Sentence:  For this [annual choir outing] the <WSD>vicar</WSD> traditionally hired a brake, an ancient, Edwardian, horse-drawn, bus-like vehicle which had plodded along for many years between Ramsgate and Pegwell Bay, carrying passengers who were in no hurry, until it became so unroadworthy that no horse could be persuaded to pull it on a regular basis. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  In the Church of England, the priest of a parish, receiving a salary or stipend but not tithes.