38. THE COLLEGE OF ST. PETER, WOLVERHAMPTON
The foundation of the College of Wolverhampton
has been attributed to the Lady Wulfrun since the
discovery, about 1560, of a charter by which she
endowed a minster at Hampton. (fn. 1) If this charter is
authentic, (fn. 2) the date of the foundation (or refoundation) is 994. (fn. 3) Wulfrun's connexion with the minster
is attested by the fact that it added her name to its
own; by about 1080 it was called 'the church of
Wolvrenehamptonia'. (fn. 4) From this the name Wolverhampton is derived. (fn. 5) In Wulfrun's time the church
was dedicated to St. Mary. It was still St. Mary's in
1086, (fn. 6) but by the middle of the 12th century the
change to St. Peter had occurred. (fn. 7)
According to the charter Wulfrun's endowment
consisted of 30 hides of land, in Upper Arley (now
in Worcs.), 'Eswich' (perhaps Ashwood in Kinver
Forest), (fn. 8) Bilston, Willenhall, Wednesfield, Pelsall,
'Ocgintun' (probably Ogley Hay near Pelsall), (fn. 9)
Hilton (near Ogley), (fn. 10) Hatherton, Kinvaston, 'the
other Hilton' (near Featherstone), and Featherstone.
The lands in Upper Arley were probably those
granted by King Edgar to Wulfrun's kinsman,
Wulfgeat, in 963; (fn. 11) other lands, which belonged to
the community in 1086, were probably among those
given by Ethelred to Wulfrun herself in 985. (fn. 12)
It is not clear from the charter whether Wulfrun's
minster was to consist of monks or clerks. Presumably she decided in favour of clerks, if the phrase
'my priests at Hampton' used in a writ of Edward
the Confessor can be accepted; the writ is spurious
in its present form but may have an authentic basis.
The phrase suggests a close royal connexion, a status
recognized by the diocesan in the early 12th century
as anciently belonging to Wulfrun's church. (fn. 13) Perhaps it even enjoyed the freedom from episcopal
jurisdiction which later characterized royal chapels. (fn. 14)
William I gave the church of Wolverhampton
and its possessions to his chaplain, Samson. (fn. 15) As
Samson's tenants the priests of Wolverhampton at
the time of the Domesday Survey held ten estates
from him. (fn. 16) Seven remained of Wulfrun's grant: 2
hides in Upper Arley, together with a half hide in
'the other Arley' withheld from them by force; 5
hides in 'Haswic' (probably Ashwood), then waste
on account of the king's forest; 5 hides in Wednesfield; 2 hides in Willenhall; a half hide in Pelsall,
then waste; 3 virgates in Hilton (near Ogley); and a
hide of waste in 'Hocintune' (probably Ogley). They
also held from Samson a hide probably in Wolverhampton, a virgate in Bushbury, and a virgate in
Trescott. In all, their estates were said to be worth
£6 a year. (fn. 17) Of the rest of Wulfrun's endowment
Bilston (2 hides) was in the king's hands, (fn. 18) while
Hatherton (3 hides), Kinvaston (one hide), the
other Hilton (2 hides), and Featherstone (one hide,
then waste) were held from Samson by two priests,
Edwin and Alric. It was, however, noted that
Hatherton and Kinvaston had belonged to the
church of Hampton in the Confessor's time.
Domesday Book also recorded that the priests of
Hampton claimed part of the wood of Sedgley
manor (fn. 19) and still held 2 hides worth 15s. at Lutley
(Worcs.) which they had held before the Conquest. (fn. 20)
By 1300 the canons of Wolverhampton had
regained Hatherton, Kinvaston, Featherstone, and
Hilton. (fn. 21)
Early in Henry I's reign Samson, now Bishop of
Worcester, granted the church of Wolverhampton
to his cathedral priory; its privileges were still
safeguarded even though it no longer enjoyed direct
royal patronage. (fn. 22) In Stephen's reign the monks of
Worcester lost possession of Wolverhampton. It
was first seized by Roger, Bishop of Salisbury; after
his death in 1139, in spite of his declared intent to
restore it, (fn. 23) it was granted by Stephen to the bishop
and cathedral church of Lichfield. (fn. 24) The canons of
Wolverhampton (fn. 25) complained to Eugenius III, and
by 1152 their church had been restored to the
monks of Worcester. (fn. 26)
Shortly after the monks of Worcester recovered
Wolverhampton they lost it to the heir to the Crown,
and after a lapse of almost a century the church
again became a royal chapel. Henry, Duke of
Normandy and Aquitaine, soon to become Henry II
of England, in a charter (fn. 27) issued in 1153 or early
1154, (fn. 28) referred to it as 'my chapel', restored all
privileges it had held in the time of Henry I, and
recognized its freedom from secular taxation. (fn. 29)
After Henry became king a second charter (fn. 30) specified
the right of the canons to hold a court for their
tenants. Although these charters did not mention
freedom from episcopal jurisdiction, it is likely that
Wolverhampton enjoyed it, for Peter of Blois, dean
by 1191 (fn. 31) and probably appointed by Henry II
whom he served for many years, described the church
as subject only to the Archbishop of Canterbury and
the king. (fn. 32)
It is not known for how long Wolverhampton
had possessed a dean and prebendaries before
the time of Peter of Blois. A dean was possibly
introduced when the church was in the possession
of Lichfield, as a dean is first found at Lichfield
at that time. (fn. 33) Prebends were perhaps introduced
at the same time, as part of the general reorganization of English chapters on the continental
model. (fn. 34)
Peter of Blois found the canons vicious, intent on
keeping their prebends in the possession of their
families, and so linked by marriage as to present a
