“Frequently, indeed, one may say usually, there was a church house, a kind of parish club, in which the gilds held their meetings and transacted their business. Sometimes this Church-house was called the Gild hall; for you must not make the mistake of thinking that the Church houses were places of residence for the clergy. Nothing of the kind. The Church house or Gild hall grew up as an institution which had become necessary when the social life of the parish had outgrown the accommodation which the church could afford, and when, indeed, there was just a trifle too much boisterous merriment and too little seriousness and sobriety to allow of the assemblies being held in the church at all. The Church-house in many places became one of the most important buildings in a parish, and in the little town of Dereham, in Norfolk, the Church-house or Gild hall is still, I think, the largest house in the town. When the great fire took place at Dereham, in 1581, which destroyed almost the whole town, the Gild hall or Church house, from being well built of stone, was almost the only building in the place which escaped the terrible conflagration.” The owners of the Church house, or “Court house,” as it was sometimes called, were, of course, the churchwardens, as trustees of the parishioners, and they made all the necessary arrangements to let or lease it. At Berkhampstead “they always reserved to themselves the right of using the great loft”, which apparently occupied the whole upper story, as well at other times as when they kept the feast. It was in this common hall, evidently, that some of the property of the parish was kept ready for use. At Pilton, in Somerset, for example, there is mentioned “a slegge to break stones at the quarey;” and the “eight tabyle clothes” point to parish dinners. One of the ways of eliciting good-will among the parishioners, and also of making a profit for the common chest, was the “church ale.” This was a parish meeting at which cakes and small beer were purchased from the churchwardens, and consumed for the good of the parish. No doubt there were amusements of various kinds during the _potatio_, and there was generally a collection. At Cratfield, for instance, in 1490, the chief source of income was from the “church ales.” There were about five of these parish feasts held in each year, and one of them was instituted by a parishioner, William Brews, who left nine shillings in his will for that purpose. Very commonly a collection for the expenses of the common amusements was made by the working men on the first Monday after Twelfth night--the first Monday of work after the Christmas holidays. They drew a plough round to the various houses, asking for donations, and from this the day became known as “Plough Monday.”