7. THE PRIORY OF SNAPE
About the year 1155 William Martel, in
conjunction with Albreda his wife, and Geoffrey
their son, gave the manors of Snape and Aldeburgh to the abbot and convent of the Benedictine house of St. John, Colchester. The
founders intended that a prior and monks should
be established at Snape subject to St. John's,
Colchester, and this was speedily accomplished.
The priory, by the foundation charter, was to
pay the abbey annually half a mark of silver as
an acknowledgement of its submission. The
monks of Snape were to say two masses every
week, one of the Holy Spirit and the other of
our Lady, for the weal of William and Albreda,
and after their death masses for the departed.
The abbot of Colchester was to visit the cell
twice a year, with twelve horses, and to tarry
for four days. (fn. 1)
In 1163 Pope Alexander III confirmed to
the prior and brethren of St. Mary, Snape, the
churches of Freston and Bedingfield. (fn. 2)
The taxation roll of 1291 shows that there
were then appropriated to this priory the churches
of Snape, Bedingfield, Freston, and Aldeburgh
with its chapel, producing an income of £23 6s. 8d.
The lands, rents, and mill brought in £21 12s. 1d.
a year, and other temporalities £11 19s. 7½d.;
so that the total annual income was £56 18s. 4½d. (fn. 3)
Upon complaint made by Isabel, countess of
Suffolk and patroness of the abbey, to Boniface IX, that the abbot and convent of Colchester
did not maintain a sufficient number of religious
at Snape, according to the founder's directions,
the pope, by bull dated 10 January, 1399-1400,
made this priory independent and exempt from
all control by the Colchester abbey. (fn. 4) But whilst
this matter was still in hand, the abbey of Colchester had sufficient influence to stir up the
crown against this papal action. On 3 May,
1400, commission was issued to John Arnold,
serjeant-at-arms, to arrest John Mersey (monk of
St. John's, Colchester, and prior of Snape), which
Henry IV claimed as of the king's patronage, as
Mersey had obtained divers exemptions and privileges prejudicial to the abbey from the court of
Rome, and was proposing to cross the seas to
obtain further privileges. He was to be brought
before the king in chancery, and to find security
that he would not leave the kingdom without
the royal licence, or obtain anything prejudicial
to the abbey in the court of Rome. (fn. 5) On
16 July, Mersey was still at large, for the commission to arrest him was renewed and its execution entrusted to four serjeants-at-arms. (fn. 6) The
upshot of the dispute was favourable to the abbey;
but the final agreement was not reached (fn. 7)
until 1443.
Pope Sixtus IV, in 1472, confirmed the priory
in its possession and privileges, but with no statement as to independence. (fn. 8)
Archdeacon Nicholas Goldwell visited this
priory, as commissary of his brother the bishop
on 20 January, 1492-3; Prior Francis produced his accounts, and the commissary found
nothing worthy of reformation. (fn. 9) There is record
of another visitation of this small house in July,
1520; the visitor reported that everything was
praiseworthy considering the number of the religious and the income of the priory; the prior
was ordered to provide another brother, and to
exhibit an inventory of the condition of the
house at the synod to be held at Ipswich at the
ensuing Michaelmas. (fn. 10)
This priory was one of those numerous small
religious houses of East Anglia for whose suppression, in favour of a great college at Ipswich,
Cardinal Wolsey obtained bulls in 1527-8. It
was at that time valued in spiritualities at £20
per annum, and in temporalities at £79 1s. 11½d.,
yielding a total income of £99 1s. 11½d. (fn. 11)
After Wolsey's attainder, the site and possessions of this priory were granted to Thomas,
duke of Norfolk, on 17 July, 1532. (fn. 12)
Priors of Snape
John Colcestre, 1307 (fn. 13)
Gilbert, occurs 1311 (fn. 14)
Thomas de Neylond, 1327 (fn. 15)
Simon de Elyton, 1349 (fn. 16)
John de Colne, 1349 (fn. 17)
Robert (? Richard) de Colne, 1360 (fn. 18)
Richard de Bury, 1372 (fn. 19)
John de Grensted, 1385 (fn. 20)
John de Mersey, 1394 (fn. 21)
John Wetheryngsete, died 1439 (fn. 22)
John Norwych, 1439 (fn. 23)
William Cambrigge, mentioned 1441 (fn. 24)
Henry Thurton, resigned 1489 (fn. 25)
John Barney, 1489 (fn. 26)
Thomas Mondeley, 1491 (fn. 27)
Francis, occurs 1493 (fn. 28)
Richard Bells, 1504 (fn. 29)
Richard Stratford, 1514 (fn. 30)
Richard Parker, 1526 (fn. 31)
A seal of a prior of this house c. 1200 is
appended to two charters at the British Museum.
It represents a prior standing, holding a book in
his hands. Legend:
+ SIGILLUM PRIORIS DE SNAPE. (fn. 32)