united resistance to his attempts at reform. (fn. 35) He
therefore resigned, probably in 1202, and persuaded
Archbishop Hubert Walter, with King John's
approval, to dissolve the college and replace it with
a community of Cistercian monks. This project
was confirmed by Innocent III. (fn. 36)
King John consented to the new foundation in
January 1203 and at the same time granted the
deanery and prebends of Wolverhampton to the
archbishop for its use. (fn. 37) In January 1204 he freed
these properties of all forest restrictions and dues (fn. 38)
and as additional endowments granted the manors
of Wolverhampton (July 1204) (fn. 39) and Tettenhall
(May 1205) (fn. 40) and the wood of Kingsley in the
forest of Kinver (June 1205). (fn. 41) He also prepared
a comprehensive charter of liberties for the new
monastery. (fn. 42) Meanwhile the archbishop had taken
steps to secure the consent of the General Chapter of
the Cistercian order (fn. 43) and, in anticipation of it, had
already established some monks at Wolverhampton. (fn. 44)
In July 1205, however, the archbishop died. King
John cancelled his charter of privileges, (fn. 45) and the
project was abandoned. Within a month the king
appointed a new dean of Wolverhampton. (fn. 46)
Throughout the 13th century the royal chapels
were struggling to establish their exemption from
episcopal jurisdiction. The church of Wolverhampton secured this privilege with less difficulty than
other royal chapels of the diocese. It owed its
success principally to Giles of Erdington who first
appears as Dean of Wolverhampton in 1224. (fn. 47)
Erdington made his career in the royal service and
became one of the most distinguished of Henry
III's judges. (fn. 48) His legal skill is evident in the agreement he negotiated with the new Bishop of Coventry
and Lichfield, Alexander Stavensby, immediately
after the bishop's consecration in 1224. (fn. 49) This
formalized the traditional but unwritten privileges
asserted earlier by Peter of Blois. It recognized the
dean's right to appoint to the prebends in his church,
institute his clergy, and correct them; it admitted the
bishop's intervention only on neglect of correction
and after an official admonition, and even then
allowed him no right to procurations. On the other
hand it recognized that the bishop was entitled to
be received with honour, to celebrate, preach, and
confirm in the church, and to hear difficult cases and
appeals from the parish.
Under the protection of this agreement Wolverhampton enjoyed its privileges unchallenged during
the episcopates of Stavensby and his successors
until 1260 when Bishop Meuland attempted visitation. Erdington obtained a royal prohibition and in
order to defend the agreement of 1224 involed a
papal bull which Henry III had obtained in 1245,
exempting royal chapels from episcopal jurisdiction. (fn. 50) The dispute ended finally in 1292 when the
bishop recognized that all seven royal chapels of his
diocese were exempt from ordinary jurisdiction and
directly subject to Rome, and reserved only his
right to be received with honour, to preach, ordain,
consecrate, and confirm in them. (fn. 51)
Erdington also defended the financial interests of
the college. He had boundaries perambulated, (fn. 52)
transactions recorded, (fn. 53) and property rights defended in the courts. (fn. 54) In 1258 he obtained from the
king the valuable grant of a weekly market and an
annual fair to be held at Wolverhampton. (fn. 55) He
secured the goodwill of local landowners by concessions of privilege and of land (fn. 56) and promoted
good relations with the townsmen by granting his
burgesses in 1263 the right to hold their burgages
freely by hereditary title with the same privileges
and liabilities as the burgesses of Stafford. (fn. 57) Perhaps
the last benefit the college received from Erdington
was an endowment for the maintenance of a chaplain
at Wolverhampton. (fn. 58) He died probably at the end of
1268, after having held the deanery for at least 44
years. (fn. 59)
The next dean, Theodosius de Camilla, was, like
Erdington, prominent in the royal service. (fn. 60) He
seems rarely, if ever, to have been in Wolverhampton. (fn. 61) His financial interests, however, were well
served by his bailiffs, notably Andrew of Genoa,
one of the canons, who was also his proctor. (fn. 62) They
used high-handed measures to collect his dues and
plundered the deanery woods for his benefit. (fn. 63) They
increased his revenues by allowing tenants to inclose
the waste, (fn. 64) so that whereas the deanery had been
valued in 1272 at 40 marks a year (fn. 65) Camilla was able
in 1293 to farm it out (excluding the collation of
prebends) at 50 marks a year. (fn. 66) His right of collation
was used to endow at least three of his relatives, and
like him they enjoyed their prebends largely in
absentia. (fn. 67) Since other known canons of this period
were royal clerks, it seems likely that few resided
at Wolverhampton. (fn. 68)
The lease of 1293 illustrates the difference between the real revenues of benefices and the lenient
assessment made by the clergy for the purposes of
taxation. For the Taxation of 1291 the deanery was
valued at 20 marks. The prebends, named for the
first time, were assessed as follows (no doubt, like
the deanery, at well below their true value):
Featherstone at £6 13s. 4d.; Willenhall £6 13s. 4d.;
Wobaston £4 13s. 4d.; Hilton £6; Monmore £4
13s. 4d.; Kinvaston £8. Besides these there was the
chantry of St. Mary in Hatherton (which by 1294
had become a seventh prebend), (fn. 69) valued at £4 13s.
