas of the
292:
In simple terms, every incumbent was either a rector, vicar or perpetual curate; but while this was a fully accurate summary of the relevant law within the Church of
England, the creation of perpetual curacies had been an ad-hoc expedient at the dissolution of the monasteries, to provide ministers
266:; consequently the Perpetual Curate commonly features in mid-Victorian literary culture as a figure endeavouring to maintain the social standing of beneficed clergyman, but whose family aspirations (especially marital) were being frustrated by constricted financial expectations; most notably in
249:
was a series of Acts of
Parliament giving bishops powers to compel absent incumbents to reside in their parishes; but it was acknowledged that this would create hardship amongst displaced assistant curates deprived of access to the more attractive cures. In this context, the status of perpetual
189:
constituted the initial tranche of perpetual curacies. At the dissolution, rectors and vicars of most former monastically owned churches remained in place, their incomes unaffected. But for these unbeneficed churches and chapels-of-ease, lay purchasers of the canons' tithing rights could not
162:
possession, petitioning for papal privileges of appropriation allowing them to take the full tithe, while serving the cure either from among their own number or from secular stipendiary priests removable at will; arrangements which corresponded to those for their chapels of ease.
142:
Parish churches in
England originated in the 11th and 12th centuries as the personal property of (predominantly lay) patrons; who had the right to appoint and dismiss the parish priest, to receive an entrance fee on appointment, and to charge an annual rent thereafter. By the
95:
status, or create ecclesiastical districts with new churches within ancient parishes, than to divide existing vicarages and rectories. Under the legislation introduced to facilitate this, the parish priests of new parishes and districts, were legally perpetual curates.
327:"; but it was only in 1868 that the legal right to this style of title was conferred on them. From this date onwards the term 'perpetual curate' dropped out of current use, although continuing as a technical category in ecclesiastical law for another 100 years.
233:
the North of
England; most of which were supported with more or less generous endowments administered by trustees. However, only 4,400 parishes had a resident incumbent, with the majority of the remaining parishes and chapelries being served by some 5,000
322:
or through the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners, only became possible once perpetual curacies acquired the legal status of benefices. As they lived in a vicarage house, perpetual curates, especially those of nineteenth century creation, were commonly called
99:
There were two particularly notable effects of this early 19th-century practice: compared to rectors and vicars of ancient parishes, perpetual curates tended to be of uncertain social standing; and also be much less likely to be adequately paid.
103:
Perpetual curates disappeared from view in 1868, after which they could legally call themselves vicars, but perpetual curacies remained in law until the distinct status of perpetual curate was abolished by the Pastoral Measure 1968.
130:
All incumbents in England could, technically, have been considered perpetual curates. However, following the Gregorian reforms of the 11th century, parochial cure of souls in England became the
84:
314:
house was so designated. As was the case for parishes served by a vicar, the responsibility for providing the parsonage house of a perpetual curacy fell initially on the impropriator as
115:
in the title meant that, once licensed, they could not be removed by their nominating patron; and could only be deprived by their diocesan bishop through the
750:
740:
692:
65:
245:
to a bishopric or other senior clerical post. Around 1,000 parish cures were unprovided with any resident priest. One consequence of the
357:
237:; although many smaller neighbouring parishes had effectively been amalgamated as joint livings, and a number had been reconfigured as
210:
181:
and, because unbeneficed at the dissolution in 1539, then continuing with a perpetual curacy until reunited with its rectory in 1863
365:
plays a perpetual curate who causes scandal when he is seen leaving the Timmins cottage after dark while Robert Timmins is away.
297:
were declared "perpetual benefices" and their incumbents bodies politic. All other perpetual curacies were reclassified as full
174:
134:
of the incumbent; whose income in the forms of tithe and glebe constituted a benefice, and who then carried the title of rector.
35:
672:
745:
186:
149:
258:
administered by the churchwardens under the supervision of dioceses, latterly more often from endowments vested with the
351:
276:
259:
92:
58:
54:
337:
31:
185:
It is this latter small group of parochial churches and chapels without beneficed clergy that, following the
83:
In the 19th century, when large numbers of new churches and parochial units were needed in England and Wales
319:
294:
263:
199:
131:
116:
696:
310:
Those ancient parishes served by perpetual curates remained legally 'vicarages'; and hence the
385:
271:
226:
214:
178:
158:
144:
42:. All Saints had been created as a perpetual curacy in 1536 out of a chapel-of-ease of nearby
583:
380:
346:
281:
234:
676:
246:
595:
591:
587:
154:
734:
345:'s birth within the vicarage of a perpetual curacy, may well not be coincidental. In
342:
124:
43:
39:
242:
72:, usually maintained by an endowment fund, and had no ancient right to income from
170:
27:
362:
17:
377:, which explains the differences between the various uses of the term "curate"
315:
311:
255:
191:
298:
238:
222:
195:
88:
218:
69:
374:
61:
225:, established as a perpetual curacy in 1820, at the appointment of
324:
209:
169:
77:
73:
26:
217:
built in 1774 as the parsonage house for the ancient chapelry of
553:
551:
549:
38:
in Cheshire; and father of C. L. Dodgson, otherwise known as
535:
533:
123:
meant they were licensed by the diocesan bishop to provide "
177:
an ancient parish church appropriated with a vicarage by
87:, it proved much more acceptable to elevate former
8:
506:Cross, F. L. & Livingstone, E. A., eds.
