49. THE PRIORY OF UPAVON
At the time of Domesday the church of Upavon, together with 2½ hides there, was held by
the Norman abbey of St. Wandrille de Fontenelle
(Seine-Inférieure). That abbey of black monks,
established near Caudebec on the Seine more than
400 years earlier, already held a number of other
churches in England, including four given to it
by the Conqueror, for love of his chaplain, Guncard, who had become a monk there. (fn. 1) By 1141
the abbey held churches in five counties, (fn. 2) and it
was probably in the 12th century that it established two cells in England, one at Ecclesfield
(Yorks.) (fn. 3) and the other at Upavon. In the time
of King John the abbey's holdings in Whitchurch,
Sherston, and Wilsford were given to the Bishop
and Cathedral of Salisbury. (fn. 4) At the same time the
church of Upavon was made into a prebend of
Salisbury, the Abbot of St. Wandrille being received as a canon of Salisbury with the prebend of
Upavon. (fn. 5) In 1226 this prebend was valued at
20 marks. (fn. 6) In the same year the proctor of the
abbot, probably the Prior of Upavon, excused
himself from attendance at Salisbury, (fn. 7) and two
years later it was stated that the foreign canons of
Salisbury were not summoned to the election of
the new bishop. (fn. 8) In later times the same monks
were called indifferently priors of Upavon or
proctors of the Abbot of St. Wandrille, (fn. 9) but the
only evidence of the presence of either abbot or
prior at Salisbury is that the prior held some
houses in the close there in 1289. (fn. 10)
In the 13th century, when the abbey drew 200
livres revenue from England, (fn. 11) it had a large number of monks living away, both in England and
Normandy. (fn. 12) Archbishop Rigaud of Rouen complained on several of his visitations of St. Wandrille that the abbot did not visit his priories often
enough. (fn. 13) However, in 1258 he discovered that
the abbot had gone to England with three monks. (fn. 14)
In 1285 the abbey reduced its holdings in England
by exchanging two churches there for lands at
Rogerville near the abbey, held by the priory of
Bradenstoke. (fn. 15) In 1294 the priory of Upavon
was valued at £32 8s. yearly, and its goods at
£40 9s. 8d. When next it was taken into the
king's hands in 1324 the movables had fallen to
£25 3s. in value. (fn. 16) The detailed inventories show
two horses for the monks to ride, two beds, three
tables, the sparse fittings of their chapel, their pots
and pans, livestock, and store of grains. This was
apparently a poor priory with a small demesne
farm and but few livestock, including less than
100 sheep in 1294. By this time the priory lands
in Upavon had come to be called a manor, and the
nearby church of Charlton had been appropriated
to it, in spite of the fact that the manor of Charlton
was held by another Norman abbey. The Prior
of Upavon presented vicars to the churches of both
Upavon and Charlton. (fn. 17)
Under Edward III the priory was repeatedly
taken into the king's hands and handed back to a
succession of priors, who normally paid £20 a year
for holding their own. (fn. 18) However, in 1378 many
alien religious were expelled from England, and
amongst them went three monks of St. Wandrille,
Lawrence Mahete, William Blaunk, and John
Bourdet. (fn. 19) Henceforth the priory was farmed by
a succession of exchequer clerks for the same rent
of £20 on condition that they provided for the
celebration of divine service at Upavon and the
maintenance of the priory. (fn. 20) During the Hundred
Years War presentations to both churches were
made by the king whether the priory was in the
hands of the prior or of the exchequer clerks. (fn. 21)
From 1409 the annual rent was enjoyed by Queen
Joan. (fn. 22) In 1423 the priory of Upavon was granted
to the Austin canons of Ivychurch in exchange
for certain rights in Clarendon Park, and Ivychurch held it until the Dissolution, when the
prior there, as successor of the Abbot of St. Wandrille in the prebend of Upavon, was still finding
a vicar for the service of Salisbury Cathedral. (fn. 23)
Priors of Upavon
Robert de Bella Aqua, occurs 1262. (fn. 24)
Gilbert de Carcutt, occurs 1289. (fn. 25)
John de Milleville, occurs 1306. (fn. 26)
William de Santa Genovesa, occurs 1308,
1319. (fn. 27)
Richard le Provost, occurs 1337, 1341. (fn. 28)
William de Frevill, Fraunvill, occurs 1342,
1346, 1350. (fn. 29)
William Ponhier, occurs 1352. (fn. 30)
Robert Abbot, Labbe, occurs 1361, died
1368. (fn. 31)