Town Cloth?

[BrianClaydon]

Hi everyone,

just wondering whether anyone can advise me of the meaning of 'Town Cloth given', which is recorded many times in some church chest material of Steeple Bumpstead in Essex. After this heading is a list of names and a number alongside.

is this a list of people who received charity from the Church? And the number alongside the name, the amount given? I have tried a google search but it keeps hitting dress codes for visiting religious establishments.

Any help will be gratefully received.

Kind Regards,

Brian

[oldfashionedgirl]

There is such a thing as a ‘Mort Cloth’ in Scottish records I’ve researched.
It was rented out to cover the deceased before burial.
Could the numbers be the rental cost or perhaps the lair (grave) number ?

[BrianClaydon]

Hi oldfashionedgirl,

Thanks for your post. I wondered whether it was something to do with funerals too at first, but many of the names repeat each year. The giving of 'Town Cloth' seems to occur once a year in December which suggests to me that it is some kind of charity, but I cannot find anything online to support it.

Kind regards,

Brian

[hanes teulu]

I found a reference in "The contribution or supplement of the code of Bengal military regulations" published 1799 by Henry Grace & the East India Company Army. Also found some newspaper references but again only in relation to the military. Was it an alternative name for "broadcloth?" The newspaper item (snippet 2) is from the Calcutta Gazette, May 1798. 

[JenB]

The charities include the Woolnough charity of £24 which is distributed every year in coal, the Town Cloth charity of about £4 which is distributed in cloth and Anne Cole’s charity of about £6 which is devoted to educational purposes.
https://forebears.io/england/essex/steeple-bumpstead

The original source for this is apparently Kelly's 1902 directory of Essex.

[BrianClaydon]

I found a reference in "The contribution or supplement of the code of Bengal military regulations" published 1799 by Henry Grace & the East India Company Army. Also found some newspaper references but again only in relation to the military. Was it an alternative name for "broadcloth?" The newspaper item (snippet 2) is from the Calcutta Gazette, May 1798.

Hi hanes teulu,

thank you for the post and research. I don't think it is related though. The reference is from a book which was stored in the Church in Steeple Bumpstead, Essex, UK. Each December a list of names appear under the title, 'Town Cloth given on' then the year and date in December. Many of the names repeat year to year and next to each is a number - almost certainly denoting money. I suspect it is charity payments but cannot yet corroborate that.

Best wishes,

Brian

[BrianClaydon]

The charities include the Woolnough charity of £24 which is distributed every year in coal, the Town Cloth charity of about £4 which is distributed in cloth and Anne Cole’s charity of about £6 which is devoted to educational purposes.
https://forebears.io/england/essex/steeple-bumpstead

The original source for this is apparently Kelly's 1902 directory of Essex.

Hi JenB,

thank you so much! Just looked at Kelly's directory and that looks to be the answer. Great spot! Thanks again,

Brian

[Andrew Tarr]

Might it be anything like the Dunmow Flitch ?  After all, Dunmow can't be far away ... 

[BrianClaydon]

Might it be anything like the Dunmow Flitch ?  After all, Dunmow can't be far away ... 

Hi Andrew,

thanks for the post. I think JenB has solved my riddle, but thanks for the input. I hadn't heard the term 'Dunmow Fitch' before. I wonder how much bacon they distribute each year?

Regards,

Brian