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Board of Works requesting that action may be
taken to obtain an amendment in the law before
the next Election.
The Vestry agreed with the views of the Kensington
Vestry, and made communications to the Local
Government Board and Metropolitan Board of
Works accordingly.
Replies were received from the Local Government
Board acknowledging the receipt of the
Vestry's communication, and from the Metropolitan
Board of Works stating that the Board could not
obtain any amendment of the law on the subject
during the ensuing Session of Parliament.
Old Records—At the meeting of the Vestry on
21st June, 1888, the Rev. J. H. Rose, M.A., the
Vicar, said he wished to hand over to the Vestry a
collection of old papers which had recently come
into his possession, and which might prove of local
interest. They contained a statement of the poor
rata for Clerkenwell from 1796 to 1849, in fact, the
account ran on to 1867. They were not quite
complete, but they contained statements of the
poor rate, and some very interesting information
was given. Amongst other things, it appeared that
in the year 1821, a census was taken of the parish
by the churchwardens and overseers, when there
were 9,726 families in the parish; these being classified
as follows:—Engaged in Agriculture, 72; in
trade, 6,953; no occupation, 2,701. There were
then 10 parishioners over 90 years of age and under
100 years. The papers further contained a report
with reference to the Trustee Board in 1829, about
which it gave some very interesting figures. The
trustee rate of 6d. in the £ they then found brought
in £2,900; so they would see there was a great
difference in the rateable value between then and
now. The poor rate only amounted to £8,333 in