15. THE PRIORY OF SELBORNE
The priory of St. Mary, Selborne, was
founded in 1233 by Bishop Peter des Roches
for Austin canons. The original foundation
charter of the bishop, with the confirmation
of the king, are still extant, together with a
vast store of other evidences pertaining to the
priory, among the muniments of Magdalen
College, Oxford. Selborne is one of the very
few cases in which the entire store of original
monastic muniments have come down to our
own times. They were transferred en bloc to
Magdalen College at the time of its foundation, and are faithfully preserved in the Founder's Tower. They were calendared some
years ago by the Rev. W. Dunn Macray,
M.A., F.S.A. (fn. 1) In 1891 the Hants Record
Society issued a printed calendar of the
charters and documents relative to Selborne and its priory, the more important of
them being given in extenso, which was
edited, with a valuable preface, by Mr. Macray. In 1894 this society issued a second
volume, edited by the same gentleman, giving
a calendar of the deeds relating to lands of the
priory in other places than Selborne itself.
To these scholarly volumes we are indebted
for all the information given in this brief
notice, save where it is otherwise stated.
Much, too, of the history of this priory has
long been accessible in the fairly accurate
account given of it by the immortal Gilbert
White in his Natural History of Selborne.
By the foundation charter, dated 20 January,
1233-4, the canons acquired the manor of
Selborne, with every possible privilege, the
lands which the bishop had obtained by the
gift of James de Acangre, James de Norton,
and King Henry III., and the churches of
Selborne, Basing and Basingstoke were at the
same time appropriated to their use. In September, 1235, Pope Gregory IX. confirmed
the foundation and conferred certain privileges.
The first prior was John, whose name
occurs in charters from 1234 to 1258. In
1250 there is an early instance of a corrody.
Roger de Cherlecole conveyed to the prior, in
free alms, two messuages, a mill, and divers
acres of land and meadow, on condition that
the priory should provide him and his wife
Isabel with the weekly allowance, during
life, of 18 canons' loaves, 28 servants' loaves,
15 gallons of the convent beer, 14 gallons of
the second beer, and 12d. for meat and
pottage; the allowance was to be reduced by
one half on the death of either of them.
In July, 1254, the vicarage of Selborne was
formally ordained. The vicar was to receive
the tithes of gardens and plots tilled by spade
husbandry, as well as all the small tithes,
oblations, legacies, and other obventions that
pertained both to the mother church and to
the chapels of Oakhanger and Blakemore.
The vicar was to reside at the mother church,
and pay annually 100s. to the priory. He
was to be provided with a suitable manse near
the church, and also to hold the land with
garden and a curtilage at Oakhanger. The
priory was to be responsible for all episcopal,
archidiaconal, and other dues, to keep the
chancel in repair, and to make good all present defects in books, vestments and other
ornaments of the church, for which however
the vicar was to be responsible in the future.
The second prior was Richard of Kent. (fn. 2)
He succeeded in 1261, and ruled the convent
till 1267. Prior Richard granted leave, on
24 June, 1262, to Sir Adam Gurdun arid his
wife Constance to construct an oratory in
their manor house at Selborne and to celebrate
mass therein. This Sir Adam Gurdun became the outlawed adherent of Simon de
Montfort, who fought in 1266 his famous
duel with Prince Edward. (fn. 3)
Whilst Peter de Disenhurst was prior, there
were special bequests for maintaining the
light of the high altar and the light of St.
Katherine in the conventual church. In
1270 Henry III. granted a weekly market
and yearly fair to the priory, to be held in the
town of Selborne in a place called 'La Pleystowe,' to the south of the church. (fn. 4) Inquests at the beginning of the reign of
Edward I. show that the prior had the right
to gallows, assize of bread and ale, and view
of frank-pledge on the manor of Selborne,
and also the right of chasing fox and hare
within the king's forests. (fn. 5)
In 1285 Prior Richard and the convent of
Selborne granted to Lady Ela Longespeye,
Countess of Warwick, in return for 100
marks, that one canon should always celebrate
for her at the altar of Sts. Stephen, John
Baptist, and Thomas the Martyr, specifying
the collects to be used. It was also provided
that high mass should be celebrated for her
monthly at the high altar, that her name
should be written in every missal and in the
martyrology, and her soul mentioned in all
prayers when the soul of the founder was
mentioned; and that on the news of her
death the classicum with all the bells should be
tolled, as for a prior, every priest-canon celebrating thirty masses and saying ten psalters,
and every lay-brother one hundred and fifty
'Our Fathers' and the like number of 'Hail
Marys.'
