8 Finance

Jesus said, ‘This poor widow has put in more than all the others.  All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.’
Luke, chapter 21, verses 3-4

In the Athenaeum Library, Liverpool, there is a small notebook headed in beautiful Victorian copperplate script ‘Great Crosby 2^nd February 1836 A rate of One Penny in the Pound for the Repairs of Great Crosby Chapel’.  Inside is a record of the ratepayers and the amount they paid, together with some of the pew-rents for the year.  What a contrast to the twelve page computer printout of the 2002 accounts!  Finance has become an increasingly important and complex aspect of the running of the Church.

In the time of St Michael’s Chapel there was no diocesan quota, with its complicated formula for collecting in and dispersing money for payment of clergy stipends.  There was a much simpler exercise involving an endowment for the particular church and its incumbent.  In addition the finances of the chapel were entirely in the hands of Sefton church.  In 1650, for example, John Kidd, an able minister, had all the tithes of the township, amounting to £30 a year, except a fifth which was payable to Mrs Moreton, wife of the ejected rector of Sefton.  In 1825 Joseph Clark was licensed to the stipendiary curacy of Great Crosby at a stipend of £100 ‘or of fifty pounds per annum with Meat, Drink and suitable Lodging in my own House’ (ie the perpetual curate’s house).  This was only a fraction of the stipend of the rector of Sefton.  Even much later, in 1896, the endowment of St Luke’s was £290 (equivalent to £22,000 of today’s money) while that of Sefton was over four times that amount.  In addition, free accommodation was provided and clergy at the time might have significant private means or other salaried employment outside the church, such as teaching.  Joseph Clark for example received money from land he held in his ancestral Askham in Cumbria and had also been headmaster of Merchant Taylors’ School.

Pew-rents were the most important way of collecting money for the running expenses of the church and budgeting for them.  In the financial year 1847/8 the receipts from pew-rents at St Michael’s Chapel (St Luke’s predecessor) amounted to £40 10s 11½d, and the payments to £53 11s 10d.  The largest single payment went to the sexton (£14 14s 4d), followed by the clerk at £10 19s 10d, but the organist was paid £4 10s quarterly, making a total of £18 per annum in total, equivalent to well over £1000 today.

A page from the 1836 Rate Book.  In the first column is a check mark for payment, in the second the ratepayer’s name, in the third the assessment of his or her property for rateable purposes, and in the fourth the amount payable.  This was one (old) penny in the pound.  All householders in Great Crosby were liable for this rate; all were churchgoers, in theory at least.

In 1899 the sexton still received only £14 but the expenses on the choir and organist had increased over fivefold to £105, which may reflect the increased importance of this, and the bell ringers received £31, an additional item which presumably was incurred when the bells were installed in the 1860s.

Offertories (ie church collections) were another way of raising money in the 19^th century.  In 1899 these amounted to £297 (all figures rounded to the nearest pound), equivalent to about £23,000 at today’s prices.  Most of these were in the form of special collections on specific days, usually at the beginning and end of the month, and were devoted to various causes: Easter offering, presumably to the vicar (£14), and most of the rest to charities (those marked* still survive): Home Charities (Poor) (£27), Church Pastoral Aid Society* (£9), The Waifs and Strays (£11), London Jews Society (£5), Scripture Readers Society (£11), Mersey Mission to Seamen (now Seafarers)* (£14), Liverpool and Bootle Hospitals (£19), Church of England Temperance Society (£6), Endbutt Lane Mission (£3) and the Church Missionary Society* (£11).  These figures have to be multiplied by at least seventy to give present day equivalents, and it is interesting to compare these with 2002 figures when charitable giving alone came to £39,400, with 70% of the money going overseas (compared with only 10% in 1899).

A rate demand slip from the 1840s.

In 1899 all the charitable giving amounted to £114, but nearly as much as this, £105, went to one single item, the Curate Fund (there was no endowment for curates, as there was for vicars).  Contributions for this were collected on various occasions throughout the year.  Church expenses received £26 from ‘Offertories’ but were funded largely by pew-rents which amounted to £209 with special collections bringing in another £18.  In other words over 40% of the income of the church came from pew-rents, and this was guaranteed money which could be budgeted in advance.  In 1899, the amount paid by individuals to rent their pew for the year ranged from what could be the ‘widow’s mite’ of 6s 3d (about £20 today) to £5 17s 6d (about £500).

