HOUSES OF PREMONSTRATENSIAN CANONS
22. THE ABBEY OF WEST LANGDON
The abbey of St. Mary and St. Thomas the
Martyr, Langdon, was founded by William de
Aubervilla and colonized from the abbey of
Leiston in Suffolk. The founder, by a charter
which is witnessed by Hubert, bishop-elect of
Salisbury, and must therefore belong to the year
1189, with the assent of Maud his wife and
his heirs, granted all his town of Langdon for
the making of a Premonstratensian abbey by
Robert, abbot of Leiston, and gave to it the
churches of Langdon, Walmer, Oxney, and
Lydden, for the soul of Henry II and the souls
of William his son, Emma his daughter, Hugh
his father, and Wymarc his mother, and Ranulph
de Glanvilla and Berta his wife. The phrasing
seems to indicate that Henry II was then dead,
and in that case the date of the foundation must
lie between 6 July and 22 October, when Bishop
Hubert was consecrated.
A chartulary (fn. 1) of the abbey is preserved, in
which the foundation charter and others are set
out. The grants of the founder were confirmed
by his over-lord Simon de Abrincis, and also
by his son Hugh de Aubervilla, his grandson
William de Aubervilla, and his great-grandson
Nicholas de Cryoll; and Archbishops Baldwin
(1184-90), Hubert (1193-1205), and Stephen
granted charters of confirmation. Gunnora de
Soneldon and Denise de Newesole granted the
chapel of St. Katharine, Newsole, in the parish
of Coldred.
At the Taxation of 1291 the temporalities of
the abbey were valued at £25 17s. 10d. yearly,
and besides its churches it owned tithes of
£1 10s. in Coldred. Edward II on 28 August,
1325, 'out of affection for Abbot William and
the canons' granted to them the advowson of
the church of Tonge, which had belonged to
the rebel Bartholomew de Badlesmere; with
licence for appropriation. (fn. 2) The king was then
staying at Langdon, and it is possible that his
affection for the abbot may have been more
than a phrase; for the latter was afterwards
mixed up with the disastrous attempt of the earl
of Kent to restore Edward, supposed to be still
alive. (fn. 3) The church of Waldershare came into
the possession of the abbey in a somewhat similar way. The king on 21 July, 1322, granted (fn. 4)
to the abbot the body and forfeited lands of Sir
John Malmeins, a rebel; .and though the abbot
apparently was not able to enjoy this grant to
the full, he secured from Sir John all. his land
of Apelton in Waldershare and the advowson
of the church of Waldershare in exchange for
66 acres of land in Lydden, (fn. 5) releasing all claims
against him on 4 April, 1323. (fn. 6) The king
granted licence (fn. 7) for the appropriation of the
church on 28 September, 1322, and it was
effected on 20 March following; but in 1336
the abbot and convent had to pay heavily for a
final settlement with the Malmeins family. (fn. 8)
In 1331 protection was granted (fn. 9) to the abbot
while going beyond the seas on the king's service; and in 1316, (fn. 10) 1325, (fn. 11) and 1329 (fn. 12) he had
licence to cross at Dover to attend the chapter
general at Prémontré, taking 20 marks with
him for his expenses on the last occasion.
The Premonstratensian abbey of Egglestone
in Yorkshire was destroyed by the Scots in 1323,
and its eight canons temporarily dispersed among
other houses of the order. One of these, Bernard de Langeton, was sent by the king to
Langdon on 20 September with a request that
the abbot and convent should receive him as one
of themselves until his own house be relieved. (fn. 13)
Edward III on 20 August, 1347, made a
grant to the abbot of free warren in his demesne
lands of Holyrpod (in Stelling), Enbrook (in
Cheriton), Lydden, Newsole, Southwood (in
Waldershare), and Langdon Wood; (fn. 14) and on
10 March, 1348, he gave licence for the crenellation of the gatehouse of the abbey. (fn. 15) Pope
Boniface IX in 1400 granted indulgence to
penitents visiting the abbey from the first to the
second vespers of Easter Tuesday and the following day. (fn. 16)
Langdon is often mentioned in the Premonstratensian records. (fn. 17) Abbot William was the
principal intermediary in the dispute between
the abbot of Prémontré and the English houses
of the order in. 1310; and Abbot W. appears as
vicegerent of the abbot of Prémontré in 1345.
