HOUSE OF CLUNIAC MONKS
7. THE PRIORY OF LEWES (fn. 1)
William de Warenne and Gundrada his wife
within ten years of the Conquest, to which they
owed their possession of the rape and town of
Lewes, determined to found a monastery in that
town, and while the idea was still in their minds
set out on a pilgrimage to Rome, but when they
came into Burgundy they found that travelling
was unsafe on account of the war between the
pope and the emperor. They therefore turned
aside to the great abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul
at Cluny, and were so struck with the high standard of religious life maintained there that they
determined to put their proposed foundation
under Cluny, and accordingly desired the abbot
to send three or four of his monks to begin the
monastery. He, however, would not at first
consent—fearing that at so great a distance from
their mother-house they would become undisciplined. At last, after the king himself had
added his entreaties to the founder's, the abbot sent
Lanzo and three other monks to England in
1076. To the small community thus introduced
William de Warenne gave the church of St. Pancras in, or rather outside, Lewes, which he had
lately rebuilt in stone, with the land surrounding
it called 'the island,' and land at Falmer and
Balmer and his Norfolk manor of Walton, and
other gifts sufficient to support twelve monks.
Prior Lanzo, however, was recalled to Cluny and
remained there so long that William had serious
thoughts of transferring his Lewes foundation to
Marmoutier; but at last he obtained from the
abbot both the return of Lanzo and the promise
that in future the abbey would elect one of their
best monks to the post of prior of Lewes.
The endowments of the priory grew apace,
the founder giving the tithes of all his lands with
special rights in his fisheries and market of Lewes,
and adding the church and manor of Castle Acre
in Norfolk where he proposed to found a monastery, as was afterwards done, to be under that
of Lewes. After his death in 1089 his successors, earls of Surrey and Warenne, continued to
enrich the house of St. Pancras. To attempt to
deal fully with all the grants is impossible. The
second earl of Warenne gave or confirmed to
the monks all the nine churches of Lewes, and
nine or ten other Sussex churches, eleven in
Yorkshire, including those of Halifax and Wakefield, seven in Norfolk, St. Olave's in Southwark, and others elsewhere. In addition to
these Ralph de Chesney, at the time of the
dedication of the priory church (c. 1095), gave
five more churches in Sussex, and Walter de
Grancurt four in Norfolk. An idea of the
ecclesiastical patronage exercised by this priory in
Sussex may be gathered from the map facing p. 8,
and their temporalities were on a corresponding
scale, so that in 1291 the Sussex property of the
house was valued at £227 11s. 2d., and that in
other counties at £560 13s. 8d., making a total
of £788 4s. 10d. (fn. 2) Certain manors and churches
were alienated from time to time, but others
were also obtained, and by the time of the dissolution the priory's income stood at £1,091 9s. 6¾d.,
from which £171 5s. had to be deducted for
outgoings. (fn. 3)
The priory of St. Pancras was most fortunate
in having as its first head Lanzo, a man of preeminent piety, whose noble example made his
monastery of Lewes famous as an abode of
spiritual excellence and its monks models of
devotion, courtesy, and charity. (fn. 4) For thirty
years the saintly prior ruled the convent, dying
on Easter Monday, 1107, after a brief illness,
completing in his death that pattern of affectionate and devout humility which he had consistently
upheld in his life. (fn. 5) His successor, Hugh, appears to have continued the tradition of the
priory for devotion, charity, and liberal hospitality, (fn. 6) and was selected in 1123 by Henry I to
be first abbot of the king's new foundation at
Reading, (fn. 7) whence he was promoted to the archbishopric of Rouen in 1130, (fn. 8) his successor at
Lewes following him in the abbacy of Reading in that year. (fn. 9) Another Prior Hugh, a man
of great piety and honour, was elected to Reading in 1186, (fn. 10) and raised to the abbacy of Cluny
in 1199. (fn. 11) He was therefore abbot at the time
of the great dispute between Cluny and the earl
of Warenne over the patronage of the priory.
