Stoke & Staffordshire

Descendants of the Mercer family came to view the old documents

Villagers at Harlaston in Staffordshire are welcoming home some historic documents which were unearthed recently in a collection in New Zealand.

The 200-year-old accounts of St Matthew's Church outline the work of local churchwardens, whose duties included collecting sparrows' heads.

Mary Tiso, a current churchwarden said: "We recognise names of long-standing local families in the accounts."

The volume is now being stored at the Staffordshire Record Office.

Export licences

The accounts of Harlaston Church, near Tamworth, between 1777 and 1850 turned up at Dunedin Public Library in New Zealand, earlier this year.

It is believed they entered the collection of local bibliophile Sir Alfred Reed sometime during the early 20th century before being donated to the library.

After contact between Dunedin Library and the Staffordshire County Archives, export licences were sought and acquired.

Villagers were allowed to see the volume back at its original home of St Matthew's for some days in mid-December.

Members of the locally-established Mercer family, many of whom still live nearby, were present.

Sparrow heads

Churchwardens were required to keep detailed accounts of their expenditure, of which this volume is an example.

They would have to maintain the churchyard, the church clock and bells, as well as make the payments for cleaning and bell ringing.

One of their unusual duties was the control of vermin. The animals' heads were shown to the churchwardens, who paid a price to the catcher.

Sparrows were classed as vermin in the past. In 1788 alone the Harlaston churchwardens paid local people for a total of 1,560 sparrows' heads.

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