3. THE PRIORY OF HURLEY
Towards the end of the Conqueror's reign,
Geoffrey de Mandeville, ancestor of the Mandevilles, earls of Essex, bestowed the church of St.
Mary, Hurley, and certain lands to form a cell
of Benedictine monks, subject to the abbey of
Westminster.
The exceptionally interesting foundation
charter (fn. 214) states that Geoffrey grants to God
and to St. Peter the church of Westminster,
as also to the church of St. Mary of Hurley—
for the salvation of his own soul and that of his
wife Leceline ('at whose counsel by the providence of divine grace I began this work'), and
for the soul of Athalais his first wife and mother
of his children, and for the souls of his heirs and
successors—the church and town and surrounding
wood of Hurley with all rights pertaining, the
church of Waltham with a hide and a half of
land belonging to it, and the soke of the chapel
of Remenham. He also gave to the church of
Hurley, on the day that he caused it to be
dedicated by Osmund, bishop of Sarum, in the
presence of many of great authority, the land of
Edward of Watcombe (in Fawley parish). He
further states that on the day of dedication the
bishop confirmed all the grants made to that holy
place, to wit, in all the manors then in his
demesne, the third part of the tithe of corn,
two-thirds of the tithe of all stock, the whole
tithe of pannages both in hogs and payments,
and the whole tithe of cheese, fowls, horses,
calves, orchards, and vineyards. Moreover he
granted in every manor of his demesne one
churl who shall hold eight acres free of all
custom, and in his park one hog-run with land
for the swineherd. To these he added a fishery
in the isle of Ely that supplied 1,500 dried eels
and 40 fat eels; and from the hamlet of
Mose (Essex) a supply of 3,000 dried herrings.
At the same time, and named in the same
charter, Thorald, Geoffrey's steward, with his
right hand on the altar, granted two-thirds of
the tithe of all his corn in Ockendon (Essex),
and the whole tithe of all his stock, and the
whole tithe of both corn and stock in Bordesden
(Essex). Also Ædric, his bailiff, gave the whole
tithe of his corn and stock.
To this charter there were many witnesses;
the first were Osmund the bishop, and Gilbert,
abbot of Westminster, and the last, it is interesting to note, was Ælfric, the builder of the
new church of St. Mary, Hurley, and of the
conventual buildings.
On a comparatively modern metal plate,
fastened to the outer wall of the still standing
refectory of Hurley monastery, to the north of
the church is inscribed:—
Osmund the Good, Count of Seez in Normandy,
afterwards earl of Dorset, and Lord High Chancellor
of England, and at last Bishop of Sarum, consecrated
this church of Hurley, A.D. 1086, and died December 4th, 1099, in the reign of William Rufus.
It has lately been stated with some confidence
that 1086 cannot have been the exact year,
because neither church nor monastery is entered
in Domesday Survey; (fn. 215) but such an omission,
as all Domesday students know, proves nothing.
The date is at all events prior to the death of
the Conqueror, on 9 September, 1087; whilst
Gilbert, one of the witnesses, only became abbot
of Westminster towards the end of 1085. The
statement on the metal inscription, repeated in
another place on stone, as to the year 1086,
must therefore be approximately correct.
Soon after the foundation, Geoffrey issued a
mandate to his bailiff Ædric, and to all his men
of Waltham, forbidding them to intermeddle
with the water of the priory at Hurley, or
to take anything from their wood. (fn. 216)
William Constable of Chester, c. 1140, gave
lands at Pyrton and Clare to the priory.
Geoffrey de Mandeville and Roesia his wife
made a small increase to its endowments about
the same time. (fn. 217) This Geoffrey was grandson
of the founder and the first earl of Essex; he
specially confirmed his grandfather's Essex gifts.
