| The vicarage
of Bourne was constituted early in the 13th century and the first
incumbent was Geoffrey of Bourne. His stipend was £6 a year and his
food provided by the abbey who also gave him a horse and a groom to
look after it. The vicar also received 20s. a year for clothing and
collected money contributed at the larger festivals, plus 1d. for
marriages and funerals. His accommodation was a room or lodge within
the abbey precincts near the gates. The
vicar who was in charge of the parish at the time of the dissolution
of the monasteries was Robert Harrison who was awarded the sum of
£8 per annum by the commissioners. Thomas Baxter was instituted in
1562 and in 1581, Richard Foster was presented to the vicarage of
Bourne by Queen Elizabeth I and during the crisis caused by the
imminent invasion of the Spanish Armada, he contributed a horse for
the defence of the country.
In 1585, John Jackson was appointed vicar. He was
a puritan and a non-conformist and was proceeded against "for not
wearing a surplice and not conforming to the rituals of the Book of
Common Prayer". He was admonished by the bishop but was returned to
favour in 1611.
Edmund Lolley was presented to the vicarage in
1612 by John Brown of Stamford. He died in 1632 and in his will, he
charged his gossips [friends], Thomas Brown and James Swift, to sell
his books for the benefit of his son "and bring him up at the
schoole". In 1632, Richard Titley was presented by Winifred Brown.
He was instituted at Westminster and inducted at Bourne on November
23rd in the same year. William Clark was vicar from 1642 until 1647
and during his occupation, £50 a year was transferred from
Heckington Church to Bourne, as the living at Bourne was only £30 a
year, but this £50 was returned to Heckington at the restoration. In
1649, Richard Milward, probably a puritan, began his ministry which
lasted until 1712.
For some years after the restoration, no vicar was
appointed to the parish, the church being looked after by curates
(see box below), but in 1712, Edward Blithe was inducted on the
presentation of Queen Mary, wife of William III, and he served the
parish until 1727. William Dodd became vicar on the death of Edward
Blithe in 1727, and is buried in the nave, the place marked by a
ledgerstone. He was the father of the brilliant but unfortunate Dr
William Dodd who was hanged at Tyburn for forgery in 1777. |
