35. THE CHAPEL OF ST. PETER AD VINCULA IN THE TOWER OF LONDON
When and by whom the chapel of St. Peter
ad Vincula in the Tower was founded is uncertain, though it must have been in existence
long before 1241 (fn. 1) when Henry III directed
various repairs to be made in the chancels of St.
Mary and St. Peter, and the images to be repainted. (fn. 2) Edward I, in 1272, appointed a
chaplain to pray for his father's soul at a salary
of 50s. a year, (fn. 3) but whether this was in addition
to the chaplain who had before officiated in the
chapel at the same salary (fn. 4) is not clear. (fn. 5) In the
reign of Edward III, however, the only chaplain
mentioned was one who was called the rector,
and who received 60s. a year from a tenement
in 'Candelwykstrete,' (fn. 6) until the king, in 1354,
made the chapel practically collegiate by the
addition of three chaplains, (fn. 6a) enlarging the foundation by two more in 1356. (fn. 7) To provide for
their maintenance he granted to them a rent of
31s. 8d. from tenements on Tower Hill and
Petty Wales, 5s. from a tenement near St.
Katharine's, customs due to the Constable of the
Tower for stal-boats and weirs on the Thames,
10 marks a year from the Exchequer, and annual
sums to be paid by the master and workmen of
the Mint. (fn. 8) At the king's request, moreover, the
pope gave permission for the appropriation to
them of the church of Allhallows Barking. (fn. 9)
The faculty, however, cannot have been used,
for Allhallows was not appropriated until the
time of Richard II, (fn. 10) and then for the benefit of
the abbey of Barking, to which the patronage of
the church belonged, (fn. 11) and when Henry IV, in
1402, gave the church and chapel of Allhallows
as an appendage of St. Peter's to Thomas Haliwell, (fn. 12) the abbess claimed them as her property
and was successful in proving her ownership. (fn. 13)
Edward III seems only to have set up a series of
chantries in the chapel, and Stow is doubtless
correct in designating the priest who in 1429
killed a friar imprisoned in the Tower as the
parson of St. Peter ad Vincula. (fn. 14)
Edward IV intended to erect a college in the
strict sense of the word, and in February, 1483,
issued letters patent (fn. 15) establishing a corporation
of a dean, sub-dean, treasurer, and precentor,
who were to be known as the dean and canons
of the royal free chapel of the household; they
were to be governed by ordinances made by the
king, and as endowment were to hold the chapel,
its oblations, tithes, and profits, and had leave to
acquire lands to the value of £100 a year. The
king's death, however, before the fulfilment of
his purpose, put an end to the scheme. (fn. 16) Presumably, therefore, the institution continued on
the lines laid down by Edward III until the
suppression of chantries and colleges (fn. 17) left the
rector the sole incumbent of the chapel. In
1551 the chapel was deprived of the exemption it had hitherto enjoyed from episcopal
authority and was made subject to the bishop of
London. (fn. 18)
Rectors of the Collegiate Chapel of
St. Peter in the Tower
Thomas, occurs 1393 (fn. 19)
Thomas Haliwell, appointed 1402, (fn. 20) resigned
1405 (fn. 21)
Geoffrey Wyke, appointed 1405 (fn. 22)
Robert de Morley, appointed 1413 (fn. 23)
John Dabrichecourt, appointed 1413 (fn. 24)
John Salmonby, appointed 1416, vacated
1421 (fn. 25)
Edmund Warcop, occurs 1440 (fn. 26)
John Forster, died 1445 (fn. 27)
John Palmer, appointed 1445, vacated 1446 (fn. 28)
John Clampayne, appointed 1446–7, vacated
1448–9 (fn. 29)
Thomas Carr, appointed 1449, (fn. 30) vacated
1457–8 (fn. 31)
Edmund Russell, appointed 1457–8 (fn. 32)
Richard Martyn, appointed 1476, (fn. 33) resigned
1482 (fn. 34)
William Fitz Herbert, appointed 1482 (fn. 35)
John Gunthorpe, appointed 1483 (fn. 36)
Richard Surland, appointed 1486, died
1509 (fn. 37)
Roger Norton, appointed 1509 (fn. 38)
Nicholas Willen, occurs 1535 (fn. 39)
Richard Layton, LL.D., resigned 1535 (fn. 40)
John Ogden, appointed 1535, (fn. 41) died 1537 (fn. 42)
John Button, appointed 1537 (fn. 43)
Richard Taylor, 1545–6 (fn. 44)