| £ s. d. | |
| The Right Hon. Viscount Dudley and Ward | 2000 0 0 |
| The Rev. Luke Booker, (Vicar) | 120 0 0 |
| Edward Dixon | 500 0 0 |
| James Bourne | 100 0 0 |
| Thomas Wainwright | 150 0 0 |
| Elizabeth Wainwright | 30 0 0 |
| Whitehouse, Moore, and Guest | 100 0 0 |
| Richard Moore | 100 0 0 |
| Edward Guest | 100 0 0 |
| Cornelius Cartwright | 60 0 0 |
| Mary Cartwright | 40 0 0 |
| Thomas Hill | 100 0 0 |
| Thomas and Isaac Badger | 80 0 0 |
| W. O. Chinner | 50 0 0 |
| Edward Terry | 30 0 0 |
| John Badley, Blowers Green | 100 0 0 |
| John Badley, Surgeon | 100 0 0 |
| ————— | |
| Total | £3760 0 0 |
| ————— |
So that it will be seen that upwards of twenty thousand pounds were raised from the Parishioners by a rate levied upon them under an Act of Parliament. It would not have fallen so heavily upon the Ratepayers as it did but for the fact that the person who bought the materials of the old church never paid for them. The agreement with the purchaser was to pay for them when he fetched the last load away, but this part of the contract was never completed, for he either forgot it or wilfully neglected it. However this may be, a nice row of houses were built with the materials he did fetch away on the road that cuts off at right angles leading to Rowley from Dixons Green. The bottom part of the ovens which were in the brewhouses belonging to these buildings were laid with some of the gravestones taken from the old churchyard, and not unfrequently was to be seen upon the newly-baked loaves “Sacred to the Memory,” “Departed this life,” or “Here lie the remains,” &c. The individual referred to was one of the leading men of the town in that day, and the least we can say is that he had a jolly bargain at the expense of the parishioners. The first Vicar of the newly built Church was the Rev. Luke Booker, the next the Rev. W. H. Cartwright, M.A., who gave up the living, and was succeeded by the Rev. J. C. Browne, D.C.L. The present Vicar is the Rev. W. R. Cosens, M.A. The magnificent organ in the church was the gift of the Right Hon. Viscount Dudley and Ward, and at his request, Mr. Richard Bourne, a very respectable inhabitant of the town, was appointed organist. Mr. Bourne was much respected by his Lordship, having been for many years his organist at the church close to his baronial mansion at Himley. His Lordship was a great patron of music, and every year at Christmas he was in the habit of having some of the best singers down from London, to spend a few weeks with him at Himley Hall. The party who generally visited him were the Messrs. Abram, Knyvett, Vaughan, Braham, and Bellamy, and during their visits a selection of sacred music was performed, and often a number of the leading families of the surrounding neighbourhood were invited to the hall to hear these celebrated vocalists. His Lordship generally selected a portion of the Messiah to be performed, and would often join in the choruses, especially “And the Glory of the Lord,” and “The Hallelujah Chorus.” A remarkable instance of his Lordship’s benevolence occurred one occasion when these celebrities were visiting him. He observed Braham to be somewhat downcast, and asked Mr. Knyvett if he knew what was the matter with him. Mr. Knyvett did not probably tell his Lordship all he knew, but from what he did tell him he inferred that some money would be useful to Braham, and at length determined to have a private interview with him, and ask him the cause of his despondency, without Braham saying much on this rather delicate subject. His Lordship inquired if some money would be of any use to him; he replied that just at that time it would, and he immediately wrote him out a cheque for £500. His Lordship was remarkably charitable and often caused three or four oxen to be killed weekly to be distributed amongst the poor of Dudley, Sedgley, Gornal, and Himley, and the couplet written by the late Dr. Booker, as a tribute of respect to his memory, will not easily be forgotten—
“To doomsday may the name descend
Dudley, and the poor man’s friend.”
The present Earl of Dudley has shewn much kindness towards the people of this town and district, and his noble gift of the Hospital will confer an immense benefit upon the poor of the town and neighbourhood, and may he long live to see some of the good results of this great act of benevolence.
I remain, yours truly,
VERITAS.
October 7, 1871.
Mr. Ephraim Ball’s reply to “Veritas,” based as his letter is upon absolute documents in the hands of Mr. Ball, at one time the property of the then Churchwardens and Building Committee, removes all doubts and conjectures about the cost of erection of our noble Parish Church, which has been beautified and adorned twice since that period.