Ilmer Past
Church Terriers

Church Terriers

Glebe terriers of St Peter’s Church, Ilmer.

A church terrier (from the Latin terrarius liber, a "book of lands") is a written survey of the property belonging to a parish church and its incumbent. From the late 16th century, bishops required the churchwardens and minister of each parish to prepare terriers, usually at the time of an episcopal visitation, and return them to the diocesan registry.

A terrier typically describes the vicarage house and its outbuildings, the glebe land, the tithes and customary payments due to the minister, and sometimes the furnishings, plate and books of the church itself.