PARISH GOVERNMENT AND POOR RELIEF
The surviving court rolls (1528-84) of the manor
of Little Laver consist only of
odd membranes, many illegible
as a result of decay. (fn. 64) Only one
legible membrane records proceedings at a court leet. This
court, which was held in 1564, was attended by a jury
of eleven.
The parish records of Little Laver are brief and uninformative. Only three isolated memoranda survive
before 1705. These are included in the parish register
for 1538-1773; (fn. 65) they are the minutes of the vestry
held at Easter 1663 and two other memoranda, of
1668 and 1684, also in the form of vestry minutes. A
vestry minute-book survives for 1705-1944, (fn. 66) but until
the end of the 19th century the minutes were rarely
signed, except in the period 1709-14, and did no more
than record the appointment of officers and their
annual balances. Overseers' account books and rate
books survive only after 1836. (fn. 67)
Vestry meetings were held at Easter in each year and
from 1725, if not before, there were also regular meetings at Christmas. Occasionally, until 1735, there
were meetings at other times also.
The minutes of the vestry held at Easter 1663 were
signed by the rector and seven parishioners. The
resolution of 1668 was signed by the rector and one
parishioner and that of 1684 by the rector and three
parishioners. The minutes for the period 1705-9 are
imperfect but in 1706 and 1708 they appear to have
been signed only by the rector. From 1709 until 1714
the minutes were usually signed by the rector and by
the parishioners present; it seems from these signatures
and from those which appeared occasionally after 1715
that the number of persons attending the meetings
varied between two and four.
The main work of the vestry consisted in appointing officers and approving their accounts. In the first
part of the 18th century at least, however, vestry meetings were held as required to regulate the allotment of
parish apprentices and the distribution of weekly doles
and allowances.
In 1614 there were two churchwardens. (fn. 68) At Easter
1663, however, only one was elected for the following
year and it is clear that during the period 1705-1844
there was never more than one. It was usual to spend
many consecutive years in this office. From 1844 until
1852 there were two churchwardens each year, one
being elected by the rector and the other by the
parishioners. From 1852 only one seems to have been
elected.
There were two overseers in each of the years 1613
and 1614. (fn. 69) In 1663 and each year from 1709 until
1742 one overseer was appointed. These officers
usually served for one year only, but occasionally for
two consecutive years. They were evidently chosen
on a rota system. On four occasions during the period
1709-42 a woman, Mrs. Collins, was nominated overseer but on at least two of these occasions, in 1721 and
1729, a man was appointed to serve the office for her.
The minutes of the vestry held at Easter 1730 recorded,
however, that 'Mrs. Collins overseer gave up her
account at this vestry for the year 1729'.
There was never more than one constable for the
parish. (fn. 70) It was customary for this officer to serve at
least two years consecutively and sometimes much
longer.
One surveyor of highways was appointed in each of
the years 1614 (fn. 71) and 1663. Only ten appointments to
this office were recorded in the vestry minute-book
after 1705; these were for the years 1725 and 1729
and for most years between 1758 and 1767. These
appointments show that in the 18th century one surveyor was appointed annually in December.
In the period 1705-42 the overseers, churchwardens,
and constables each submitted a separate annual account to the vestry at Easter. No record of overseers'
accounts was kept in the surviving vestry minute-book
after 1742. A separate overseers' account book was,
however, probably kept from this time when, in other
parishes in the hundred, (fn. 72) the cost of poor relief was
increasing. The churchwardens and constables continued to account separately to the vestry until 1836,
after which no more constables' accounts appear in the
minute-book. In the period 1758-67 the surveyors
submitted an annual account to the vestry in December.
In 1836 the rateable value of the parish was about
£545. (fn. 73)
There was a parish poorhouse in Little Laver,
situated on the east side of the road to Matching Green,
about ½ mile to the north-west of the church. (fn. 74) In
May 1836 the overseer paid £4 14s. 'at the workhouse'. (fn. 75) In 1837 and 1838 he received rent for the
property. (fn. 76) By 1848 it belonged to C. P. Meyer and
was said to comprise two cottages. (fn. 77) It was refaced
with flint rubble and largely rebuilt during the second
half of the 19th century by Herman P. D. Meyer. It
now forms two small dwellings, called Stone Cottages.
They are timber-framed internally and may have an
18th-century or earlier origin.
In most cases poor relief was given, in various forms,
outside the poorhouse. In each of the years 1813-15
there were 8 to 9 adults on 'permanent' outdoor relief. (fn. 78)
Provision for the poor was made in various ways
including the binding out of paupers' children as
apprentices, the payment of allowances for lodging,
the provision of clothes and the payment of weekly
doles. The memorandum of 1668 recorded that the
inhabitants whose names were subscribed consented
that Thomas Ansell be transported 'into his Majesty's
plantations of the Barbadoes', he having acknowledged
himself willing to go.
It was agreed at a vestry held in 1709 that four
parishioners should each take a parish apprentice for
three years, and at another vestry held in 1714 that
William Clemmory should receive 20s. a quarter for
providing his mother with 'meals, drink, washing and
lodging only sickness excepted' and that the overseer
should buy her a gown and a petticoat. Before this
Clemmory had already received 10s. from the overseer
to buy bedding for her. At the same vestry it was
agreed that the widow Oram should receive a weekly
dole of 3s. Other doles recorded soon after this date
ranged from 1s. to 2s. 6d. a week.
In 1613-14 the cost of poor relief was £1. (fn. 79) In
1776 it was £65 and in 1783-5 it averaged £77 a
year. (fn. 80) In the hard years which opened the 19th
century it rose to about £200. (fn. 81) The sums recorded
for the years 1800-17 show a minimum of £100 in
1803-4 but the cost was above £160 in almost every
other year, 1812-13 and 1816-17 being particularly
expensive years at £241 and £231 respectively. (fn. 82)
In 1836 Little Laver became part of the Ongar Poor Law Union.