A list of the community on 6 June, 1475, gives
the names of John .Kentwell, late abbot, John
Lyon, sub-prior, and six other canons, one of
whom was not professed. A similar list in 1478
mentions John Brohdysch, abbot, and eleven
other canons; and in answer to a set form of questions it was stated (fn. 18) that Sir Thomas Keryell was
patron, the abbot of Leiston was father abbot,
the abbey was founded in honour of St. Thomas
the Martyr in 1212, and it had six churches,
served by canons who were not perpetual.
Richard Redman, bishop of St. Asaph, abbot
of Shap and vicar of the abbot of Prémontré in
England, made several visitations of Langdon.
On 29 August, 1482, he found an excellent
abbot, who had inclosed and cultivated many
fields, and whom he exhorted to pay equal
attention to internal discipline. The canons
were to remember that the rule enjoined work,
to rise to mattins, to keep to the traditional chant
in singing, and not to go out of the monastery
without leave. The debt at the creation of the
abbot had been £100, but this was more than
cleared off, and the house was excellently supplied with provisions. Robert Waynflett was
abbot and John Lyon sub-prior, and the names
of nine other canons are given.
In 1488 there were thirteen priests and four
novices besides the abbot. The bishop visited
on 12 July and directed the abbot to send a
canon who did not get on with the rest to some
cure of souls. John Kentwell was appointed
prior and ordered to punish with a day's bread
and water anyone absent from mattins, leaving
the cloister without permission, or breaking the
rule of silence. Incorrigible offenders were to
be sent to the bishop. The hours of St. Mary
were to be sung. More attention was to be paid
to the tonsure, and two canons were reproved for
appearing in choir without cloaks. The house
was free from debt and well provisioned.
At the visitation on 7 October, 1491, Robert
Waynflett was still abbot and John Kentwell
prior, but only five other canons are mentioned.
One who had been convicted of incontinence
with a married woman was to receive 40 days'
severe punishment and then to be sent to the
monastery of Wendling for three years. The
canons Were again reminded of the form of the
tonsure, and ordered to rise to mattins under
pain of a day on bread and water. The abbot
had repaired the big bell and the walls of the
cloister, and done many other things; and the
house was prosperous.
In 1494 the bishop visited on 30 June, when
Richard Coley was abbot and John Kentwell
prior with six other canons, including one apostate. The administration of the abbot was
excellent, but he was directed riot to receive
canons of other monasteries except by order
of the visitor; and the tonsure was once more
referred to. The house was still prosperous.
The number of the canons was the same at
the visitation on 11 October, 1497, and again
there was one apostate. The bishop perceived
that the church was ruined, and ordered the
abbot to repair it and also to pay the stipends of
the canons more regularly. One was punished
with bread and water till Christmas for not
rising to mattins, and others offending in this
way were to receive the same punishment on the
morrow. The house had a debt of £10, but
was well provided with corn and animals.
Redman made his last recorded visitation on
5 October, 1500. Richard Coley was still abbot,
and there were eight other canons, including
John Kentwell, John Lyon, sub-prior, and two
novices. The abbot was ordered not to receive
any canon of another monastery, but to increase
the number of his own as soon as possible. The
law of silence was to be observed. The debts
of the house amounted to £60, but more was
owing to it, and it was sufficiently provided with
corn and animals.
Thomas Wilkinson, abbot of Welbeck, arranged to visit. Langdon on 4 October, 1506,
but no record of his visitation is preserved.
The gross income of the abbey amounted (fn. 19)
in 1535 to £91 3s. 4d., and the net income to
£56 6s. 9d. yearly, the deductions including a
pension of £9 to John Yorke, late abbot, and
£3 18s. 9d. in rents to the castle of Dover for
castle-ward for the manors of West Langdon,
Enbrook, Lydden, Apeltdn, and Southwood.
