44. THE PRIORY OF MOUNT GRACE
The Carthusian Priory of Mount Grace, in
the parish of East Harlsey, was founded about
the year 1398 by Thomas Holand, Duke of
Surrey. (fn. 1) The royal licence having been granted
to him by Richard II, Thomas Holand commanded the monks to pray for the king and
queen and several members of the royal family,
as well as for himself and his heirs, and for John
Ingelby and Eleanor his wife, and many others.
With the assent of the prior of the Grande
Chartreuse he nominated the first prior and
dedicated the priory to the honour of the
Blessed Virgin and St. Nicholas; but the latter
part of the dedication was soon forgotten, and the
priory was known as the House of the Assumption of the most Blessed Virgin in Mount Grace.
Richard II was a generous benefactor of the
priory; in March 1399 he granted the monks
there a charter of liberties and franchises in
general terms, including the right to mine lead,
and in May of the same year, at the request of
the Duke of Surrey, he bestowed upon them
the alien priories of Hinckley in Leicestershire,
Carisbrooke in the Isle of Wight, and Wareham
in Dorset, and lands belonging to the alien
priory of Saint Mary of Lire, at Evreux, in
Normandy, to hold as long as the war between
England and France should continue. In spite
of the fact that the Duke of Surrey was slain
fighting against Henry IV, Mount Grace still
enjoyed royal favour; Wareham Priory was lost
soon after Henry's accession, and as £1,000 had
been paid for it, and its annual value was £245,
the king granted the monks £100 a year from
the Exchequer till they should receive lands of
that value, and a tun of the better red wine of
Gascony to be received at Hull every Martinmas.
Henry V confirmed the gift of Hinckley in 1412
for the endowment and support of five monks,
chaplains of the house, to pray for the good estate
of himself and Thomas Beaufort, Earl of Dorset,
and in 1421 he gave the monks four alien
priories, Long Bennington, Minting and Hagh
(Hough-on-the-Hill) in Lincolnshire, and Field
Dalling in Norfolk, and the yearly grant of £100
was then redeemed.
The advowson of the priory passed to Edmund
Holand, brother of Thomas Duke of Surrey,
and his wife Lucy Countess of Kent was seised
of it on her death in 1421. In 1438, on the
death of Sir William Ingelby, the patronage
valued at 20s. a year was in his possession, but it
is not known how the advowson passed to the
Ingelby family. The Prior and convent of
Mount Grace petitioned Parliament in 1439 for
a confirmation of their title, stating that after the
founders' death they dared not continue building
on account of the number of claimants to the
estate; the required confirmation was made by
Henry VI in the following year.
In 1456 Sir James Strangways of Harlsey
Castle and Elizabeth his wife obtained licence
to grant the advowson of the church of Beighton,
in Derbyshire, to Mount Grace, and in 1462
the king granted in frankalmoign the manor of
Atherstone, in Warwickshire, part of the alien
priory of Great Ogbourne, in Wiltshire, for the
relief of the poor estate and expenses of persons
gathering there weekly. Another royal gift in
1471 was that of the manor in Yorkshire of
the alien priory of Begare in frankalmoign; in
return three masses were to be said daily for the
king and for the souls of his family. In 1508
the Prior of Mount Grace accepted from the
Prior of Guisborough a lease for a term of. fifty
years of the chapel of East Harlsey and manor
of Bordelby at a yearly rent of £8; if the rent
were in arrear the canons of Guisborough might
distrain and re-enter upon the land. The lessees
promised to keep a chaplain to celebrate divine
service, and if they repaired the quire this should
not operate to the prejudice of the lessors. (fn. 2) In
the will of Sir Thomas Strangways, 1522, mention is made of a Lady Chapel at Mount Grace,
and directions are given for the priest who sang
masses there; it may have been built shortly
before this date.
In 1534 some of the monks tried to avoid
taking the oath of royal supremacy, but they
were imprisoned and the prior finally surrendered
the monastery. Mount Grace was valued at
£382 5s. 11½d. gross and £323 2s. 10½d. net.
Of this sum £104 6s. 8d. was derived from
spiritualities in Lincolnshire, £164 from lands in
various counties, and the remainder from property
in Yorkshire. Expenditure on rents and salaries
amounted to £59 3s. 1d. (fn. 2a) In December 1539
pensions amounting to £195 were allotted to the
brethren, the prior was given £60 with the house
and chapel called the Mount, eight of the priests
received £7 each, arid eighteen others smaller
payments.
Priors of Mount Grace
Robert Tredwye or Tredewy, 1398 (fn. 3)
Edmund, occurs 1399 (fn. 4)
Nicholas Luff, occurs 1413, (fn. 5) 1415, (fn. 6) 1416 (fn. 7)
Robert Layton, occurs 1421 (fn. 8)
Thomas, occurs 1428 (fn. 9)
Thomas Lockington, occurs 1436, (fn. 10) 1437, (fn. 11)
1439 (fn. 12)
Robert, occurs 1449, (fn. 13) 1454 (fn. 14)
Robert Leke, occurs 1469, (fn. 15) 1473 (fn. 16)
Thomas, occurs 1475, (fn. 17) 1476 (fn. 18)
Thomas, occurs 1497 (fn. 19)
Henry Eccleston, occurs 1501, (fn. 20) 1506 (fn. 21)
John, occurs 1527-8, (fn. 22) 1531-2 (fn. 23)
William (?) Fletcher, occurs 1532-3 (fn. 24)
John Wilson, occurs 1537-8, (fn. 25) 1538 (fn. 26)
The seal of the house (fn. 27) used in 1520 is a
vesica, 25/8 in. by 15/8 in., with a design of the
assumption of our Lady and the prior seated
under an arch in the base. An H above his
right shoulder perhaps refers to Prior Henry
Eccleston. The legend is:—
SIGILL' . . . ONIS: BEĒ: MARIE: IN MONTE GgE
Prior John Wilson's seal, (fn. 28) a vesica, 7/8 in. by
5/8 in., shows him seated, wearing his mitre, and
blessing. The legend is:—
S' PRIORIS DOMUS MONTIS GRACIE