8. THE PRIORY (fn. 1) OF WIX
Wix Priory was founded by Walter Mascherell,
Alexander and Edith, the children of Walter the
deacon, who is mentioned (fn. 2) as holding the manor
of Wix in Domesday. No register or chronicle
of the priory is known, but a large number of
original deeds relating to it are preserved. (fn. 3) A
charter of Henry I, belonging to the last decade
of his reign, recites that Walter and Alexander,
at the petition of their sister and for the safety of
their souls and for the remedy of their sins, have
given the church of St. Mary, Wix, for the
institution of a religious order of nuns for ever,
and have granted to these in frankalmoin two
carucates of land and seven villeins in Wix, and
their garden and mansion round the church, 10s.
of land in Frating and the isle of Siricheseie, and
the tenths of their lordship of Purleigh. The
king confirms this grant and also the land in
Hintlesham (Suffolk) which Adam the clerk held,
and grants liberties to the nuns. This and other
royal charters were confirmed by Henry VI in
1438. (fn. 4)
Stephen also confirmed (fn. 5) the foundation.
Henry II at the beginning of his reign confirmed
the above grants and others, including the church
of Chattisham (Suffolk), and granted five acres of
essarts in Tolleshunt and liberty of essart up to
100 acres in Essex. He also granted additional
liberties, including the right to have two greyhounds and four braches to take hares through
the whole of the forest of Essex; and later
granted a second charter. Richard I on 28 November, 1189, confirmed the possessions of the nuns
and granted to them a fair for three days yearly
at Michaelmas. On 28 April, 1204, John
granted (fn. 6) a market at Wix on Tuesdays. Charters
of confirmation were also granted (fn. 7) by Theobald
and Richard, archbishops of Canterbury, and
Robert, Richard and Gilbert, bishops of London.
The advowson of the priory appears always to
have pertained to the manor of Wix.
William Fitz Robert confirmed (fn. 8) in frankalmoin
all the grants by Walter Mascherell and Alexander.
The church of Swilland (Suffolk) was granted by
Walter de Windlesores; (fn. 9) and Duncan de Lascelles and Christina his wife granted (fn. 10) land
in Beaconsfield (Bucks.) and a moiety of the church
of Burnham. The priory also owned the church
of Wormingford, granted by Walter de Windlesores, and portions in the churches of Bildeston
and Preston (Suffolk). Land in Tendring and
the advowson of the church there were granted (fn. 11)
to the nuns in 1363 by Sir John de Sutton and
confirmed (fn. 12) by his son Richard three years later,
and they had licence (fn. 13) to appropriate the church;
but this was not done, and they do not appear
ever to have presented to it.
In May, 1193, Pope Celestine III by a bull
promised indulgence to all who should assist the
nuns, as their revenues were insufficient for their
support. In the next century it appears that they
had improvidently alienated some of their
possessions, for in February, 1283, Pope Martin IV
directed (fn. 14) the prior of Letheringham to inquire
into the matter and order restitution to be made.
The Taxation of 1291, however, mentions temporalities belonging to the priory amounting to
£16 10s. 5½d. yearly, and spiritualities amounting to £11 15s. exclusive of the churches of
Wormingford and Wix. Of this, 13s. 4d. came
from Beaconsfield in Bucks., and the bulk of the
property was fairly evenly divided between Essex
and Suffolk. The Essex property lay in Wix,
Wormingford, Purleigh, Maldon, Fordham,
Tolleshunt Mauger, Frating, Bergholt, Colchester,
Barnston, Norton, Tolleshunt Tregoz, Rawreth,
Boxted and Mistley; and the Suffolk property
principally in Chattisham, Swilland, Bildeston,
Otley and Preston. A further grant of 300
acres in Great Oakley and Wix was made by
the rector of Great Oakley and others in
1381. (fn. 15)
Anne Debnam (fn. 16) on 21 February, 1480, left her
body to be buried where the prioress should please,
and bequeathed 6s. 8d. to each of the sisters of
the priory and to Sir Henry Fytton, and the rest
of her estate to be disposed of by the prioress for
her soul, and especially for the support of a chaplain
to celebrate for her in the priory. The will was
proved on 13 March.