However, occupancy of pews could and did cause problems.  As early as 1723, the chapel warden, in order to satisfy the Visitor, had to declare that there was ‘no Strife or Contention’ for seats.  There was the danger that seats might be rented out to the equivalent of absentee landlords, who deprived common folk of the opportunity of sitting in good seats or even of having any seats at all.  Some pews were obtained honourably.  In 1769, for example, when money was being raised for the rebuilding of the chapel, a receipt was written and signed by the incumbent, the Revd Wilfred Troutbeck as follows: ‘Received of Mr Hatton the sum of ten pounds, ten shillings, being his subscription for rebuilding the Chapel at Great Crosby and for which he is to have one of the ten double pews in the aforesaid Chapel.’ These ten guineas are the equivalent of over £1100 today.  There was also the question of prestige.  In the early nineteenth century, it was stated that ‘The North Aisle contained the free seats and pews for the general parishioners, while the South Aisle was the more aristocratic one…The first pew on the left of the latter sat the late Dr May and his bride; then came the Richmonds, the Hutchinsons, the Myers and the Gerrards whilst on the right side sat the Waddingtons, the Rothwells, the Mawdsleys, the Bradshaws and the Leatherbarrows.’  (Reflections and Reminiscences by ‘JS’ about ‘Crosby Old Church’).  Pews had been sold in the previous church
but there was a court ruling that they could not be sold on after the death of the holder.  The situation was very confused.  In 1849 James Gerrard, the chapel warden, wrote to the chancellor of the diocese: ‘A few of the pews have names painted on them, a few have the same on brass plates inside the doors, of persons principally non-residents, who claim as the owners.  One of these names is Wilfred Troutbeck, whether that of a former incumbent…or his grandson of the same name, a non-resident and owning no property in the Chapelry, I cannot tell.’  James was asking for the chancellor’s advice and protection as he was afraid that lawsuits might be brought against him by some of the congregation who refused to pay rent and felt that they had been unlawfully deprived of the use of ‘their’ pews.  In the same year the Chester Courant published articles about abuses of the pew system, copies of which are in the churchwardens’ account books, so it was obviously an issue at the time in the church.  There was another similar case in the south, also recorded in the accounts, where one party had taken someone else’s pew thus provoking a lawsuit with the pew-holder.  St Luke’s was built with 692 places and of these 324 were free seats, expressly to cater for the needs of the poor.  This compared with only 40 free seats out of a total of 280 in the old church.  In the 1880s and 1890s the first bishop of Liverpool, John Charles Ryle, was unhappy about the lack of free places in some churches but could not himself create more by abolishing pew-rents.  They were of course a valuable source of income and many churches could not afford to do without it.  In 1936, a meeting of pew-holders complained that they sometimes found their seats already occupied by others when they arrived at church – not surprisingly, since for a parish of 14,000 there were only 200 free seats (under and in the gallery) at St Luke’s and 250 at All Saints’.  Some young people would occupy unauthorised pews for devilment.  The problem was most acute at the evening service when the churchwardens had to find seats for large numbers whom the free seats would not accommodate.  Hence Powell Miller offered free seats at the new 8.30 pm service but in the following year, 1937, the PCC voted to end the practice of pew-rents, hoping that ‘the loss of financial support will be made good by voluntary contributions from pewholders’.  The resolution was carried with no one voting against it and there were actually offers of increased contributions.

The offertories from the 1899 accounts.
[click here for a larger copy]

By this time pew-rents were not producing nearly as high a proportion of the income for the church as 30 years before.  In the accounts for 1932 pew-rents (£196) amounted to less than that in 1899, which admittedly was before a number of the wealthy congregation moved to the new St Michael’s church – and the value of the pound had halved.  The collections, swollen by the much larger numbers sitting in the free seats, amounted to £518.  In other words, pew-rents now accounted for less than 30% of the total income.  However, the value of this income was barely more than in 1899, maybe a reflection of the economic depression of the 1930s.  In view of this, the amount raised by bazaars is astounding, possibly accounted for by the lack of alternative forms of entertainment which are so prolific today.

