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Ipswich Journal 9th November 1816 page 2 column 5

The attachment to this message relates to an Essex psychiatric hospital which has been drastically reduced in size prior to its final closure in the next year or two.
Not many people will have a direct interest in that hospital, I know,  but I thought there might be general interest in the size of the records taken into custody by the splendid Essex Record Office. It may be typical of others

...then think about this list of fees I came across at Essex Record Office whilst looking at records for Romford, Saint Edward's (reference D/P 346/1/3 fiche 1 of 7 - at beginning dated July 1771)
List of fees and dues claimed and customarily paid to the Chaplain of Romford
                                                                                                           
For burying a parishioner                                                                   4/4
For burying a stranger                                                                        8/8
For prayers in Church at a funeral for a parishioner                          7/6
exclusive of the ordinary fee
For churching a woman                                                                      1/-
Wedding with a licence                                                                     15/-
Wedding by banns                                                                               7/6
For publishing of banns                                                                       1/6
For burying any of the parish poor                                                      3/4
For opening a vault in the Church                                                    2/2/-
For opening a vault in the yard                                                         1/1/-
For making a new vault in the Church yard                                   10/10/-
For new bricking a grave                                                                  1/1/-
For opening an arch’d grave                                                                10/6
For putting down stones to a grave viz. head and foot stone               10/ 6
Certificate for baptism, marriage or burial                                             2/ 6
For searching the register                                                                       1/- 
Affidavit                                                                                                  6d

The minister generally allowed the Clerk part of the above amounts for executing his office. These amounts were either not entered at all or had become so faint as to appear illegible in the microfiche version. However the following details had been entered as “sums customarily paid to the Clerk as clerk and gravedigger”:-

Opening a vault                                                                                      5/-
Ringing the great bell for a parishioner                                                 2/6
For remains of bodies put into a shelf                                                   2/6
Digging a grave in the Church three feet deep                                     10/-
                                 do                                   for every extra foot        2/6

If you know anything about wage levels in those times you'll be able to consider what it cost ordinary people to meet these charges.

P.S. The above amounts are pre-decimal money i.e. £, s and d








 

News item in Times today:
 'THE entire collection of the world’s books, scholarly works and treasured manuscripts will soon form a vast online library free to anyone with a home computer, experts said yesterday, after a revolutionary move announced by Google, the internet search service. '

If this can be achieved with books maybe all genealogical records can be online too.