39. THE PRIORY OF SWINE
The priory of Swine was founded by Robert
de Verli, (fn. 1) at some period prior to the death of
King Stephen, for his gift of the church of
St. Mary of Swine was confirmed to the nuns
there by Hugh Pudsey, Archdeacon of the East
Riding and Treasurer of York, which offices he
vacated in 1154, when he became Bishop of
Durham.
At first there is evidence that the house was in
some form a double monastery of men and women.
In a charter of Erenburgh, wife of Ulbert
Constable, (fn. 2) the brothers and sisters serving God
at Swine are alluded to, and in a charter of
Edward I in 13053 is an inspeximus of an undated
charter of Henry II to the brethren and nuns
of the house of Swine, taking their house, lands,
and possessions under his protection, and granting
them certain liberties. There is also, in the
same charter of Edward I, an inspeximus of a
charter of confirmation by Henry II to the
'brethren and nuns' of Swine of their lands in
frankalmoign. Again, in 1344, (fn. 4) in a charter of
Edward III, the former charters of Edward I and
Henry II are spoken of as made to the 'master
and canons of the house of Swine,' while the
second charter of Henry II is more particularly
alluded to as having been to the 'church of St.
Mary of Swine and the nuns' there. The
matter is not altogether clear. There is no indication that Swine was in any way connected
with Sempringham, or the Gilbertine order, but
its constitution, as revealed by a visitation of Archbishop Giffard in 1267-8, (fn. 5) is something very like
a Gilbertine house, with its canons and conversi,
and the nuns and lay-sisters. It is however
noteworthy that when appealing for outside
assistance in regulating its affairs, Archbishop
Romanus (fn. 6) did not apply to Sempringham, but to
the Abbot of Prémontré and the abbots of that
order, assembled in their general chapter.
In 1236 (fn. 7) Saer II of Sutton quitclaimed to the
prioress, Sybil, and her successors the advowson of
Drypool, and also gave certain marsh lands. The
prioress, on her part, granted that she and her
successors would find a suitable chaplain and clerk,
vestments, and all necessaries for a service in the
chapel of St. George at Ganstead for the souls of
Saer, his ancestors and successors, and a free
chantry in his manor of Southcoates, such as he
formerly had at his own charges.
Among the later benefactors of Swine should
be mentioned the munificent Walter Skirlaw,
Bishop of Durham, (fn. 8) a native of the parish, whose
sister was at one time prioress. By his will,
dated 7 March 1403-4, (fn. 9) Bishop Skirlaw bequeathed £100 to the monastery of the nuns of
Swine for a perpetual obit, and by a codicil
(1 August 1404) (fn. 10) signed in the great hall of the
manor-house of Howden, in the presence of his
sister Joan, Prioress of Swine, the bishop bequeathed 100s, to Katherine Punde, one of the
nuns of Swine.
According to the Taxation of 1291 the church
of Swine was rated at £53 6s. 8d., (fn. 11) and the temporalities of the prioress at £48. In a return
made in 1526 (fn. 12) the clear yearly value was stated
to be £78, and according to the Valor Ecclesiasticus
(fn. 13) £83 3s. 9½d.
When Archbishop Giffard held a visitation on
13 January 1267-8 (fn. 14) it was found that Amice
de Rue (presumably one of the nuns) was a
slanderer, untruthful, careless, hurtful and rebellious towards the convent, and so were nearly
all the others when the faults of the delinquents
were made known in chapter, to such an extent
that the prioress, or her vicegerent, without the
help of the archbishop was unable to effect corrections, as the observance of the rule required.
