id publick penance in our Parish Churche, Feb. ye
25th, 1727, for adultery."

A memorandum in the parish register of North Aston, Oxfordshire, states:
"That Mr. Cooper sent in a form of penance by Mr. Wakefield, of
Deddington, that Catherine King should do penance in ye parish church of
North Aston, ye sixth day of March, 1740, and accordingly she did.
Witness, Will Vaughan, Charles May, John Baillis, Churchwardens." We
learn from the same records that another person, who had become a mother
before she was made a wife, left the parish to avoid doing public
penance.

In the old churchwardens' accounts of Wakefield, are several items
bearing on this subject, and amongst the number are the following:

L s. d.
1679.--To Jos. Green for black bess penanc sheet 00 05 06

1709.--Allowed the Parish Churchwardens for goeing to Leeds
with ye man and woman to doe penance 0 5 0

1725.--June 13. Paid Jno. Briggs for the Lent of 3 sheets
for 3 persons to do pennance 00 01 6

1731.--Nov. 6. Paid for the loan of two white Sheets 6

1732.--Oct. 8. Pd. for the loan of 7 sheets for penances 1 9

1735.--Nov. 1. Pd. for a sheet that ---- had to do penance
in 1 0

1736.--Sep. 27. Pd. for two sheets ye women did penans in 8

1736.--Oct. 10. Pd. for a sheet for Stringer to do penance
in 4

1737.--June 23. Pd. for a sheet for Eliza Redhead penance 4

1750.--Dec. 26. To Priestly for a sheet & attending a
woman's penance 5 0

"On February 27th, 1815," says Mr. John W. Walker, "William Hepworth, a
shoemaker, did penance in the Parish Church for defaming the character
of an old woman named Elizabeth Blacketer. They both lived in Cock and
Swan Yard, Westgate, and the suit was carried on by one George Robinson,
an attorney, out of spite to the cobbler."

"On Sunday, August 25th, 1850, a penance was performed in the Parish
Church, by sentence of the Ecclesiastical Court, on a person who had
defamed the character of a lady in Wakefield. A recantation was repeated
by the penitent after the Vicar, and then signed by the interested
parties."[40]

The his