ABSTRACT
The government of the College was vested in the Provost and Fellows, and the chief officials, after the Provost, were the Vice Provost and two Bursars chosen from among the Fellows. The Bursars collected the College income, derived principally from rents of estates, administered expenditure and kept the accounts. The number of residents was reduced in 1467 when the College income fell temporarily from £1,500 to £370 owing to the loss of royal patronage :3 the bedesmen were then abolished, the quota of scholars, chaplains and clerks curtailed and there were never subsequently more than 7 fellows. From the sixteenth century the community, apart from the commoners, consisted of 120-140 persons, including 70 scholars, 10 choristers, 12-25 servants and a few chaplains, clerks and minor officials. The College income was variable and, owing to changes in methods of accounting, cannot always be estimated : expenditure usually varied between £700-£l,200 to 1560, £l,200-£2,000 thence to the early seventeenth century when it rose to £2,000-£3,000 ; it increased throughout this century reaching £5,000 by
94 PRICES AND WAGES IN ENGLAND 1700, during the eighteenth century was £3,500-£5,000 yearly and in the early nineteenth century £5,000-£6,500. These figures, however, are not strictly comparable, as the system of accounting was variable.
