Maintenance Agreement: Packington, 1707

Introduction

This agreement from Leicestershire is unusually specific in elaborating the penalties faced by John Toone, a clocksmith from Wilsley, just across the county boundary into Derbyshire.

Sometimes, the penalties cited seem drastic. In 1707, the wardens of Packington, Leicestershire, undertook to pay four shillings a year to John Toone, a clockmaker from Derbyshire, for repairing and mending their clock. If Toone failed to repair the clock within a week of its having failed, he was fined two shillings, raised to four shillings after a further week, and if the clock was not mended within another two weeks, Toone forfeited a bond of twenty shillings.

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Transcript

(Leicestershire Record Office, Leicester: DE/179/198)

Articles of agreement had made concluded and fully agreed upon by and between John Hood and William Brown Churchwardens of the parish of Packington in the Countyes of Leic. and Derby on the one part and John Toone of Wilsley in the County of Derby Clockmaker of the other part as followeth

Impr's Whereas The Said John Toone hath made and sett up a Clock in the Parish Church of Packington aforesaid for the use and benefitt of the Inhabitants of Packington afordsaid for which Clock the said Churchwardens have paid the sum'e of five pounds Therefore the said John Toone in Considerac'on thereof and for the further considerac'on herein hereafter menc'oned shall and will when and as often as need shall require well and sufficiently repair amend and keep the said Clock with all needfull and necessary reparac'ons and amendm'ts from the day of the date hereof for and during the terme of his naturall life

Item In Considerac'on thereof the Churchwardens or one of them for the time being shall yearely and every yeare upon Easter Munday dureing the life of the said John Toone well and truely pay or cause to be paid unto the said John Toone the sum'e of four shillings in full satisfaction for the mending repairing and keeping the said clock the first paym't to be made upon Easter Munday which shall be in the yeare of our Lord One Thousand seven hundred and nine

Item It is further agreed betweene the said partyes that in case the said John Toone shall neglect sufficiently to amend the said clock within one week after he hath notice that the said clock is out of order in such case it shall be lawfull for the Churchwardens of Packington whoe shall be obliged to pay the said sallary of four shillings to the said John Toone to deduct out of the said sallary the sume of two shillings And in case the said John Toone shall not sufficiently amend the said clock within one fortnight after notice as aforesaid then the said Officers shall and will deduct the whole yeares salary And in case the said John Toone shall neglect to amend the said clock one whole month after he hath notice that the same is out of order that then and in such case the said John Toone shall forfeit to the parish officers whoe for the time being shall endeavour to recover the same the sume of twenty shillings

In Witness whereof the partyes first above named to these p'sents their hands & seale have set the sixth day of June Anno D'm. 1707

Seales and delivered in the pr'ence of

Mich. Hutchinson John Toone {seal}

R..... Donisthorpe

Joseph Pickering