4d. The total value of the church was £54 13s. 4d. (fn. 70)
While Camilla was dean the college successfully
defended its privileges against the claims of the
Archbishop of Canterbury to visit it. Metropolitical
visitation was an innovation, introduced into the
province of Canterbury in 1250 by Boniface of
Savoy; it had been applied to the diocese of Coventry
and Lichfield in 1260, but of the royal chapels there
it seems that Stafford alone was visited. (fn. 71) Archbishop Pecham, however, was intent on enforcing
the decrees of the Council of Lyons (1274) against
pluralism and non-residence, of which the canons
of the royal free chapels were flagrantly guilty. He
therefore determined to visit them all, even in
defiance of the king's prohibition. (fn. 72) When on 27
July 1280 he tried to visit the church of Wolverhampton the doors were shut against him; and when
he summoned the canons to meet him on 31 July to
produce proof of their exemption they, like those of
the other royal chapels of the diocese, ignored him
and were publicly excommunicated. Canonical
proceedings were launched against the seven
chapels. This provoked the king to protest. Under
royal pressure the archbishop made concessions;
and at last, after conversations with the king at the
Easter Parliament of 1281, he agreed to accept what
the king, in consultation with the bishops and chapters concerned, should decide about the privileges
of the royal chapels in the dioceses of Coventry and
Lichfield and of London. (fn. 73) This conference presumably produced the agreement of June 1281 by
which Bishop Meuland recognized that six of the
royal chapels in his diocese, including Wolverhampton, were not to be visited by any ordinary. In
return, however, he was to be honourably received
when he came by invitation to preach, ordain,
consecrate oil and chrism, and confirm. (fn. 74) Although
the archbishop was not among the named parties to
the agreement, he seems to have respected his
promise to abide by it.
This agreement did not settle Pecham's difference
with Camilla whose non-residence continued to
give offence. In 1282 the archbishop excommunicated him, deprived him of two of his churches, and
even maintained that he had no right to Wolverhampton, as it was properly in the patronage of
Canterbury. (fn. 75) Camilla, who had influential friends, (fn. 76)
was not easily defeated. In 1286 he secured a handsome money compensation for the two churches (fn. 77)
and continued to hold the deanery until his death
in 1295 without apparently changing his habits.
The college property suffered in the 14th and early
15th centuries from wastage by a number of deans.
Philip of Everdon (1295-1303) and his successor
John of Everdon inclosed plots of the deanery waste
and alienated them. (fn. 78) Moreover both these deans
displeased the king, Philip by accepting a papal
provision to one of the prebends, (fn. 79) and John by
making grants of the college's lands without licence. (fn. 80)
Hugh Ellis, who died in 1339, not only alienated
land (fn. 81) but made prodigal gifts of the stock and
utensils of the deanery and left the dean's buildings
in disrepair. (fn. 82) The next dean, Philip Weston, was
ill served by his bailiff. (fn. 83) It is perhaps not surprising
that after Weston's resignation in 1368 the king
ordered a visitation of Wolverhampton, together
with four other royal chapels of the diocese, to
investigate alienation of property, loss of privileges,
misappropriation of funds, disappearance of books,
vestments and ornaments, neglect of services, and
the conduct of the church's ministers. (fn. 84) Not all the
charges applied to Wolverhampton, for instance the
neglect of privileges; for John of Melbourne, though
dean for only a few months, had secured royal confirmation of the college's ancient charters in 1328. (fn. 85)
The investigation of 1368 appears to have had
little effect on subsequent deans. Richard Postell
(1373-94) embezzled annually an income of £26
13s. 4d. said to have been intended for the maintenance of six priests celebrating divine service; (fn. 86)
he was, however, careful of his church's privileges,
securing confirmation of its charters from both
Edward III and Richard II. (fn. 87) Inquiries into dilapidations followed the deaths of two successive deans,
Lawrence Allerthorpe in 1406 and Thomas Stanley
in 1410. (fn. 88) In Postell's and Allerthorpe's time there
were conflicts with the local inhabitants arising
from dissatisfaction with the way the dean's agents
managed his business affairs and his spiritual
jurisdiction. (fn. 89) The dean and all the canons were
apparently absentees in 1366 and 1385; (fn. 90) probably
this was usual. Between them the seven prebendaries
maintained five vicars to serve St. Peter's in 1385; (fn. 91)
in 1531 they maintained one each. (fn. 92)
Other priests were supported in St. Peter's and
its dependent chapels by pious endowment. In St.
