A Contradiction
The parish of Offenham is remarkable for some of the richest land and one of the poorest churches in the county of Worcester.
Queen Elizabeth’s Arrears
A paragraph recently appeared in the London publication, known as “Notes and Queries,” as follows:
“‘Good Queen Bess,’ when she visited Worcester, borrowed £200 of the Corporation, which still stands as a ’bad debt’ on the town books.”
On the occasion of the Royal visit alluded to, a “fare cupp” was bought at London “for the presenting the gyfte to the Queen’s Majestie, and xl. pounds in sov’raignes and angells of her own coign and stamp;” a crimson velvet purse, with £20 in it, was also presented to the Queen on her visit to the Cathedral. The total outlay by the city for entertaining her Majesty was £173. 8s. 4d., but the writer is not aware of any record of the Queen’s having borrowed £200, or of such an item standing as a “bad debt” on the books, which he has closely examined from a date prior to the Queen’s visit.