FRIARIES
19. THE HOUSE OF THE DOMINICANS OF WINCHESTER
At the second general chapter of his Order
held at Bologna in May, 1221, St. Dominic
decided to send thirteen friars to England to
establish the Dominicans in that country.
This first missionary band of friars-preachers
journeyed in the train of Bishop Peter des
Roches, who was then returning to his
diocese. The bishop first endeavoured, in
1225, to establish these Dominicans at Portsmouth; but the project fell through, probably
owing to his absence from his diocese from
1226 till 1230. The date of their establishment at Winchester is somewhat uncertain,
but it was between 1231 and 1234. (fn. 1)
According to Matthew Paris, it was one of
these friars who preached the crusade in
Winchester in 1234, when Richard, Earl of
Cornwall, the king's brother, and many other
magnates took the cross. The site assigned
for their convent was in the High Street,
near the Eastgate, with the river Itchen on
the east and Busket Street on the west. The
ground round the house, exclusive of the
buildings, was about 2½ acres, for which they
paid to the Crown the yearly rent of 3s. 5d.
Henry III. was their munificent patron
throughout his reign, particularly in helping
them with their buildings. In 1235, he
gave forty oaks for building out of the forest
of Bere; in 1236, ten oaks out of the same
forest for fuel; in 1239, 100s., and in
1240, 20 marks for building; in 1246, 15
marks for the works; in 1256, ten oaks to
finish the frater; in 1260, six oaks fit for
timber towards their church, then in progress;
in 1261, six oaks fit for timber out of Pembere
Forest, which the bailiffs of Southampton were
to deliver; in 1262, ten oaks; in 1265,
twelve oaks fit for timber; in 1269 ten good
oaks for the repair and ornamenting of the
church (fn. 2) ; in 1270, six good oaks for ceiling
the church, then approaching completion;
and in 1271, ten more oaks, five from
Porchester Forest and five from Pembere, for
the construction of the farmery.
The king further bestowed on the Winchester Dominicans other gifts in kind, the
record of which affords information as to
their number. In 1239, each of the twentyeight friars received from Henry III. a pair of
shoes and four ells of cloth for tunics. Like
gifts of clothing were made for the next five
years, when the friars numbered thirty-one.
In 1261 they had a royal grant of £10 to
buy winter clothing and shoes. Cartloads of
wood or dead oaks for fuel were frequently
granted them by the Crown, and on one
occasion a tun of wine. (fn. 3)
In 1266 licence was granted by the Crown
for the friars to enclose a small lane which
was adjacent to their site.
The church of the friars-preachers of Winchester was dedicated to St. Katharine, the
patroness of the Order. The buildings when
finished could accommodate from forty to
fifty of the friars. Edward I. did much
for the house, but now that it was finished
there was not the same necessity for royal
bounty. He gave them on several occasions
leafless or dead oaks for fuel, and in 1298
ten oaks fit for timber out of the forest of
Bere. (fn. 4)
When the king visited Winchester in
1302, he gave this convent an alms of 38s.
for three days' food. When Edward II.
visited the city on 29 April, 1325, he gave
to the forty-six Dominican friars an alms of
15s. 6d. for a day's food, being at the rate of
4d. a head. Edward III. on his arrival in
Winchester on 23 November, 1331, found
thirty-six friars in the convent, and rendered
an alms of 12s. for the like purpose. (fn. 5)
When the provincial chapter was held at
Winchester in 1259, Henry III. gave the
friars 100s. towards their expenses. In 1315
a provincial chapter was again held at Winchester, when Edward gave 100s. or three
days' food for himself, and the like amount
both for his queen and for his son Edward.
When the Order assembled here on 16
February, 1339, Edward III. gave the like
sum of £15; and on 21 October he
diverted to the same purpose the £20 which
the Crown usually bestowed on the general
chapter, as the chapter of that year was held
at Clermont, France, with which country
England was then at war. (fn. 6)
Some information has already been given
with regard to episcopal licences to the
Dominicans and other friars for preaching and
acting as penitentiaries. (fn. 1) It may be of interest
to note that the episcopal registers show that
during the episcopacy of Bishop Asserio
(1320-3) three acolytes, two sub-deacons, six
deacons and six priests were ordained from
this convent; that during Wykeham's rule of
the diocese (1367-1404) two acolytes, one
deacon and ten priests were ordained; and
that from 1511 to 1527 thirty-six received
orders from this house.
Various friars of the Winchester convent
were distinguished in their Order. Brother
Matthew was prior or warden of Winchester
in 1242, and also English provincial. Brother
William of Southampton, who died about
1278, was head of the Winchester house,
and elected provincial in 1272. He was a
distinguished theological writer. (fn. 2) Robert de
Bromyard, who was licensed to preach in the
diocese in 1300, was doubtless prior of the
Winchester convent, for he was elected
provincial in 1304; he was also penitentiary
of the diocese from 1307 until his death in
1310. Nicholas de Stratton, D.D., who was
provincial from 1306 to 1311, and also
diocesan penitentiary, was a Winchester prior.
William de Horleye was prior in 1326.
Thomas de Lisle, who was ordained in St.
Elizabeth's chapel in 1322, was the next
prior. He was employed in an embassy to
the papal court in 1340-1, and was consecrated Bishop of Ely on 24 July, 1345, at
Avignon, where he died in exile in 1361.
William Alton, born at Alton, Hants, a
renowned preacher and writer, a doctor of
Paris University who flourished about 1350,
was probably of the Winchester convent.
John Payne was prior in 1373. The Court
Rolls of Winchester name as prior John Derle,
1377 and 1387; Nicholas Monk, 1404 to
1426; and Walter Alton, 1455.