There were also early bequests of land at Kingham, Oxford. (fn. 218)
Laurence, abbot of Westminster 1159-75,
granted to the priory the church of Easthampstead. (fn. 219) William de Mandeville, third earl of
Essex, brother of Geoffrey, the second earl,
made various bequests and confirmations to
Hurley, the more important being the whole of
the woods on the manors of Hurley and Little
Waltham. (fn. 220)
Ralph de Arundel, prior of Hurley, granted a
pension of 4s. out of the church of Easthampstead
for providing wax tapers at the mass of Our
Lady. (fn. 221) The only one of the priors of this
house to attain to the dignity of abbot of Westminster was this Ralph de Arundel, sometimes
called Ralph Papillon. Ralph was a Westminster monk and for some time almoner of the
abbey. He is said to have been a studious and a
good preacher. He was a great favourite with
Abbot Laurence, who appointed him prior of
Hurley circa 1170. Ralph was elected abbot
of Westminster on 20 November, 1200. (fn. 222)
Herbert, bishop of Salisbury 1194-1214,
granted to the priory all tithes of corn at
Waltham and the oblations on St. Laurence's
Day, to be applied to the office of the sacrist.
The residue of the income of Waltham church,
both small tithes and other offerings, was to go
to the support of the perpetual vicar presented
by the priory. (fn. 223)
Nicholas, bishop of Tusculum, papal legate,
issued a general exhortation to the faithful, dated
at St. Albans, 17 December, c. 1220, to assist
William Prior of Hurley and his monks in the
work they had begun about their church, granting a ten days' indulgence to contributors. (fn. 224)
William, abbot of Westminster 1220-2, granted
about the same time an indulgence to all
contributors to new works at the abbey, and also
participation in the spiritual benefits exercised
by the abbey in their own church, and in the
church (inter alia) of Hurley. (fn. 225)
Richard, abbot of Westminster 1222-36,
granted Prior Richard and the monks of Hurley
all the manor of Easthampstead on payment of
100s. a year. (fn. 226)
Prior Richard le Gras resigned in 1236, on
being appointed abbot of Evesham. (fn. 227) In the
same year the priory obtained a confirmation
charter from Henry III; it already possessed like
charters from Henry I and Henry II. (fn. 228)
A surrender was executed about the close of
Henry III's reign, by William Marescall and
Juliana his wife, of all their lands at Kingham,
Oxfordshire, in return for a life grant daily from
the prior, Theobald, and the convent of Hurley,
of a loaf of first quality, two loaves of second
quality, a gallon of convent beer, another gallon
of second quality, and a dish of meat with pottage
from the kitchen; also 5s. a year, two cartloads
of wood, and suitable accommodation. (fn. 229)
A corrody was granted by Richard de Coleworth, prior, to Geoffrey de Hurle and Isabel
his wife and Amice their daughter in 1320,
much resembling that granted to William and
Juliana Marescall about fifty years earlier;
only in this case there seems to have been no
residence in the priory. (fn. 230) Other corrodies of
white convent loaves weighing 2½ lb., and of
black loaves called 'bastard loaf,' and of beer,
were granted by this prior in 1336. (fn. 231)
In 1307 a daily grant was made by Prior
Gyppewych, at the instance of Henry earl of Derby
(afterwards Henry IV), to Peter Peterwych, his
servant, of a white conventual loaf, a gallon of
conventual beer, and a dish from the kitchen,
such as is the portion of a monk in the refectory,
together with a chamber in the priory whenever
he wished to lodge there. (fn. 232)
A late thirteenth-century grant by William
Seger, prior, to Randulph the marshal, of half
a virgate of land and a meadow in Hurley,
covenants that Randulph, in addition to an
annual rent of 3d., is to serve as marshal in the
prior's court, carrying his wand, to shoe the
horses and oxen when necessary, and to keep
clean the hall and grange, strewing straw and
fresh rushes at the proper seasons, and having
the old straw, &c., for his own use. (fn. 233)
The Taxation Roll of 1291 enters the churches
of Streatley and Hurley, of the respective annual
value of £10 13s. 4d. and £10, as appropriated
to the priory, as well as a pension of £1 10s.
from the church of East Garston. Outside the
county the priory drew annually from the
churches of High Easter £5, of Sawbridgeworth
£3 6s. 8d., from Chippenham £5, and from
Northall 6s. 8d. Their temporalities in Hurley
parish were declared of the annual value of
£22 10s., and in other parishes they reached
a total of £4 14s. 8d.
