The manorial church was certainly the germ of the modern parish church. And we can trace this germ back to A.D. 686. From that time to Edgar’s reign the germ rapidly expanded, and the country became dotted all over with manorial or landowners’ churches, when Edgar passed his celebrated law which gave these with burial grounds a legal right to one-third part of the tithes of the estate. This Act upsets Blackstone’s statement, that the incumbent received all the tithes of the parish. It is true what Mr. Freeman says about the opinion of lawyers. “As for modern writers,” he says, “on the subject of the division of tithes, it is utterly useless to go to the opinion of mere lawyers, Blackstone or any other, as giving any help to either side. We may safely go to them to learn what is the law in force at the present moment; _for historical purposes they are worse than useless_.”[36] I endorse every word he says. Mr. Fuller did not take this advice, but quotes Blackstone as above. Lawyers are no better informed on this point than other men. When Blackstone wrote his Commentaries, he gave us what was then the accepted law, that the parson had a right to the tithes, and hence he is quoted as the best authority on this point. But he omitted to state that although the parson is _the general collector_, is THE BANK, by common law right, yet as trustee he is only entitled to a share of church funds, and the poor and the church building have also a common law right to a share of what the parson received. Edgar’s law, which was re-enacted by Canute, gave the manorial priest but one-third. When, then, did he get the whole? This is answered further on. Bede gives an account as early as A.D. 686 of the erection of churches by landowners on their own private estates. “Not very far,” he says, “from our monastery, about two miles off, was the country house of one Puch, an earl. It happened that the man of God [Bishop John of Beverley] was at that time invited thither by the Earl to consecrate a church”[37] [at South Burton, Yorkshire].