James Cosyn, B.D., who was prior in the
time of Henry VIII., adopted the most extreme
tenets of the reformers. He preached a
sermon from St. John xvi. 23, in the parish
church of 'Chusel' on 27 February, 1536, of
which the following are passages: 'If thou
put an whole stoup of holy water upon thy
head, and another stoup of other water upon
thy head, the one shall do thee as much good
as the other in avoiding of any sin. As much
other bread of thine own blessing shall do
thee as much good as so much holy bread.
And as for confession, I will not counsel thee
to go to any priest to be confessed, for thou
mayest as well confess thyself to a layman,
thy Christian brother, as to a priest, for no
bishop or priest have any power to assoil any
man of any sin. And I myself have shriven
a woman this day here in this church, but I
did not assoil her, no, I will never assoil
none.'
Whereupon this 'soul-murderer,' as the vicar
of Stoke styled him, was arrested and indicted
for heresy, and committed by the sheriff to
the custody of Dr. Edmund Steward, the
chancellor of Winchester. But on 31 March
William Basing, prior of St. Swithun, wrote to
Cromwell beseeching his favour 'to a friar
named Cosyn, wrongfully vexed in these
parts.' Soon after a testimonial in Cosyn's
favour was forwarded to the same quarter by
certain gentlemen and yeomen of Winchester.
The result was that on 24 April, Hilsey, the
ex-friar who had just been made Bishop of
Rochester, wrote to Dr. Steward informing
him that 'Mr. Secretary' had discharged
Prior Cosyn, and allowed him 'to use his
licence to preach by the authority granted to
him by the king, our supreme head next to
Christ.' (fn. 3)
Cosyn appears to have resigned the priorship, and was succeeded by Richard Chessam,
D.D., who was prior when the convent was
suppressed in 1538, as already set forth in
detail. (fn. 4)
Richard Ingworth, the suffragan bishop of
Dover, as commissioner for suppressing the
friars, forwarded to Cromwell an inventory of
all the goods of the Winchester Dominicans,
with their value as appraised by Alderman
Burkyn and Master Knight, chosen by the
mayor. The inventory, as might be expected
of a convent of friars, is a singularly poor and
simple one and therefore does them much
credit. So few friars' inventories remain that
it is well to give it in extenso; it is somewhat
surprising to find a pair of organs in a church
so sparsely furnished. The church goods
were:—
Viij corporas caasys wythout the corporas, xxd.;
iiij surpelys, ijs,; v Coopys for men and ij for
chyldren, xijs.; a sute of dune sylke wythout
albys, amycis, or stoolys, iijs.; Item, deakyn and
subdeakyn of whyet branchyd sylke, without albys,
amycis, or stoolys, iijs. iiijd.; a sewte of Whyet
chamlet lacking deakyn, xiijs. iiijd.; a syngle
vestyment of the same, iiijs.; a complet sute of
Whyet bustyan, lacking ij albys, viijs.; iiij syngle
vestyments of the same viijs.; a sewte of red sylke
xs.; a sewte of blue sylke xvjs.; a sewte of coarse
grene xs.; a complete sute of dune sylke without
albs, vjs. iiijd.; a syngle vestyment of blue satten,
iijs. iiijd,; ix vestyments without albys or stoolys,
xs.; ye hangyngs of ye quere, vjd.; a paynted
clothe for the Rode, xijd.; a frontelet, xxd.; an
albe, xijd.; iij aulter clothys, xiiijd.; ij frontelets,
viijd.; ij candelstycks, viijd.; a payre of organs, vs.;
an altare (sic) of nedylwerke, xs.
The house contained:—
iij father bedds with iij bolstors ij pillows and j
pillow bere and one blankett, xvjs. viijd.; vj payre
of scheytts, iijs.; vj Coverletts, xviijd.; a flocke
bedde and a mattres, ijs. iiijd.; ye hangyngs and
ye tester in ye provyncyalls chamber, iijs.; iij
table clothys, j towell, ij tabylls, v chearys, ij joyned
stooles, j cupburde, and j oyst' borde, iij formys,
j long cheyar, vijs.; a chafyng dysche, vjd.; a
possenet, xijd.; a pan and a kettell, xijd; iij
platters, iij pottyngers, j sauser, and iij dysshes,
vjs. viijd.; a colender, ij candelstycks, and a sake,
xiiijd.; ij dryppyng panys, a fryeng pan, and a
gyrdyren, ijs.; iij broochys, ijs.; iij brasse potts,
vjs. viijd.; a baasen and an ewer of laten, xvjd.;
iiij Cobyrons, iiijs.; a yeryn and hangells to hange
on potts, xiiijd.; ij handyryns, vjd.
A special chamber assigned for the use of
the English provincial points to this convent
being considered one of importance in the
Order. The total value of church and
house goods came to only £9 15s. 2d. To
the inventory is appended a note in the
suffragan's handwriting to the effect that 'thys
house with ye stuff is in the custody of
Master Arthur Roby and a chalis with it.
Richard Dovoren.' (fn. 1)
The church and the buildings of the cloister,
the prior's lodging (20 ft. in length by 16 ft.
in breadth), with the churchyard, gardens and
all within the precincts, were let by the
Crown to Arthur Roby, a fuller of Winchester, for 20s. a year. In 1543, Winchester
College, by exchange, became possessed of the
site of all the four Winchester friaries. (fn. 2)
Priors or Wardens of the Dominicans
of Winchester
Matthew, 1242
William de Southampton, elected provincial, 1272, died 1278
Robert de Bromyard, about 1300
Nicholas de Stratton, about 1306
William de Horleye, 1326
Thomas de Lisle
John Payne, 1373
John Derle, 1377, 1387
Nicholas Monk, 1404-26
Walter Alton, 1455
James Cosyn, in the time of Hen. VIII.
Richard Chessam, 1538