Peter's there were two chantries, one founded in
1311 by Henry of Prestwood with lands and rents
worth 23s. 10d. a year, (fn. 93) and the chantry of St. Mary,
mentioned in 1398 and 1405, (fn. 94) which may be that
founded by Giles of Erdington. The dependent
chapel of Pelsall had a curate endowed by William
le Keu in 1311, (fn. 95) and a priest was maintained in the
prebendal chapel of Willenhall by the income from
property given in 1328 by Richard Gervase of
Wolverhampton. (fn. 96) In 1447 Sir Thomas Erdington
gave lands and rent to support a curate in the
dependent chapel of Bilston. (fn. 97) Two other benefactions were connected with the college. By 1385 a
light in honour of St. Peter was maintained in the
collegiate church by an income from land managed
by a body called 'wardens of the light', (fn. 98) and in 1395
Clement Leveson, one of the vicars, and William
Waterfall of Wolverhampton established a hospital
which was placed under the dean's jurisdiction. (fn. 99)
Under Dean Allerthorpe Wolverhampton's
immunity from archiepiscopal visitation was surrendered with only a token struggle. Archbishop
Arundel sent his commissaries to the college in
February 1401. Half-hearted legal objections were
presented, but when they were dismissed the
visitation was allowed to proceed. (fn. 100) As Allerthorpe
enjoyed royal favour, being appointed that year
Treasurer of England, (fn. 101) and could well have enlisted
the king's support, this capitulation must be
attributed to the political difficulties of Henry IV,
who could not afford to oppose the archbishop at
this point.
The importance to the college of its dean's
interest was demonstrated after John Barningham
was appointed in 1437. He twice went to law to put
Wolverhampton's affairs in order; (fn. 102) and in his will
of 1457 (fn. 103) he remembered both the church and its
people, leaving £5 to the fabric of the nave, 40s. for
his obit, and 66s. 8d. to be distributed among the
poor. Under his successor, William Dudley, the
college's charters were again confirmed, (fn. 104) and the
rebuilding of the church, already under way in 1439,
was continued. (fn. 105)
Dudley was the first dean of Wolverhampton to be
also Dean of St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Although he vacated both deaneries in 1476 their
union was made permanent in 1480 by Edward IV.
The Dean of Windsor was to be dean and prebendary of Wolverhampton and to possess all the
rights of the deanery. These included an important
emolument which he lacked at Windsor, the right to
collate to prebends. (fn. 106) An attempt made by the
chapter of Windsor in 1480 to limit that right by
restricting the dean's choice to canons of Windsor (fn. 107)
had little effect. For fifty years about half the known
canons of Wolverhampton were already canons of
Windsor; (fn. 108) by 1535 there was not a single canon in
common, (fn. 109) and subsequently only three (fn. 110) are
known, despite the reissue of the decree in 1637. (fn. 111)
The two colleges, though having the same dean,
remained distinct institutions, with separate statutes,
seals, and revenues.
In the 16th century it was the practice for the
dean to lease his Wolverhampton property to local
men of substance. The first such lease to be recorded
belongs to 1516-17; (fn. 112) like later leases (fn. 113) it probably
did not include the profits of market, fair, and court.
The rent then agreed of £38 may be compared with
the £40 6s. 4¼d. clear which the dean's rents and
rights produced in 1416-17, when the profits of the
market and fair were £3 19s. 9d. and the court
brought in £5 5s. 3d. less expenses. (fn. 114)
One of the two lessees of 1516-17, James Leveson,
merchant of the Staple, retained the deanery lease
at the same rent for at least 25 years, and his family
continued to hold it after his death. (fn. 115) He also bought
up deanery lands, acquiring more than twenty
holdings, (fn. 116) and leased from the dean a prebend
called Our Lady Prebend or the prebend of Wolverhampton, first mentioned in 1530 and probably to
be identified with the chantry of Our Lady in
Wolverhampton. (fn. 117) He also acquired property in the
prebends of Willenhall, Hatherton, and Wobaston. (fn. 118)
As the canons, following the dean's example, farmed
out their prebends also, the Leveson family gradually
increased the number of leases in its possession. By
1538 James Leveson was farming Wobaston prebend; (fn. 119) by 1544 Richard Leveson held Hatherton
and Hilton; (fn. 120) and in 1550 members of the family
held four of the prebends as well as the deanery. (fn. 121)
A lease of Featherstone prebend in 1537 (fn. 122) provides
an example of the conditions: while the lessee was
entitled to all profits, he had to pay a vicar and
meet all extraordinary charges. These were not easy
terms, for the rent was £7 a year and the clear value
of the prebend was estimated in 1535 at only £8 13s.
4d. (fn. 123)
In 1545 the college was threatened with dissolution under the first Chantries Act, (fn. 124) but this expired
without effect at the death of Henry VIII. The
threat was renewed in 1547 by the second Chantries
Act, (fn. 125) and, in spite of the dean's argument that the
exemption explicitly granted by the Act to St.
George's, Windsor, ought also to protect Wolverhampton, (fn. 126) the college was dissolved and replaced
by a vicarage endowed with £20 a year to support a
preaching minister and curate. (fn. 127) The pensions paid
to the dispossessed clergy were evidently calculated
on the basis of their former net incomes, which were
as follows: the dean £38 4s.; the prebendaries:
Wobaston £8 11s. 4d.; Hilton £8 0s. 9¼d.; Monmore
£8; Willenhall £4 17s. 9½d.; Featherstone £7;
Kinvaston £6; Hatherton £2; the curates: Willenhall £4 12s. 3d.; Pelsall £4 10s. 8d.; Bilston £5 3s.
