22. THE AUSTIN FRIARS OF STAFFORD
The only house of Austin friars in the county was
that in Forebridge, a suburb to the south of Stafford
borough in the parish of Castle Church. It was
founded in 1344 by Ralph, Lord Stafford, for the
good estate of himself, his ancestors and heirs, his
wife, and their children, and of Humphrey de
Hastang, Archdeacon of Coventry and apparently
brother-in-law to Ralph. In November 1343, in
answer to Ralph's petition, the Pope gave permission for a foundation in Forebridge provided
that twelve friars could be maintained there. In June
1344 the king granted a licence for the foundation
and its endowment with 5 acres as the site of the
church and other priory buildings; at the same time
Humphrey de Hastang was given licence to alienate
to the friars a well in Forebridge from which an
underground aqueduct could be built. (fn. 1) A prior and
brethren were there by 1346 when Henry de
Caverswall sued Prior John for a toft in Forebridge. (fn. 2)
William le Heustere, chaplain, son of Richard le
Heustere of Forebridge, made a grant of land in
Forebridge in 1348, (fn. 3) and in 1352 Ralph, now Earl of
Stafford, granted the friars a plot of land there which
he had acquired from the neighbouring Hospital of
St. John. (fn. 4)
The house survived until the Dissolution (fn. 5) and
was a member of the administrative area (limes) of
Ludlow. (fn. 6) Its first prior, John of Wirksworth,
apparently continued to guide its fortunes until at
least 1375. (fn. 7) Two other friars of Stafford named
Wirksworth — Nicholas who was ordained deacon
in 1365 (fn. 8) and Robert who occurs as a penitentiary
four times between 1375 and 1382 (fn. 9) — may perhaps
have been kinsfolk drawn into the order by John's
influence. Twenty-four of the community were
ordained during the episcopate of Robert Stretton
(1360-85), six of whom attained the priesthood.
Such totals, however, give merely a hint of the size of
the community from which they came. (fn. 10)
The house remained obscure and received no
striking benefactions. It did, however, produce men
able to preach and hear confessions on the lines laid
down by Boniface VIII in the bull Super Cathedram
(1300) which was designed to minimize friction
between mendicants and seculars. The bishop
admitted one Austin friar of Stafford in accordance with that bull in 1384. (fn. 11) and on seven occasions between 1373 and 1383 friars of this house
were appointed penitentiaries. (fn. 12) In 1403 the friars
entertained Henry IV after his victory at Shrewsbury, and the Stafford house was one of several
mendicant houses in the area to which Isabel de
Sutton (d. 1397) and the justice Roger Horton by his
will of 1422 each left 6s. 8d. (fn. 13)
The passing in 1536 of the Act suppressing the
smaller monasteries seems to have aroused locally
little or no suspicion that further measures might be
in contemplation or that these might proceed from
monks to friars. When the house of Austin canons at
Stone was dissolved in 1537, Henry, Lord Stafford,
removed his family monuments thence to what he
evidently supposed to be a safe refuge with the
Austin friars at Stafford. (fn. 14) In due course, however,
on 9 August 1538, Richard Ingworth, Bishop of
Dover, came to the house and read the injunctions
which he had prepared; rather than accept them the
friars, 'with one assent, without any counsel or
coaction', gave their house into his hands for the
king's use. He made inventories 'of the houses and
implements', gave each friar 'a letter to visit his
friends', and departed, leaving the possessions of
the friary in the charge of William Stanford of
Rowley nearby and Richard Warde of Tillington. (fn. 15)
These inventories, (fn. 16) together with the details of the
sale which followed on 27 September, (fn. 17) confirm
Ingworth's statement that 'the Austin friars there
is a poor house, with small implements, no jewels
but one little chalice, no lead in the house, in rents
by year 51s. 8d.' (fn. 18) The church ornaments, just
adequate to meet minimum requirements, were
scanty and well worn. They included four sets of
vestments, old or stained altar-cloths, 'one plain
cross of copper with a little image of Christ, silver,
upon it', 'one little wooden cross plated over very
thin with silver', a chalice weighing 13 oz. (which
Ingworth took), a pair of organs, a mass book which
was sold for 1s., and 'old books in the choir' which
fetched 6d. The tower held one large bell valued at
£8 and one small one worth 8s. There were the barest
supplies of furniture and pots and platters in the
hall, brewhouse, and kitchen. The total receipt from
the sale of goods and buildings was £32 6s. 8d. One
large purchaser of tile, shingle, timber, glass, iron,
paving, and some vestments was James Leveson of
Wolverhampton. In 1542 20 loads of stone from the
demolished church were sold to the church of
Bradley to the west of Stafford where the fine
14th-century nave arcade may well have been
erected as part of a 16th-century reconstruction
using this stone from Stafford. (fn. 19) In 1544 the site,
such buildings as remained, and lands belonging to
the former priory were granted by the Crown to
Edward Stanford of Rowley. (fn. 20)
The friary site extended south-west from the
Green in Forebridge, and street names on that side
of Wolverhampton Road preserve the memory of
the friars. The Roman Catholic church of St. Austin
is so named because it stands on part of the site; the
land was leased for the building of the first church
in 1788 by the Berington family, who had bought
the Stanfords' property in 1610. (fn. 21)
Priors
John of Wirksworth, occurs from 1346 to 1375. (fn. 22)
John Goldycar, occurs 1393 and 1395. (fn. 23)
John Stocton, occurs 1399 and 1404. (fn. 24)
No seal is known.