Silence was not kept in church, cloister, refectory,
or dormitory. Three nuns, sisters by birth and
profession, by name Sybil, Bella, and Amy,
often rebelled against the corrections made by
the prioress, and three other sisters, Alice de
Scruteville, Beatrix de St. Quintin, and Maud
Constable joined them. The sick nuns were
badly provided for, and had little more to eat
than those who were well had in the refectory,
though Saer de Sutton had formerly given half a
bovate of land to provide for the sick nuns and
sisters, of which they received nothing. Alice
Brun and Alice de Adeburn had received their
veils simoniacally. (fn. 15) Money which had been
given to the convent out of charity for pittances,
and purchasing shifts (camisias) and other necessaries, the prioress received, and it would be
better kept by two honest nuns, and never put
to other uses. The nuns were not properly provided with shoes, only receiving one pair a year;
similarly, as regarded clothes, they scarcely received a single tunic in three years, and a single
cloak in twenty, unless they were able to beg
more from relatives and secular friends. The
prioress was a suspected woman, too credulous,
and too ready of tongue, breaking out in correction
and frequently for equal offences dealt unequal
punishments, and with long-continued hatred
persecuted those she hated, until an opportunity
came for wreaking her vengeance; so that the nuns,
when they realized that they would receive too
heavy a punishment, contrived by the threats of
their neighbours that the severity would be mitigated. There were many discords between the
nuns and the sisters, and the sisters maintained
that they were the equals of the nuns, and might
wear the black veil like nuns, which was not the
custom in other houses. (fn. 16) Two windows, through
which the food and drink of the canons and conversi were passed, were not properly kept by the
nuns, called janitrices, so that suspected confabulations between the canons and conversi on the
one part, and the nuns and sisters on the other,
frequently took place.
The door which led to the church was very
carelessly kept by a secular servant, who allowed
the canons and conversi to enter in the dusk that
they might hold conversations with the nuns and
sisters. The door used to be diligently kept by a
faithful and active conversus. The household of
Robert de Hiltun, kt., wandered dissolutely about
the cloister and parlour, and in a very suspicious
manner conversed with the nuns and sisters,
whence danger was suspected. Robert himself
was very troublesome, and for fear of his oppression the canons of the house lately, without the
consent of the convent, gave him a barn full of
corn, which should have been for the maintenance of the convent. The canons and conversi, under pretence of taking care of the external
property of the house, wasted it, which, if it were
carefully looked after, would suffice for the maintenance of all. The nuns were only receiving
bread, cheese and ale, and on two days in the
week they only had water. The canons, however, and their accomplices were having plenty,
and were daintily provided for. It was found
that the house of Swine could not maintain more
nuns or sisters than were then there. Moreover,
the house was in debt to the amount of 140
marks at least, and on that account the archbishop
decreed that no one was to be received as nun or
sister without his consent. The correction of
these matters, if not carried out by the canons
and convent within a short time, the archbishop
specially reserved to himself to effect, as soon as
he had leisure.
It is not improbable that the disclosures made
at this visitation had as their ultimate result the removal of the canons not many years
later.
On 15 March 1267-8 (fn. 17) the archbishop wrote
'religiosis mulieribus et fil' in Deo dilectis
priorisse et canonicis de Swyne' a letter which
dealt generally with the conduct of the nuns and
sisters. Nothing is said about the canons, but a
custos of the house is alluded to, and for the
better providing of the convent, 40 marks was
to be entrusted to one of the brothers. (fn. 18)
That the separation of the canons and nuns of
Swine was being effected about this time seems
also clear from a letter addressed by Archbishop
Romanus on 3 September 1287 (fn. 19) to the abbots
of the Premonstratensian order, then assembled in
their general chapter, asking that Brother Robert
de Spalding, canon of Croxton, of their order,
whom with special consent of the abbot he had
appointed master of the house of the poor women
of Swine, might be allowed to hold that office,
so that he could assist by his circumspect industry in relieving the poverty and downfall which
threatened. Here Swine is alluded to as a house
of women, as if it were intended to lay special
stress on the fact that it was no longer a double
monastery.
