Hi folks, The following is a direct quote from a Rent Book, including the period 1802-04: "A rate then and there made by the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor for the Relief of the Poor of the said Parish for one month being sixpence in the pound." Josiah HANDS rent was £2 and the monthly rate was 6d. I think Josiah was a cobbler/cordwainer. £2 a month, £24 per year, seems an awful lot of money. My question is, was the rent more likely to be an annual amount? Has anyone any hard facts on cordwainers earnings to support their suppositions? -- Mike Yegwart Bromsgrove Branch Chairman BMSGH bmsgh.org