Lewes Priory was apparently vacant early in
1200, and the abbot of Cluny appointed one
Alexander thereto. Hameline, earl of Warenne,
refused to accept this nomination, claiming that
the patronage of the priory lay with him; and
in this he was apparently supported at first by
some of the monks, who maintained that with
the exception of paying 100 shillings yearly to
the abbot they were independent of the motherhouse, and had the right of free election. (fn. 12)
On an appeal to the pope a decision was
given in favour of the abbot, and the monks
were ordered to obey his nominee. The earl
not only appealed against this decision, but
violently seized the priory's possessions in Yorkshire and Norfolk, and even placed armed guards
at the gate of the priory to prevent the monks
from sending messages to Cluny; all pilgrims
and travellers desirous of enjoying the hospitality
of the priory were cross-examined to find out if
they were carrying letters from the abbot before
they were allowed to enter, and when the abbot
put the church of Lewes under an interdict the
earl retorted by threatening to starve the monks
if they observed the interdict. The archbishop
of Canterbury and the bishops of Chichester and
Ely were appointed by the pope to decide the
case, and the abbot of Cluny himself came over
to England and met the representatives of the
monks and of the earl, and apparently agreed to a
truce until the question should be settled by law;
but when the abbot, accompanied by the commissioners' representatives to see that he did nothing
to predjudice the earl's case, came to Lewes and
Castle Acre he was ignominiously repulsed by the
earl's men. This happened a second time, but
at last the papal commissioners succeeded in inducing both sides to accept a peace with honour. (fn. 13)
Even then the abbots of Battle and Robertsbridge, appointed to instal Alexander as prior,
were turned back by Warenne's men; but shortly
afterwards, in June 1201, the quarrel was brought
to an end. (fn. 14) The terms of the agreement were
that in future when a vacancy occurred the monks
and the earl of Warenne should send representatives to Cluny to announce the fact, and the
abbot should then nominate two suitable candidates, of whom the earl's proctors should choose
one, who should at once enter upon the office of
prior. (fn. 15) This arrangement continued to hold
good on all future occasions, although in 1229
Pope Gregory IX declared it void, and vested the
right of appointment solely in the abbot of
Cluny. (fn. 16)
When the commissioners of the abbot of
Cluny visited Lewes Priory in 1262 they reported that the spiritual condition of the house
was very satisfactory, the services duly performed,
alms administered, and the brethren well cared
for. (fn. 17) The material prosperity of the priory was
also notable, for while most of the English
Cluniac houses were deeply in debt Lewes had
a balance on the credit side. Disaster, however,
came upon the monastery two years later, when
in May, 1264, it was made the quarters of King
Henry's army, its courts and very altars defiled
by the licentious soldiery, and its buildings injured by the attacks of Montfort's men, the
church itself being set on fire, and with difficulty
saved from destruction. Added to this there was
internal strife which ended in the sub-prior and
nine monks being sent out of the convent in
1266 to do penance in other houses for conspiracy
and faction. When, however, Prior William de
Foville died in 1268 he left the priory free of
debt, but in 1279, (fn. 18) although the lives of the
monks were still conscientious and honourable,
the temporal state of the priory was desperate. A
debt of 4,000 marks had been reduced to 2,800,
but another 250 marks was owing for the building
of the church, and as much for stocking the
manors, for payment of which the silver vessels
of the house were pledged, and another 100 marks
were due for wool paid for by merchants but
not delivered. There was also a threatened deficiency of all necessaries from the time of Lent
to the next harvest. The stock on the priory
manors was greatly depleted, 100 marks were
owing for wine, and the yearly payment to the
mother-house of Cluny was £100 in arrear.
In short the house of Lewes is in such a state that
it will scarcely be able to pull through, and if it can
it will not be for twenty years, so those hold who
know the facts; by what means and through whose
action it has been brought down to such a lamentable
condition is sufficiently well-known, according to the
common report of reliable witnesses. (fn. 19)
Some idea of the manner in which the priory
had suffered by the appointment of foreigners
whose care for the house was limited to making
as much as possible out of its revenues may be
gathered from the letter of Archbishop Peckham to the abbot of Cluny upon the vacancy occasioned by the promotion of Prior John de
Thyenges to a continental priory in June 1285. (fn. 20)
The archbishop begins by expressing his particular affection for the priory of Lewes under whose
shadow his boyhood had been spent, and from
whose inmates he had received honour and comfort. Then he points out how needful it is
that priors shall be appointed who will revive
the virtues of devotion, hospitality, and charity,
and set good examples, and who will present to
their benefices pastors in truth and not robbers;
adding that though he is now an old man,
when he looks back he can scarcely remember a
case in which the prior and convent exercised
due heed in appointing a man to the care of souls.
