Avsnitt 1

Reverend Septimus Harding is much-loved in Barchester, perhaps the most beloved citizen in the county. In addition to the work at his church, which includes a superb choir, he is also Warden of a local hospital where a group of elderly gentlemen reside and receive a small stipend from the will of a benefactor who died some 400 years ago. Dr John Bold has been tasked to look into this will to determine if its wishes are being correctly applied . He is particularly concerned Harding is in receipt of an annual stipend of £800 per year — a considerable increase in the original amount owing to a vast increase in the value of the property — while its residents receive only 1s6d per day.