In 1290 Bishop Pontoise re-ordained the
vicarage, specifying the small tithes, and
adding to the former endowment 10 acres
of arable land and I acre called Orchard's
Crop which the rector used to hold. The
prior and convent were also ordered, at their
own expense, to erect anew sufficient buildings for the vicar, and yearly to deliver to
him three quarters each of wheat, of barley,
and of oats, good measure, and if three
months in arrear after Michaelmas, to give
double. The priory was to receive all the
great tithes, that is the sheaves only, and they
were to provide candlestick, books, and bread
for the celebration, as well as to repair the
chancel and be responsible for all dues.
The taxation roll of 1291 gives the annual
value of the church of Selborne and its chapel
at £22; whilst the priory is credited with an
income of £9 16s. 2d. in the archdeaconry of
Winchester under temporalities.
William de Basing, the fifth prior, was
elected in 1299. (fn. 1) His name occurs in the
evidences from 1299 to 1323. Pardon was
granted on 11 May, 1302, to Prior William
and his convent for acquiring in mortmain 32
acres of land and 5 acres of wood in Bromdene
by feoffment of Walter Launcel, and 18 acres
of land there by feoffment of Richard de la
Putte. (fn. 2) In 1305 royal confirmation was
obtained of a grant (made long before the
statute of mortmain) by John de Vernuz to
the priory, of 20 acres of land in East Worldham and the advowson of the church of that
town. (fn. 3) In January, 1307, licence was obtained for the alienation in mortmain, by
William Turner and Alice his wife to the
priory of Selborne, of a messuage and 24
acres of land in La Rode. (fn. 4) In the following
May, William and Alice Turner granted to
the priory all their land in La Rode, after the
death of Alice, on condition of their granting
to William and Alice for life the livery of
one canon, namely one white loaf and one
gallon of beer or cider of the better drink of
the convent.
Bishop Orlton visited the priory on 21
February, 1336, and preached in the chapter
house from the text ' Quicunque fecerit voluntatem
Patris mei qui in coelis est.' (fn. 5) In June, 1338,
the bishop wrote to the prior and convent
with respect to the transference to their house,
in consequence of his excesses, of William de
Preston, a canon of Breamore. (fn. 6)
In January, 1339, Prior Walter entered into
an agreement with Roger Tichborne, son of
Sir John Tichborne, whereby the priory,
in consideration of a grant to them of Roger's
whole tenement in La Rode, with its messuages, gardens, and woods, covenanted to pay
six marks a year to a chaplain celebrating for
the soul of Roger, and John and Amicia his
parents, and their ancestors and successors, in
a chantry which he had established in the
chapel of his manor of Tichborne. The
priory also covenanted to admit from time to
time one fit person, presented by the said
Roger, as a canon of their house, and to provide a chaplain to celebrate daily in their
conventual church, at the altar of St. Stephen,
for the souls of Roger, John and Amice. In
the same year the king, when at Southampton,
confirmed a considerable number of recent
grants to the priory. (fn. 7)
On 5 June, 1352, there was another alteration in the ordination of the vicarage of
Selborne, when Prior Edmund and Vicar
Adam Seyncler entered into an agreement,
ratified by the diocesan, for the increase of
the latter's stipend, so as to avoid a lawsuit.
The recent pestilence and the consequent
scarcity of the times had rendered an alteration imperative. The chief additions of a
permanent character were four cartloads of
wood from Priorswood, a cartload of hay
from the tithe hay at Norton, and a cartload
of straw at the courtyard of Gurdun, each
load to be such as three horses could draw;
and all the tithes, great and small, from the
tenements and lands of the prior and convent
which were formerly Sir Adam Gurdun's,
Alice Roberd's, and of the manor of Rode,
and of the moiety of oblations at the chapel
of Waddon. The vicar was to find a chaplain to celebrate in the chapels of Oakhanger
and Blakemere. In addition to this, there
were certain special provisions made for Vicar
Seyncler only for his life, such as a rent of
2s. 6d., and the tithes of wool and the mills,
excepting those of the convent.