Secondly, the prior must be one who will use
the revenues of the church for its good and
not his own, and at the same time be ready to
secure the favour of the leaders of the nobility
and church by all honourable means. He especially urges the need of propitiating the earl
of Warenne, and suggests that if he should ask
for the appointment of an English-speaking
prior it would be well to agree, adding that it
would be easy for the abbot to find such by
inquiry of his agents in England.
The vacancy on this occasion seems to have
been filled by another foreigner, John of Avignon,
who had possibly already been presented when
Peckham wrote, but on the next occasion of a
vacancy the abbot appears to have remembered
the archbishop's suggestion, as an Englishman,
John of Newcastle, became prior in 1298.
In 1288 the spiritual condition of Lewes is
noted as satisfactory, and the number of monks
is given at thirty-nine. According to the list of
English Cluniac houses made in 1405, (fn. 21) there
ought to be thirty-six monks at Lewes, 'though
according to some there was not anciently any
fixed number, but sometimes there were forty
and sometimes fifty'; the latter number was
attained in 1279, and the visitors reported in
1306 that there used to be sixty monks there,
though at that date there were only thirty-three, (fn. 22)
and in 1391 the number had again risen to
fifty-eight. (fn. 23) The earl of Warenne's statement
in 1240 that there were a hundred monks in
the priory (fn. 24) may be taken as an exaggeration. At
the time of the dissolution the number had fallen
to twenty-four.
Meanwhile matters went from bad to worse,
and in 1292 it was reported that Lewes was so
involved in debt that there was no hope that it
could recover unless it were speedily assisted,
and the abbot was requested to consider what
had best be done. (fn. 25) The Close Rolls bear out this
state of affairs in their entries of acknowledgements of debts to Italian merchants and others
made by the prior. (fn. 26) Next year, when the prior
was over at Cluny, the abbot was advised, in
face of the ruin which threatened Lewes, to take
security from him that he would consult the best
interests of the convent; but in 1294, although
the house was thus deeply involved, the prior
was only paying off 50 marks yearly, and the
abbot had to write threatening to proceed against
him if he were not more industrious in clearing
off the debt, (fn. 27) and a similar injunction was addressed in 1299 to the newly appointed prior. (fn. 28)
By 1301 the monastery was reported to owe about
22,000 marks in money and wool. (fn. 29) Earl Warenne,
in 1312, apparently endeavoured to assist the
priory's recovery by taking a bond from the
prior, John de Monte Martini, that he should not
injure or alienate the goods of the house. (fn. 30) This
action, however, may have been taken in connexion with some personal quarrel between the
earl and prior, as in 1314 the king had to issue
a special prohibition to the earl's bailiff of Reigate
from doing any violence to the priory, whither
he had gone with armed force. (fn. 31) This same
year, 1314, some improvement was at last visible,
and the visitors reported to the abbot that the
debt had been reduced from 4,000 marks to
£2,000, the buildings had been restored and
fresh built, and certain lands and money payments
recovered from Earl Warenne. (fn. 32) But misfortune
still attended the prior's best efforts, and in 1317
Lewes was burdened with debt on account of
'the unjust arrest' of the prior and the lack of
corn and provisions which it was the prior's duty
to provide; it was also charged with many
pensions or corrodies. (fn. 33) The Close Rolls of this
and the following year confirm this latter statement (fn. 34) by their mention of various persons sent
by the king to be quartered upon the convent,
and a good example of a burdensome corrody is
that for the surrender of which William de Echingham received from the monks £100 in 1307. (fn. 35)
Upon the death of Prior John de Monte
Martini in September, 1324, the king wrote to
the abbot of Cluny setting forth that the priory
was one of the most noble in the realm, and that
it was essential that its head should be one whose
loyalty could be relied upon, and requesting that
he would nominate to the earl's representatives
James de Cusancia, prior of Prittlewell, or John
his brother, (fn. 36) formerly a monk of Lewes and now
prior of Bermondsey. (fn. 37) Owing, however, to the
war between France and England, and the consequent closing of all ports, the earl was not able
to send proctors to Cluny, and the pope, taking
advantage of this, and possibly also of Earl John
de Warenne's ill-fame with the church, appointed
Adam of Winchester to the priory. He secured
the king's support by granting the advowsons of
Dewsbury and Wakefield to the younger Despenser, (fn. 38) and received the temporalities from Earl
Warenne, to whom they had been granted during
the vacancy. Towards the end of 1325 the
abbot, apparently considering the pope's nomination irregular, summoned Adam to Cluny. The
king at once forbade his going, (fn. 39) and he was
accordingly arrested by the warden of the Cinque
Ports at Dover while trying to cross. (fn. 40) King
Edward further sent a letter to the abbot explaining that Adam had been labouring carefully
for the improvement of the state of the priory,
which was much wasted by the carelessness and
bad government of past priors, and that it would
be most prejudicial to the priory if he were
called away to deal with the question of the
patronage of the monastery. (fn. 41) In April, 1327,
the earl sent his representatives to Cluny, as a
result of which Peter de Joceaux was elected.
