37. THE PRIORY OF ROSEDALE
The priory of Rosedale was founded in the
reign of Richard I by Robert, the son of
Nicholas de Stuteville, and was under the invocation of St. Mary and St. Lawrence. (fn. 1)
An inspeximus by Edward II of King John's
charter confirming the founder's grant (fn. 2) and
enumerating a number of other donations is set
out by Burton. (fn. 3)
On 17 October 1306, (fn. 4) in consequence of a
visitation, Archbishop Greenfield issued injunctions to the prioress and convent. Most were
of the usual character, as to the due observance
of the rules of the order. Charity was to be
cultivated, corrections made in chapter without
favour, the nuns not to quarrel, the infirmary to
be kept from the going to and fro of seculars,
and confessors were not to be indiscriminately
chosen by the nuns, but two brothers of the
order of Friars Minor were to be chosen, and
their names submitted to the archbishop.
On 22 August 1310 (fn. 5) Archbishop Greenfield
ordered an inquiry as to certain unspecified
articles urged against the prioress. The nuns
and conversi were to be sworn and examined
privately, all secular persons being removed from
their presence. The accounts of the prioress,
from the time of her administration, as well as
those of the bailiffs and other officials and
servants bound to render accounts were to be
examined, and the prioress was ordered to render
to the commissioners full and complete accounts
from the time of her promotion, as well as a
statement of the then position of the house, and
a further letter was sent by the archbishop to
the sub-prioress and nuns, telling them to render
an account of the house to the commissioners,
as it was when the prioress took office and as it
was at the time he wrote. Evidently the charge
was one of maladministration. Whether the
charges proved against her were those of wilful
wrongdoing or merely of incompetent management, Mary de Ros resigned the office of
prioress sentiens se impotens, and on 30 September (fn. 6)
the archbishop directed the sub-prioress and
convent to elect 'aliam idoneam et honestam de
vestri monasterii gremio monialem in priorissam,'
but before any election was made Mary de Ros
died, and on 1 January 1311 the king, as
patron during the minority of Thomas Wake,
granted the nuns leave to elect a new prioress. (fn. 7)
Another visitation of the house was held on
Saturday, 28 September 1315, (fn. 8) as a result of
which Archbishop Greenfield issued another set
of injunctions. A certified statement, showing
the credit and debit accounts of the house, was
to be sent to the archbishop before the feast of
St. Nicholas. The prioress was to see that the
defects in the roof of the cloister and other
buildings were repaired, alms were to be only
given to the poor as the means of the house
allowed. An elderly nun of good fame and
honest conversation was to have charge of the
cloister keys, the sick were to be duly tended,
and any nun disobedient and rebellious in receiving correction was for each offence to receive
a discipline from the president in chapter and
say the seven penitential psalms with the litany,
and if still rebellious, the archbishop would
impose a more severe penance.
The archbishop forbade all to accept presents
from anybody, or give any, except with the
consent of the prioress. Under pain of the
greater excommunication no nun was to cause a
girl or boy to sleep, under any consideration, in
the dormitory, and if any nun broke this command the prioress, under pain of deposition
from office, was to signify her name to the
archbishop without delay. All nuns of the
house were forbidden to wear mantles or other
garments of a colour or shade different from
those accustomed to be worn by. religious, and
no unprocessed sister was to wear the black
veil.
The prioress and sub-prioress were ordered
not to allow puppies to enter the quire or church,
which would impede the service and hinder the
devotion of the nuns. Those nuns who were
allowed out to visit their parents or friends
were to return within fifteen days, and no
corrodies were to be granted, or boarders, &c.,
received without the archbishop's special licence.
On 17 May 1321 (fn. 9) Archbishop Melton
wrote to the Prioress and convent of Handale,
that he was sending to them Isabella Dayvill,
nun of the house of Rosedale, vestri ordinis, who,
contary to the honesty of religion, had apostatized.
She was to undergo her appointed penance in
their house, was to be last in the convent, was
to talk to no one, secular or religious, and not to
go out of the precincts of the monastery. Every
Friday she was to fast on bread and water, and
every Wednesday to abstain from fish, and on
each of those days was to receive a discipline in
chapter from the hands of the president.