In 1376 that energetic diocesan William
of Wykeham suspended Prior Nicholas for
waste and lax administration of the spiritualities and temporalities of the convent, placing
the rule of the priory's affairs in the hands of
the sub-prior and another of the senior canons.
On 7 August the bishop sent his mandate to
the rural dean of Alton to serve the prior
with three formal monitions required by the
canons. (fn. 8)
Eventually Prior Nicholas resigned through
old age and infirmity on 18 February, 1378. (fn. 9)
On 29 June, 1387, Wykeham commis
sioned Lydeforde, his official, and John Ware
to visit Selborne and other monasteries.
Their report was apparently a serious one,
for it resulted in a personal and searching
visitation made by the bishop himself. On
27 September, Bishop Wykeham issued an
exceptionally long series of injunctions,
thirty-six in number, which afford evidence
of laxity and neglect of rules. Mr. Macray
says, but without sufficient warranting evidence: 'The prior and canons, without being
guilty of any gross and crying scandal, had
become a society of worldly gentlemen living
carelessly and very much at their ease.' The
following is a summary of the injunctions,
which in many respects are the same as those
laid down by Wykeham for observance by
the monks of St. Swithun, and may therefore
be taken as a matter indicating Wykeham's
ideal for a monastic house rather than necessarily directed against specific offences. The
night and day hours and the customary
masses were to be attended by all; contumacious absentees to fast on Fridays on bread
and water; the rules of silence to be observed; masses for founders and benefactors
to be duly celebrated; the cloister not to be
used by lay persons of either sex on pain of
the greater excommunication; the doors of
church and cloister to be duly closed; ignorant
brethren who could not read Holy Scripture
aright were to be duly taught; the papal constitutions of the Austin Order were to be
read twice a year in chapter, and the novices
were to learn the rule of the order by heart;
no allowance in money was to be made for
clothes and shoes, and the old clothes were to
be given to the poor; the canons and brethren
were not to leave the priory without special
leave, nor without a canon as a companion;
hunting and the keeping of hunting dogs
(saving any customary right) were strictly
prohibited; two canons were to visit the
manors twice a year; the full number of
fourteen canons was to be kept up; the
prior was to inquire twice a year into private
ownership of property on the part of the
canons; annual accounts were to be rendered; dilapidated buildings of the priory and
granges were to be repaired; no corrodies nor
pensions were to be granted without the
bishop's leave; chantries were to be duly
served; alms were to be duly distributed to
the poor, as well as the fragments left from
meals; offenders were to be duly corrected
without respect of persons, officers liable to be
suspended, and special penance inflicted on
the prior for neglect; pittances on anniversaries were to be duly distributed; no important business was to be transacted without the
consent of the majority of the chapter; the
common seal was to be kept under five keys;
the statutable boots were to be worn, and not
coloured shoes nor leggings, and all luxurious
dress forbidden in detail; sacred vestments
and vessels were to be kept clean, and the
sacramental wine to be pure and good and
not sour (acetosum); relics and sacred vessels
were not to be pawned; diligent private
reading of Holy Scripture was to be maintained; and the injunctions were to be
written out, and read before the whole convent twice yearly.
Apparently Bishop Wykeham was satisfied
that his visitation injunctions were being observed at Selborne; otherwise he could
scarcely have issued a mandate, in March
1389, to the prior and convent of Selborne to
receive John Chertese, a canon of Newark,
guilty of a grave scandal, to do penance there,
and to be kept in seclusion until further orders. (fn. 1)
Wykeham's registers afford, however, a
better and later proof of that bishop's good
opinion with regard to Selborne. At the
time of the appointment of Weston as prior,
namely in 1377, the generous diocesan had
discharged the debts of the house, which then
amounted to £73 19s. 10d. Some years after
the visitation Wykeham again saw fit to extend his generosity to this house, for in May,
1401, Prior Weston sent a formal acknowledgment on behalf of his chapter of the
bishop's great goodness and liberality in presenting them with a hundred marks; he
promised (though that seems to have been no
condition of the gift) that two of the canons
should for ten years say masses daily for the
good estate of Wykeham, or for his soul when
he died. (fn. 2)
John Stepe, the twelfth prior, was elected
about 1415, and his name occurs in evidences
down to 1453. Among the Magdalen muniments is an interesting and full inventory of
vestments and church goods delivered to Peter
at Berne, sacrist, by Prior John Stepe, on 7
October, 1442, as well as one of a somewhat
later date. The inventory included sixteen
copes, seventeen chasubles, three white chasubles for Lent, five albes without apparel for
Lent. The relics enumerated are a pax with
a bone of the little finger of St. John; a gold
ring of St. Hippolitus; a silver gilt ring of
St. Edmund of Canterbury, and a comb and
pome (calefactorium) of St. Richard of Chichester. (fn. 3)
The affairs of the priory became much in
volved about the middle of the fifteenth
century. From an estimate of the revenues
and debts of the house, drawn up in 1462, it
appeared that the total income was £86 10s. 6d.,
and the clear value £71 10s. 8d. The house
then sustained only four canons and their four
servants, the cost of whose board and clothing was estimated at £30; divers creditors
had received £15 15s. 4d.; the repairs of
churches, houses, and the walls and cloister
of the priory had also consumed £15 13s. 4d.;
whilst £10 was the annual life pension assigned to the prior. In 1463-4 the prior was
twice sued for debts in the sheriff's court.