His position was disputed by Adam, the late
prior, who was silenced by his former patron
the pope in 1329. The pope, however, endeavoured to introduce John de Courtenay, a
monk of Tavistock, and brother of the earl of
Devon, as prior, to which the king opposed a
firm resistance. (fn. 42) The prior of Christ Church,
Canterbury, was suspected of supporting John de
Courtenay, but replied that he had never so much
as heard of him. (fn. 43)
Peter de Joceaux held the office of prior for
some sixteen years, and appears to have governed
well and faithfully. In 1334 he found it necessary to address a stern rebuke to the various
Cluniac houses under his authority in England; (fn. 44)
from this letter we learn that many of the members of the subordinate houses, no doubt taking
advantage of the confusion at the superior house
of Lewes, had been guilty of great irregularity
and excesses for which some had been condemned
by the council at Cluny to suffer perpetual
imprisonment. It also appears that when Peter
became prior he found that all the plate and other
articles provided for the service of the refectory
had been stolen or alienated during the late
troubles, so that in order to raise funds to
replenish the refectory he passed an ordinance
that every subordinate prior should pay within
one year of appointment 20s. if conventual, and
13s. 4d. if non-conventual, to the refectorarian.
Upon the death of Peter de Joceaux Edward III
wrote to Earl Warenne pointing out that in the
past the priory had been much reduced by the
action of its priors in squeezing money therefrom
to send to Cluny, and now the abbot was
reported to intend to present certain aliens suspect
to the king and defamed for dilapidations in other
places where they had presided; the earl is therefore desired not to present any suspected or unsuitable person to the priory. (fn. 45) Accordingly, about
the end of 1344 John de Jancourt was appointed.
He appears to have been a man of influence, as
he was sent on a diplomatic mission to the kings
of Jerusalem, Sicily, and Hungary in 1345. (fn. 46) At
the same time the king's fears at the time of his
election were justified, for in 1346 John de
Warenne, earl of Surrey, was ordered to place
such custody upon the priory of Lewes and its
possessions as might ensure its revenues being
devoted to the needs of the monks, as the king
had heard that the goods had been wasted by the
prior, who had sent all he could collect to
France. (fn. 47) The earl executed the royal mandate so
thoroughly that the king had to cancel his orders,
as when he sent for the prior to come to Calais
he could not obey because the earl would not let
his men and servants who should accompany him
leave the priory. (fn. 48) In 1347 he was one of the
two proctors to treat with the duke of Austria for
the proposed marriage of the duke's son and
King Edward's daughter. (fn. 49) During the Black
Death, in 1349–50, this prior disappears, and
therefore probably fell a victim to that pestilence,
from which this house, in common with practically all others, appears to have suffered
severely. (fn. 50)
From 1286 onwards the priory of Lewes had
been liable to have its possessions seized when
there was war with France, although the monks
pleaded that they sent no money to Cluny
beyond 100s. yearly, settled upon the abbey by
the founders. (fn. 51) In 1337 the prior had to pay as
much as 500 marks yearly for custody of the
priory and its lands. But at last, in 1351,
Edward III granted a charter of denization to
Lewes and its subordinate priories of Castle
Acre, Prittlewell, Stanesgate, Farley, and
Horton. The payment of 100s. to the motherchurch continued to hold good during peace, and
the abbot appears to have claimed other dues as
