church rate

American  

noun

Ecclesiastical.

1. (formerly in England and Ireland) a compulsory assessment imposed on the parishioners' holdings of houses or land in order to repair the parish church and maintain its services.

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Etymology

Origin of church rate

First recorded in 1705–15

Example Sentences

The church rate was a personal charge imposed on the occupier of land or of a house in the parish, and, though it was compulsory, much difficulty was found in effectually applying the compulsion.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 3 "Chitral" to "Cincinnati" by Various

There has been no return yet laid before parliament of these partial burdens on land, but they cannot be estimated at less than the church rate, or £500,000 a-year.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 61, No. 376, February, 1847 by Various

The Quaker constables had refused to collect the church rate, and for this refusal were thrown into prison.

From The Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut by Greene, Maria Louise

The poor rate is no longer made at the Vestry; the church rate is a thing of the past; and what is then left?

From The Hills and the Vale by Jefferies, Richard

Some few bold Puritan souls dared to protest against being forced to pay the church rate whether they wished to or not.

From Sabbath in Puritan New England by Earle, Alice Morse