St. John The Baptist Church in the 1600's

The 17th Century

With the completion of the west tower and Morton Chapel early in the 16th century, the church was brought to its full development, and all subsequent work has been concerned solely with repairs, renewals, and the installation of fittings and various amenities. Many of such items have also been removed at various times, and the Reformation of the mid 16th century caused the removal of many of the church's ancient fittings including the old rood loft, various carved images, church plate and ceremonial robes, besides the stone altar top which in 1875 was rediscovered and restored to its original position. At the Reformation it had been effectively concealed by being disguised as a paving slab in the floor.

When the old 17th century pulpit was removed in 1875, its six panels, together with others from the readers desk and box pews, were retained and mounted as panelling on the north wall of the vestry. The pew panels are quite plain, but those of the pulpit are intricately carved with semi-circular arches and columns, decorated with strapwork patterns. (See below - click to enlarge)

The Pulpit

Many details of 17th century repair work and other items are referred to in the old churchwardens accounts which cover the period from 1608 to 1740, and the following information is extracted from them.

In 1608 there is an item concerning the font-"A cover for the vante given to the Church by John Hony". John Hony was a carpenter, and the present visible damage to the top of the font is probably the result of fitting this cover.

In 1610 the bells and frame were completely overhauled and repaired, Thomas Kinston from Salisbury being employed on the work for 14 days with local help, which cost altogether over £11. The workmen appear to have originally underestimated the cost of the work, for there is this odd item-"pd them over & a boufe or else they wold a loste by ett for I promised them befcr thaye tocke ett thay shold nott losse by ett or eles thay wold nott tacking ett att so lowe a prise ... 6s. Od.".

In 1624 £9 ls. 6d. was spent in repairs to the leadwork on the roof, and in 1628 a further £39 was spent when almost 52 tons of lead was used. A plumber named John Gaylard was employed for this work.

In 1632 and 1633 these items occur:

It. paid unto Mr. Davies for painting of the Kings
Ma : es Armes and for other worke done about the Church ......... £ 4 Os. Od.
It. Paid unto a Painter of Sarum that came to view Mr. Davies worke ....... 7s. 8d.
It, In our hands to Pay Davyes .............................. £ 4 Os. Od.

It appears that Mr. Davies was paid £8 altogether, and in view of the largeness of the sum for this period, his work might well have included painting the nave roof, especially as supervision from Salisbury seems to have been necessary. Hutchins, writing in about 1770, observed: "About a century subsequent to its erection, the roof appears to have been painted by some uneducated artist with rude conceptions of Italian character."

In 1656 the whole of the tower, bells and frame were again overhauled and repaired, when the present second bell was cast, and in 1685 much carpentry work was done, which included repairs to the pews and apparently re-roofing the porch.

In 1688, after severe gales, these items occur:

paid Nicholas Huchings for minding the windows and
ponting after the great wind .............................. £ 0 3s. 4d.
paid Edward mores for minding and pinting after the wind ......... £ 0 Is. 6d.
paid David Guy and men when the Church foundred ... £ 0 4s. 6d.
for beere ............................................................ £ 0 Os. 6d.

A large re-roofing job seems to have been undertaken in 1692 when Thomas Turberville was one of the churchwardens.

Among the more expensive items we find:

pd, Tho : Meader for 500 foot of Oaken board ......... £ 3 15s. Od.
pd. Bernard Maber for 140 Bushells of Lime ............ £ 2 6s. Od.
pd. Tho: & James Lockier towards their worke ......... £ 4 Is. 8d.
pd. Wm : Woolfrys for fetchinge 7000 of bricks ...... £ 1 3s. 4d.
pd. Robt. Strangman for 7000 of bricks .................. £ 4 4s. Od.
pd. for Timber bought at Clenston & marking money ... £ 4 18s. Od.
pd. ffor Lead & the Plumbers worke ..................... £13 6s. 7d.

As a result of this heavy expenditure Thomas Turberville seriously overspent on his year's account, causing him to remark somewhat apologetically at the end: "So that there is disburst by Tho : Turbeville Esqr., more yn. recd. £13 7s. 9d.", besides which he had not paid for the plumber's 'Dyett & Horsemeat' and a number of other items.

Bere Regis has suffered badly from fires on several occasions, the worst ones being in 1633, 1717 and 1788. The Fire Hooks below (click to enlarge) were used to strip thatch from roofs to act as a firebreak. These particular ones were stored in the Church and were used from the 17th Century onwards.

17th Century Fire Hooks