This website created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

A TENTH OWING TO THE VICAR

Text first published in Along The Furlong in August 1998.

Text copyright Valerie Martin 1999

Until early in the nineteenth century, I have discovered that the Findon Tithe Owner collected from the village farmers a tenth of the annual produce from their land. This went to support the church and the clergy. The tithe would amount to the tenth sheaf of corn; the tenth calf to be born; the tenth lamb at lambing; a tenth of the wool sheared, the eggs laid, milk yielded and wood cut etc.

One of the earliest records of tithes being collected in Findon was made some six centuries ago. The incident was chronicled because a disagreement had arisen between the Prior and Monks of Sele with the incumbent of the church at Findon. The dispute involved various lands in the Manor of Findon that were owned by William de Braose, whose business it was to pass tithes to the Priory.

Many years after this argument, Findon’s Tithe Barn was built. This was designed to hold the church incumbent’s corn, or other tithes paid in kind. It stood on the opposite side of Findon's main street to the Rectory, which is now the Findon Manor Hotel. In the past, the Findon Rector generally received the Great Tithes that consisted of corn, hay and timber, and the Findon Vicar received the Small Tithes consisting of other local produce from the land in the village.

The Reverend John Hind was the much-respected vicar of Findon for twenty-six years, from 1807 until his death in 1833. He lived with his wife Penelope at the spacious flint Rectory that lay back from the main village street. The old rectory building was leased to the vicars of Findon by Magdalen College, with the result that over the centuries a distinguished succession of Magdalen men had become vicars in the village.

During the Reverend's time in Findon, Hugh Wyatt owned the Cissbury Estate and resided at Cissbury with his wife Frances. He and the Vicar, who was the titheman, disagreed on the levy and division of tithes during one particular summer’s harvesting. Following the haggling over payment, no agreement could be reached. Thinking that justice was on his side, the Reverend Hind did not let the grass grow under his feet. His men quickly sallied forth to seize his dues. They promptly marched off with a tenth of the sheaves of corn from a field at the Cissbury Estate, much to the consternation of the irate owner.

Nevertheless, the Reverend was well thought of among the village inhabitants. One summer’s day, in 1831, he received word from a local farmer that the sheep shearing had commenced, and he should hasten to receive his tithe fleeces. It was the procedure in those times to blindfold a village lad for the task, (maybe a young ploughboy, as many were employed on the land in Findon). This lad was appointed at shearing time to stand among the array of fleeces. His special task was to feel amongst the heap and choose at random those for the vicar’s tithe. The tithe due to the Reverend was twelve fleeces in this year in question of 1831.

The ten year old boy on this particular day was taking a long time in making his choice from the pile and bystanders wondered if he could, in fact, peep through his blindfold. To their questioning he answered that he could not. It was then quickly noticed that he was selecting the choice fleeces. When asked why he was picking out the largest fleeces, he promptly answered,

"I wish to give him (Reverend Hind) a good slice, for he gave me some books not long ago".

A heart warming and rewarding incident for the Reverend and Mrs Hind, just two years before the vicar’s death.

The Reverend Hind passed away in October 1833 and is buried in the churchyard of St. John the Baptist Church. Mrs. Hind was forced to vacate the Rectory that she had always loved to make way for the new vicar of Findon. She moved to an abode at the foot of School Hill — known today as The Village House. She lived there for the next thirteen years until 3rd November 1846 when she died at the age of eighty-seven.

The Tithe Commutation Act had come into being ten years earlier in 1836. This Act finally substituted monetary payment in lieu of the time honoured tithe system. For some years prior to the Act being passed, hard cash had, in fact, frequently changed hands by agreement with the parties concerned. This custom had come about for convenience sake. That is, except in Findon when accord could not be reached, as during harvesting in the case of the Reverend Hind and Hugh Wyatt, and when recourse had to be made to the ancient method of payment in kind.

Continue if you would like to read about George Booth Arrives in Findon.  He became the vicar of Findon following on from the Reverend John Hind.