In 1289 (fn. 20) another member of the St. Quintin
family is met with as a nun, and on 10 May
the archbishop directed the prioress to restore the
black veil to her, which on account of her demerits had been taken from her for a year. On
4 January 1289-90, (fn. 21) the archbishop wrote to
the Abbot of Croxton, asking that Brother R. de
Spalding might be allowed to continue his work
at Swine till Easter. The abbot had recalled him
just at a time when his labours were bearing fruit,
and the archbishop asked that he might remain
till he had been able to render a complete statement of affairs, which would be, God willing,
before Easter. Less than a month later (30 January), (fn. 22) the archbishop addressed a general letter
universis, &c., saying that R. de Spalding, whom
his abbot had recently permitted to be appointed
master of the nuns of Swine, had laboured most
industriously and commendably in regard to the
affairs of the house. On 28 September, (fn. 23) Josiana
de Anlaghby was appointed prioress, Cecilia de
Walkingham having resigned, and on the
following day the archbishop commissioned the
Master (fn. 24) and Prioress of Swine to inquire the
names of the nuns who acted disobediently towards them, and did evil to the house on the
occasion of the creation of the new prioress, that
they might be sent to Rosedale vestri ordinis, (fn. 25)
there to dwell in penance. (fn. 26) The master and
prioress were also ordered to send Elizabeth de
Rue to Nunburn holme (fn. 27) under the charge of a
brother of the house and a horseman. The
archbishop further directed by a letter to the
Master and Prioress of Swine that they were to
restore to Elizabeth de Arranis, (fn. 28) their nun, the
veil of consecration (consecracionis velum) which she
had laid aside on account of her transgression, but
she was the more firmly to persevere with the
rest of her penance. On 3 April following (fn. 29) the
archbishop appointed Robert Bustard, canon of the
house of St. Robert of Knaresborough, Master of
Swine in place of Robert de Spalding, but next (fn. 30)
year he wrote to the Master of St. Robert's that
he had not administered the affairs of Swine circumspectly, and the archbishop asked that he
might be recalled to Knaresborough. In another
letter, (fn. 31) to the prioress and convent, the archbishop
stated that for reasons which he did not care to
give at the time, Helewyse Darains, one of their
nuns, was to be sent to Wykeham for a time,
while a nun of that house, of good and praiseworthy conversation, was to come to them.
Archbishop Newark notified the convent of a
proposed visitation on Tuesday after the feast of
St. Giles in his first year (1 September 1298), (fn. 32)
and from a part of the injunctions which he gave
on that occasion, which are legible, it appears that
silence was to be more properly observed, and the
doors more diligently guarded; the nuns were
not to use large collars, barred girdles, or laced
shoes (zolariis longis, zonis barratis et sotularibus
laqueatis).
Archbishop Corbridge issued a commission on
9 April 1303 (fn. 33) to Roger de Mar, succentor of
York, to correct the matters discovered at the
visitation of Swine, and to inquire into the temporal and spiritual condition of the house, and to
confirm, if needed, the election of a new prioress.
There does not, however, appear to be any record
of the visitation itself.
In 1306 (fn. 34) a letter was addressed by Archbishop
Greenfield to the rural dean of Beverley, as to a
case promoted against John, the son of Thomas
the Smith of Swine, for fornication committed
with Alice Martel, nun of Swine. On 2 February 1308 (fn. 35) the archbishop wrote to Joan
de Moubray, the prioress, and the convent, forbidding them to make any alienations or new
leases of their lands or rents or other property,
to the injury of the house, and on 21 April (fn. 36)
following he forbade them to take boarders, &c.
Whether these two letters directly led to her
resignation or not does not appear, but a little
afterwards (fn. 37) the archbishop directed the nuns to
make due provision for Joan de Moubray, their
late prioress. Once again we hear of a case
of immorality in a letter addressed in 1310 (fn. 38)
to Roger de Driffield (quondam abbati) of Meaux
concerning Brothers Robert de Merflet and
Stephen de Ulram his fellow monks, who had
been guilty of incontinence and incest with Elizabeth de Ruda, nun of Swine.
On 26 January 1318 (fn. 39) Archbishop Melton
issued a commission to Richard de Melton, rector
of Brandesburton, to inquire into the excesses of
the nuns of Swine, and on 20 February (fn. 40) he sent
the nuns a long list of injunctions, in which he
enjoined the prioress and sub-prioress to keep
convent, and ordered that his predecessor's injunctions were to be observed. The prioress
for the time being was to see that the house
was reasonably served with bread, ale and
other necessaries. The prioress and convent,
according to their rule, were to say matins
with the other canonical hours each day of the
year with note, unless lawfully prevented. The
prioress and all who had administration of the
goods of the house were without delay to have
the dormitory covered, so that the nuns might
quietly and in silence be received in it, without
annoyance from storms, and they were to have
the roofs of other buildings repaired as soon as
might be. No nun able to be present at divine
offices was to be excused from them on account
of any external occupation, unless the great need
of the house demanded it, and as to that the
archbishop charged the conscience of the prioress
as she would answer to the Most High. The
prioress was to make both old and young nuns
keep to the cloister at due times, and especially
the young ones who had not yet rendered their
service. All the nuns, not being sick, were to
sleep in the dormitory, and not in different places,
causing scandal to arise against them. No brothers or other guests were to be received inside
the inner door, to eat, drink, or pass the night
under any condition. No nun was to presume,
under pain of the greater excommunication, to
use supertunics, barred girdles, in one combination of garment, outwardly or inwardly cut, or
ornamented in a curious fashion.