Edward prince of Wales wrote to the prior
of Hurley, from Windsor, on 9 September,
1302, reminding him that he previously asked
him to present his
beloved clerk John de Bohun to the vacant benefice
of Warfield, and had received the reply that his house
was charged with a pension of £10 for a clerk whom
he was bound to present to this vacancy. But the
Prince was now informed that the Bishop of Salisbury
refused institution as that clerk was not sufficient.
Therefore the prince again begged it for John
de Bohun, and wished for a reply by his messenger, 'that we may know how you value us
and our fathers.' (fn. 234)
An ordinance of Prior Henry and the convent
of Hurley, in 1313, decided that the custom
observed at Westminster Abbey, of continuing
to a defunct brother for a year after his death
the daily corrody in the refectory and his clothing
allowance as though still alive, to provide for
a year's masses for his soul being said by a
secular priest, should henceforth be maintained
at Hurley. (fn. 235)
Roger, vicar of Bray, and rural dean of Reading, pronounced, on 4 January, 1333, absolution
of the prior and convent of Hurley from excommunication incurred by non-payment of procurations due to the papal nuncio in England;
Yeherius de Concoreto, canon of Sarum, the
said nuncio, had delegated his powers in this
instance to Roger. (fn. 236)
A mandate was addressed by Edward III, in
1347, to the wardens of the sea-coast in Hants,
and to the arrayers and sheriff of Berks, to refrain
from demanding a man at arms for service on the
coast from the prior of Hurley, who had departed
across the seas on the king's business. (fn. 237)
Confirmation was made by Pope Boniface, in
1397, to William de Gyppewych, prior, and the
convent of Hurley, of the appropriation of the
church of Warfield, Berks., granted by the bishop
of Salisbury in 1397, which by reason of the
omission of certain legal formalities was said not
to hold good. It was stated that Richard II, by
word of mouth, prayed the bishop to appropriate
the church to Hurley, with the condition of their
celebrating his yearly obit, and also that of Anne his
late queen, and that the crown licence was entered
on the Patent Rolls under date of 29 March, 1397,
wherein provision was made for a yearly distribution to the poor. The appropriation was
to take effect on the resignation or death of
Nicholas Brixton, the then rector. Yearly pensions were reserved to the bishop, the chapter,
and the archdeacon of Berks. The priory was
also bound to distribute at Warfield, every year
at Easter, from the fruits of the church, 5s. to
the poor, by view of the vicar and six of the
parishioners. (fn. 238)
In June 1392 a petition to the king from the
prior and convent of Hurley to approve of the
appropriation to them of the church of Warfield
brought out—in addition to the plea of poverty
through Thames floods and modest endowments—
the interesting fact that they claimed royal assistance 'out of reverence due to Lady Edith, sister
of the holy king Edward, the Confessor, there
(at Hurley) buried.'
Henry IV, whose queen, Mary de Bohun, was
descended from Geoffrey de Mandeville, the
founder of Hurley, granted to the prior and convent of Hurley, in May 1401, licence to cut
down and sell or receive for their own use wood
suitable for timber and other wood, to the value
of 100 marks, within the forest for the repair of
their church, belfry, and houses, which are
ruinous, saving vert for the king's deer there, by
the supervision of the king's foresters and other
officials. (fn. 239)
In 1411 Prior John Feryng and his convent
covenanted to celebrate yearly the anniversary of
William de Colchester, abbot of Westminster (he
died in 1420), and also to celebrate for his parents,
and for Thomas Merks, late bishop of Carlisle. (fn. 240)
Geoffrey Poole granted a lease to Prior Edward
Downe and his convent, in 1461, of the water
and fishing within the lordship of Medmenham,
with all manner of fishing pertaining to the same;
reserving, however, the right during the term of
eighty years of fishing six times a year with a
draught net, the priory at such times finding them
fishing-nets, fishing-boats, and servants. (fn. 241)
In the time of Henry VII the priory had
become much impoverished through manifold debts,
floods of the Thames, and tenths granted to the
king by convocation. One Richard Lessy came
to their rescue, in the year 1489, with a gift of
£60, in return for which Prior John Hilston
and the monks undertook to always keep his
anniversary during his life and after his death,
and to observe the vigil of the anniversary of
Agatha his wife, and of other relatives. (fn. 242)
The priory of Hurley was suppressed by
Henry VIII, in 1536, amongst the religious
houses under the value of £200 a year. Its
clear annual value, according to the Valor, was
£121 18s. 5d.
