Ledbury Prebend.

Merchant Shipping Act Amendment.

Year of King George the Fourth, Chapter Eighty, or in the Sixteenth Section of the Act of the Eighteenth Year of Her present Majesty, Chapter One hundred and twenty.

CA P. XCII.

An Act for appropriating the Corps of the Prebend or Portion of Netherhall Ledbury in the Diocese and County of Hereford, and for constituting the Living of Ledbury a Rectory with Cure of Souls, and for augmenting the Endowments thereof. [14th August 1855.]

WHEREAS there are in the Diocese and County of Hereford Two Prebends or Portions of a Prebend respectively, called the Prebend of Overhall and the Prebend of Netherhall, Ledbury, founded in the Cathedral Church of Hereford, and in the Gift or Patronage of the Bishop of Hereford, the respective Prebendaries or Portionists whereof had the alternate Right of Patronage or Presentation of or to the Vicarage and Parish • Church of Ledbury: And whereas the said Vicarage was formerly endowed with a certain Portion of Tithes, which was commuted in the Year One thousand eight hundred and thirty'nine, under the Acts of Parliament for the Commutation of Tithes in England and Wales, for a yearly Rentcharge of Four hundred and sixty Pounds Two Shillings, variable according to the Provisions of the said Acts, and payable to the Vicar for the Time being of the said Vicarage, and the sole Cure of Souls in the said Parish of Ledbury has been for many Years past and still is exercised by the said Vicar for the Time being: And 'whereas at the Time of the passing of the Act of the Third and Fourth Years of Her Majesty's Reign, Chapter One hundred and thirteen, the Prebend or Portion of Overhall had by the Death of the Reverend Henry Stonhouse Vigor, late Prebendary or • Portionist thereof, become and was then vacant, and by virtue of such Act all the Lands, Tithes, and other Hereditaments, and ⚫ all other Emoluments and Endowments belonging thereto, (ex'cepting Rights of Patronage,) became vested in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England, for the Purposes of the said Act, and the alternate Right of Presentation to the said Vicarage, theretofore belonging to the said last-mentioned Prebendary or • Portionist, devolved upon the Bishop of Hereford: And whereas in the Year One thousand eight hundred and two the Reverend James Watts Clerk, was collated, or presented by the then Bishop of Hereford, to the Prebend of Netherhall, and was thereupon duly installed Prebendary thereof; and the Vicarage of the said Parish of Ledbury having in the Year One thou'sand eight hundred and ten become vacant, the said James Watts, ⚫ in virtue of the alternate Right of Presentation which thereupon accrued in Turn to him as such Prebendary or Portionist of Netherhall, presented himself to and was duly instituted and ⚫ inducted Vicar of the said Vicarage, and he thenceforth continued Prebendary or Portionist of the said last-mentioned Pre• bend or Portion, and also Vicar of the said Vicarage, and enjoyed A a 3

6

the

Ledbury Prebend.

the Profits and Emoluments thereof respectively, to the Time ' of his Death: And whereas the said James Watts died in the Year One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, and thereupon the alternate Right of Presentation to the said Vicarage, 'theretofore belonging to the Prebend of Netherhall, also devolved, by Force of the said Act, upon the Bishop of Hereford, and shortly afterwards the Reverend James George Watts, Son ' of the said James Watts, was collated by the Bishop of Here'ford to the said Vicarage, and he was thereupon duly inducted to and is now the Vicar or Incumbent of the said Vicarage: And whereas upon the Decease of the said James Watts all the Estates and Endowments, excepting Rights of Patronage, belonging to the said Prebend or Portion of Netherhall (subject to the Term and Interest then unexpired therein under a certain Indenture ' of Lease dated the Fifteenth January One thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight, and made between the said James Watts, 'therein described as Portionist and Prebendary of the Portion 'or Prebend called Netherhall in the Parish Church of Ledbury in the County of Hereford, of the one Part, and Philip John 'Miles Esquire, of the other Part, for Three Lives,) were con'sidered to have become vested in the said Ecclesiastical Commis'sioners by virtue of the said Act, as being the Estates of a 'Prebend not residentiary; but a Claim has since been set up to the said last-mentioned Prebend or Portion by the said James 'George Watts, as Vicar of the said Vicarage, on the Ground, as he contends, that the same Prebend or Portion was a Rectory 'without Cure of Souls, and having been held by the said James "Watts deceased, together with the said Vicarage, for the Period