The priory was visited (fn. 17) by Bishop Fitz James
in 1509, Mary being then prioress, and the
consequent injunctions were issued on 8 September. The nuns were forbidden, under
pain of excommunication, to permit any public
spectacles of seculars, javelin-play, dances or
trading in the streets or open spaces (of Wix), to
the injury of holy religion; nor were they to
undertake pilgrimages or visits to other places
without having first sought and obtained the consent of the diocesan. Other injunctions related
to dress; silver or gilt hairpins and kirtles of fustian
or worsted being forbidden.
Several miscellaneous items of expenditure are
given in the account (fn. 18) of the bailiff for the halfyear from the Annunciation to Michaelmas, 1424.
He made some small purchases of fish, including
oysters and mussels for 3d., and a cade of sprats
for 12d. Two bushels of salt cost 13d. Various
sums were paid to labourers for ploughing, harrowing, ditching, hewing bushes, felling wood,
keeping off rooks, mowing, reaping, and carting
the harvest and threshing. 3s. 3d. was paid to a
smith for making plough-irons, 2s. for a new
plough, 2s. 2d. for shoeing horses, 2d. for making
four betels to clod with, and 4d. for four halters.
3s. 3d. was spent when my lady (the prioress)
was at Colchester with my lord (the bishop) of
London, and 2s. 7d. for riding at two diverse
times to Dunmow for the priest. The account
is unfinished, so that we cannot tell how much
of the whole expenses it represents.
Wix was the largest of the six Essex priories
suppressed by Wolsey, its spiritualities being
valued (fn. 19) at £26 16s. 8d. and its temporalities at
£65 15s. 7d. yearly. It was dissolved (fn. 20) by his
agent, John Alen, on 1 March, 1525; and by
an inquisition (fn. 21) taken on 8 August it was found
that there were at the time of the suppression
three nuns under the prioress and that these had
been transferred to other places. The possessions
of the priory included the manors of Wormingford and Wix. The prioress received a pension (fn. 22)
of £10 yearly. Wolsey granted the priory
first to his college at Oxford, and afterwards on
1 August, 1528, it was transferred to his second
foundation at Ipswich. (fn. 23)
Prioresses Of Wix
Idonia, occurs 1198. (fn. 24)
Christina. (fn. 25)
Constance, occurs 1235, (fn. 26) 1247. (fn. 27)
Basilia, occurs 1257. (fn. 28)
Isabel de Braham, occurs 1284. (fn. 29)
Agnes Carbonel, occurs 1303. (fn. 30)
Sarah de Burghille, occurs 1317. (fn. 31)
Alice Marmyoun, elected 1338, (fn. 32) died
1362. (fn. 33)
Maud de Whelnetham, elected 1362, (fn. 34) died
1370. (fn. 35)
Maud de Cornerthe, elected 1370, (fn. 36) occurs
1412. (fn. 37)
Amy Reydon, died 1418. (fn. 38)
Katharine Wellyng, appointed 1419, (fn. 39) occurs
1429, (fn. 40) 1439. (fn. 41)
Katharine Peper, occurs 1457, (fn. 42) 1464. (fn. 43)
Agnes Wellyng, occurs 1465. (fn. 44)
Alice Davy, occurs 1476, (fn. 45) 1480, (fn. 46) died
1504. (fn. 47)
Mary Henyngham, occurs 1515, (fn. 48) the last
prioress. (fn. 49)
The seal of the priory, attached by a
thread of red silk to a deed (fn. 50) in the time of
Prioress Constance, is a pointed oval of green
wax measuring 3 in. by 2 in. The obverse
represents the Virgin seated, with the infant
Jesus on her knees, holding in the right hand
a palm branch, and in the left a model of a
church. Legend:—
SIGILLUM ECCLESIE SANCTE MARIE DE WICHES
The reverse is a smaller oval representing a nun
standing with a book in her right hand.
Legend:—
AVE MARIA GRACIA PLENA DOMINUS TECUM