On 21 November 1322, (fn. 10) owing to the
ravages of the Scots, the monastery of Rosedale
suffered so severely that the nuns Were dispersed,
and the archbishop wrote to Nunburnholme to
receive Alice de Rippinghale, to Sinningthwaite
to receive Avelina de Brus, to Thicket to receive
Margaret de Langtoft, and to Wykeham on
behalf of Joan Crouel, nuns of Rosedale; and it
is noted that another nun, Eleanor Dayvill,
entered the house of Hampole, with letters from
the queen. If Isabella Dayvill was still at
Handale this would account for six nuns, and
as there is no mention of the prioress it is probable
that she, and probably another nun to keep her
company, were able to remain at Rosedale.
This would bring up the number to eight, and
it appears that another nun, Joan de Dalton,
had been previously sent away, for the archbishop (3 June 1323) (fn. 11) ordered that she should
be re-admitted. This would account for nine nuns
belonging to Rosedale, and that is believed to
have been the number usually forming the
convent. From the date of Joan de Dalton's
re-admission it is evident that the dispersion of
the nuns did not extend beyond six months.
In 1326 (fn. 12) Brother Adam, late a conversus of
this house, with tears and prayers, kneeling
before the prioress and convent in the presence
of witnesses, asked forgiveness for his many
offences against the convent and sought release
from his vows and profession. They released
him from the profession of obedience he had
made in their house to God, Blessed Mary,
and Blessed Lawrence, he on his part renouncing
all right he had in the house of Rosedale, and
this they notified to the archbishop.
In a taxation of Rosedale in 1378-9, (fn. 13) eight
nuns are named, including Joan Colvyle the
prioress. On 1 September 1534 Archbishop
Lee dealt with the case of Joan Fletcher, (fn. 14) who
had been professed as a nun at Rosedale and was
subsequently appointed prioress of the neighbouring nunnery of Basedale. That office she
had resigned to avoid deposition, and she was
sent back to Rosedale by the archbishop to
undergo the penance he had imposed upon her.
But as she had shown no sign of repentance
the archbishop wrote to the Prioress and convent
of Rosedale to send her to Basedale again, which
house she once ruled as prioress, that where she
was not ashamed to sin, there she might lament
her misdeeds. The archbishop speaks of Basedale and Rosedale as houses of the order of
St. Benedict, and the question has been mooted
as to whether Rosedale was a Cistercian or a
simple Benedictine house. In at least three
places in the Registers Rosedale is definitely
stated to be Cistercian, (fn. 15) and in one instance,
indeed, as of the order of St. Augustine. (fn. 16) This
may be compared with the description of Hampole
in the Suppression Papers, (fn. 17) ' prioratus sive domus
monialium beate marie de Hampall ordinis sancti
Augustini et de regula sancti Benedicti Cisterciensis,' and of Kirklees as ' ordinis sancti
Barnardi et de regula sancti Benedicti Cisterciensis, (fn. 18) and Arthington as ' domus monialium
Clunieneis ordinis sancti Benedicti.' (fn. 19)
At the time of the suppression there were
eight nuns besides the prioress. The house
was supervised on 7 June and suppressed on
17 August 1535. The nuns, at the time of
the suppression, employed twelve men and boys.
There were two small bells in the ' campanile,'
valued together at 10s., of gilt plate a chalice
and three maser bands are reckoned, weighing
24 oz., and of plate parcel-gilt there was a
chalice and a goblet with a [? cover] weighing
21¾ oz. (fn. 20)
Prioresses of Rosedale
Alfreda, occurs 1246 (fn. 21)
Juliana, occurs 1252 (fn. 22)
Isabella Waloue, occurs 1281 (fn. 23)
Mary de Ros, resigned 1310 (fn. 24)
Joan de Pickering, confirmed 1310-11 (fn. 25)
Isabella Whiteby, resigned 1336 (fn. 26)
Elizabeth de Kirkeby Moresheved, confirmed
1336 (fn. 27)
Joan Colvyle, occurs 1378-9 (fn. 28)
Isabel de Lomley, occurs 1399 (fn. 29)
Katherine de Thweng, before 1410 (fn. 30)
Alice Gower, occurs 1413 (fn. 31)
Margaret Chambirlayn, resigned 1468 (fn. 32)
Joan Bramley, elected 1468 (fn. 33)
Margaret Ripon, died 1505 (fn. 34)
Joan Badesby, appointed 1505 (fn. 35)
Matilda Felton, confirmed 1521 (fn. 36)
Mary Marshall, confirmed 1527 (fn. 37)