On 2 January 1319-20 (fn. 41) the archbishop wrote
to the prioress and convent to receive Symon
called Chapeleyne and Geoffrey Palmer in fratres
vestros et conversos—an interesting fact, as bearing
further on the existence of conversi attached to
houses of nuns.
In September 1320 (fn. 42) the prioress, Josiana de
Anlaghby, resigned on account of old age, and
the archbishop directed the nuns to make due
provision for her, who for a long period had
laudably performed her duty.
In 1335 (fn. 43) William Bomour, conversus of the
house of the nuns of Swine, on account of his
excesses, which had been found out at a recent
visitation, was transferred for a time to the monastery of Sawley at the cost of the house of Swine.
In 1358 (fn. 44) Archbishop Thoresby ordered the
nuns to receive back one of their number, Anne
de Cawode, who had twice broken her vow and
left their house, but no very bad record seems
to be charged against her, except the bare fact of
her apostasy.
In 1410, (fn. 45) at the request of the Prioress and
convent of Swine and the vicar and inhabitants
of the parish, Archbishop Bowett transferred the
feast of the dedication of the church of Swine
from 7 August to the Sunday next before the
feast of St. Margaret each year, so as not to
interfere with the ingathering.
The house, here said to be 'of the order of
St. Bernard,' although well under the £200 limit,
was exempted from suppression on 1 October
1537, Helen Deyn then being prioress; (fn. 46) she
must have died or resigned shortly after this date,
as the priory was surrendered on 9 September
1539 (fn. 47) by Dorothy Knight, the prioress, and
nineteen nuns. (fn. 48)
It is interesting to trace two of these ladies
later. In 1552-3, (fn. 49) when an inquiry was made
on complaint of the non-payment of pensions to
ex-religious, it was reported: 'Elizabeth Grymston of thage of xxxvj yeres and pencon by yere
xliijs viijd and is maried to oon Pykkerd of
Welwek, and paid.' Of another it is reported:
'Elisabeth Tyas morant apud Tykhill, and now
maried to oon John Swyne gentilman, and pencon by yere xls and paid.'
Dorothy Knyght, the late prioress, was also alive
'of thage of 1 yeres and pencion xiijli vjs viijd
and paid.' Elizabeth Clifton (another nun) 'of
thage of xl yeres and pencon by yere lxvjs viijd,
and haith sold her pencon to' [ ], while
Elizabeth Elsley 'pencon by yere xls and remaynyth wt master Barton at Northallerton as
it is seid.'
Prioresses of Swine
Helewis, occurs 1227, (fn. 50) mentioned 1236 (fn. 51)
Sibil, occurs 1236 (fn. 52)
Maud, occurs 1240-1 (fn. 53)
Sibil, occurs 1252 (fn. 54)
Mabel, occurs 1280 (fn. 55)
Gundreda, resigned 1288 (fn. 56)
Cecilia de Walkingham, confirmed 1288, (fn. 57) resigned 1290 (fn. 58)
Josiana de Anlaghby, confirmed 1290, (fn. 59) occurs
1293 (fn. 60)
Joan de Moubray, occurs 1308, (fn. 61) resigned
1309 (fn. 62)
Josiana de Anlaghby (second time), resigned
1320 (fn. 63)
Cecilia, occurs 1338 (fn. 64)
Joan Skirlaw, occurs 1404 (fn. 65)
Isabel Chetwynd, occurs 1437 (fn. 66)
Maud Wade, resigned 1482 (fn. 67)
Joan Kelk, confirmed 1482 (fn. 68)
Beatrice Lowe, confirmed 1498 (fn. 69)
Cecilia Eland, confirmed 1506 (fn. 70)
Elena Dene, confirmed 1520, (fn. 71) occurs 1537 (fn. 72)
Dorothy Knight, surrendered the house
1539 (fn. 73)
The circular seal (fn. 74) 1¾ in. in diameter, used
in King Stephen's time, has a representation of
our Lady seated, holding a lily, sceptre, and a
book. The legend is:—
✠ SIGILLVM SBĒ MARIE DE SVINE
The second seal (fn. 75) is a vesica, 2 in. by 13/8 in.,
having our Lady crowned and seated and holding the Child. Below is the prioress kneeling
in prayer. The legend is: —
✠ S' PRIOR . . . . . SBĒ MARIE DE SVINA