THE CARMELITE FRIARS OF CHESTER (fn. 1)
Although the White Friars were established in
Chester by 1277 when they were given alms for food
by Edward I, it was some years before they acquired a
permanent home. (fn. 2) An inquisition was held in April
1290 to discover the losses which would be occasioned
by the grant of seven houses by Hugh Payn to the
Friars of Mount Carmel; the friars were to live on the
site and build themselves a church there. (fn. 3) There seems
to have been some opposition to them initially, possibly because of their involvement in litigation, (fn. 4) but
any criticism was stilled by a convenient miracle
during a procession in the abbey church: an image of
the Virgin Mary pointed out the Carmelites as her
beloved and forechosen brothers. (fn. 5) The house was
firmly established and popular by the mid 14th century
when the buildings were extended. In 1350 the friars
acquired part of two lanes to the north and west of
their priory and in 1354 the Black Prince permitted
them to acquire land 200 feet by 160 feet to enlarge
their house; he also pardoned them for purchasing
land in the city without permission. (fn. 6) His gift of eight
oaks in the previous year was probably for the new
building; (fn. 7) in addition, the Carmelites, like the other
orders of friars, also received gifts of money from him
at this period: £6 13s. 4d. in 1353 and 13s. 4d. in
1358. (fn. 8) In 1367 the prior and the whole convent
promised a special daily commemoration of Thomas
de Stathom and Isabel, his wife, in return for gifts for
the maintenance of the friars and the building of their
house. In addition, since the house 'had hitherto no
founder', Thomas and Isabel and their heirs were to be
regarded by the friars as their founders. (fn. 9) In 1495 the
steeple of the church was rebuilt and the new, elegant
spire became a valued landmark for sailors. (fn. 10)
Thomas of Macclesfield, by will proved in 1303, left
6s. 8d. to the Carmelites but 40s. each to the Franciscans and Dominicans; (fn. 11) that possibly reflects the
uncertain start of the White Friars. They grew in
popularity, however, from the mid 14th century and
are mentioned in 35 out of 53 surviving local wills
between 1400 and 1540. In the earlier 16th century
they were the most popular of the three mendicant
orders in Chester and the value of the bequests made
to them almost equalled the combined total of those
made to the Franciscans and Dominicans. (fn. 12) Although
unlike the Grey and Black Friars they received few
marks of special royal favour, in 1400 Henry, prince
of Wales, allowed them to grind their corn free at the
royal mills of the Dee after they had complained that
they had been impoverished by a great murrain and 'a
raid committed in the parts round about them'. (fn. 13) In
1348 Sir Gilbert de Haydock established a perpetual
chantry in the house at a cost of 40 marks and in the
same year John Bars left 1s. each to four named
members of the house. (fn. 14) The friars seem to have
enjoyed a special relationship with the carpenters of
Chester: in 1408 Robert Schot left wax for the carpenters' light in the church and at the dissolution the friars
were receiving a rent of 6d. a year for the carpenters'
house pro pagentibus suis imponendis. (fn. 15) The priory
church became a popular burial place for the richer
members of Chester society in the later Middle Ages,
and a graveyard is first mentioned in 1317-18. (fn. 16) The
first surviving evidence for such a burial is the request
of John Bars in 1348. (fn. 17) No generous bequests, however, were received in return for the burial
by the Carmelites of the mutilated body of
Sir Peter Legh of Lyme, a supporter of Richard II, who
was executed by Henry Bolingbroke in 1399. (fn. 18) In
1439 John Hope requested burial in front of the altar
of Our Lady near the graves of his father, mother, and
brothers. (fn. 19) In 1508 Roger Smith of Chester asked to be
buried in the chapel next to the door to the vestry and
left £6 13s. 4d. to be spent on the church or the
convent buildings; (fn. 20) nineteen years later Dr. Thomas
Sparke requested burial next to his cousin, Roger
Smith, and left the residue of his estate to support a
priest to celebrate at the high altar. (fn. 21) In 1496 John
Hawarden of Chester directed that his body should be
buried in the church of the White Friars and left £10
for the tomb and a rent of 6s. 8d. from property in
Bridge Street to support an obit. (fn. 22) His widow, Margaret, asked in 1520 to be buried in the tomb which
was on the north side of the church and left £3 6s. 8d.
