ALVATIA: Ingsby - Rectory

The Rectory

Amidst a small croft of an acre or so sits the rectory, or priest's house.

The croft contains a couple of flimsy animal sheds, a coop, several fruit trees, a dungheap, etc. It is surrounded by a low (3 feet) fieldstone wall along the road, and wooden or thatch fencing on the other sides. The croft has two gates, one in the stone wall facing the road and one facing the shrine.

The rectory itself is a four bay cruck-framed wattle and daub building, roofed with thatch and having a central smoke hole. It is 46 feet long and 14 feet deep; the ridge is about 16 feet above the ground. The southern-most bay of the building is a byre, divided from the rest of the house by a wattle and daub wall; it has its own wide, flimsy door in the west wall (more of a gate, actually). The middle two bays are the hall, with a hearth in the center of the dirt floor; at the north end, stairs give access to a loft for the priest's room; below is the buttery and pantry. Two wooden doors with stone doorsteps, opposite each other at the front and back of the building, open into the hall just before the wattle wall of the buttery and pantry. The hall has two shuttered windows on each outside wall; the gable end of the loft also has a shuttered window. Ivy has grown profusely on the northern gable end of the building. Along much of the east wall, firewood is piled up to the eaves each fall, to be burned during the winter.

The byre has three stalls for the priest's livestock; hay and other fodder is stored on the roof beams. The floor is a typical mess of dung, hay, and dirt, with extra mud added in rainy weather. No field mice scamper in the hay here, though.

The hall contains a trestle table, half a dozen stools, two bench chests, and a wooden airchair with a seat cushion. A thin layer of reeds is scattered on the floor. Over the hearth is an iron tripod and kettle, with a ladle hanging from the apex of the tripod. A ceramic firestopper leans in the corner (or is placed over the hearth performing its function). An oil lamp hanging from the roof beams, and a bookstand near the chair, attest to the potential literary activities of the priest. The usual odds and ends of cheeses, broken buckets, and lumber has been stored on the low roof beams overhead. An open stair leads up to the loft, which has a rickety railing along its open edge. Below the loft, a wattle wall with a narrow opening leads to the buttery and pantry.

Within the pantry are stored foodstuffs in baskets, barrels and bags. The buttery holds beverages: a small barrel of freshly-brewed ale (the only drinkable kind), a couple of jars of milk, and some eggs in nets hanging from the ceiling. The kitchenware is also kept here when not in use.

Upstairs in the loft, the sloping underside of the thatch leaves little space for humans to stand upright. A bed frame, whose ropes support a rough mattress stuffed with straw, is pushed almost to the east side of the room, with a large chest at the foot of the bed. Under the window in the gable end of the room is a small table and stool; a candle stub, wax stains, ink stains, and bits of paper decorate the tabletop. A small chest, a stool, and a chamber pot sit under the thatch on the west side of the room. The large chest, at the foot of the bed, contains clothing and personal effects of the priest; the other, smaller chest holds holy texts, paper and writing supplies, letters, candles, and other small and valuable items.

Residents

Father Wallace

Father Wallace is a devout follower of Saint Carmund, although not as confrontational as some. He has no qualms with destroying rodents, but burning a witch would make him distinctly unhappy (unless the magician were obviously depraved and evil). Fortunately, there has never been a witch formally discovered in Ingsby -- of course, Father Wallace (like most rural priests) opposes hedge magic more by preaching than by inciendary purgation.

Wallace is 38 years old, with short brown hair worn in a bowl cut, and a strong build. He comes from [A SLIGHTLY LARGER TOWN], where his free family had saved enough money to send him to study at the College in Ornefail. He has been parish priest here for about nine years; before coming here, he served for a five years at the monastery of -ONE OF THE MONASTERIES-. The monks of -THAT MONASTERY-, supposedly holy men, were more worldy and unruly than almost everyone in Ingsby; Wallace is glad of the change.

His relations with Sir Dennis, lord of the manor, are good, and he is appreciated by most of the villagers. They remember well the previous priest, an aggressively devout man named Donald; he made few friends among the villagers, and quite irritated Sir Dennis and his father, Sir Oliver.

Both Father Wallace and Sir Dennis agree that the fugitive, Auberon, who has taken sanctuary in the shrine, should not be turned over to Gerard, sergeant of the Sheriff of Vilgarth. On the other hand, there's no reason to coddle Auberon, and the sooner he leaves town, the better. See Ingsby Shrine for more details.

While sworn to celibacy as a priest of Saint Carmund, Father Wallace still has ... urgings, if you will. In the spring and fall, when the markets and festivals are especially licentious, Wallace will go on a rodent exterminating rampage after a few days of glancing at frolicking maidens. His rampages seem to deal with his excess energy, and help to keep down the rat population.

Robert

Father Wallace has two servants: Elizabeth (age 19) and Robert (age 38), husband and wife; both are serfs (owned by the manor). Roberthas served the parish priests for twenty years; he tends to the Ingsby Shrine, cemetery, rectory, and glebe. His first wife died two years ago, and he married Elizabeth soon after. Elizabeth, a heavy and sullen woman, does the cooking and cleaning around the house, and manages the croft. Robert is a practical, handy, but a bit cynical sort of fellow; he married Elizabeth for convenience more than any other reason. He has a 20 year old son, Timothy, who works for Sir Dennis as a groom. Elizabeth is likely to become pregnant soon.

Robert is receiving money from Auberon (with Father Wallace's consent) to buy food for the fugitive. He is also taking money from Auberon to keep an eye on sergaent Gerard, who normally stays at the Two Beasts Inn. As far as Robert, Wallace, Gerard, and Sir Dennis are concerned, the sooner Auberon's money runs out, the sooner he'll leave the shrine.

Economy

Father Wallace:

Annual Income

• value of food, dairy, etc. from croft and glebe 260 d
• cash tithes received [TOTAL FROM OTHER ENTRIES] 500 d (NOMINAL)
• other income (fees for services, etc.) 12 d
  • for example, 1 d for burial service, 1 d for oath-keeping, etc.

Annual Expenses

• feeding 3 persons on "stew" diet 274 d
• tithes in turn to the church 240 d
• salaries of two servants 45 d

Thus household discretionary income is 213 d per annum. The goods and furnishings of the rectory are worth 120 d; Father Wallace has saved 180 d.

Elizabeth and Robert:

Elizabeth and Robert receive room, board, and 1/8 d per day total wages. Of their 45 d annual income, 6 d goes to fees and manor taxes, leaving 39 d discretionary income; they have saved about 40 d (including about 7 d received from Auberon).