| AdminHistory | Under Henry VIII's statutes for the New Foundation, Canterbury Cathedral was provided with 12 bedesmen, elderly men, particularly those afflicted by poverty or maimed in war. They were appointed by the sovereign. They were to receive a small stipend in return for leading cathedral processions. The 1942 statutes confirmed the bedesmen as members of the foundation, but the Crown relinquished its right of appointment. Having not been included in the 2002 cathedral statutes, the office is now defunct.
For a brief account, see D Ingram Hill, 'The cathedral bedesmen', Canterbury Cathedral Chronicle, 1965, p17.
For the appointment of bedesmen, see the Chapter Act Books (DCc/CA) and Deans' Books (DCc/DB), as well as papers in the Boxes in the Basement series (DCc/BB/71). Payments to bedesmen are recorded in the cathedral accounts. |