. Parish life in mediaeval England . intendence of all thecommon parochial amusements, and in some instances ofworks, such as brewing and baking, etc., undertaken for thecommon benefit or profit. These probably mostly sprang outof their necessary management of parochial property, whichhad a natural tendency to grow in extent, and in particularof the Church House, which in one form or other mostparishes possessed. The Church House.—Mr. J. M. Cowper, in his preface tothe Accounts of the Churchwardens of St. Dims tans, Canter-bury, gives a useful description of the purposes for which theChurcJi,
. Parish life in mediaeval England . intendence of all thecommon parochial amusements, and in some instances ofworks, such as brewing and baking, etc., undertaken for thecommon benefit or profit. These probably mostly sprang outof their necessary management of parochial property, whichhad a natural tendency to grow in extent, and in particularof the Church House, which in one form or other mostparishes possessed. The Church House.—Mr. J. M. Cowper, in his preface tothe Accounts of the Churchwardens of St. Dims tans, Canter-bury, gives a useful description of the purposes for which theChurcJi, or, as it was sometimes called, the Parish, Houseexisted. In the fifteenth century, and indeed before that, 233 234 MEDIEVAL PARISH LIFE the church was the real centre of all parochial life, social aswell as religious. From the font to the grave the greaternumber of people lived within the sound of its bells. Itprovided them with all the consolations of religion, and linkeditself with such amusements as it did not directly CHURCH HOUSE, LINCOLN Parish meetings not unfrequently settled local at Canterbury in 1485, at St. Dunstans, there was somedispute between the parish and a man named Baker, andthe churchwardens spent 2\d. on arbitration. Later on, twofamilies fell out, and the vicar and four parishioners met incouncil, heard the parties, and put an end to the difficulty. PARISH AMUSEMENTS 235 A parish, with all the great interests involved in its propermanagement, required some place where parish meetingscould be held. They were sometimes, no doubt, held in theaisle of the parish church, but this arrangement was forobvious reasons inconvenient, and a Church house becamea necessity. Its existence was apparently almost Hackney, for instance, the parish built a house in whichto hold meetings. At Yatton, in Somerset, in 1445, thepeople subscribed to the building of their house; at Tintin-hull, in the same county, one was completed in 1497 ; b
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