Vestry effect what would today usually be called a parochial church council, but was also responsible for all the secular parish business now dealt with by civil bodies, such as parish councils. Eventually, the vestry assumed a variety of tasks. It became responsible for appointing parish officials, such as the parish clerk, overseers of the poor, sextons and scavengers, constables and nightwatchmen. At the high point of their powers, just prior to removal of Poor Law responsibilities in 1834, the vestries spent not far short of one-fifth of the budget of the national government itself. More than 15,600 ecclesiastical parish vestries
A Piece of What You Need A Piece of What You Need A Piece of What You Need is the fourth studio album by singer-songwriter Teddy Thompson. The album contains all new Teddy originals and was produced by Marius De Vries, whom Teddy met while recording background vocals on Rufus Wainwright's "Want" records in 2002. Included are new songs Teddy had been testing out live, such as "Turning the Gun On Myself", "In My Arms" and "Can't Sing Straight". The album debuted on the UK Albums Chart at #10. The first single from "A Piece of What You Need" is "In My Arms". The music video