In 1468 Prior Richard resigned, and John
Morton was elected fourteenth prior. (fn. 1) He
held office till 1471, when William Windsor
was appointed; but owing to irregularity
of election this appointment was almost
immediately annulled, and Thomas Farwill
or Fairwise elected as fifteenth prior in his
place. In 1472 Peter at Berne was reappointed prior, and held office for the second
time until 1478. On 21 April, 1478, a
visitation was made of the priory by the
priors of Breamore and Tortington, under the
authority of the general chapter of the
Augustinian Order.
Prior Assheford seems only to have been
appointed to further the suppression of this
overburdened house. On 2 September, 1484,
Bishop Waynflete appointed Richard, prior of
Newplace, and two others to hold a commission for the annexing of the priory to
Magdalen College of the bishop's founding.
The greatest care was taken to justify this
action to the church and the world by the
elaborate nature of the evidence taken on
oath before the commission. The evidence
of the prior (an old man of seventy-two), of
the bishop, and many others as to the hopeless condition of the priory, which was then
destitute of a single canon and utterly dilapidated, was conclusive, and the decree of annexation was pronounced on 11 September.
In the following year the transfer was confirmed by Pope Innocent VIII.
On the suppression of the priory an annual
pension of £6 13s. 4d. was assigned to Assheford, and a chantry priest was maintained at
Selborne, who received yearly from the
College £9 6s. 8d. The founder of the
priory was also, by Waynflete's order, commemorated at one of the quarterly obits
observed at Magdalen College. (fn. 2)
An inventory of goods remaining at the
priory in May, 1490, in the custody of Simon
Hiltofte, chaplain there, shows that there were
then a full equipment of church service books,
altar plate, vestments, and other ornaments.
There were also some books remaining in one
of the chambers, including a copy of the Acts
of the Apostles, and commentaries on the
Gospels and on the Book of Job.
In 1534 a grant was made by the president and scholars of Magdalen to Nicholas
Langerige, M.A., of the chaplaincy in the late
priory of Selborne, for forty years, if he should
live so long, to celebrate there for the souls of
all the benefactors of the priory and college,
assigning him an annual pension of £8 with
two chambers on the north side of the chapel,
with a kitchen, a stable for three horses, and
the orchard; also 26s. annually to find a
clerk to serve him at the altar and in other
necessary matters; and ten cartloads of wood
to be given him at the Easter progress of the
president and fellows, provided he did not sell
or give away any of it. It was further provided that Nicholas was not to absent himself
from the priory more than two months in the
year without special leave from the college,
and when absent must provide a sufficient
substitute.
Priors of Selborne
John, about 1234, 1250
Richard of Kent, (fn. 3) 1261-7
Peter de Disenhurst, 1267, 1271
Richard, 1277, 1291
William de Basing, (fn. 4) 1299-1323
Walter de Insula, (fn. 5) elected 1323
John de Winton, 1339
Edmund, 1352, 1357
Nicholas de Wynton, (fn. 6) 1361-78
Thomas Weston, (fn. 7) 1378-1410
John Winchester, (fn. 8) 1410, 1413
John Stepe, 1415(?)-59
Peter at Berne, (fn. 9) 1459-68
John Morton, (fn. 10) 1468-71
William Windsor, 1471, election annulled
Thomas Farwill or Fairwise, 1471-2
Peter at Berne, 1472-8
John Scherpe, elected 1479
Thomas Assheford, 1484-5