of Twenty Years last past before the passing of the said Act, the same Rectory and Vicarage had under the Provisions of the 'said Act become permanently united, and do now constitute a Rectory with Cure of Souls; and the Rents which had become payable upon the Twenty-ninth Day of September One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two in respect of the last-mentioned Prebend or Portion since the Death of the said James Watts, amounting to Eighty-four Pounds, have been paid into the Court ' of Queen's Bench, under a Judge's Order in an Action of Ejectment: And whereas, in order to avoid the Costs of Litigation in regard to the Claim of the said James George Watts, which is ' resisted on the Part of the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners, a Proposal has been agreed upon by the said Ecclesiastical Com'missioners and the said James George Watts, with the Consent of the Right Reverend Renn Dickson, Bishop of Hereford, that the said Parish of Ledbury should be and be considered or be 'made a Rectory with Cure of Souls, in the Patronage of the Bishop of Hereford for the Time being, and that the said James George Watts should, without further Collation, Induction, or 'Institution thereto, become and be the Rector thereof, and that ' in addition to the Tithes Rentcharge and other Profits and Emo'luments belonging to the said Vicarage to be annexed to the said Rectory, the said Rectory should be endowed in the Manner herein-after in this Act provided, and, subject thereto, that the

'whole

Ledbury Prebend.

'whole of the Lands, Tithes, and other Hereditaments (excepting Rights of Patronage), and all other Emoluments and Endow'ments belonging to the said Prebend or Portion of Netherhall, subject to the said Lease, should remain or become vested in the " said Ecclesiastical Commissioners for the Purposes of the said Acts:' But inasmuch as the aforesaid Objects cannot be carried into effect without the Aid and Authority of Parliament, may it therefore please Your Majesty that it may be enacted; and be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, as follows:

I. The Parish and Parish Church of Ledbury in the Diocese Parish and and County of Hereford shall henceforth be and be deemed a Parish Church Rectory with Cure of Souls in the Gift or Patronage of the Bishop of Ledbury to of Hereford for the Time being, and the said James George Watts become a Recshall, without further Collation, Presentation, Institution, or In- of Souls. tory with Cure duction, be and be deemed the Rector of the said Rectory, and the Freehold of the Parish Church and Burial Ground of Ledbury aforesaid shall henceforth and for ever hereafter be vested in the said James George Watts as such Rector, and his Successors Rectors thereof for the Time being.

vested in the

II. The Rentcharge of Four hundred and sixty Pounds Two Rentcharge, Shillings, awarded or agreed to be paid, under the Act for the &c. of VicarCommutation of Tithes in England and Wales, to the Vicar of the age to remain said Vicarage, in lieu of the Tithes theretofore belonging to the Rector for the said Vicarage, and also all Mortuaries, Easter Offerings, Surplice Time being; Fees, and all other Fees, Profits, and Emoluments heretofore payable to or enjoyed by the Vicar for the Time being of the said Vicarage, shall henceforth belong and be paid to the said James George Watts as Rector, and his Successors Rectors for the Time being of the said Rectory.

III. The several Closes or Parcels of Land and Tithes Rents- also Lands and charge mentioned and specified in the Schedule to this Act (being Tithe RentParcel of the late Prebend or Portion of Netherhall), freed and charge specified discharged from the yearly Pension of Sixteen Bushels of Wheat in Schedule; and Sixteen Bushels of Oats payable to the Vicar for the Time being of the said Parish Church of Ledbury, and from the Land Tax in respect of the said Land, which has been redeemed, and Tithe Rentcharge, shall, from and immediately after the Expiration or other sooner Determination of the Term, Estate, and Interest granted therein by the said Indenture of Lease of the Fifteenth of January One thousand eight hundred and twentyeight, (but without conferring any Right to any Portion of the Rent reserved by the said Lease during the Continuance thereof,) belong to and be permanently annexed to the said Rectory, and be held and enjoyed by the Rector thereof for the Time being for ever hereafter, by way of Augmentation of the said Rectory; but subject to Paysubject, nevertheless, and charged to and with the keeping in due ment of 301. State of Repair the North Side of the Chancel of the Parish per Annum to Church of Ledbury, and also to and with the Payment of the Minister of yearly Sum of Thirty Pounds to the Minister or Čurate for the

A a 4

District of Wellington Heath Time in Ledbury.

Ledbury Prebend.

Until Determi

nation of Lease,

Ecclesiastical
Commissioners
to pay annual
Sum to the
Rector;

charged with the annual Pay

ment of 30%.

fits of Prebend
or Portion of
Netherhall to
vest in Eccle-

siastical Com-
missioners, and
be held as Part
of Common
Fund, under
3 & 4 Vict.
c. 113.

