HOUSE OF AUSTIN CANONS
1. THE PRIORY OF BROOKE
The lands which formed the first endowment
of the priory of St. Mary at Brooke were granted
to the prior and canons of Kenilworth early in
the 12th century, probably during the reign of
Stephen and before 1153, by Hugh de Ferrars,
then lord of the manor of Oakham. (fn. 1) His grant
was confirmed by his brother William and his
nephew Walkelin: and the latter, who was
afterwards lord of Oakham, has in consequence
sometimes been called the founder. (fn. 2)
It was a small priory from the first—Cellula de
Broke it is often called in the Episcopal Registers
—and only intended to support three canons. The
priors were instituted by the Bishops of Lincoln,
who had the right to visit the house. Its history
during the 13th and 14th centuries is not very
edifying. Priors were sent quite regularly from
Kenilworth, but the poverty of the house made
them wishful to resign on very small excuse;
and the continual change of management did not
tend to improve matters. Bishop Wells held a
visitation in the last year of his episcopate; but
the results of his inquiries are not recorded. (fn. 3)
Bishop Sutton in 1298 wrote an urgent letter to
the prior of Kenilworth, begging him to take
some measures to secure better order. The
prior of the cell was constantly absent, the house
was so dilapidated and decayed that it was a
scandal to the neighbourhood, and the revenues
were so mismanaged that if something was not
done soon the canons and their servants would
have to beg their bread. The Prior of Kenilworth
in answer assured the bishop that the picture was
overdrawn, and asked him to wait at least till
the next Michaelmas before taking any steps. The
bishop was annoyed and would not promise; but
he stayed his hand for a while all the same. (fn. 4)
The next year there was a fresh difficulty.
Richard de Bremesgrave, the prior, had thought it
sufficient to tender his resignation to his immediate superior at Kenilworth; but the bishop
maintained that he alone could give the cure of
souls to any man in his diocese, and that he
alone could receive such resignation. Richard,
safe home at Kenilworth, took no notice; and
the bishop had to save his dignity by declaring
him formally deposed for contumacy. (fn. 5) A new
prior was then sent, but in a year he too retired
to Kenilworth, protesting that he was neither
able nor willing—nec valens nec volens—to cope
with the difficulties of the situation. (fn. 6)
Stephen of Ketton, who was prior a few years
later, had troubles of quite another kind. He
got into difficulties with his own superior, and
appealed to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He
was recalled, with the two canons who were his
companions, to the mother house, and placed
under restraint; but the others escaped after a
while, and carried a woeful tale to the pope.
They said that they with Stephen had taken refuge
in the monastery of Torksey, by permission of the
bishop; and that they had been dragged away
from before the high altar and imprisoned with
great harshness. The pope committed the case
to the Bishop of Ely; and ordered that if the
facts were as stated all three canons of Brooke
should be placed in some other monastery of the
order. The results of the inquiry have not yet
come to light, and it is quite possible that the
story may have been much exaggerated. (fn. 7)
From this time onwards we know practically
nothing of the history of the house: but the list
of priors is carefully preserved in the Episcopal
Registers. The last prior, Roger Harwell, involved his superiors in a good deal of difficulty.
He had tried to secure for himself a handsome
retiring pension, more than the abbot felt able to
give him. Consequently, when the royal commissioners arrived in 1535 to visit the house, he
represented it as an independent monastery, (fn. 8) and
surrendered it to them of his own accord, securing a pension of £10. (fn. 9) Unfortunately the abbot
had a year before promised a lease of it to a
friend of Cromwell, and had entered upon a
bond of 1,000 marks as security that the agreement should take effect. He wrote earnestly to
Cromwell to help him, either by getting his
rights renewed at Brooke, or by procuring him a
release from the bond. (fn. 10) The answer is not
recorded; but the abbot certainly did not get
the priory back, for it was granted in the following September to Anthony Cope. (fn. 11)
The original endowment (fn. 12) seems to have
included no more than the demesne land and assarts where the priory stood, with about 228 acres
of wood. The Taxatio of 1291 showed the
temporals of the prior in Rutland and Leicestershire to be worth £44 10s. 4½d., (fn. 13) which
certainly ought to have maintained three canons:
the Valor Ecclesiasticus stated the revenue as £40
clear. (fn. 14) In 1535 the commissioners said that
the income of the house was £46 18s. 9½d.; there
were eleven servants, and eight persons holding
corrodies. The only canon in the monastery
was the prior: the buildings were 'for the most
ruinous.' Movable goods were valued at
£51 10s. 2d.; there were no serious debts. (fn. 15)
Priors of Brooke
Ralf, (fn. 16) occurs 1180
Richard of Lichfield, (fn. 17) presented 1230, died
1243
John of Wotton, (fn. 18) presented 1243
Robert of Ledbury, (fn. 19) presented 1251, resigned
1285
Nicholas of Breedon, (fn. 20) presented 1285, resigned
1294
Richard de Bremesgrave, (fn. 21) presented 1294,
resigned 1299
Richard of Ketton, (fn. 22) presented 1299, resigned
1300
John de Flore, (fn. 23) presented 1300, resigned 1302
Stephen of Ketton, (fn. 24) presented 1302
Richard of Ketton, (fn. 25) presented 1305
Robert of Pershore, (fn. 26) presented 1310
Henry Waleys, (fn. 27) presented 1346
Richard of Oxenden, (fn. 28) presented 1362, resigned 1366
Ralf of Towcester, (fn. 29) presented 1366, resigned
1375
Thomas de Farncote, (fn. 30) presented 1375
Robert of Leicester, (fn. 31) presented 1379, resigned
1385
Thomas Kidderminster, (fn. 32) presented 1385, resigned 1388
James of Coleshill, (fn. 33) presented 1388
Thomas Campden, (fn. 34) presented 1400
Richard Charlton, (fn. 35) presented 1400, died 1403
John Wyche, (fn. 36) presented 1403, resigned
1407
John Strech, (fn. 37) presented 1407, resigned 1425
William Shrewsbury, (fn. 38) presented 1425
Thomas Blakewell, (fn. 39) resigned 1433
Thomas Layton, (fn. 40) presented 1433, died 1453
Thomas Brayles, (fn. 41) presented 1453, resigned
1459
Richard Marston, (fn. 42) presented 1459, died 1487
William Unwyn, (fn. 43) presented 1487, resigned
1519
John Penketh, (fn. 44) presented 1519, resigned
1525
Richard Rogers, (fn. 45) presented 1525, resigned
1531
Robert Orwell, (fn. 46) presented 1531, died 1534
Roger Harwell, (fn. 47) last prior, presented 1534