| Description | Most of the petitions in this series are of a standard form. They begin with an address. All petitions are addressed to the dean and chapter unless otherwise stated. This is followed by a statement about the situation of the petitioner, which is in turn followed by the petitioner's specific request. Rarely are the petitions dated. The petition is often signed by individuals recommending the case.
The series includes many strays from other series. Further petitions, as well as material related to these petitions, can be found in other series in the dean and chapter archive, for instance in the Canterbury Letters series (DCc/Cant Let) and the Boxes in the Basement series (DCc/BB, especially DCc/BB A). The petitions were at one stage sorted and labelled as follows
PET 1: loose, no label
PET 2-42: 'petitions from lay clerks, choristers, almsmen'
PET 43-47: loose, no label
PET 48-175: 'petitions to the dean and chapter (not of much interest)'
PET 176-181: 'choir'
PET 181-231: 'petitions from poor citizens and others to the dean and chapter'
PET 232-254: 'interesting'
PET 255-259: 'parochial clergy'
PET 260-336: no label
This order has been retained for this catalogue. Petitions 337 to 349 were added to the series from miscellaneous unsorted material in August 1991.
Dates of service of employees (often referred to as 'members') of the cathedral can be established from the Chapter Act Books (DCc/CA) and from the Treasurers' Books (DCc/TB). As of yet names and dates of service have only been extracted from these for choristers. These lists have been used for establishing dates for petitions. Many petitioners describe themselves as 'members of the choir'. This could mean that they were either minor canons, substitutes (lay men who acted for minor canons) or lay clerks. The term 'probationer' refers to any taken on on a trial basis for one of these positions.
For further details on these different positions, see R F Ford, Minor canons at Canterbury Cathedral: the Gostlings and their colleagues (DPhil thesis, 1984, University of Berkeley, California), esp pp5-13.
Petitions from those from Canterbury parishes usually give details of petitioners' families and illnesses. Amongst those recommending the petitions are usually the minister and officers of the parish, and these are helpful for establishing dates. These petitions would normally have been presented to the chapter at the time of audit. Charity money, called 'audit money' was then allocated to successful petitions. As well as for poor relief in general, funds were specifically set aside for highway repair and for helping impoverished clergy.
Petition business was recorded in the Chapter Act Books, with moneys paid out recorded in the Treasurers' Books.
Unless otherwise stated, documents are usually dated by handwriting. The standard works by Venn and Foster on graduates from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge have been used for establishing dates. Also used were
Hasted, Edward, History of Kent (12 vols, 1797-1801), esp lists of clergy
Matthews, A G, Walker revised (Oxford, 1948), for clergy who suffered during the Commonwealth
Matthews, A G, Calamy revised (Oxford, 1934), for clergy ejected after the Restoration |