Time being of the District of Wellington Heath in Ledbury, by half-yearly Payments to be made on the First Day of June and the First Day of December in each Year, the first of such halfyearly Payments or a proportionate Part thereof to be made on such One of the said Days as shall happen next after the Expiration or sooner Determination of the said Lease.

IV. In the meantime, until the Expiration or sooner Determination of the said Lease, the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners shall, out of their Common Fund, pay to the said James George Watts as Rector, and his Successors Rectors for the Time being of the said Rectory, an annual Sum of Two hundred and thirty Pounds, clear of all Deductions, other than on account of Property or Income Tax, by equal half-yearly Payments, to be made on the First Day of May and the First Day of November in each Year, such Payment to be considered to have commenced and taken effect from the First Day of May One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, and also a proportionate Part of the said annual Sum in respect of the Number of Days which shall have elapsed of the current Half Year in which the said Lease shall expire or be determined, and such annual Sum and proportionate Part to be by way of Augmentation of the said Rectory, in lieu of the said Parcels of Land and Tithes Rentscharge mentioned in the said Schedule, until the same shall fall into the Possession and Receipt of the said Rector, and to be charged with the Payment of the like annual Sum of Thirty Pounds as from the said First Day of May One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three to the Minister or Curate for the Time being of the said District of Wellington Heath, and on the like Days as are in this Act before mentioned in respect to the Payment of the said annual Sum of Two hundred and thirty Pounds.

Residue of V. All other the Lands, Tithes, Tithes Rentscharge, and HereLands and Pro- ditaments belonging to or constituting the Corps of the Prebend or Portion of Netherhall, whether the same be or be not a Sinecure Rectory, within the Intent and Meaning of the said recited Act of the Third and Fourth Years of Her said Majesty's Reign, (save and except Rights of Patronage, and also save and except the Right, from and after the Expiration or other sooner Determination of the said Lease, to the said Pieces or Parcels of Land and Tithes Rentscharge, and the redeemed Land Tax in respect thereof, comprised in the Schedule to this Act, and intended to be hereby vested in expectancy in the Rector for the Time being of the said Rectory,) together with, and not by way of Exception, the whole of the Rents, and the Benefit of all the Covenants, Conditions, and Agreements reserved and contained by and in the said Indenture of Lease, and which on the Lessee's or Assignee's Part are or ought to be paid, observed, and performed, including the Right to all Sums paid into Court as aforesaid, and all other Sums now due on account of the said Rent, shall, freed and discharged from the said yearly Pension of Sixteen Bushels of Wheat and Sixteen Bushels of Oats, or any other Payments or Dues, to the Rector or Vicar of the Parish Church of Ledbury, from and after the passing of this Act, but subject and without Prejudice

to

Ledbury Prebend.

to the Term, Estate, and Interest granted by the said Lease, remain and be absolutely vested in the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England, their Successors and Assigns, to be by them held, possessed, and administered for the Purposes and under and according to the Provisions of the said Act of the Third and Fourth Years of Her Majesty's Reign, or any other Act or Acts relating to the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners with regard to the Estates of Non-residentiary Prebends.

of Property in Lease.

VI. For the Purpose of enabling the said Ecclesiastical Com- Powers of missioners and their Successors, as Reversioners of the Premises Ecclesiastical comprised in the said Indenture of Lease, to receive and recover Commissioners as Reversioners the Rents due or to become due under the said Lease, and to exercise all Rights and Remedies in respect thereof, and of the Covenants, Conditions, and Agreements on the Part of the Lessee therein contained, and also of enabling the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners, if they shall think fit, to accept a Surrender of the Term, Estate, and Interest of the Lessee in the said Lands and Tithes Rentscharge comprised in the said Schedule hereto, the Reversion of and in the whole of the Premises comprised in or held under the said Lease shall be or be considered to be vested in them the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners during the Remainder of and subject to the Term, Estate, and Interest granted by the said Lease; but so, nevertheless, that in case the said Ecclesiastical Commissioners should accept a Surrender of the said Term, Estate, and Interest in the said Lands and Tithes Rentscharge comprised in the said Schedule, the same shall operate as an Extinguishment of the said Term and Interest therein, for the Benefit of the Rector for the Time being of the said Rectory, so as to accelerate his Right to the Possession and Receipt of the said last-mentioned Lands and Rentscharge; and thereupon the said annual Sum of Two hundred and thirty Pounds herein-before directed to be paid to the Rector for the Time being by the said Commissioners, out of their Common Fund, shall cease, anything herein-before contained to the contrary notwithstanding.

VII. For all Purposes of Recital or Reference it shall be Style of Act. sufficient in all Cases to mention this Act as "The Rectory of Ledbury Act, 1855."