Diary of Rev Edward Stevens

Visited school. Yesterday I offered a small money prize to children who should write on paper correctly from memory Byron’s poem “The Defeat of Sennacherib“. W. Rimmell and Emma Webb did it very well indeed and I gave them 6d each.

Visited:

Sarah Barnes, Anna Wilks, Lydia Aris, Ezra Green’s wife, Miss Somerton, John West’s wife, Thomas Henry Hone’s wife, Tailor Hall, Eli Webb’s wife.

Widow Ann Lines – gave her 3/- extra on her ticket to help her to get some clothing for her boys as she has promised to send them to the Sunday School. She tells me her eldest (age 18) boy was out of work 5 months last winter and she had to use all her clothing club money to buy her children food.

Mrs Reason and read and prayed with her husband who is of weak intellect and confined to his bed. Also Mrs Reason on the hill.

Ezra Hillman who seems very poorly. Wrote to Lord Saye and Sele a week or two ago to ask if he could give me a letter for Brompton Consumption Hospital for him, but I have not heard from him yet.

Visited Sewing Club held at Widow Hillman’s. Gave some of the women who were there their Clothing Club tickets. Some of them would like to have them a week or two earlier another year when the days are longer than now. At present they find it beginning to get dark before they can complete their shopping in Banbury.

Visited:

• Buckingham who has been laid up since Sunday.
• Mrs Samuel Lines, not at home
• Mrs H. Woolgrove, not at home
• Mrs Haynes senior
• Mrs Haynes junior.

Visited school. St Andrew’s Day. Divine Service at 10. Read some special collects for missions, but did not have evening service as I purpose preaching for missions on Sunday next.

J Horsman, mason, called for payment for work at farm and school £3.7.6. I spoke to him about his coming to church so seldom. He said the free seats were so narrow that he could not sit on them, having a lame leg. I told him I thought he could afford to pay 5/- a year for a seat in one of the pews. He said he would like to do so and so would his eldest daughter who is in service with Mrs Green the Quakeress. I told him he should speak to Mr Woolgrove about the matter and this he promised to do.

Drove to Banbury. Paid Robins for iron rods supplied for school room, and Dean for some flannel etc supplied for Charity.

Mr Hiorns who is Waywarden called this evening and asked me to write notices for a vestry to be held in schoolroom on Wednesday evening next at 6 o’clock to say whether a certain road which runs from his house round the west end of the village should be repaired by the parish, and as to other roads too.