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81
the Eighteenth Day of May One thousand Six hundred Eighty and four, and
to all and every other Person or Persons, other than the King's Majesty,
His Heirs and Successors, and other than the Trustees of the said Henry
late Earl of Saint Albans, or any other Person or Persons in Trust for him,
his Heirs, Executors, Administrators, and Assigns, all their Right, Title,
Interest, Claim or Demand to the Premises or any of them.
In order to procure the ministrations of a resident clergyman,
the Act provided for the appointment of a "Preacher
and Assistant to the Rector," by the Rector with the consent
of the Vestrymen. This appointment is still made. The
Preacher is required to reside in the Parish, and retains his
office for life, unless displaced for some offence or misgovernment,
or disqualified by non-residence. He receives a sum of
£100 a year from the poor rate.
That the Church has always attracted an aristocratic congregation
is apparent from the old records of social life.
Thus we read in Defoe's Journey through England (1722)
that
"St James's Church is also worth seeing, more especially on a Holiday or
Sunday, when the fine assembly of beauties and quality come there. But
there is one great fault in the churches here, and that is, that a stranger
cannot have a convenient seat without paying for it; and particularly at
St. James's, where it costs one almost as dear as to see a play."
The dramatists of the eighteenth century also refer to the
fashionable character of the congregation of St. James's.
For instance, Vanbrugh in "The Relapse, or Virtue in
Danger," speaks as follows:—
Berenthia.—Pray which church does your lordship most oblige with your
presence ?
Lord Foppington.—Oh! St. James's, madam—there's much the best
company.
Amanda.—Is there good preaching, too?
Lord Foppington Why faith, madam, I can't tell. A man must have
very little to do there that can give an account of the sermon.