3d.; the vicars choral (only five were recorded):
Willenhall and Wobaston £5 13s. 4d. each and
Hatherton, Featherstone, and Kinvaston £5 each;
the morrow-mass priest (who was probably the
chaplain of St. Mary's Chantry) £2 8s. (fn. 128) The
properties of the college, which had an annual value
assessed variously at £113 4s. 7¼d., £111 7s. 11d.,
and £111 8s. 1¼d., (fn. 129) were first confiscated to the
Crown, then in 1553 granted to the Duke of
Northumberland. (fn. 130)
The accession of Mary led to the restoration of
the college of Wolverhampton as an act of royal
favour to St. George's, Windsor. Her letters patent
of 1553 maintained that the dissolution was invalid
on account of the exemption granted to St. George's,
ordered the college to be reconstituted, nominated
the dean, prebendaries, and sacrist (of whom all
except two had previously been associated with St.
Peter's), and took advantage of Northumberland's
attainder to restore all its properties, now assessed
at an annual value of £113 13s. 0¼d. (fn. 131) After a few years
of uncertainty following Mary's death this restoration was finally confirmed by the grant of a royal
charter in 1564. (fn. 132)
The establishment of the restored college remained much as it was before the dissolution. The
chapter, which was supposed to meet once a quarter,
consisted of the dean, seven prebendaries, and the
sacrist; it possessed a chapter seal and employed a
registrar to keep its records. The dean being
inevitably an absentee, his jurisdiction was normally
exercised by his substitute, the official, who was
usually, but not invariably, one of the prebendaries.
The prebendaries had the duty of attending morning
and evening prayer on Sundays and festival days;
and each had to deliver a sermon every quarter. In
practice these duties, preaching excepted, were
performed, as in the past, by the permanent,
salaried substitutes, the vicars choral, who served
each stall. The requirement that the vicars choral
should all be at least in deacon's orders proved
difficult to maintain on account of the low stipends
offered; and by the end of the 17th century the
seven vicars choral had evolved into an establishment of three curates or readers, who presumably
had some ministerial qualifications, three lay 'singing men', and an organist. (fn. 133)
The parochial duties of St. Peter's fell on the
sacrist. His office was not new, for there is evidence
that it existed in the 13th century, (fn. 134) but its name and
function seem to have been absorbed into that of the
stipendiary or morrow-mass priest mentioned in the
surveys of Edward VI's reign. (fn. 135) Mary's letters patent
not only revived the title of sacrist but elevated his
status by making him a member of the chapter, a
dignity which he does not appear to have enjoyed
before the restoration. The sacrist's estate, which
probably included the endowments of the former
morrow-mass priest, produced, in the middle of the
17th century, an annual income of £26. This sum
did not include fees; and it would therefore seem
that the sacrist had adequate provision. (fn. 136) It would
seem too that the office was adequately served, for
the critical Puritan survey of 1604 made no comment
on it. (fn. 137) It was otherwise with the other pastoral
clergy of the parish, the three curates who served
the townships of Bilston, Pelsall, and Willenhall.
Although their former chantry chapels had survived
the dissolution with at least part of their endowments in the hands of trustees who nominated and
paid the curates, the stipends amounted to no more
than £4 or £5 each a year and could hardly have
attracted an able preaching ministry. The Puritan
survey of 1604 noted all three curates as nonpreachers and drunkards. It was not until later in
the 17th century and in the early 18th century that
the stipends and standards of these curates showed
any real improvement. (fn. 138)
In the 17th century the college experienced in
good measure the conflict between Puritans and
Laudians. This came to a head under Matthew
Wren, appointed dean in 1628, (fn. 139) and his brother
Christopher, who succeeded him in 1635. (fn. 140) They
attempted to silence the Puritan faction in the
chapter, particularly Richard Lee, Prebendary of
Willenhall since 1622, whose influence was the
more odious to them because he actually resided in
Wolverhampton and maintained an active preaching ministry in the parish. (fn. 141) In 1635, as the dean's
disciplinary powers had proved insufficient, Christopher Wren invoked the authority of Laud himself;
waiving the ancient immunities of the college, he
welcomed the process of metropolitical visitation
and by this potent means had Lee suspended and
forbidden to preach. (fn. 142) Having followed up this
success with measures against the Puritan laity of
the parish, (fn. 143) Wren celebrated his triumph by a
thanksgiving service in St. Peter's, where a new
high altar was dedicated with incense, music, and
a lavish ritual. (fn. 144)
The Puritans soon had their revenge. Lee's
suspension provided one of the charges brought
against Laud in 1644; and Lee's brother, Leonard,
together with William Pinson, a Puritan layman of
Wolverhampton, testified at Laud's trial. (fn. 145) Meanwhile the college had been doomed in principle by
the decision, taken in 1643, to abolish all deans and
chapters. (fn. 146) Accordingly, after Parliament had won
the Civil War, the college was dissolved and its
possessions sequestrated. (fn. 147)
The endowments of the college were now vested
in trustees with the intention of making all its
revenues available for evangelical purposes. In 1646
£100 a year was granted to support a minister at St.