206:Perpetual curacies in the nineteenth century
725:; 6th ed. Sweet & Maxwell, 1899, p. 55.
650:; 6th ed. Sweet & Maxwell, 1899, p. 53.
527:. Cambridge University Press, 1959, p. 409.
490:; 6th ed. Sweet & Maxwell, 1899, p. 54.
127:" for the people of a district or parish.
525:The Religious Orders in England, Vol. III
508:Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
477:Cambridge University Press, 1955, p. 292.
464:Cambridge University Press, 1955, p. 291.
462:The Religious Orders in England, Vol. II
451:Cambridge University Press, 1955, p. 290.
438:Cambridge University Press, 1940, p. 597.
425:Cambridge University Press, 1940, p. 593.
693:Clergy of the Church of England database
502:
500:
498:
496:
475:The Religious Orders in England, Vol. II
710:A Handbook of Church Law for the Clergy
449:The Religious Orders in England, Vol II
410:A Handbook of Church Law for the Clergy
401:
138:Origin of the post and characteristics
335:There are inescapable parallels with
7:
66:United Church of England and Ireland
708:Neep, E. J. C and Edinger, George,
408:Neep, E. J. C and Edinger, George,
166:Post-reformation perpetual curacies
661:The Dissolution of the Monasteries
25:
751:Local Christian church officials
85:politically and administratively
741:Anglican ecclesiastical offices
663:. Allen and Unwin, 1971, p. 84.
412:. A. R. Mowbray, 1928 pp. 6, 7.
611:; 2nd ed. Spire, 2006, p. 252.
187:Dissolution of the monasteries
1:
436:The Monastic Order in England
423:The Monastic Order in England
175:Cheltenham Minster, St Mary's
36:All Saints' Church, Daresbury
673:Queen Anne's Bounty Act 1714
622:The Victorian Church, Part I
559:The Victorian Church, Part I
541:The Victorian Church, Part I
352:The Last Chronicle of Barset
277:The Last Chronicle of Barset
260:Ecclesiastical Commissioners
712:A. R. Mowbray, 1928, p. 11.
572:Christian England; Volume 3
767:
689:Glossary: Perpetual Curate
637:Blackwood, 1864, 540 pp.
609:Six Hundred New Churches
574:. Collins, 1984, p. 102.
338:The Hunting of the Snark
53:was a class of resident
358:Lark Rise to Candleford
624:. Black, 1966, p. 137.
561:. Black, 1966, p. 127.
388:, author of the novel
229:
182:
47:
34:, perpetual curate of
746:Ecclesiastical titles
543:. Black, 1966, p. 34.
213:
173:
117:ecclesiastical courts
30:
635:The Perpetual Curate
390:The Perpetual Curate
305:
268:The Perpetual Curate
699:, 2 February 2014).
633:Oliphant, Margaret
598:c. 70 ss. 9 and 17.
331:Examples in fiction
320:Queen Anne's Bounty
295:Queen Anne's Bounty
264:Queen Anne's Bounty
200:Queen Anne's Bounty
723:Steer's Parish Law
648:Steer's Parish Law
488:Steer's Parish Law
306:The title: 'Vicar'
230:
183:
48:
721:Macnamara, W. H.
646:Macnamara, W. H.
584:1 & 2 Will. 4
486:Macnamara, W. H.
386:Margaret Oliphant
235:assistant curates
221:in the parish of
215:Haworth Parsonage
179:Cirencester Abbey
159:Premonstratensian
145:Gregorian reforms
132:freehold property
16:(Redirected from
758:
726:
719:
713:
706:
700:
686:
680:
670:
664:
657:
651:
644:
638:
631:
625:
618:
612:
605:
599:
581:
575:
568:
562:
555:
544:
537:
528:
521:
515:
512:Perpetual Curate
504:
491:
484:
478:
471:
465:
458:
452:
445:
439:
432:
426:
419:
413:
406:
381:Priest in charge
347:Anthony Trollope
282:Anthony Trollope
51:Perpetual curate
21:
18:Perpetual curacy
766:
765:
761:
760:
759:
757:
756:
755:
731:
730:
729:
720:
716:
707:
703:
687:
683:
677:1 Geo. 1. St. 2
671:
667:
659:Youings, Joyce
658:
654:
645:
641:
632:
628:
620:Chadwick, Owen
619:
615:
606:
602:
596:8 & 9 Vict.
