Full Title: "Thesaurus Rerum Ecclesiasticarum: Being an Account of the Valuations of all the Ecclesiastical Benefices in the Several Dioceses in England and Wales As they now stand chargeable with, or lately were discharged from the payment of first-fruits and tenths. To which are added the names of the patrons to the several benefices; and the dedications of the churches. Together with an account of procurations and synodals, extracted from the records in the reign of Henry VIII. To the whole are subjoined, proper directions and precedents relating to presentation, institution, induction, dispensations etc". xxxix, [1], 784, [8]pp. Full leather binding. 4to. Boards are heavily worn, rubbed and chipped and front and rear boards detached from text block. Free endpapers a little toned and soiled. Lacks pp 363-366. Some minor toning and soiling in page edges, corner creases and general but minor, occasional signs of handling; occasional marginal annotations in a copperplate hand. Suitable for rebinding/restoration.
A once practical reference, and now of historical interest, listing all the churches in England and Wales, with various details of their tithes, patrons and chargeable rates etc. It appeared in seven editions between 1723 and 1796, with the 1754 edition generally considered the best of them. John Ecton (died 1730), the compiler, was the receiver of the tenths of the clergy in the first-fruits office of Queen Anne's Bounty (a scheme devised in the early 18th century to alleviate the low incomes of poor clergymen); but he is also remembered for the fine collection of musical instruments he amassed, which was eventually bequeathed to church music composer, James Kent. In 1786, John Bacon, a successor of Ecton in the first-fruits office, changed the title of the book to Liber Regis and claimed it as his own, without even revising Ecton's preface.
