Diary of Rev Edward Stevens

Mr Elley came this evening with his school accounts, and stayed to supper as usual.

Visited Phoebe Payne.

Bell and I visited William Hall and Sarah Hone his mother.

Mr Woolgrove called this morning about the insurance of the Church. We have hitherto paid £2.6.6 per annum as insurance on £2000 in “Lancashire” or “Liverpool” I forget which – of which Mr W. Fox is agent. Mr Prescott of Banbury, Agent to the Hand in Hand offers to take it at 1/6 per cent and to return ¼ of the premium annually as a bonus after the second payment. Mr W. wanted me to give him the old policy in order to have a new one prepared on similar lines, but it appeared that F. Inns the people’s Churchwarden had obtained it from C. Barnes. I sent about from one to another for it and at last some one found it in Inns’s coat pocket – his wife, I believe, thought he could not be found, being away at work. I told Charles that in future he must not give anything out of the iron chest without my orders, except in my absence, when my Churchwarden would act on my behalf. Valuable documents were likely to be lost if such a rule were not attended to.