14. THE PRIORY OF ST. MARY MAGDALENE, LINCOLN
The priory of St. Mary Magdalene at Lincoln
was probably founded some time during the reign
of Henry II, (fn. 1) as a cell of St. Mary's Abbey at
York; the name of the founder is unknown. It
was only intended to support a prior and one or
two monks, to look after the estates belonging to
the abbey; and near the time of the dissolution.
the abbot stated he was not bound by the foundation to keep any monks there at all. (fn. 2) As.
might be expected, the history of the cell is uneventful.
In 1275 the abbot was accused of having;
closed the king's highway and other common
land on his manor at Lincoln; probably on
the land where this priory stood. (fn. 3) Not long
after this, the lands belonging to the abbey at
Sandtoft and Henes were annexed to those at
Lincoln.
In 1312 the abbot had to complain that:
certain men had assaulted one of his monks.
in the cell of ' La Maudeleyne without Lincoln.' (fn. 4)
In 1461 the church of St. Peter ad fontem was
appropriated to the priory. (fn. 5) The episcopal
registers tell us nothing of the history of the
house, as the right of visitation and of appointing
priors was entirely in the hands of the abbot. In
1531 King Henry VIII wrote to the abbot to
say that he considered this cell to be a ' mean to
provoke liberty and conversation not decent and
meet for religious persons'; and in replying the
abbot explained that he was not bound to keep
any monks there, and was quite willing to recall
the prior and brethren, and to support three
more students at the university from the revenues
of the house. (fn. 6) It is a little difficult to understand the purpose of these two letters and the
events which followed. At any rate nothing
was done immediately, either by the king or the
abbot, for in 1533 the latter wrote to Cromwell,
acknowledging that the prior of St. Mary Magdalene had managed his house ' so liberally' that
he had brought the abbey into great expense and
trouble. It was not intended, however, as yet,
to put him ' from his good governance,' but only
to admonish him 'to look the better to it.' (fn. 7)
Then there are two letters dated 1535 which
sound strangely contradictory. There is one
from the abbot to the king, almost identical with
that which is dated 1531, only the persons are
changed. It is ' we,' the convent of York, who
now find the cell ' a mean to provoke liberty and
conversation not decent and meet for religious persons '; and it is the king who is asked to call home
for ever the brethren resident at Lincoln, that the
revenues might be applied as before suggested. (fn. 8)
Yet in the same year the abbot writes to Cromwell, speaking of the king's letter, and saying
that the brethren at York are much divided in
opinion as to the suppression of the cell. (fn. 9) A
year later Sir Thomas Audley wrote to Cromwell
saying that there were no longer any monks in
St. Mary Magdalene's Priory. (fn. 10) Nevertheless, on
1 March, 1539, the abbot wrote again to
Cromwell, acknowledging a letter in which it
had been complained that there were but one or
two monks, and sometimes none; ' no hospitality kept, nor Almighty God served, nor any
religious order.' He protested that from time
out of memory there had been a prior and two
monks, and ' as at this day God well served,
religion kept, and poor folk relieved ' after the
ability of the brethren, as all the country could
testify, and especially at the last commotion (the
Lincoln rebellion). So he asked that the cell
might be spared. (fn. 11) There are other letters in
March, May, and November which seem to
show that the brethren were withdrawn, and the
cell leased to a dependent of Cromwell. (fn. 12) At
the time of its suppression the priory was valued
at £23 6s. 3d. clear, consisting mostly of small
rents in and about the city of Lincoln, and a few
small pensions in divers churches. (fn. 13)
The only name of a prior of this house at
present known is that of John de Bryne, (fn. 14) who
occurs 1297.