592:6 & 7 Vict.
588:2 & 3 Vict.
586:. c. 38 s. 12;
582:
578:
570:Edwards, David
569:
565:
557:Chadwick, Owen
556:
547:
539:Chadwick, Owen
538:
531:
523:Knowles, David
522:
518:
510:; 3rd ed., art
505:
494:
485:
481:
473:Knowles, David
472:
468:
460:Knowles, David
459:
455:
447:Knowles, David
446:
442:
434:Knowles, David
433:
429:
421:Knowles, David
420:
416:
407:
403:
399:
371:
341:; which, given
333:
308:
290:
247:Napoleonic Wars
208:
168:
150:Lateran Council
140:
110:
32:Charles Dodgson
23:
22:
15:
12:
11:
5:
764:
762:
754:
753:
748:
743:
733:
732:
728:
727:
714:
701:
691:in "CCEd, the
681:
665:
652:
639:
626:
613:
600:
576:
563:
545:
529:
516:
492:
479:
466:
453:
440:
427:
414:
400:
398:
395:
394:
393:
383:
378:
370:
367:
332:
329:
307:
304:
289:
286:
227:Patrick Brontë
207:
204:
167:
164:
139:
136:
109:
106:
24:
14:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
763:
752:
749:
747:
744:
742:
739:
738:
736:
724:
718:
715:
711:
705:
702:
698:
694:
690:
685:
682:
678:
674:
669:
666:
662:
656:
653:
649:
643:
640:
636:
630:
627:
623:
617:
614:
610:
604:
601:
597:
594:c. 37 s. 12;
593:
589:
585:
580:
577:
573:
567:
564:
560:
554:
552:
550:
546:
542:
536:
534:
530:
526:
520:
517:
513:
509:
503:
501:
499:
497:
493:
489:
483:
480:
476:
470:
467:
463:
457:
454:
450:
444:
441:
437:
431:
428:
424:
418:
415:
411:
405:
402:
396:
391:
387:
384:
382:
379:
376:
373:
372:
368:
366:
364:
361:
359:
354:
353:
348:
344:
343:Lewis Carroll
340:
339:
330:
328:
326:
321:
317:
313:
303:
300:
296:
287:
285:
283:
279:
278:
273:
269:
265:
261:
257:
251:
248:
244:
240:
236:
228:
224:
220:
216:
212:
205:
203:
201:
197:
193:
188:
180:
176:
172:
165:
163:
160:
156:
151:
146:
137:
135:
133:
128:
126:
125:cure of souls
122:
118:
114:
107:
105:
101:
97:
94:
90:
86:
81:
79:
75:
71:
67:
63:
60:
56:
55:parish priest
52:
45:
44:Norton Priory
41:
40:Lewis Carroll
37:
33:
29:
19:
722:
717:
709:
704:
695:" (Accessed
688:
684:
679:c. 10) s. 4.
668:
660:
655:
647:
642:
634:
629:
621:
616:
608:
607:Port, M. H.
603:
579:
571:
566:
558:
540:
524:
519:
511:
507:
487:
482:
474:
469:
461:
456:
448:
443:
435:
430:
422:
417:
409:
404:
389:
356:
350:
336:
334:
309:
291:
288:Legal status
275:
272:Mrs Oliphant
267:
252:
243:in commendam
231:
184:
141:
129:
120:
112:
111:
102:
98:
82:
50:
49:
590:c. 49 s.2;
363:Burn Gorman
155:Augustinian
64:within the
735:Categories
397:References
349:’s novel
316:lay rector
89:chapelries
312:parsonage
299:benefices
274:, and in
256:pew rents
239:sinecures
202:in 1704.
196:plurality
192:inflation
113:Perpetual
59:incumbent
369:See also
241:annexed
223:Bradford
514:, 1997.
219:Haworth
108:Meaning
70:stipend
697:online
392:(1864)
375:Curate
325:vicars
121:Curate
93:parish
62:curate
78:glebe
74:tithe
280:by
270:by
157:or
91:to
76:or
57:or
737::
548:^
532:^
495:^
284:.
119:.
80:.
675:(
360:,
323:"
46:.
20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
