ABSTRACT
Quiteapartfromthesearchformotives,ithasrecentlybeen questionedwhetherthemid-sixteenthcenturyshouldbeassociatedwith discontinuityatall.Influencedperhapsbytheexampleofthe'Annales' school,historiansnowoftenpointtostructuralcontinuitieswhichare notaffectedbyeventhemosthecticeruptionsonthesurfacelevelof eventsandshort-termvariations!DavidPalliser(withregardto parishes)andRichardSmith(forthevillagecommunity)bothrefusedto drawtoostarkacontrastbetweentheMiddleAgesandtheearlymodern period.Theparochialnetworkremainedlargelyintact,theofficeof churchwardencontinuedtobeofcrucialimportance,andcommunal responsibilitiesexistedbeforeaswellasaftertheReformation. 10In villagelife,externalinterferenceoccurredinanyperiod,andtherewere changesinintensityordegree,buthardly'amajortransformationin structuresuchasisimpliedbythe"incorporationist"perspective, wherebylocalcommunitiesareseentohavebeenabsorbedintoawider politicalentity'.11Long-termprocessesnaturallyneedtobeviewedina differentiatedfashion:theevidenceisoftenambiguous,and'continuity andchange'normallythemostappropriatedescription;ultimately,the
There is broad agreement that the Edwardian measures threw parochial budgets into disarray. Writing about Ashburton and the South-West, Robert Whiting observed a 'catastrophic' decline in revenues and a diversion of funds away from the church towards secular purposes. 12 The effects resulting from the Chantries Act of 1547 and the confiscations of church goods have been described as a 'disaster' for local religious life, turning the years 1536-53 into a period of unprecedented destruction and plunder in English history. 13 Parish administration was clearly in some turmoil, exemplified both by the small number of surviving records and their often sorry state. 14 However, the lack of quantitative work on churchwardens' accounts has made it impossible to proceed beyond general impressions about the financial impact of the changes. A closer analysis suggests that they were experienced quite differently in each locality, that they affected income and expenses in particular ways, and that they created a rather more complex overall picture than is generally assumed.
