A 'Vestry' is a room in a church where clergy and choir change into their ceremonial robes (vestments). For more than 800 years, Stoke St Gregory has governed itself through a mixture of formal structures and informal local groups. The modern parish council and the Heart of the Village CBS are only the latest expressions of a long tradition of community self management — one that began in the Vestry and evolved through national reforms, local custom, and the practical need to look after shared assets.

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The Vestry Meeting

Before 1894, the Parish Vestry was the village’s main governing body. It met in the church because the parish was both a religious and a civil unit. Vestry minutes for Stoke St Gregory (held at the Somerset Heritage Centre) show how wide its responsibilities were:

• Setting the poor rate and deciding who received relief - as in 1703: "A monthly rate made for the Relief of the Poor to collect for as many months as need doth require."

• Appointing officers such as the Surveyor of Highways, Overseers of the Poor, and constables - as in 1805:

• "A meeting to choose a person as a perpetual overseer. Agreed with Mr. Wm. Brewer to act as such at £21 per annum. Also to nominated four different persons as Inspectors as an assistants to the said perpetual overseer who should attend every pay day or Vestry meeting either personally or by other assistants and for every ommission shall forfeit 5s." and in 1815: "Oct11. A vestry meeting for "choseing a Saxon" [sexton]. James Chidzoy chosen. Same day. For choseing a fit person for makeing the Parish Coffins. We agree in choice of Robert Keirle, Carpenter for the fixt price of 15s for persons above the age of 15 years and 10s for persons under that age."

• Managing land and boundaries, including drainage obligations and disputes over ditches and fences.

• Involvement in civil disputes - as in 1787: "June 29. A vestry meeting, etc. do consent and agree for the Ch. Ws. to pay for the prosecution of Henry Tuttiett and Thomas Francis for a breach of Felony against William Stawell for stealing his gees."

• Overseeing apprenticeships, settlement certificates, and bastardy bonds.

• Maintaining roads and footpaths, often by compelling labour from ratepayers.

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Although vestries existed informally earlier, they became recognisable as structured local government bodies during the Tudor period (1485–1603):

• Under the Highways Act 1555, vestries became responsible for road upkeep.

• Under the Tudor Poor Laws, vestries became responsible for administering poor relief.

 

These statutes effectively formalised vestry meetings as local administrative bodies, even though they had existed in some form for centuries.

 

The vestry was not democratic in the modern sense. Participation depended on being a ratepayer, and influence tended to cluster among a few substantial farmers or landholders. Yet it was recognisably local government: decisions were recorded, officers were appointed, and the parish collectively funded its own administration.

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The 1834 Poor Law Shockwave

The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 transformed parish governance overnight. Stoke St Gregory lost control of poor relief to the Taunton Union, and vestry minutes record local anger at the change — including the famous threatening letter warning officials they would be “ham‑stringed” if they enforced the new rules.

This moment marks the beginning of the vestry’s decline. With poor relief gone, its responsibilities narrowed to highways, rates, and local nuisances. The next major upheaval was the creation of Parish Councils under the 1894 Local Government Act . . . .  (To be Continued in the Autumn. Thank you for reading, and have a good summer.)