Does it soil the cloth? (5)
I believe the answer is:
glebe
'soil the cloth?' is the definition.
'glebe' can be an answer for 'soil' (I've seen this before). I'm not certain of the 'the cloth?' bit.
I can't explain the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for glebe that I've seen before include "church territory" , "Church property" , "Land attached to a parish church" , "Land providing part of clergyman's income" , "clerical plot" .)