Peter's; and, by a symbolic act of restitution, the
post was given to Richard Lee, the silenced prebendary. Another £50 a year, together with the £26
formerly belonging to the sacrist, was provided to
maintain an assistant. (fn. 148) The surviving surveys of
this time, those of the deanery and the prebend of
Kinvaston, show that these two properties alone had
an annual value of £270 2s. 4d. and £70 9s. respectively; (fn. 149) these grants therefore still left money to
spare to augment other livings. Accordingly the
minister of Wednesbury received £50 a year, and the
income of Shareshill, near Hilton, was raised to £100
a year. (fn. 150) In practice, however, these grants were
vitiated by the circumstance that six of the prebends
had long been alienated into the hands of the
Leveson family, and enjoyment of the other
properties was limited by existing leases. For a while
these obstructions were obscured by the fact that
the Levesons and other lessees happened to be
royalists, so that their estates had been sequestrated
and their revenues temporarily freed for spiritual
purposes; but the time came, after 1652, when the
sequestrations were discharged and the owners
claimed their rights. (fn. 151) Then it became apparent that
the promised stipends could not be met from the
collegiate revenues, (fn. 152) and other sources had to be
found. (fn. 153)
The restoration of the college in 1660 did not
require legislation, as the abolition of chapters was
regarded as an invalid act. The former sacrist,
Robert Dyott, claimed his old office, vacant prebends were filled, and the college tried to return to
normal. (fn. 154) But it was not easy. The wars and troubles
had done severe damage. What mattered was not the
damage caused to the fabric of St. Peter's — though
this was serious enough and was not made good until
the reign of James II (fn. 155) — but the loss of most of the
college's deeds, destroyed or stolen when the
chapter-house was ransacked by a royalist garrison
under the command of Col. Leveson. (fn. 156) This loss
gravely compromised the future of the college.
Without documents, it was ill equipped for the next
round in the long legal battle which it had been
fighting with the Leveson family to regain valuable
properties lost in the 16th century.
The story of these lost properties had begun in
1550. By that time it was evident that, in spite of the
dean's protests, the college could not escape dissolution. Accordingly the whole chapter, except the
dean, sealed new leases, all on the same day, of their
prebendal estates, reserving only their prebendal
houses with the lands attached to them. These
transactions are remarkable in several respects.
They took place when the properties in question
were about to be confiscated to the Crown and when
the existing leases had not expired. Except for
Kinvaston, where the new lease was taken by the
holder of the old lease, the former lessees were
ignored and all the properties leased to John
Leveson and Robert Brooke, whose families were
shortly to be united in marriage. The rents to be paid
were set at half, and in some cases much less than
half, the rents reported in the surveys made at the
dissolution; but, as the tenants had to meet all
charges, including payment of the vicars choral,
their total obligation was probably not less than in the
past. More important was the duration of the leases.
The lease of Kinvaston was exceptional in being
limited to 40 years; the six other prebends were all
leased in perpetuity. Finally, this transaction was
completed with a manifest irregularity, through a
confirmation by the chapter of St. George's,
Windsor, a body which had no standing in the
matter, as only the deaneries, not the colleges, were
united. (fn. 157)
In engaging in these dubious proceedings the
prebendaries believed, or so they maintained later,
that they were safeguarding the interests of the
college as the leases were granted only on condition
of being cancelled should the college be restored; (fn. 158)
the lessees evidently intended to gain what advantage
they could before the estates came into new hands.
In the event it was the college and the prebendaries
who suffered. For when the college's property was
granted to the Duke of Northumberland it seems
that the new leases remained in tactful abeyance; (fn. 159)
but when the college was restored and the prebendaries regained their estates John Leveson and
his fellow-lessees, disregarding any promises that
might have been made, enforced their rights. By
1560 at the latest Leveson and his son Thomas, who
had acquired Brooke's interest by marriage, were in
possession of all the prebends except Kinvaston. (fn. 160)
Thus the college was restored to a wasted inheritance, the greater part alienated to lay hands. From
now on six of the seven prebends were diminishing
assets: apart from the small revenues that could be
raised from the prebendal houses with their adjoining
lands, they produced only fixed rents which became
worthless over the years and, because the leases
were perpetual, lacked the compensation of renewal
fines.
It was to be expected that when these effects
began to make themselves felt attempts would be
made to have the leases set aside. The first attempt
was made in 1572, (fn. 161) a second in 1614-20, (fn. 162) a third
by Dean Christopher Wren after his appointment in
1635, (fn. 163) and a fourth by Richard Lee in 1641. (fn. 164) The
struggle was resumed after the Restoration, but the
loss of the college's deeds during the Civil War and
the Levesons' influence in Staffordshire brought
failure once more. The case was dismissed from
Chancery in 1667 and Robert Leveson awarded
costs. (fn. 165) This failure virtually marked the end of any
serious hope of regaining the alienated prebends.