well, till in 1480 the connexion was finally cut
by a bull of Sixtus IV, releasing the priory of
St. Pancras from all subjection to Cluny. (fn. 52)
Prior John de Caroloco showed that he at
least was no alien, but an Englishman in something more than name, by heading the resistance
to the force of French that landed at Rottingdean in 1377; and although he and the other
leaders of his levies were captured and carried
off, they inflicted such losses upon the invaders
that they withdrew disheartened. The heavy
ransom which the monks had to pay for their
prior, coupled with the burning of their crops,
the capture of their serfs, and losses by inundation of the sea, induced the pope in 1391 to
consent to the appropriation of the churches of
West Hoathly, Patcham, and Ditchling with the
chapel of Wivelsfield, valued at 80 marks, the
priory itself being then worth 1,600 marks. (fn. 53)
The parish church of Horsted Keynes, not
worth more than 26 marks, (fn. 54) was also appropriated
in 1402, and that of Feltwell in Norfolk, not
worth more than 55 marks, in 1398. (fn. 55) It would
seem that such appropriations were more to the
advantage of the monastery than of the parishioners; for in 1426 the people of West Hoathly,
Patcham, and Ditchling complained that since
the appropriation of their churches the buildings
had fallen into ruin, divine service and parochial
administrations had been neglected, and the
hospitality shown to the poor by the former
rectors had been withdrawn. (fn. 56)
The great inconvenience of the system by
which Cluniac monks could only make their profession to the abbot of Cluny was much felt in
England about the beginning of the fifteenth
century. The labour and expense of taking candidates to Cluny was great, and the visits of the
abbots to England were infrequent; it is recorded
that when Abbot Ardruin came to Lewes in 1350
he received the profession of thirty-two monks.
During the wars with France neither of these alternatives was possible, and consequently the Cluniac
houses became full of men who had been monks
all their lives, but had never made their profession.
To remedy this it was proposed to convert Lewes
Priory into an abbey, giving the abbot power to
admit novices to the ranks of the professed.
This proposal was warmly supported by the
countess of Arundel, acting under the influence
of Prior John de Burghersh, 'a man of true
religion and earnest for the good of his monastery
and the Cluniac order,' but apparently ambitious,
as the abbot's agent in England writes caustically
that 'if all priors were as anxious to be bishops
as he of Lewes all priories would be raised to the
state of cathedral churches.' The abbot refused
to raise Lewes to the rank of an abbey, but
granted the required privilege of professing monks,
in 1410. (fn. 57)
John Burghersh retired on a pension about
1414, but subsequently endeavoured to have his
resignation annulled as extorted by violence.
The reason for his forced resignation may probably be seen in the fact that the priory had become indebted to the extent of over 3,200 marks;
his successor, Thomas Nelond, cleared off this
debt and restored and added to the buildings
within the boundaries of the monastery and on
the manors, which were terribly decayed. When
Prior Nelond died in 1429 an agreement was
made for the daily performance of mass for his
soul and those of his brother John Nelond and
Margaret his wife, for which the sub-prior was to
receive 10 marks issuing from the churches of
Walton and St. Olave of Southwark. Two other
priors are recorded in 1480 as commemorated by
anniversary feasts with ringing of the great bell, (fn. 58)
these being Hugh de Chyntriaco and John de
Caroloco, and with them were classed William
Laxman, 'special benefactor,' and Peter Tonell.
