A HISTORY OF LEICESTERSHIRE strictly religious, and the advance of education and science have a large share in it. 818 In the town of Leicester alone fourteen new churches have been built since 1832. The work of supplying the needs of the rural population had begun even earlier, with the building of the Oaks Church in i8i5, 819 and since that there have been fifteen more. Modern topographical works, such as Hill's History of Langton, show us how church after church has been restored and reopened, mainly by efforts in which the whole congregation took part ; and gifts of plate to old and new altars alike have been very numerous. 820 But more remarkable than all these is the new standard of reverence and order, the change in the popular view of the priestly and pastoral office. The fulness of the post-Reformation records for this county makes it possible to measure these changes more accurately here than in some other parts of England. The visitation reports, inventories, terriers, and churchwardens' accounts of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries bring two points into special prominence. First, it is noteworthy that the general requirements of those in authority have shown very little variation for about two hundred years ; the minimum of order and decency set out in the visitation questions of Archbishop Laud in 1634 5 821 being almost exactly the same as that which satisfied Archdeacon Bonney between 1832 and 1842, and corre- sponding also to the existing facts of the Restoration period, shown in the terriers and inventories of 17089 and the churchwardens' accounts. Secondly as to services ; there is no evidence 3M that the Holy Eucharist was ever cele- brated more frequently than once a month anywhere in the archdeaconry of Leicester from the time when the angels at St. Martin's lost their wings, 888 until within the last half-century. And now a monthly celebration is the minimum not merely in Leicestershire, but throughout England ; and the green baize cloths and ragged napkins are almost forgotten. APPENDIX ECCLESIASTICAL DIVISIONS Although the see of Leicester was formed in the seventh century, it was not until 737 384 that a regular succession of bishops* 55 began with the consecration of Torhthelm. The pressure of Danish invasion resulted in the abandonment of Leicester as the bishop's stool, which was removed before 965 to Dorchester by Leofwine, 326 who united the sees of Leicester and Lindsey. 327 The seat of the bishopric remained at Dorchester until shortly after the Norman Conquest, 328 when Remigius transferred it to Lincoln. 328 Leicester was probably organized as an archdeaconry early in 118 For instance, very few churches had organs in 1 842, and many had no proper heating apparatus ; but these things can be had now with very much less expense. 19 Leu. and Rut. N. and Q. iii, 1 87. m See Trollope, Cb. Plate ofLeic. 111 See V.C.H. Bucks, i. 325-6, and the original printed notes of inquiry among the State Papers. " This must only be understood to refer to Leicestershire ; and of course the fact that there is no evidence does not prove that it never happened here ; but there is positive evidence of the customs of important churches, such as those of Leicester and Loughborough and Ashby de la Zouch, at many differing dates ; and of the whole archdeaconry from 1709 to 1842. North, Chron. of St. Martin's, 173. 14 Haddon and Stubbs, Counfi/s, iii, 127-9. *** Stubbs, Reg. Sacr. Angl. 224.
- Will, of Malmes. De Gut. Pont. (Rolls Ser.), 312. w Parker, Early Hist. ofOxf. 138.
" The date is much disputed, but it was before 1086 ; V.C.H. Line, ii, 9. " Henry of Huntingdon, Hut. Angl. (Rolls Ser.), 212; Dugdale, Mm. under Lincoln, vi, No. 3, p. 1270. 398
