MITCHAM VESTRY CLERK.
INTERESTING SURREY RECORD.

Mr. R. M. Chart, of Mitcham, deputy chairman of the Croydon County Bench, has notified the Mitcham Council that on March 31st he will cease to be the vestry clerk for Mitcham, a post which he has held for 39 years all but three days, and which has been held by his direct ancestors for 166 years without a break. Mr. Chart is the last of the Mitcham vestry clerks, the office being abolished under the new Rating and Valuation Act, but the duties will be carried on by his son, Colonel Stephen Chart, who is clerk to the Mitcham Council.

The first vestry clerk for Mitcham was Mr. R. M. Chart’s great-grandfather, who was appointed in 1761 at a salary of £3 a year, and held the post for 44 years. His grandfather, who built the present Mitcham parish church, held it for 41 years, and his father held it for 42 years. All these men held the post until they died, and were parish clerks as well. Mr. R. M. Chart, who is 76 years old, still does the work of more than 12 public appointments, and takes an active interest in most local affairs. He was a member of the Surrey County Council for 25 years, for nine years as alderman.

Source: Surrey Mirror – Friday 04 March 1927 from the British Newspaper Archive (subscription required)