In 1705, when Robert Leveson sold his Wolverhampton estates to the Earl of Bradford, the chapter
collectively started proceedings, but these broke
down at the first hurdle. (fn. 166) The chapter abandoned a
similar project in 1811 after the dean had taken
counsel's opinion. (fn. 167)
As hopes of restoring the fortunes of the college
faded, so the attractions it offered to men of distinction diminished. Only the deanery and the prebend of Kinvaston — at least when they had
recovered from the depredations of the Interregnum
and inconsiderate leases — offered a substantial
income. (fn. 168) In the 17th century the low rents, between
£2 and £7 a year, of the other prebends had at least
been accompanied by hopes of improvement; and
they had therefore been thought suitable rewards
for clergy on the road to higher preferment, like
Joseph Hall and Godfrey Goodman, (fn. 169) or for a
foreign scholar like Cesar Callendrine. (fn. 170) In the next
century the prebendaries were mostly local clergy
who made their careers in Staffordshire and the
neighbouring counties; the only one to attain
distinction was John Cradock, who succeeded his
father in Kinvaston and rose to become Archbishop
of Dublin. (fn. 171) In these conditions the chapter enjoyed
long tenures and stable membership.
Even in the harmonious circumstances of the 18th
century some of the issues that played their part in
the final dissolution of the college began to make
themselves felt. The growth of population imposed
new pressures on the organization of this extensive
parish and raised doubts about the college's contribution — financial and spiritual — to its religious
life. The chapels of Bilston, Pelsall, and Willenhall
and the new district churches built in the course of
the century tended to resent their dependence on the
mother-church of St. Peter, which the deans continued to assert. Bilston, for example, which, like
Willenhall, enjoyed the right to choose its curate
by popular election, openly defied the dean's
attempts to encroach on its privilege in 1730 and
1735. (fn. 172) The obligation imposed on the inhabitants
of the dependent districts, under which they had to
pay fees both to their own curate and to the sacrist
of Wolverhampton and had to contribute to the
repairs of St. Peter's as well as to those of their own
church, provided a frequent source of dispute. (fn. 173)
The sacrist clung to his financial rights all the
more tenaciously because fees from burials, marriages, and christenings provided a large part of his
income. The difficult relationship with the dependent
churches could therefore be resolved only if he
could be provided with a satisfactory income from
other sources. At one point it seemed that the development of the local coal industry would make
this possible. In 1811 an Act was obtained for
increasing the income of the sacrist — or perpetual
curate as he was henceforth to be called. (fn. 174) It provided that a quarter of the royalties to be obtained
from exploiting the coal under the dean's estate
should be invested on the sacrist's behalf up to a
total value of £8,000, which would yield an income
rising eventually to £266 a year. The Act also
abolished the three readerships and by transferring
their stipends to the sacrist added a further £30 a
year to his income. (fn. 175) The Act did not, however,
fulfil expectations; it did too little too slowly. By
1835 the income from the invested royalties reached
only £15, (fn. 176) and by 1843 it was no more than £60. (fn. 177)
Consequently fees continued to supply a considerable part of the sacrist's income. In 1843,
while rents and interest produced £270, fees produced about £200. (fn. 178) Therefore, as long as the
college survived, the controversy about fees continued to embarrass relationships between St.
Peter's and the other churches of the parish. (fn. 179)
Even before the end of the 18th century the
traditional pre-eminence of the collegiate church,
which the dean and sacrist were trying for financial
reasons to preserve, was gradually being undermined. Ceremonies like the Rogationtide procession
and the solemn perambulation of the parish bounds,
which used to maintain the dignity of the motherchurch and assert its presence, had been abandoned. (fn. 180) The independence of the peculiar had
been diminished by frequent episcopal intervention; (fn. 181) and even the peculiar court came to be
held at Lichfield rather than at Wolverhampton. (fn. 182)
Furthermore the Act of 1811, suppressing the readerships and establishing a perpetual curacy, in effect
made St. Peter's virtually indistinguishable from
its daughter-churches. These changes made the
claims of the collegiate church even less palatable.
In an evangelical age the college was susceptible to
criticism which drew attention to the contrast
between the spiritual contribution which it made to
the parish and the large revenues which it took out.
It was not only that it imposed a double burden of
fees, but that its other revenues had increased. This
was not true of the six alienated prebends, and
hardly of Kinvaston, which produced little more
than £100 a year; (fn. 183) but the exploitation of mineral
resources had greatly increased the value of the
deanery, and the last dean must have drawn on
average more than £600 a year from his Wolverhampton estates. (fn. 184) The dean of course was an
absentee; but so also during the college's last fifty
years were most of the chapter in contrast with the
practice of the previous century. In 1835 only two
of the prebendaries held livings in the county. (fn. 185)
These absentees not only contributed little to the
spiritual life of the parish; they also hampered its
material development. Their estates, which in most
cases consisted only of their prebendal houses and
the lands attached to them, were laxly administered
and their properties badly maintained. The clergy's
preference for a system of long leases and occasional
fines, together with their lack of capital and incentive, stood in the way of long-term improvements.
