The churchwardens' accounts of St Mary's, Devizes, 1633-1689

"The period covered by these accounts of the churchwardens of the parish of Devizes St Mary, 1633-89, coincides with a tumultuous episode in the ecclesiastical history of England, between the translation of William Laud to the archbishopric of Canterbury and the passing of the Act of Toleration. They therefore provide important evidence for the study of religious practice in 17th-century Wiltshire. They are also a rich source for the social and economic history of the county, giving insight into the daily life of an important provincial town, and brimming with data about wages, prices, rents, and taxes. The parish was a landlord in its own right, and the history of its estate has been traced from the middle ages to the modern day. An appendix identifies and details each of the urban properties belonging to the church"--