Hello,
Yes, my experience has provided me with one clear example of an incumbent's liberal interpretation of the law: the burial of one member of one of my own ancestral families records her as being a 'p'. Whether pauper or poor was intended is impossible to discern, now. But, the following excerpts from the Overseers Accounts of Ospringe, Kent have built a picture around 'Master Ruck', and perhaps extended that to other members of his family, of "being in need" but not necessarily poor enough to warrant routine weekly or daily parish payments:
Oct 28, 1785 Paid Ruck for rent, by Vestry order 2:2:0
Sept 3, 1786 Master Roock in need [no amount recorded]
May 31, 1787 Master Rook's house money 0:10:0
Apr 27, 1788 Master Ruck, by order of Vestry 0:10:6
The term 'Master' in the above references was used to denote economic status rather than age-related status. 'Master' Ruck was the head of his own family and at the time of these entries in the Overseer's Accounts his own parents were dead as were all of his brothers and most of his sisters.
On the whole, the family to which 'Master' Ruck belonged were yeoman, esquires and gentlemen. Supporting this description of status is a diary that was found at the Centre for Kentish Studies that had been written by a cousin who had been a first cousin, twice removed to this family at Ospringe. In that diary the cousin goes to great trouble to describe the lifestyle of the family at Ospringe, which included carriages, teams of horses and many servants. Yet, at the time that one of Master Ruck's daughter's died, she was described as being 'poor' in the register, effectively relieving the family of any responsibility of payment of the tax for her burial.
Authority for this can perhaps be found in Section VII of the Act, which was worded very broadly in respect of defining who could be buried exempt from the tax, particularly in relation to those who were buried
"at the sole Expence [sic] of any Charity".
Despite there being no payments recorded in the Overseer's Accounts for the daughter, or for aspects of her burial (usually noted as the parish having paid a fellow for the making of a casket), she and her parents were exempted of the tax. One can only surmise that, in light of the reliance of her father upon parish relief from time-to-time, that an exemption from the tax was allowed as he likely petitioned one of the small local alms houses or charities for funds to cover her burial expenses.
A similar liberal interpretation of who was qualified for exemption from payment for the tax in relation to baptisms can also be found in the wording of Section VII, vizt.
"...of any Child whose Parents shall receive, at the Time of the Birth and Christening of such Child, any Parish Relief."
I would think, based on my experience with Overseers Accounts, not only in relation to my own family but to others, as well, that it would be made relatively clear from those accounts if a family qualified for exemption based upon being in receipt of "any Parish Relief", which could range from a simple payment for clothes or shoes to weekly payments of poor relief. In any one case, if suspicion exists as to the economic status of a family, I would strongly urge the examination of the Overseer's Accounts for records of payments made to or on behalf of that family.
Generally, I have noticed a high incidence of 'P' descriptions attached to baptisms and burials in the registers of some parishes. Other registers are unusually lacking in what one would consider to be a reflection of an average occurrence of poor within a parish. Without having examined the Overseer's Accounts of every parish where anomalies have been found, I can only think that perhaps the high incident rate of baptisms and burials exempt from the tax were performed by overtly sympathetic clerics. It seems that many clerics were highly sensitive and empathetic to the stringent economic realities endured by the members of their congregation and did what they could, within the confines of secular and ecclesiastical law, to relieve the expense of unpopular taxes.
Again, sorry for the long-winded reply, but hopefully, I've added some grain of practical knowledge to your storehouse.
Regards,
Susan