Langdon was visited on Friday, 22 October,
in the same year by Richard Layton, who gave
a most unfavourable and curiously circumstantial
report (fn. 20) to Cromwell. Probably he had heard
of it beforehand, for he writes that he sent
Cromwell's servant, Bartlett, and his own servants
to circumcept the abbey and keep all starting
holes. He himself went alone to the abbot's
lodging ' joining upon the fields and wood even
like a cony clapper full of starting holes,' and
was a good space knocking at the door. He
found a short poleaxe and dashed the door in
pieces, and went about the house with the poleaxe, for the abbot was ' a dangerous desperate
knave and hardy.' Finally the abbot's ' gentlewoman bestirred her stumps towards her starting
holes,' where Bartlett took 'the tender damoisel.'
Her apparel was found in the abbot's coffer. After
examination he sent her to Dover to the mayor to
set in some cage or prison for eight days, and brought
the abbot to Canterbury, where he would leave
him in prison in Christchurch. He gives further
details about the abbot and canons, and says that
the house is in utter decay and will shortly
tumble down.
It was no doubt in direct consequence of this
that the abbey was formally surrendered (fn. 21) on
13 November by William Dayer, abbot, William
Feyld, sub-prior, and nine other canons, before
the Act of Dissolution; and Thomas Bedyll, who
took the surrender, bears Layton out, declaring
the house in decay, the abbot unthrifty, and the
convent ignorant. (fn. 22) The abbot was, however,
well treated, receiving a pension (fn. 23) of £7.
The site and possessions of the abbey were
granted on 31 July, 1538, to the archbishop of
Canterbury. (fn. 24)
Abbots of Langdon
Bartholomew (fn. 25)
William (fn. 26)
Richard, (fn. 27) occurs 1206 (fn. 28)
Peter, occurs 1227 (fn. 29)
Robert, occurs 1236 (fn. 30)
John, occurs 1248 (fn. 31)
Nicholas, occurs 1276 (fn. 32)
W., occurs 1284 (fn. 33)
Roger, blessed 1289 (fn. 34)
William de Digepet, occurs 1305 (fn. 34a)
William, occurs 1310, (fn. 35) 1316, (fn. 36) 1323, (fn. 37)
1331, (fn. 38) 1338 (fn. 39)
W., occurs 1345 (fn. 40)
John de Hakynton, elected 1369 (fn. 41)
Robert de Estry, elected 1381 (fn. 42)
John, elected 1392, (fn. 43) occurs 1415 (fn. 43a)
Philip (fn. 44)
Thomas, occurs 1446, (fn. 44a) 1459 (fn. 45)
John Kentwell, (fn. 46) resigned (1475)
John Brondysch, (fn. 40) occurs 1478
Robert Waynflett (fn. 40) or Wanflete, occurs 1482,
1491
Richard Coley, (fn. 40) occurs 1494, 1500
John Yorke (fn. 47)
William Dayer (fn. 48) or Dare, (fn. 49) resigned 1535,
the last abbot
The seal (fn. 50) of the abbey (late thirteenth
century) measures 2 / 516 inches.
Obverse.—the Virgin seated, crowned, on a
throne, in the left hand the Child, in a canopied
niche, on a corbel ornamented with sunk quatrefoiled panels. The arch of the canopy with five
cusps, the canopy crocketed, the sides ornamented
with four stories of double niches; outside these
tabernacle work of corresponding character.
Legend:—
SIGILL' COMMUNE MONASTERII E`cE de MARIE
DE LANGEDON.
Reverse.—Becket's martyrdom in the interior
of Canterbury Cathedral. Legend:—
CAUSA DOMUS XCI MORTEM SIC INTULIT ISTI.
Another seal (fn. 51) . (thirteenth century) is a pointed
oval measuring 2¼ by 1¼ inches, representing the
Virgin seated, crowned, on a throne, on the left
hand the Child, in the right hand a sceptre. The
Child, with nimbus, lifts up the right hand in
benediction, holding in the left hand a book.
The Virgin's feet on a carved corbel. Legend:—
S' ECCYE de MARIE DE LANGEDONNE.