Until after the middle of the 19th century the effective development of the centre of Wolverhampton
was hindered by the slum dwellings and vacant lots
of which the collegiate estates largely consisted. (fn. 186)
The last dean and the last perpetual curate did
nothing to restore the standing of the college. Dean
Hobart, who held his office from 1816 to 1846, (fn. 187)
lacked the influence at court and in the Church that
might be expected of a dean of Windsor and
Wolverhampton. Dr. Oliver, who was appointed
perpetual curate in 1834, engaged in a succession of
rather sordid and very public disputes with the other
clergy of the parish and ended by quarrelling, also
publicly, with his own churchwardens. (fn. 188)
In these circumstances it is not surprising that
after the establishment of the Ecclesiastical Commission in 1836 had prepared the way for reform no
attempts were made to save the college, even in
some modified form. The Cathedrals Act of 1840
provided that, on the dean's death, the deanery and
peculiar were to be suppressed; (fn. 189) and after Hobart's
death in 1846 the college was speedily wound up. (fn. 190)
Already prebends had been kept vacant as their
holders had died. (fn. 191) In October the jurisdiction of
the peculiar was transferred to the bishop. (fn. 192) In 1847
Dr. Oliver resigned and the office of perpetual
curate was suspended. (fn. 193) Finally in 1848 the Wolverhampton Church Act dissolved the college and
transferred its possessions to the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners. St. Peter's was established as a
rectory, with a living worth £750 a year. It lost its
ancient pre-eminence, as the old parish was broken
up and the daughter-churches acquired independent
status. (fn. 194) From the revenues of the former college
the commissioners were able to augment the
stipends of all thirteen incumbents of the old parish
and contribute to the repair of their churches. (fn. 195) By
these means the aims of the Edwardian and Cromwellian reformers were at last achieved.
Deans
Peter of Blois, probably appointed by Henry II,
occurs 1190-1, resigned probably 1202. (fn. 196)
Nicholas, occurs 1203. (fn. 197)
In January 1203 the deanery was granted to
Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, who
planned to dissolve the college. The grant was
cancelled when the archbishop died in 1205. (fn. 198)
Henry, son of Geoffrey, Earl of Essex, appointed
1205. (fn. 199)
Giles of Erdington, occurs 1224, died 1268 or
1269. (fn. 200)
Master Theodosius de Camilla, appointed 1269,
died 1295. (fn. 201)
Master Philip of Everdon, appointed 1295, resigned 1303. (fn. 202)
Master John of Everdon, appointed 1303, probably resigned 1323. (fn. 203)
Godfrey of Rudham, appointed 1322, perhaps
held the deanery from 1323 to 1326. (fn. 204)
Robert of Silkstone, appointed 1326, resigned
1328. (fn. 205)
John of Melbourne, appointed April 1328. (fn. 206)
John of the Chamber, appointed October 1328,
resigned November 1328. (fn. 207)
Master Hugh Ellis, appointed November 1328,
died 1339. (fn. 208)
Philip Weston, appointed 1339, resigned 1368. (fn. 209)
John of Newnham, appointed 1368, died 1369. (fn. 210)
Amaury Shirland, appointed 1369, held the
deanery until 1373. (fn. 211)
Richard Postell, appointed 1373, resigned 1394. (fn. 212)
Master Lawrence Allerthorpe, appointed 1394,
died 1406. (fn. 213)
Thomas Stanley, appointed 1406, died 1410. (fn. 214)
Robert Wolveden, appointed 1410, presumably
resigned 1426. (fn. 215)
William Felter, B.C.L., D.Cn.L., appointed 1426,
resigned 1437. (fn. 216)
John Barningham, appointed 1437, died 1457. (fn. 217)
Master William Dudley, appointed probably
1457, provided to the bishopric of Durham
1476. (fn. 218)
Master Lionel Woodville, appointed 1477, probably resigned 1480. (fn. 219)
From 1480 the deanery of Wolverhampton was
united with the deanery of Windsor. (fn. 220)
The chapter seal in use in the late 13th century (fn. 221)
is a pointed oval, 2¾ by 1¼ in. It depicts St. Peter
standing, with a pastoral staff in his right hand and
two keys in his left; on his head is a close-fitting cap.
Legend, lombardic:
SIGILLUM SANCTI PETRI DE WLFRUNEHAMTUNE
The seal in use in the late 15th century (fn. 222) is a
pointed oval, 2½ × 1½ in. It depicts St. Peter and
St. Paul standing in a double niche with canopies;
St. Peter holds a book and keys, St. Paul a sword and
book. In the base under a round arch is the threequarter figure of a cleric praying, surrounded by five
heads; this probably represents the dean and canons.
Legend, black letter:
SIGILLUM COIE (sic) CAPITALI (sic) DE
WOLVERNHAMPTON
In 1872 the brass matrix of this seal, then in private
possession, was restored to St. Peter's Church.
A chapter seal struck in the 17th century, (fn. 223)
circular with a diameter of 13/8 in., depicts St. Peter
standing; in his left hand he holds two keys, and his
right rests on a shield bearing the royal arms; (fn. 224)
round his head is a nimbus. Legend, roman:
SIGILLUM DECANI ET CAPITULI LIBERAE CAPELLAE
REGIAE SANCTI PETRI DE WULFRUNHAMPTON
The silver matrix was purchased by the British
Museum in 1868.
The chapter seal in use in the later 18th and
earlier 19th centuries (fn. 225) is an oval, about 1¾ by 1½
in.; it depicts a bishop in pontificals. Legend: (fn. 226)
SIGILLUX (sic)SANCTI PETRI DE WLFRUNHAXTUN (sic)
The matrix was of silver.