62. EGGLESTONE ABBEY (fn. 1)
The Praemonstratensian abbey of St. John
the Baptist of Egglestone lay in the parish of
Rokeby on the extreme northern edge of the
ancient earldom of Richmond. Documentary
and structural evidence points to the years 1195
to 1198 as a probable date, and a member of
the Multon family was in all likelihood the
original donor. Camden says Conan IV, Duke
of Britanny and Earl of Richmond, founded
this house, but as he died in 1171 this is not
probable. The first document relating to
Egglestone is a fine, dated 1198, between Ralph
Multon and his overlord Ralph Lenham on
account of the former having alienated all the
lands which he held of him at Egglestone without his sanction to the abbot and convent there.
This Ralph Multon was probably the founder. (fn. 2)
Ralph Lenham confirmed Multon's gift to the
abbot, to be held of him in perpetuity for the
annual payment of 6 marks of silver for the
sixth part of one knight's fee for all services;
for this concession Ralph Multon gave 15
marks. (fn. 3) About 1200 Gilbert Lee conveyed
to the abbey the manor of Kilvington, for the
support of nine canons in addition to those
already there (probably three). We find, in
consequence, that in 1478 the abbey was said to
have been founded in 1200 by Gilbert de Leya. (fn. 4)
This gift led to a serious dispute in 1248, when
Philip son of Gilbert claimed that the nine
canons should be of his presentation, and produced a charter to that effect from Abbot
Nicholas, complaining that owing to the refusal of his nominees he had suffered damage to
the extent of 40 marks. The jury found that
the charter of Nicholas had not been signed
with the common seal, but nevertheless in 1251
Philip's claims were recognized and a compromise arrived at, and the abbot paid £5 for
all arrears and damages incurred by the loss of
service due from the knight's fee. Robert Stichill, Bishop of Durham (1260-74), confirmed
Gilbert's grant of Kilvington, reserving to the
church of Thornton-le-Street in fee farm the
sum of 5 marks a year. In 1272 John of Britanny, Earl of Richmond, founded a chantry
for six chaplains, to be supplied from Egglestone,
to celebrate divine service daily in the chapel of
Richmond Castle. For its maintenance he gave
property in Moulton worth £25 yearly.
Egglestone Abbey remained very poor, and
taxes in arrear were remitted from time to time,
£27 8s. 4½d. in 1318, £16 2s. 7d. in 1328,
and £3 13s.4d. in 1333. Various archbishops
tried to assist the abbey by authorizing the
appropriation of churches. In 1330 Archbishop
Melton, for the yearly payment of 2s., allowed
the abbey and convent to appropriate the church
of Startforth, given them early in the 13th
century by Helen of Hastings. In 1340 Maud,
widow of Brian Fitz Alan, granted the advowson
of Rokeby Church and lands there, and this was
also appropriated in 1342 by the leave of Archbishop Zouch. In 1348, to compensate for
damage done by the royal army before the
battle of Neville's Cross, Sir Thomas Rokeby
gave the church of Great Ouseburn, and the
same archbishop authorized its appropriation for
15s. a year. Sir Thomas Fencotes gave the
abbey the advowson of Bentham Church with
£10 a year in 1357, but notwithstanding these
additions to their income the abbey was removed
from the Clerical Subsidy Roll in 1380.
Thomas Greenwood, canon of York, left
26s. 8d. to the 'poor ' monastery to pray for his
soul in 1421. In 1535 all the temporalities
and spiritualities of Egglestone amounted to
£65 12s. 6d. The total expenses of the abbey,
including £3 6s. 8d., to each of the chaplains at
Startforth, Ellerton, Romaldkirk, and Richmond,
amounted to £28 18s. 3d., leaving a net income
of £36 8s. 3d.
Of the internal history of the abbey we have
a few particulars. About 1285 a report reached
the Abbot of Prémontré that the Abbot of
Egglestone had been guilty of incontinence. (fn. 5)
Commissioners were at once sent to inquire
into the matter and found that the whole
scandal had been concocted by three canons.