It cannot be a coincidence that a free-will offering scheme was introduced at the same time.  A year later there were 270 participants in the envelope scheme but the vicar was appealing for a hundred more to give ‘security from financial anxiety which would enable the church leaders to give their whole mind to the essential work of the ministry and the task of evangelisation which is our real business’.  Previously, besides pew-rents, income had come from special appeals, quarterly collections and retiring collections, but the new system enabled the church to pay the diocesan assessment in full for the first time.  In addition to this, parishioners were being called on to contribute to the Bishop’s Seven Years’ Scheme for building new churches that was started in 1935.  Contributions were collected by ‘couriers’ appointed specifically by the diocese to do this by visiting homes.  Stamp cards were given to those willing to pay one penny a week (today about 15p).  The couriers also served an evangelistic purpose as part of the lay ministry.  By 1938 these collections totalled £444, equivalent to over half the annual income of the Church.

Cover of the 1928 bazaar programme.

Bazaars had been a way of raising money in the 19^th century and grew in scale.  In 1928 a ‘Grand Bazaar’ was held in the Parish Hall (now the Comrades Club), Liverpool Road, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 1, 2 and 3 November.  The ‘Official Handbook and Souvenir’, price 6d, consisted of 94 pages containing photographs of the vicar and the church, with an etching of the old St Michael’s church, and notes by ‘the late John Shearson, Esq.’ on ancient Crosby, and a church history.  The bazaar, organised by an ‘Executive Committee’, headed by the Vicar, ‘Rev. Ed. Hartley, M.A.’, opened each day at 3 pm.  Prices of admission were 1/- until 5 pm on Thursday and Friday, and 6d thereafter and all day Saturday.  Each day started with an opening ceremony with a celebrity (Thursday: ‘The Right Hon. The Earl of Derby, K.G., G.C.B., G.C.V.O.’) introduced by a chairman (Saturday: ‘Capt. Malcolm Bullock, M.P.’) and a supporting speaker (Thursday: ‘Rev. Canon Wells, M.A.’, rector of Sefton).  ‘The Objects of our Bazaar’ were to complete the fund for the renovation of the organ (£250), to add to a curacy endowment fund (£120) and to pay off debts: a small one on the church magazine and a much larger one of £1700 still outstanding on the parish hall, a total of £80,000 in today’s money – and it was exceeded.  The stalls were the Congregational, the Mothers’ Union, Pottery, Girls’ Friendly Society and Young People’s Union, Sewing Party, Fruit and Flower, Day and Sunday School, Bag and Handkerchief, Organ, Produce, and Toys, Books and White Elephant.  There was also a wishing-well, and refreshment stall and café, with teas for 1/- and suppers at 2/- and 2/6.  You could ‘consult the Palmist on the stage’ for 2/6 and Miss Dora Owen’s Ladies’ Orchestra presented a varied programme of music, afternoon and evening, including the Vagabond King, Lilac Time and other popular items of the day.  Sideshows and competitions included Hoop-La (‘You come in your Ford and go away in your Rolls’), Digging for Gold (‘Why go to Klondike?’) and Magic Wheel.  There were dramatic entertainments in the Billiard Room.  There was a ‘Bazaar Bank’, a form of saving whereby you could buy coupons in advance for any value from 1d to 2/6, to be spent at the Bazaar.  The St Luke’s Boy Scouts Troop acted as messengers to deliver parcels and letters anywhere in Crosby for 4d, and would deliver telegrams to any part of the hall for 1d, a prize being given to the one who received the most telegrams.  The scouts also ran a ‘Gentlemen’s Cloak Room service @ 3d per person’, the Ladies’ Committee doing the same for the Ladies.  The parish hall was an excellent venue for the event, with its large ballroom, spacious supper room and wide corridors packed with people of all ages from every parish in the district.

Offertories and charitable collections from the 1932 accounts.

Much fund raising for the church has been achieved as a spin off from the numerous activities, or by individuals working ceaselessly in a small way.  Typical of those who have been lifelong workers for church funds was a Mrs Mawdsley who lived at the bottom of St Luke’s Road.  She made a substance from brick dust which was used for cleaning knives.  As her house overlooked the park, she kindly allowed any sick children to come into her room and rest for a while.  They could watch the others playing in the park who could then wave back to them.  A relation, Miss Mona Mawdsley, who lived a few doors up the road features in another fund-raiser, the St Luke’s Calendar of 1935.  This was a ‘Thought-a-Day’ calendar with a quotation for each day contributed by friends of St Luke’s and compiled by the committee of the Ladies’ Sewing Party.  Mona’s quotation was ‘Be strong, be good, be true’, the vicar’s quotation for February 15: ‘One, with God, is a majority’ and his ‘Wish for New Year’s Day and Every Day’:

Since Time began, “To-day” has been the Friend of Man,
You and To-day – a soul sublime
And the great pregnant hour of time,
With God between to bind the twain,
Go forth I say, attain, attain!