and a lead furnace for work on the tomb and repairs to
the church. (fn. 23) In 1525 Richard Fletcher, baker, asked to
be buried before the image of Our Lady. (fn. 24)
From the mid 14th century there appear to have
been more Carmelites than Franciscans or Dominicans
in Chester. In 1367 the convent numbered fourteen,
including a prior, a sub-prior, and a reader. (fn. 25) Nine
Chester Carmelites received orders in Coventry and
Lichfield diocese during the episcopate of Robert
Stretton (1360-85) and 10 during that of Richard le
Scrope (1386-98); the latter figure was more than the
combined total of Franciscans and Dominicans. (fn. 26)
There were, however, no ordinations of Chester
Carmelites in the diocese between 1397 and 1465,
although members of the house were licensed as
confessors in 1407 and 1413. (fn. 27) The indication of
spiritual decline is confirmed by evidence of the
involvement of Carmelites in disorder in Chester in the
15th and early 16th centuries. (fn. 28) Nevertheless, the
house apparently revived in the early 16th century and
it was the only Chester friary to put forward candidates for ordination during the episcopate of Geoffrey
Blythe (1503-31). (fn. 29) In 1538 it was the largest friary in
the city: ten members witnessed the act of surrender
and several bore the names of prominent local
families. Thirteen members were dispensed from their
orders in September. (fn. 30) The last prior, John Hurleston,
had studied theology at Oxford and Cologne and was
described as 'a very discreet man' when he offered to
act as confessor to Piers Feldy at his execution in
1537. (fn. 31)
The house was surrendered to Richard Ingworth,
bishop of Dover, on 15 August 1538 'without any
counsel or constraining but very poverty'. An inventory was made and the visitor removed a small chalice
before handing the property over to the mayor. (fn. 32) The
inventory shows that the house was not as povertystricken as that of the Grey Friars and the church was
well-equipped with service books, vestments, and altar
cloths; there were five altars in the chancel, including
Our Lady's altar, two pairs of organs in the choir,
three bells in the steeple, and the contents of the vestry
included a purse of relics. (fn. 33) The buildings yielded little
lead, apart from some guttering. Debts amounted to
only £8 9s., less than those of the two other friaries. (fn. 34)
The house owned property outside the precinct which
was let out on long leases. It included seven tenements
and gardens, an orchard and a barn in St. Martin's
parish, and also the carpenters' house which may have
been within the precincts. In 1539 rents of the conventual buildings and property amounted to £2 7s. 10d. a
year and two former friars were listed among the
tenants when the property was sold in 1544 to John
Cokkes of London. (fn. 35) The site was immediately resold
to Fulk Dutton and the buildings were occupied as a
dwelling house during the second half of the 16th
century; in 1592-3 the site was acquired by Thomas
Egerton, the attorney-general, who demolished the
church and built a new house. (fn. 36)
The priory occupied a site between Commonhall
Street, Weaver Street, Whitefriars and Bridge Street;
Hollar's map of Chester shows that the church stood
directly on Whitefriars. (fn. 37) Apart from the church,
buildings mentioned in the 1538 inventory and later
documents include the cloister, the convent hall, the
dorter, the prior's chamber and the kitchen, bulting
house, salt house, and store house, but there is no
evidence as to the position of these buildings and no
clearly identified remains of the friary have survived. (fn. 38)
Priors
William de Hogetote, occurs 1309, 1310. (fn. 39)
William de Luda, occurs 1328. (fn. 40)
Richard Pigas, occurs 1348. (fn. 41)
Richard Downes, occurs 1367, 1386. (fn. 42)
James Hyrleton, occurs 1398. (fn. 43)
Richard, occurs 1463. (fn. 44)
John Reyde, occurs 1470-1, 1494-5. (fn. 45)
George Palmer, occurs between 1498-9 and 1528. (fn. 46)
John Hurleston, occurs 1537, surrendered the friary
in 1538. (fn. 47)
The seal of the friary, (fn. 48) 13th century in date, is a
pointed oval 15/8 by 11/8 in. It shows the Virgin, standing
on a carved corbel, the Child on her left arm; on each
side is a candle in a candlestick. The legend, lombardic: SIGILLUM PRIORIS CESTRIE FRATRUM
DE CARMELO.