Editing Stepney (section)

====Customs and obligations====
The Manor of Stepney was held by the Bishop of London, but the [[Constable of the Tower of London]] had important rights and responsibilities in the area. The Constable had responsibilities for the [[Thames]] below the Tower and for the care of parts of the [[River Lea|Lea]]. In return the people of the area helped garrison the Tower. The early origin of these arrangements is obscure and the first surviving record of the military obligation dates from 1554, but is thought to be much older, with varying estimates in the post-Norman medieval period.<ref>The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney Official Guide – 10th Edition – 1961 – Published by Ed J Burrow and Co Ltd p26 – The publication gave the view that the arrangement dated from the Norman or early Plantagenet</ref><ref>East London Papers. Volume 8 Paper 2. M. J. Power – the author noted that some believed the arrangement was around the time of the conquest, but suggested a later medieval date was more likely due to the higher local population.</ref> These arrangements evolved into the creation of the [[Tower division|Tower Division, also known as the Tower Hamlets]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol11/pp1-7|title=Stepney: Early Stepney &#124; British History Online|website=british-history.ac.uk|access-date=18 September 2022}}</ref>

The manor was unusual in practising the [[gavelkind]] method of inheritance,<ref name="Genuki">{{cite web|title=Stepney History|url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/MDX/Stepney/StepneyHistory|website=Genuki|access-date=16 September 2019}}</ref> a custom largely limited to [[Kent]].

St Dunstan's has a long association with the sea, with the parish of Stepney being responsible for registration of British maritime births, marriages and deaths until the 19th century. From the Tudor era onwards, the parish-level was responsible for mitigating the poverty of people born in the area. Stepney's additional responsibility for those born at sea was something of a burden.<ref name="Genuki" />

This maritime association is remembered in the old rhyme:
{{blockquote|''"He who sails on the wide sea, is a parishioner of Stepney"''}}