12. THE PRIORY OF PYNHAM (fn. 1)
Adeliza, queen of Henry I and subsequently
wife of William d'Albigny and countess of
Arundel, sometime before 1151 gave a small
parcel of land on the east bank of the River Arun
for the support of two or three chaplains who
were to live under monastic rules, to celebrate
daily in the chapel of St. Bartholomew—which
was to be built there; and were further to keep
in repair the causeway and wooden bridge across
the river, for which purpose the earl of Arundel
granted them leave to take wood in his forest—
the stone for the causeway being obtained close
at hand; and to maintain a hospital or hostelry
for poor travellers. (fn. 2) A number of small grants
of land were made by various persons, William
Hareng giving the tithe of bread and drink in his
household, but afterwards changing this inconvenient grant for a piece of meadow land. The
land on which the hospital, or Augustinian
priory, was built, was called Pynham, but the
priory was more usually known as 'the Causeway' (de Calceto, la Chaucée). It was originally
under the patronage of St. Bartholomew, but an
attempt was apparently made to add St. Thomas
of Canterbury's title, though this latter did not
long continue patron. (fn. 3) Although it held land in
about ten parishes it was never anything but a
small house and a poor one. The priory would
seem to have got deeply into debt in 1309 if
one accepts the evidence of the Close Roll for
that year, which records the prior's acknowledgement of a debt of £400 to Thomas de Burne; (fn. 4)
the very magnitude of the sum, however, makes
it probable that this was a formal bond of some
kind. In 1340 orders were given not to levy
the ninth of sheaves, fleeces, and lambs from the
canons of this house, as they were so slenderly
endowed that their lands did not suffice for their
maintenance without the alms of the faithful (fn. 5) ;
and five years later they were exempted from
taxation for the same reason. (fn. 6) In each of these
grants the canons are called 'keepers of the
bridge of Arundel.'
For reasons not stated Robert Coitere was
deposed from the office of prior in, or before,
1355, and sent to do penance at Shulbred, the
prior of which house reported that he was
behaving well and obediently; the earl of
Arundel, however, informed the archbishop that
the deposed prior was wandering about the
neighbourhood bringing scandal upon the order,
whereupon the archbishop commanded that he
should be kept within the precincts of Shulbred,
and imprisoned if disobedient. (fn. 7) In 1380 there
was only one canon besides the prior, (fn. 8) and
the same was the case in 1439 (fn. 9) and 1441, (fn. 10)
at which latter date the property of the house
was in the hands of trustees until it could be
cleared of debt. At a visitation held in 1478 (fn. 11)
the prior said that there used sometimes to be
three canons, but usually only a prior and his
chaplain; there were at this time two canons
besides the prior, but they had both been nonresident for the last six years, by licence of the
late prior. The priory was burdened with a
number of small corrodies, and the rents had
fallen from £40 to 40 marks. The buildings
were in bad repair, vestments few and books still
fewer, but there were two chalices (one gilt), a
silver salt cellar, and a silver cup and two spoons,
as well as twenty-four cattle, and the debts were
not more than 4 marks. When the priory was
visited in 1521 the prior and his two canons
reported that all was well, (fn. 12) but when this prior,
William Aylyng, died in December, 1524, only
one canon remained, and the place became
'desolate and prophane.' (fn. 13) Three months before
Prior Aylyng's death the fate of Pynham was
decided, Cardinal Wolsey having obtained licence
from the pope (fn. 14) and from the king (fn. 15) to suppress
it and grant its revenues to the great college that
he was founding at Oxford. Accordingly, in
1525, the priory was suppressed, (fn. 16) and in the
following year the bishop, dean, and chapter of
Chichester quitclaimed the site of the monastery
to the authorities of Cardinal's College, Oxford. (fn. 17)
Priors of Pynham
Ivo, occurs 1230 (fn. 18)
Stephen, occurs 1252 (fn. 19)
Thomas, occurs c. 1265, (fn. 20) 1285 (fn. 21)
William, occurs 1320 (fn. 22)
Robert Coitere, deposed (fn. 23)
Henry, occurs 1346-56 (fn. 24)
John, occurs 1376, (fn. 25) 1380 (fn. 26)
John Charney, or Chernell, occurs 1399, (fn. 27)
1402 (fn. 28)
John Hormer, elected 1402 (fn. 29)
John Baker, resigned 1438 (fn. 30)
John Baker, re-appointed 1438, (fn. 31) occurs
1442 (fn. 32)
John Gifford, appointed 1468, (fn. 33) occurs 1478 (fn. 34)
John Buryman, resigned 1488 (fn. 35)
Ellis Parker, appointed 1488, (fn. 36) died (?) (fn. 37)
William Fromond, appointed (?), (fn. 37) died 1504 (fn. 38)
Richard A bell, appointed 1504, (fn. 38) resigned
1507 (fn. 39)
Thomas Bacheler, appointed 1507, (fn. 39) died
1509 (fn. 40)
William Aylyng, appointed 1509, (fn. 40) died
1524 (fn. 41)
Robert, surrendered 1525 (fn. 42)
The fifteenth-century seal is circular (2½ in.)
and shows St. Bartholomew, standing in a niche
with trefoiled canopy, crocketed and pinnacled,
and with elaborate tabernacle work at the sides;
in the right hand a knife, in the left hand a book.
In base, a human head between two oak-leaves. (fn. 43)
+ SIGILLE + COMVNE + DOMVS + SANCTI +
BARTHOLOMEI + DE + CALCETO +