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A HISTORY OF LEICESTERSHIRE Sacrament. It was noticed at the same time that the incumbent of Elmes- thorpe was ' in exile ' probably because he could not accept the principles of the Marian reaction. The chief complaint, however, at this visitation was not so much of heresy as of the poverty of certain benefices, long vacant because no one could be found to serve them for so little. Ten churches besides Elmesthorpe were without parson or vicar : and it is a significant fact that eight of these had once been appropriate to religious houses. The rectors of Waltham-on-the- Wolds, Galby, Kibworth Beauchamp, Coston, Higham-on-the-Hill, and Kegworth, and the vicar of Stonesby, were non- resident : and there was a report that Medbourne and Higham-on-the-Hill had been obtained by simony. Ten chancels 135 were in great ruin usually by the fault of an absentee rector. The chapel of Gaddesby was in very bad condition, and its altar had not been restored : but a certificate was handed in to show that it was about to be repaired. In other cases a definite time was appointed for carrying out repairs ; and the absentees were ordered to do their duty. In 1558 the brief triumph of the 'old religion' came to an end. The newly-built altars and rood lofts were taken down, the vestments sold, the churches white-washed, the commandments and sentences of Scripture were written upon the walls. These changes were carried out with varying degrees of speed, according to the temper of the different incumbents and congregations ; but even the reluctant could not long escape notice. 136 At St. Martin's the altar was removed at once, but the rood loft was not taken down till 1561, and though the eucharistic vestments and a quantity of brass were quickly sold, 137 the copes, albs, and towels for use at the altar lingered till 1564. The 'reforms' which follow seem to us nowadays too drastic: but it must have been very hard at that time to know exactly where to stop. In 1562 some windows were defaced; in 1565 the organs were pulled down ; in 1566 the paintings or sculptures on the pulpit were taken away; in 1567 the 'minister's seat' was turned about that he might face the people ; in 1568 the eagle lectern was sold as suggestive of popery ; in 1569 the last fragments of the great cross, which had once given its popular name to the church, were carried ofF; in 1570 the heads were cut down from all images which were part of the fabric and not easy to remove, the angels' wings were broken, and all the errors and superstitions of the past finally buried in a shroud of white lime. 138 The churchwardens' accounts of St. Margaret's tell a similar tale. In 1568 the new vicar, Mr. John Launde, ' with the consent of his loving parishioners did extirp and pull down all monuments of superstition out of the said prebendal church.' ' I pray God so kepe ytt,' adds the devout chronicler. 139 15 Thurlaston, Barkby, Belgrave, Prestwold, Kirby Bellars, Loddington, Owston, Lubenham, Great Bowden, Breedon-on-the-Hill. 38 It is noted in the churchwardens' accounts of St. Martin's that in 1568 'we was suspended for lackinge a by ble' perhaps for the use of the congregation, as there was certainly one in the church already ; showing that Mr. Commissary ' took careful note of the churches he visited. North, Chronicle of St. Martin's, 170. " Their sale in this year shows how the much disputed ' Advertisements ' were understood at the time. 8 North, Chronicle of St. Martin's, 143-73. " Nichols, Leu. i, 560, from Peck MSS. Here in 1559 we find, 'for taking down the angels 8< ' ; and vestments, copes, brass, &c. were sold every year till 1565, when the rood loft was taken down. The organ was sold in 1569, and the eagle lectern in 1570 : so that the whole work was complete about the same time as at St. Martin's. 372