On 3 July, 1536, the king granted the site of the
late priory, with all houses, closes, and gardens, the
manors of Hurley, Easthampstead, the rectories
of Hurley, Waltham, and Streatley, the advowson
of the vicarages of Hurley and Waltham, a
messuage in Kingham, Oxon, &c., to Westminster Abbey, to be held at a rent of £14, and
granted in exchange for the abbey's manors of
Neyte, Tottington, and other manors and benefices adjacent to Westminster and Chelsea. (fn. 243)
But on 16 January, 1540, Westminster Abbey
was itself surrendered to the king, and the site
and property of the old priory of Hurley passed
into lay hands.
Priors of Hurley
Æric, c. 1140 (fn. 244)
William, c. 1160 (fn. 245)
John de Roalla, c. 1169 (fn. 246)
Ralph de Arundel, c. 1175-1200 (fn. 247)
William, occurs c. 1220 (fn. 248)
Richard le Gras, occurs 1231-36 (fn. 249)
Samson de Eswelle, occurs 1236 (fn. 250)
William de Stanford, temp. Hen. III (fn. 251)
Theobald, c. 1250 (fn. 252)
Geoffrey, 1258 (fn. 253)
Theobald, occurs 1273 (fn. 252)
John de Lyra, c. 1274-9 (fn. 254)
Walter de London, 1279-c. 1284 (fn. 255)
Richard de Walden, 1285 (fn. 256)
Adam, 1285-95 (fn. 257)
Richard de Walden (reappointed) 1295 (fn. 258)
William Seger, occurs c. 1299 (fn. 259)
Richard de Walden, occurs 1304 (fn. 258)
Alexander de Newport, 1305-9 (fn. 260)
Henry, 1311-13 (fn. 261)
Richard de Coleworth, 1320-36 (fn. 262)
John Tuttehall, 1336-49 (fn. 263)
Thomas de Cumbrook, 1352-63 (fn. 264)
William Bromley, 1365-75 (fn. 265)
William Gyppewych, 1389-1400 (fn. 266)
John Feryng, 1411-15 (fn. 267)
William Pulburgh, 1416-17 (fn. 268)
John Saffrey, 1420-52 (fn. 269)
Edward Downe, 1461 (fn. 270)
Thomas Preston, 1468-86 (fn. 271)
John Hilston, 1487-97 (fn. 272)
John Hampton, temp. Hen. VII (fn. 273)
William Graunt, 1504-10 (fn. 274)
A full account, with four plates, is given by
Mr. Wethered of the various seals pertaining to
Hurley Priory among the store of deeds at Westminster Abbey. (fn. 275) In addition to the seals of
certain priors, there are impressions extant of
three distinct common seals of the priory, the
subject of each being the Annunciation of the
Blessed Virgin.
The first of these occurs on several charters up
to 1200, but there is not a good impression extant.
The second occurs in the reigns of the first three
Edwards; it is a handsome bold example of seal
designing and engraving of the last quarter of
the thirteenth century. The Blessed Virgin and
the Archangel stand on each side of a conventional lily springing from a vase; below is the
prior kneeling in profile holding his pastoral staff
in both hands. Legend, in Lombardic capitals:—
+ SI COMMUNE CAPITULI PRIORAT' HURLEY.
The third common seal is evidently of fifteenthcentury date, but only one mutilated example is
known.