In 1445 the patronage of the priory was vested
in Edmund Lenthale as son of one of the sisters
and co-heirs of Thomas, earl of Arundel and
Surrey, and successor to the Warenne title. He
therefore wrote to the abbot mentioning the
death of prior Robert Amicellis and requesting
the appointment of John Danyel, chamberer of
St. Pancras, in whose praise he spoke most highly;
the convent at the same time sent a similar letter
in favour of their chamberer; but the abbot saw
fit to ignore these requests and to appoint Nicholas
Benet, prior of Castle Acre, to the post. Benet,
however, declined to accept the appointment,
which was then conferred upon John Danyel. (fn. 59)
When the latter died in 1464 the priory was
given to Thomas Attewelle, chamberer of Lewes,
at the desire of the convent and of the duke of
Norfolk and lord Abergavenny, joint patrons. (fn. 60)
When Cardinal Wolsey obtained papal authority to suppress certain small monasteries and
unite them with his newly founded college at
Oxford, one of the houses thus suppressed was
Stanesgate, a cell of Lewes, which was therefore
surrendered by the prior and convent of St. Pancras in 1526. (fn. 61) Three years later one of the items
of the indictment against Wolsey was that he had
obtained bulls appointing him legate, by virtue of
which he had appointed a vicar to the church of
Stoke Guildford, in Surrey, although the prior of
Lewes was the rightful patron. (fn. 62)
The first steps towards the suppression of the
priory were taken in the autumn of 1535 when
the king's faithful dog, Richard Layton, was sent
forth to nose out corruption in all the monasteries
of the realm. In August he was at Farley,
where, according to his own account, he found
unspeakable abominations, which, 'as appears by
the confession of a fair young monk, a priest late
sent from Lewes,' were also prevalent at the
mother-house of Lewes. He adds, 'I have matter sufficient to bring the prior of Lewes into
great danger, "si vera sint quae narrantur." ' (fn. 63)
Layton's account of his proceedings at Lewes in
October is well known as a typical instance of the
royal visitor's high-handed action; he reports to
Cromwell:—
At Lewes I found corruption of both sorts, and what
is worse, treason, for the subprior hath confessed to me
treason in his preaching. I have caused him to subscribe his name to it and to submit himself to the
king's mercy. I made him confess that the prior
knew of it, and I have declared the prior to be perjured. That done, I laid unto him concealment of
treason, called him heinous traitor in the worst names
I could devise, he all the time kneeling and making
intercession unto me not to utter to you the premises
for his undoing; whose words I smally regarded, and
commanded him to appear before you at the court on
All Hallows Day, wherever the king should happen to
be, and bring with him his subprior. When I come
to you I will declare this tragedy to you at large, so
that it shall be in your power to do with him what
you list. (fn. 64)
But the end was not yet, and for two years
the priory dragged on a harassed existence. Towards the end of 1536 the prior had to endeavour
to stave off Cromwell's imperious demand for the
manor of Swanborough, (fn. 65) and he was also required
to find forty men to aid in suppressing the rebellion in the North. (fn. 66) At last, on 16 November,
1537, the priory of St. Pancras was surrendered (fn. 67)
by the prior, Robert Crowham, who received a
prebend of Lincoln Cathedral and a promise of a
share in the goods of the priory. (fn. 68) The twentythree monks and eighty servants received small
pensions and gratuities, and the priory and all its
lands were granted to Thomas Cromwell, earl of
Essex. (fn. 69)
Priors of Lewes
Lanzo, 1077-1107 (fn. 70)
Hugh, 1107-23 (fn. 71)
Anker (fn. 72) or Aucher, 1123-30 (fn. 73)
? Arnald, died 1139 (fn. 74)
William, c. 1150 to c. 1164 (fn. 75)
Osbert, c. 1180 (fn. 76)
Hugh, resigned 1186 (fn. 77)
William, occurs 1195 (fn. 78)
Alexander, 1201 (fn. 79)
Humbert, occurs 1202-7 (fn. 80)
Stephen, c. 1217-20 (fn. 81)
Hugh, c. 1220 to c. 1234 (fn. 82)
Albert occurs 1236, (fn. 83) died 1244 (fn. 84)
Guichard de la Osaye, (fn. 85) 1244-8 (fn. 85)
William Russhelin, Ruisselun, 1248-56 (fn. 86)
William de Foville, 1257-68 (fn. 87)
Miles de Columbiers, 1268-74 (fn. 88)
Peter de Villiaco, May-November, 1275 (fn. 89)
John de Thyenges, 1276-84 (fn. 90)
John of Avignon, 1285-98 (fn. 91)
John of Newcastle, 1298-1301 (fn. 92)
Stephen de Sancto Romano, 1302 to c. 1305 (fn. 93)
John de Monte Martini, c. 1309-24 (fn. 94)
Adam of Winchester, 1325-7 (fn. 95)
Peter de Joceaux, 1327-44 (fn. 96)
John de Janicuria, Jacourt, 1344-9 (fn. 97)
Hugh de Chyntriaco, 1349-62 (fn. 98)
Gerald Rothonis, occurs 1363 (fn. 99)
John de Caroloco, Cherlew, (fn. 100)
c. 1366-96 (fn. 101)
John Ok, 1397-1409 (fn. 102)
John Burghersh, 1409-14 (fn. 103)
Thomas Nelond, 1414-29 (fn. 104)
Robert Amicellis, (fn. 105) Auncell, (fn. 106)
c. 1429-44 (fn. 107)
Nicholas Benet, 1445 (fn. 108)
John Danyel, (fn. 109) 1445-64
Thomas Atwelle, 1464, (fn. 110) occurs 1486 (fn. 111)
John Ashdowne, occurs 1506 (fn. 112)
Robert Croham, occurs 1526-37 (fn. 113)
The early seal is described (fn. 114) in 1411 as 'a
round seal on which is a man waving a sword in
his hand to cut off the head of a youth kneeling
near him.' No perfect example of this is known,
but such fragments as remain (fn. 115) show that the
drawing reproduced in Suss. Arch. Coll. vol. ii,
is inaccurate as regards details.
