Page:The History of the Church & Manor of Wigan part 2.djvu/55

234 Wildbore, who received a yearly stipend of £16, besides his diet, and Mr. Tempest, who received £8 a year.

The question had been raised before the four commissioners appointed by the Crown with respect to the liability of the parishioners to provide bread and wine for the Holy Communion, as to which the archbishop then said he would himself take order. In the Wigan Leger, apparently under the date of 20th August, 1618,there is the following memorandum with respect to this matter: "Md. I convened the parishioners about providing for wine for the communions; and some of them objected prescription that the parson to find it at his own charge, alledging time out of mind it had been so: and they brought in old John Bullock to prove it, who offered to lay his hand on a book and swear that during all his remembrance the parson had found the bread and wine at all communions at his own charge. I asked if he knew the parson provide it in Queen Mary's dayes? He answered yea: but for the parishioners [I asked] or only for the priests? Yea, quoth he, for all the parishioners: nay, said I, for in Queen Marye's days they received no comunions publickly in the church, neither was it permitted the laity to receive the cup: whereupon the old false man replied, to [thou] art to [too] young to tell me what was done in Queen Marye's days; I will swear that here (standing in the old chancell) the parish were wont to drinck of the cup at comunions usually, and I myself have often done it here in publick with many more, and all at the parson's charge; and he was ready to have kissed the book, before some told him he should take heed, for the Councell of Trent, &c., had forbidden that the cup should be administered to the laity, and this was generally observed in time of Popery. And because they had alledged custome for it, I told them good Lawes were made to take away unreasonable customes, and that the Statute Law had provided that the Bread and Wine should be provided at the