13. PRIORY OF HORNBY
This small house of regular canons was established in the second half of the twelfth century
by the Montbegons of Hornby. The canons, it
seems probable, were brought from the Premonstratensian house at Croxton in Leicestershire, of which the priory was certainly afterwards, and perhaps from the outset, a dependent
cell. Croxton Abbey had been founded shortly
before 1159 by William, earl of Warenne and
count of Boulogne and Mortain, lord of the
honour of Lancaster. Roger de Montbegon III
(1172 ?-1226) 'gave to the canons of Hornebi
in alms 100 acres of land in Hornebi,' (fn. 120) and he
doubtless was the founder of the priory, though
some have attributed its creation to his father
Adam or his grandfather Roger II. (fn. 121)
The third Roger de Montbegon also granted
to the priory the advowson of Melling church (fn. 122)
and presumably that of Tunstall. The former
had belonged to the Norman abbey of Sées as
part of the endowment of its cell at Lancaster,
but was transferred to Roger before 1210 in
consideration of a yearly pension of 2s. from the
church to Lancaster Priory and his renunciation
of all claim upon the chapel of Gressingham,
hitherto dependent upon Melling. (fn. 123) Roger
dying without issue, his lands passed to his kinsman Henry de Monewden, who on 14 September,
1227, alienated the Lonsdale estates, including
Hornby Castle and the advowsons of the priory
and of Melling, to Hubert de Burgh and his
wife Margaret. (fn. 124) The prior's failure to challenge the inclusion of the Melling advowson
involved him nearly twenty years later (1246)
in litigation with Hubert's widow over the right
of presentation to the living. (fn. 125) Before the proceedings had gone very far Geoffrey, abbot of
Croxton, intervened on the ground that the
priory was a cell of his abbey and that he could
remove the prior at his will, which the prior
admitted to be the case. A compromise was
ultimately arranged by which the Countess
Margaret acknowledged Croxton's right to the
advowson, but was allowed to present her clerk
pro hac vice. A licence for the appropriation of
the church was obtained by the abbey from
Edward II on 20 May, 1310. (fn. 126) Tunstall church
was appropriated and a vicarage ordained before
1230. (fn. 127)
Henry de Monewden's disposal of the advowson
of the priory, and the absence of any mention
of its subordination to Croxton before 1235, (fn. 128)
have inspired a suggestion that it was originally
independent and that Hubert de Burgh, who
received a grant of the manor of Croxton in
1224, (fn. 129) first made it a dependent cell of the
Leicestershire abbey. But this is only conjecture, and if the priory contained no more
than three canons, including the prior—its later
complement—it is scarcely likely to have been,
independent.
From the middle of the thirteenth century,
at all events, the dependent status of the priory
is sufficiently clear. In 1292 the abbot of
Croxton sued for lands in Wrayton ' ut jus
hospitalis sui S. Wilfridi de Hornby,' (fn. 130) and a
letter is extant from Abbot Thomas 'ad obedientiaries suos de Hornby' requiring better
obedience to the prior appointed by him. (fn. 131)
For above sixteen years prior to 1526 the then
abbot of Croxton is recorded to have occupied
not only the rectory but the vicarage of Tunstall, and in 1527 the vicars both of Melling and
Tunstall were canons of Croxton. (fn. 132) In the
Valor Ecclesiastieus of 1535 the possessions of
the priory were assessed with those of the abbey.
It is true that the prior of Hornby was sometimes present at the provincial chapter of the
abbots of the order, (fn. 133) and that the priory was
separately surrendered to Legh and Layton
on 23 February, 1536, (fn. 134) by the prior William
Halliday, whose morals they had called in
question, (fn. 135) and the two canons, John Fletcher
and Robert Derby. (fn. 136) But this was evidently
cancelled and a new prior appointed, for the
surrender of Croxton Abbey, made on the 8 September, 1538, was signed by John Consyll,
prior, and John Fletcher and Thomas Edwinstowe, canons of Hornby. (fn. 137)
The site was granted in 1544 to Thomas
Stanley, second Lord Monteagle, whose father
had acquired Hornby Castle and its lands. (fn. 138)
The priory was dedicated to St. Wilfrid. (fn. 139)
In 1292 its temporalities (bona) were taxed for
tithe at £8 13s. 4d., reduced to £2 after the
Scottish raids. (fn. 140) Its gross income in 1535
amounted to £94 7s. 8½d., of which £28 8s. 4½d.
was derived from its temporalities and
£66 6s. 8d. from spiritualities. (fn. 141) The fixed
charges, £18 7s. 4d. in all, included a fee of
£2 to the chief seneschal, Lord Monteagle,
one of £1 6s. 8d. to Marmaduke Tunstall,
seneschal of its lands in Lancashire, 13s. 4d. to
the court steward, Thomas Croft, and £4 for
alms to thirteen poor people 'by the foundation
of Roger de Montbegbn.' (fn. 142)
Priors or Wardens of Hornby
Richard of Croxton, (fn. 143) occurs 1227
N ( ), (fn. 144) occurs 1230
Robert, (fn. 145) died 1246
Robert of Gaddesby, (fn. 146) appointed. 1379
Thomas Kellet (fn. 147) (Kelyt), occurs 1475
Thomas Wyther, (fn. 148) occurs 1482
Ellis Sherwood, (fn. 149) occurs 1484 and 1490
Edmund Green, (fn. 150) occurs 1497 and 1501
William Halliday, (fn. 151) occurs 1535, surrendered 1536
John Consyll, (fn. 152) surrendered 1538
The seal attached to the surrender of 1536
has been (doubtfully) supposed to be the
common seal of the priory. Unfortunately
it is much broken and none of the legend remains.