A military guard for the Canterbury Playhouse in 1744

While looking for something else in the Cathedral Treasurer’s Book for 1743/44 (CCA-DCc-TB/79), I came across the following entry on page 68: Expensa incerta Nov 9 Given to the Soldiers who guarded the Play-house Nov: 5. to keep off the Mob from rushing on the Dean & Prebs whilst the Kings Scholars were acting before them … Continue reading A military guard for the Canterbury Playhouse in 1744 →

Did Canterbury Cathedral Library chain its books in the seventeenth century?

The Treasurer’s Book for 1676/1677 (CCA DCc/TB-13) has several records of payments relating to the Chapter Library which had been newly built ten or twelve years earlier. The half-yearly stipend for Arthur Kay the Library Keeper is recorded as £2–10–0 and that of his deputy John Sargenson as £1–0–0 (p. 61). Under the heading Expensae … Continue reading Did Canterbury Cathedral Library chain its books in the seventeenth century? →

Financial record-keeping at Canterbury Cathedral in the late 17th century

Unlocking the Chest: financial record-keeping at Canterbury Cathedral in the late 17th century At the St Katherine’s Audit each November, the Dean and Chapter drew up an account of the Cathedral's wealth in a single sheet document headed ‘The State of the Church’. The Cathedral Archives has a continuous series of these records from 1679 … Continue reading Financial record-keeping at Canterbury Cathedral in the late 17th century →

Rats in the organ

Rats in the organ at Canterbury Cathedral in 1674 In 1674, the Treasurer’s Book at Canterbury Cathedral records an ongoing problem in dealing with rats who were nesting in the organ bellows. In the days before electric motors, the wind for a church organ had to be produced by human muscle in the form of … Continue reading Rats in the organ →