Parish Clerk.—James Spice, Bridge Road West.
Beadle.—William Edwards.
Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages.—William Griffin, High Street.
District Surveyor of North Battersea.—H. J. Hansom, Grove-end House, Falcon Lane.
A Parochial Assembly for conducting the affairs of a Parish, so called because its meetings were formerly held in the Vestry—a room appended to a Church in which the sacerdotal vestments and sacred utensils are kept. Vestrymen are a select number of persons in each parish elected for the management of its temporal concerns.
The Vestry is the organ through which the Parish speaks, and in numerous matters relating to church rates, highways, baths and wash-houses and other sanitary matters, it has important functions to discharge and is a conspicuous feature of Parochial management. The Vicar is entitled to be chairman. It is the duty of the Churchwardens and Overseers to keep a book in which to enter the minutes of the Vestry. The Vestry appoints annually Churchwardens, nominates Overseers, etc. A Church rate can only be made by a Vestry, and if the majority choose, to make none. The Vestry Clerk is chosen by the Vestry; his duty is to give notice of Vestry meetings; to summon the Churchwardens and Overseers; to keep the minutes, accounts and Vestry books; recover the arrears of rates; make out the list of persons qualified to act as Jurymen, and to give notices for to vote for Members of Parliament.
Churchwardens in England are Ecclesiastical officers appointed by the first Canon of the Synod of London in 1127. Overseers in every parish were also appointed by the same body, and they continue now as then established.—Johnson's Canons.
Churchwardens, by the Canons of 1603, are to be chosen annually. The Common Law requires that there should be two Churchwardens, one of whom is appointed by the Incumbent and the other is chosen by the Parishioners in Vestry assembled. Their primary duty is to see that the fabric of the Church is kept in good repair, superintending the celebration of public worship, and to form and regulate other Parochial regulations. The appointment and election take place in Easter Week of each year.
Overseers are officers who occupy an important position in all the parishes in England and Wales, they too are appointed annually. Their primary duty is to rate the inhabitants to the Poor rate, collect the same, and apply it towards relief of the poor, besides other miscellaneous duties, such as making out the list of voters for Members of Parliament. The list of persons in the Parish qualified to serve as Jurors, the list of persons qualified to serve as Parish Constables. They are bound to appoint persons to enforce the Vaccination Acts, etc., etc.
When the birth of a child is registered, the registrar is to give notice of vaccination; and the child must be vaccinated within three months. Penalty for not bringing the child to be vaccinated 20s. If any registrar shall give information to a justice that he has reason to believe any child has not been successfully vaccinated, and that he has given notice thereof, which notice has been disregarded, the justice may order the child to appear before him, and he may make an order directing such child to be vaccinated within a certain time, and if at the expiration of such time the child shall not have been vaccinated, the parent or person upon whom the order has been served is liable to a penalty not exceeding 20s.