Town Husbands - Job Background?

[Broadsword]

Hey everyone.

I'm curious about 'Town Husbands' who apparently were commissioned by the church/parish to collect money from the fathers of illegitimate children so as to pay for their upkeep.

I was just wondering if anyone knows about the job, what it involved, how they got the job etc or could point me in the direction of more information?

Many thanks

[ChrisKelly]

I'm no expert on the subject, but a quick search on British History Online (http://www.british-history.ac.uk/Default.aspx) indicates that his responsibilities were many. Collecting money from the fathers of illegitimate children isn't specifically mentioned, which perhaps suggests that it was a minor duty. Here are a couple of snippets:

The common officer, later called the town husband, seems to have been first appointed in Tudor times to look after the corporation's property, but by the mid-17th century he had accepted much wider financial responsibilities.

The town's husband, whose responsibilities greatly increased during the 18th and early 19th centuries, enjoyed a comparable rise in salary. It was increased at least six times before 1800, rising from £25 to £90, stood at £145 by 1810, and was raised to £250 by 1833, exclusive of other emoluments.

The husband's traditional function was the conservation of the corporation's property, but during the course of the 18th century his duties were gradually enlarged. He collected arrears of rent in 1732. He received the balances of the weigh-house account in 1737 and of the waterhouse account in 1739. He supervised the market-keeper's accounts in 1742 and received his rent in 1750. And he continually had money from the chest to pay workmen's bills. He was ordered in 1758 to make various disbursements approved by the bench, to draw up a rental of corporate property, and to give each alderman a quarterly account of the state of the town's money. By 1761 he was infringing further upon the chamberlains' duties: the chamberlains were ordered to pay part of their balance to the treasurer, the rest of the balance 'appearing to the bench to be due . . . from the town husband'. Finally, in 1766 the corporation decided to indemnify the chamberlains if they employed the husband to collect their rents. When a committee was appointed to examine the state of the town's finances in 1779 it was natural that the husband should be asked to provide them with information; and in 1792 the bench reaffirmed the principle that the husband was alone responsible for the corporation accounts.
:)