This seal was replaced probably early in the
fifteenth century by a very elaborate circular seal
2 in. in diameter. Obverse: a king seated, with
crossed legs, in a canopied niche, taking hold of
his beard with the right hand; in the left hand
a long sword, the point upwards. On each side,
in a smaller niche similarly canopied, a courtier;
outside these, in still smaller canopied niches, on
each side an attendant, wearing a cap-shaped
helmet and holding a mace. Outside these,
tabernacle work. In base, under a four-centred
arch, ornamented with quatrefoiled ball-flowers,
St. Pancras, kneeling to the left, receiving martyrdom by the sword of an executioner. Behind
the saint a scroll inscribed: s' PANCRATI.' On
the masonry at each side of this arch a shield of
arms: left chequy, WARENNE; right quarterly,
1, 4, a lion rampant, FITZALAN; 2, 3, WARENNE.
On the plinth or string-course below the canopied
niches and above the arch the inscription:—
MARTIRIALE DECVS TRIBUIT MICHI CESARIS IRA.
Legend:—
SIGILLUM CŌMUNE PRIORIS ET CONUENTUS
MONASTERII SANCTI PANCRATII: DE + LEWES.
Reverse: A carved Gothic chapel standing
on cliffs with waves at their bases, and having
three niches on the front, one at the right hand
side, a turreted spire, ornamented roof, and a
cross at each gable end. The four niches contain each a saint, full-length. Those in the
middle of the seal are: left, the Virgin crowned,
the Child on the right arm; right, St. Pancras, as
a priest, tonsured, in the vestments of a Cluniac
prior, in the right hand a pastoral staff, in the
left hand a book. Those at the sides are:
left, St. Peter, with keys; right, St. Paul, with
sword. Along the plinth the inscription:—
MARTIR PANCRATI PER TE : SIMUS : RELEUATI.
In the field over the chapel small stars, and on
each side is a pierced cinquefoil. Inner edge
engrailed. (fn. 116) Legend:—
DULCIS : AGONISTA : TIBI : uUERTIT: DOMUS
ISTA :
PANCRATI : MEMO : PRECIBUS : MEMOR :
ESTO : TUO
The following seals of priors are known:
STEPHEN (1219). Pointed oval: The prior
seated on a throne, reading a book, to the left.
In the field on the left a crescent. (fn. 117) Legend:—
+ SIGILL' · STEPHANI · PRIORIS · SCI · PA . . . II
John De Thyenges. Pointed oval: The
prior, holding a book, standing in a niche with
pointed trefoiled arch, crocketed and pinnacled,
supported on slender shafts. On each side in
the field a small square panel, divided into a
chequer of four pieces in allusion to the armorial
bearings of WARENNE, the founder. (fn. 118) Legend:—
S'FSIS · IOHIS · PORIS · LEWENSIS.
John De Monte Martini. Small circular
(¾ in.): St. Pancras kneeling to right, soldier
with uplifted sword behind him (probably a reduced facsimile of the early conventual seal (fn. 119) ).
Legend:—
[SE] CRETUM . . P'ORIS LE[WENSIS]
Hugh De Chyntriaco. Oval: Prior standing in an elaborate gothic niche. (fn. 120) Legend:—
. . FRIS · VGONIS · DE . . . . S . .
John De Caroloco, attached to a deed by his
predecessor Peter de Joceaux. (fn. 121) Oval: In a
carved niche, Christ (?), seated, right hand uplifted, a small cross in left hand; below, a monk
kneeling to left. Legend:—
S· FR. IOHIS. DE CvILO . . . .
John Ashdowne. Oval: In a gothic niche;
an upright figure draped about the middle and
holding a staff in each hand. (fn. 122) Legend:—
. . . . LEWEN . . . .