HOUSE OF BENEDICTINE NUNS
16. THE PRIORY OF STAINFIELD (fn. 1)
The priory of Stainfield was founded by
William or Henry de Percy, in or before the
reign of Henry II. (fn. 2) It was the only Benedictine
nunnery in Lincolnshire; but it was neither
large nor wealthy, and probably did not contain
more than about twenty nuns at any time.
Little is known of its history. A suit is
recorded in 1200 concerning the church of
Quadring, of which the prioress succeeded
in recovering a moiety from Walter de Rochford, son-in-law of a benefactor of the house. (fn. 3)
About 1319 the nuns, being poor, tried to
escape a burden which the king wished to lay
upon them, the maintenance for life of a
certain Mary Ridel; but their excuses were
deemed insufficient. They were peremptorily
ordered to receive her, to supply her with
food, clothing, shoe-leather and other necessaries, and to draw out letters patent specifying exactly what she ought to have, that the
king might be certified of their obedience to his
wishes. (fn. 4) In 1378 the prioress and convent
received permission to appropriate the church of
Quadring on account of their poverty. (fn. 5) In 1392
Bishop Bokyngham forbade merchants to sell
their wares in the conventual church or churchyard under pain of excommunication; it seems
strange that such a prohibition should have been
necessary. (fn. 6) There are no notices, however, of
any special laxity of the house. In 1440 Bishop
Alnwick found the priory in good estate; the
prioress and all her nuns (eighteen in number)
answered omnia bene. One sister, however, said
that seculars were allowed to sleep in the
dormitory —an irregularity which seems to
have been very common at this time in monasteries where boarders were received. There
were only three ' households' in the monastery;
one belonging to the prioress, another to the
cellaress, and another to the lay sisters; so that
the nuns here seem to have avoided another
abuse which was very prevalent in the fifteenth
century. (fn. 7)
In 1519 the report was not so good. Bishop
Atwater found the monastery in need of a proper
infirmary, the house used for this purpose not
being healthy or quiet enough. It was complained that the nuns were not punctual in
coming to choir, and that half an hour sometimes
elapsed between the last stroke of the bell and
the beginning of the office. Some of the nuns,
when in choir, did not sing but dozed; partly
because they had not candles enough to see their
breviaries by, and partly because they did not go
to bed promptly after compline. (fn. 8) Then on feast
days they did not stay in church and occupy themselves in devotion, between the hours of our Lady
and the high mass, but came out and wandered
about the garden and cloisters. Inclinations and
other ceremonies at office were omitted often or
negligently performed. The rules of the refectory were not well kept; instead of sitting in
rows, the nuns sat in little groups and talked
together over their meals. The prioress frequently invited three young nuns to her table
and showed partiality to them. (fn. 9)
It was enjoined in consequence that all the
nuns should be diligent and punctual at the
canonical hours and careful in performing all due
ceremonies and ritual; that all should go to bed
immediately after compline; that sufficient
candles should be provided; that silence
should be kept in the refectory, though the
bishop did not forbid them to sit there as they
had been wont to do; and that no seculars
should be admitted to the monastery except
for a few days as guests. The prioress was to
invite all the senior sisters in order to her
table, and to see that a proper infirmary was
built. (fn. 10)
It seems probable that these injunctions were
obeyed, and that the convent soon recovered its
credit, for in 1536, after the passing of the first
Act of Suppression, this house at first received a
licence to continue. (fn. 11) The king, however, on
second thoughts, foresaw ' certain inconveniences'
that would arise if. the priory were allowed to
stand, and ordered its dissolution. The nuns
were not, however, to suffer on account of his
change of purpose. They were to enter the
dissolved priory of Stixwould, after it had been
emptied of its original inhabitants. (fn. 12) The prioress,
however, Elizabeth Bursby, appears to have been
pensioned at this time, (fn. 13) and probably did not go
to Stixwould with the rest. Twelve of the Stixwould nuns were paid arrears of wages, and 20s.
apiece besides to buy secular apparel, from the
revenues of Stainfield. (fn. 14) When Stixwould was
refounded later, as a Premonstratensian priory,
one of the Stainfield nuns, Mary Missenden, became prioress. (fn. 15)
The original endowment of the house cannot
be precisely stated. It seems at any rate to have
included the two churches of Quadring and
Gisburn, Yorks. (fn. 16) The prioress had the advowson of Somerby and of Maidenwell. (fn. 17) In 1428
the prioress held with others half a fee in Marton
and in Sturton. (fn. 18) The temporalities of Stainfield in 1291 were valued at £69 3s. 3d. (fn. 19)
In 1534 its clear value was £98 8s. 1d. (fn. 20)
The Ministers' Accounts give a total of only
£61 11s. 2d. including the manor of Maidenwell
and the rectories of Quadring, Gisburn, Apley
and Kingthorp. (fn. 21)
Prioresses of Stainfield
Parnel, (fn. 22) died before 1223
Constance, (fn. 23) elected before 1223
Agnes of Thorn ton, (fn. 24) elected 1244
Maud, (fn. 25) died 1258
Eufemia Constable, (fn. 26) elected 1258, died 1258
Katherine of Dunham, (fn. 27) elected 1258, occurs
1272
Isolt, (fn. 28) resigned 1297
Christine le Vavassour, (fn. 29) elected 1297, died
1309
Agnes de Longvilles, (fn. 30) elected 1309
Margaret Lisieux, (fn. 31) occurs 1378, died 1393
Alice de St. Quintin, (fn. 32) elected 1393
Margery Hall, (fn. 33) occurs 1440
Katherine Bland, (fn. 34) occurs 1491
Elizabeth Bainsfield (fn. 35)
Elizabeth Bursby, (fn. 36) occurs 1521 to 1536
The twelfth-century pointed oval seal (fn. 37) of
Stainfield represents the Virgin, crowned, seated
on a carved throne, with finials of peculiar shape;
the Child, with a nimbus, on the left knee, in
the right hand a sceptre fieury.
. . . IGILLVM CAPITVL . . . ARIE. DE.
STEINFELD . . .
A thirteenth-century seal, (fn. 38) also pointed oval,
shows the Virgin seated on a throne, the Child,
with nimbus, on the left knee, in the right hand a
sceptre fleur-de-lizé.
. . . LVM CAPITVLI . . . RIE. D . . .