Of these the chief offender was already doing
penance at Welbeck for other misdeeds, and was
now sentenced to be banished to 'some fardistant church of the order'; the second canon
was sent to Torre Abbey, in Devon; and the
third was to do penance at Egglestone. (fn. 6) Some
twenty years later there was again dissension in
the house. William de C. seems to have resigned the abbacy, possibly under pressure,
about 1309, and to have been treated by his
successor and the canons with harshness, his
good name defamed, and himself expelled from
the abbey. The Abbot of Prémontré therefore
ordered the Abbots of Dale and St. Agatha's to
go to Egglestone and persuade the brethren to
receive their late abbot back as a member of
their house; failing this they were to place him
in Welbeck Abbey at the expense of Egglestone. (fn. 7) The Abbot of St. Agatha's apparently
thought that there was something to be said on
the other side; (fn. 8) and in any case the convent of
Egglestone refused either to receive William
de C. or to pay for him. The Abbot of
Welbeck likewise refused to take him in
without pay, (fn. 9) and two or three years passed
before the unfortunate man found a home in
the abbey of Torre. (fn. 10)
Bishop Redman visited Egglestone in 1478,
when he found little to complain of except that
some of the canons were lax in rising for matins
and that silence was not properly observed.
There were at this time fourteen canons
besides the abbot, and one of these, Thomas
Burton, was allowed in 1481 to go to either
Oxford or Cambridge for study. It was
probably this student who was found next year
to have appropriated and pawned three books. (fn. 11)
Both in 1482 and 1488 the bishop found fault
with the canons for not keeping silence and for
not wearing their cloaks at proper times. (fn. 12)
From the list of the brethren in 1491 we find
that only the abbot and six canons were continually in residence, eight other canons serving
the churches of Great Ouseburn, Rokeby, and
Startforth, and the chapels of Ellerton, Richmond,
Romaldkirk, Arkendale, and Askrigg. (fn. 13) In
1494 the question of the cloaks was still the
most important matter dealt with, (fn. 14) but in 1497
one of the canons had taken part in a quarrel
which had resulted in the death of his
adversary, (fn. 15) and although not directly responsible
he was banished for seven years to Halesowen, (fn. 16)
to appease the anger of the dead man's friends;
another canon had also to undergo penance for
being present at the fatal quarrel, though he had
done his best to keep the peace. The canon
who had been vicar of Startforth had turned
apostate and had made over his vicarage to
Thomas Tollerton, who was recalled as unsuitable. The bishop forbad the brethren to go
out without leave, and especially to visit the
town of Barnard Castle, a prohibition which he
repeated in 1500, (fn. 17) adding that none were to
carry long knives either within or without the
abbey. Provision was to be made for the
cantarist of Richmond, that he should not in
future have to go about like a beggar. The
last recorded visitation, in 1502, (fn. 18) revealed many
serious defects, and the canons were ordered to
cease from quarelling and not to go out of the
abbey without leave; boys were not to sleep in the
dormitory, and the abbot was not to lease estates
for long terms without consulting the convent.
The abbey was exempted at the suppression
of 1535 and re-founded in 1537, but finally surrendered in 1540. A pension of £13 6s. 8d,
was granted to the abbot, and smaller sums, in all
amounting to £30 13s. 4d., to the sub-prior, six
priests, and one sub-deacon.
Abbots of Egglestone (fn. 19)
Ralph de Moleton, occurs 1198 (fn. 20)
William
Nicholas, c. 1200
Stephen, c. 1205 (fn. 20a)
Robert, occurs 1216
William, occurs 1226
Hamo, occurs 1235, (fn. 20b) 1239
Robert, occurs 1250-4 (fn. 21)
Roger, (?)
John of Easby, occurs 1296, died 1307
Thomas of Durham, elected 1307
William, elected 1309
Bernard of Langton, elected 1313
John of Theakston, elected 1330
Alexander of Easby, elected 1349
William of Startforth, elected 1351
John, occurs 1364
Peter of Easby, elected 1377
John English or Inglys, occurs 1401, (fn. 22) died
1411
John of Wells, elected 16 Feb., ob. 27 Sept.
1411
Thomas Morton, elected 27 Sept. 1411
Thomas Rayner, elected 1445, retired 1449
Richard Hilton, elected 1449
John Woolston, elected 1455
Robert Ellerton, elected 1476
William Westerdale, elected 1495
John Wakefield, elected 1503
Thomas Darnton alias Shepherd, 1519-40