The January page of the 1935 ‘Thought-a-Day’ calendar.

Both the congregation and those in the parish, whether churchgoers or not, have responded most readily to special appeals.  When the need is urgent, and the reasons clearly explained, and the results there for all to see, people give with extraordinary generosity.  For example, in Raymond Lee’s time, there were calls for contributions to the building of the new hall, the restoration fund for the church, the extension to the hall, and the need for a salary for a parish worker (Frances Briscoe) who joined the church in 1975.  These special appeals and the gift days were as significant as the bazaars and other fund raising activities.

Donations summary from the 2002 accounts, with the 2001 figures for comparison.

Finance is now under the control of parochial church councils which were established in 1921.  A standing committee might deal with urgent, specialized matters.  When the amount of business increased with synodical government and greater laity participation in the running of the church, subcommittees were formed, eg ‘Building’ in 1978, followed by ‘Group Reports’.  For a time, in the early 1980s, three committees, A, B and C were formed to which were delegated items which needed detailed examination.  These were assigned on the basis of the group’s availability of time and their character or composition.  Then in 1983 more permanent and specialised subcommittees were introduced to cover worship, growth and care, evangelism, service and resources.  A new structure was introduced in 1986, with a standing committee and teams, for example maintenance and pastoral leadership.  This has developed into the system which we have now, being continuously adapted to the requirements of the day.  At present, the structure is a standing committee (urgent and financial matters), shared ministry team (formerly the local ministry team, and having a visionary role), premises committee, personnel committee (review of paid staff), Tuesday forum (formerly staff meeting, co-ordination of day-to-day activities) and safety committee.

The tables below, with some modern equivalents, show some general trends in the level of income, giving and expenditure over the years.  It must be remembered that before the last world war there was gross inequality in clergy stipends compared with others both inside and outside the church.  In 1921 for example the average clergy stipend was £426 while bishops received over ten times that amount.  In 1939 out of the 12719 incumbencies, two thirds had an endowment income of less than £400.  In 1950 the vicar was still being remunerated through the endowment fund, though this would have been increased by specific additional funds being provided from other sources.  In the 1970s the church nationally did away with the old system of remunerating the clergy and took over endowment funds as well as any land belonging to the individual churches.  A central fund was formed with the result that all the clergy were paid on a standard basis.  This resulted in the majority receiving increases though a small minority lost out where they had been appointed to wealthy parishes.  By the 1980s deeds of covenant helped to enhance the income and these have now been replaced by the gift aid scheme for the recovery of tax on charitable giving.

Some items of income

Some items of expenditure

It will be seen that planned giving has increased significantly in relation to collections on the plate.  Total income has increased very much in real terms and even more so when you take into account the decrease in the number of contributors.  In 1937, for example, the electoral roll contained 2674 names, the second largest in the diocese, and in 1938 there were even more, compared with 333 in 1986 and about the same number now.  In other words nearly ten times the number on roll in the 1930s contributed less than half the amount, in real terms, of those of 2001.  This is also true of charity giving, though to a lesser degree.

There is a marked decrease in expenditure through the years on the organist, choir and bell-ringers.  Increase in expenditure has been most marked in the area of salaries, compared with inflation.  Since 1985 the parish share to the diocese has trebled and the salaries of others supporting the vicar and the work of the parish have increased fifteen times.  This increase reflects not only the amount of administration needed to run a modern parish but also the employment of a church family worker for mission and innovative work, combined with the necessity to make the most of the supremely precious resource, that of salaried ordained ministry.

The need for expenditure on repairs has increased, although this does not show up in the table, largely because of self-help and other priorities taking precedence.  There is an ageing church with more regulations, higher expectations of maintenance and more exacting standards.

Thus the overall conclusion must be that the financial demands made on each individual member of the congregation are greater than they have ever been, and the consequent difficulties and complexity of the treasurer’s task have increased too.  For this both congregation and treasurers through the years deserve every commendation.