Glossary of Terms

Advowson - (in English ecclesiastical law) the right to recommend a member of the Anglican clergy for a vacant benefice, or to make such an appointment.

Benefice - a permanent Church appointment, typically that of a rector or vicar, for which property and income are provided in respect of pastoral duties.

Enfoeffment - In English law, feoffment or enfoeffment was a transfer of land or property that gave the new holder the right to sell it as well as the right to pass it on to his heirs as an inheritance. It was total relinquishment and transfer of all rights of ownership of an estate in land from one individual to another person.

Glebe - an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved to the church.

Messuage - a dwelling house with outbuildings and land assigned to its use.

Parish Priest (Church of England) - Historically, Anglican parish priests were divided into rectors, vicars and (rarely) perpetual curates. These were distinguished according to the way in which they were appointed and remunerated. The church was supported by tithes: taxes (traditionally of ten percent) levied on the personal and agricultural output of the parish.