A church dictionary

by Walter Farquhar Hook

The 1 & 2 Vict. c. 106 repeals the 21 Hen. VIII. c. 13, and the 57 Geo. III. c. 99, relating to residence, and provides (s. 32) that every spiritual person holding any benefice shall keep residence on his benefice, and in the house of residence (if any) belonging thereto; and if any such person shall without any such licence or exemption, as is in this act allowed for that purpose, or unless he shall be resident at some other benefice of which he may be possessed, absent himself from such benefice, or from such house of residence, if any, for any period exceeding the space of three months together, or to be accounted at several times in any one year, he shall, when such absence shall exceed three months, and not exceed six months, forfeit one third part of the annual value of the benefice from which he shall so absent himself; and when such absence shall exceed six months, and not exceed eight months, one half part of such annual value; and when such absence shall exceed eight months, two third parts of such annual value; and when such absence shall have been for the whole year, three fourth parts of such annual value.

By sect. 33, the bishop may give licence to reside out of the usual house if it be unfit, or, if there be no house, in some convenient house, although not within such benefice.

By sect. 34, houses purchased by governors of Queen Anne’s bounty, to be deemed the lawful houses of residence.

By sect. 41, the incumbent is bound to keep in repair the house of residence, whether he reside in it or not. And for neglect of this he is to be subject to all the penalties of non-residence. For various exceptional cases, in which non-residence may be permitted, see sections 37, 38, 43, 44, &c.

By sect. 53, it is enacted, that in every year the bishop of every diocese is to make a return to her Majesty in council of the name of every benefice within his diocese, and the names of the several spiritual persons holding the same respectively, distinguishing those who are resident and those who are not resident, and stating whether they have exemption or not.

Sect. 59 contains strong provisions for the punishment of any one who holds a residence belonging to a benefice which has been let to him, and refuses to vacate after the incumbent is ordered to reside, and for enabling the incumbent to obtain possession of his residence by summary means.

Sect. 76 provides, that the curate under certain circumstances shall be required to reside.

This statute contains many provisions for enabling the ordinary to provide a residence where none exists.

RESIDENTIARY. The capitular members of cathedrals, who are bound to reside at the cathedral church, to perform the ordinary duties there, and to attend more immediately to its concerns. In England, all cathedrals of the old foundations have residentiaries, (canons residentiary, as they are usually called,) the great majority of prebendaries being nonresidentiary. Till the late parliamentary alterations, the greatest number of residentiaries was nine, the smallest four, the dean being always one. The following account of residentiaries is abridged from Churton’s admirable and instructive Life of Dean Nowell, (pp. 313, et seq.)

We learn from the ancient statutes of St. Paul’s, that it was customary in early days for all the canons or prebendaries to reside, being thirty in number; and when, in process of time, many, by mutual connivance, withdrew themselves to their cures or avocations elsewhere, the remaining few bound themselves by a new oath, to reside, and attend the duties of the Church.... At length the residentiaries were reduced to two only.... Bishop Braybrooke, to remedy this abuse, having interposed his authority, the matter was referred to arbitration of the Crown, by whom, in 1399, an order was made that residence should thereafter be kept according to the form of the Sarum Missal.... In Dean Colet’s time the statutes were revised, and it was ordered, that as the burdens of St. Paul’s were heavy, and the patrimony slender, there should in future be, under the dean as head, four, and only four, canons resident; eligible, as before, out of the senior prebendaries, offering themselves and protesting their residence, as formerly, at one of the quarterly feasts; when, if none came forward, some one should be invited to accept the office, and in case of refusal, be amerced by some pecuniary fine. The residentiaries of St. Paul’s, (p. 312,) though, in point of form, they are elective by the dean and chapter, are virtually, however, as is well known, in the patronage of the Crown; and upon every vacancy that occurs, a letter missive from his Majesty recommending some clerk, who is previously a prebendary by the collation of the bishop of London, is as certain in its operation, as the congè d’élire for the election of a bishop: by resistance, in one case, as well as the other, a præmunire would be incurred. Archdeacon Churton adds, (p. 316,) that “in the cathedral of Lincoln, the custom, in ancient times, was similar to what appears to have been the rule in St. Paul’s. Of the numerous body of prebendaries, members of that church, any one who chose it, used to protest in chapter his intention to become a residentiary, and they were obliged to admit him accordingly, upon taking the usual oath. A practice so variable and uncertain as this, being found inconvenient in many respects, it was settled and agreed in a general chapter, about three hundred years ago, with the concurrence of the bishops, that the number of residentiaries should be limited to four, who were to be the four principal persons (see Persona) of the church, as the dean, precentor, chancellor, and subdean. An alteration not very dissimilar took place at a later period, 1697, in the church of York; when, in consequence of a representation from the dean and chapter, the number of residentiaries was reduced, under a writ of privy seal, from six to four, now, as formerly, in the nomination of the dean.”