The Churchwardens’ Accounts of St. Botolph without Aldersgate, London, 1466-1500

Book excerpt: This volume contains transcriptions of rolls 1 to 20 (1466-1500) of the 105 (1466-1636) extant rolls of churchwardens’ accounts from the parish of St Botolph without Aldersgate, London. These financial records, along with assorted memoranda, are filled with information about the church, its operations, and the numerous people who repaired, maintained, and provisioned it. The churchwardens dealt with local problems and kept track of money they believed they were owed. These records not only present very detailed insights into a vanished world, but the resulting evidence augments and challenges existing theories about the fifteenth-century parish.