CHURCHES
The old parish account-books show that much more was spent on music in old times than in the present day, e.g. Bunbury:—
| 1762. | For a bassoon | £5 | 5 | 0 |
| 1787. | John Richardson, for instructing the singers | 8 | 17 | 0 |
| 1801. | For a hautboy | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| 1811. | For a base violin | 6 | 16 | 7 |
| 1820. | Paid Mr. Cotgreave, for leading the singers, 62 nights at 5s. | 15 | 10 | 0 |
| 1821. | Do.do.77 nights at 5s. | 19 | 5 | 0 |
In 1785, at Farndon, we find—
| To a vestry meeting about a bassoon | £0 | 2 | 6 | |
| To a bassoon | 6 | 0 | 8 |
Two new “cleronets” and reeds cost £5 12s. 9d., and a new hautboy £1. 8s.
At the same vestry the churchwarden was empowered to pay £1. 1s. yearly to the singers “so long as they continue to sing such tunes as the inhabitants of the parish shall approve of”; and William Snelson was paid two guineas per annum “to teach the children to sing psalms in church.”...
The abolition of the old church band has not been of benefit to many churches and villages.
Passing mention must be made of Handel’s visit to Chester, in 1741, when he tried over the music of the “Messiah” before its first performance in Dublin, and of the great Chester Musical Festivals held at various intervals from 1772 to 1829, and of the celebrated political song called the “Glorious Sixth of May,” which stirred Chester like a second “Lillibulero,” just one hundred years ago.