HOUSE OF CLUNIAC MONKS
3. THE PRIORY OF LENTON
The Cluniac house of Lenton Priory, in the
suburbs of Nottingham, was founded by William
Peverel in honour of the Holy Trinity, out of
love (as the foundation charter expresses it) of
divine worship and for the good of the souls of
his lord King William, of his wife Queen Matilda, of their son King William and of all their
and his ancestors, and also for the health of his
present lord King Henry and Queen Matilda and
their children William and Matilda, and for the
health of his own soul, and those of his wife
Matilda and his son William and all their
children. He gave the house to God and to the
church of Cluni, and to Pontius the abbot there
and his successors, but so that it should be free
and quit of obligation save the annual payment
of a mark of silver as an acknowledgement.
By this charter Peverel substantially endowed
the house with the township of Lenton and its
appurtenances, including seven mills; the townships of Radford, Morton, and Keighton, (fn. 1) with
all their appurtenances, and whatsoever he had
in Newthorpe and Papplewick both in wood and
plain; also, with the consent of King Henry,
the Nottingham churches of St. Mary, St. Peter,
and St. Nicholas, and the churches of Radford,
Linby, and Langar, and the tithes of his fisheries,
all in Nottinghamshire; Bakewell with all its appurtenances, two parts of the tithes of Newbold,
Tideswell, Bradwell, Bakewell, Hucklow, Ashford, Wormill, and Holme, and two parts of the
tithes of his demesne pastures in the Peak, namely
in Shalcross, Fernilee, Darnall, Quatford, Buxton,
Shirebrook, Stanton, Cowdale, 'Crochil' Callow, 'Dunningestede,' Chelmorton, and Sterndale, also the whole tithe of colts and fillies,
wherever there was a stud-farm in his
Peak demesnes, together with the tithes of his
lead and of his venison both in skins and meat,
all in Derbyshire; (fn. 2) Courteenhall with its appurtenances, two parts of all the tithes of his demesnes in Blisworth and Duston, and the
churches of Harlestone, Courteenhall, Irchester,
and Rushden, all in Northamptonshire; and the
church of Foxton, in Leicestershire, with a virgate of land.
By the same charter he also granted, after a
somewhat unusual form, whatsoever his men
(homagers or feodaries) bestowed on the priory
for the good of their souls: namely two parts of
the tithes of the demesnes of Avenel in Haddon,
Meadowplace and Monyash, Derbyshire, and of
various other places in the counties of Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, and Buckingham.
There is no reason to doubt that the extensive
possessions enumerated above represent genuine
grants made to the priory by William Peverel
and his under-tenants; but the present charter
contains a chronological discrepancy which is
quite fatal to its authenticity. The priory is
explicitly granted to Pontius, Abbot of Cluni, but
the charter is witnessed by Gerard, Archbishop
of York. As Gerard died on 21 May 1108,
while Abbot Hugh of Cluni, the predecessor of
Pontius, died on 29 April 1109, the charter
clearly loses all claim to be regarded as a contemporary record. That some genuine document or documents underlay the fabrication of
the charter is made probable by its occasional
agreement, in the names of Peverel sub-tenants,
with the evidence of Domesday; but the only
authority for the text of the charter, since the
destruction of the Lenton Chartulary in the great
Cottonian fire, has been an inspeximus of 1317.
Under these circumstances, the charter cannot
be cited as evidence for the date of the foundation of the priory, but it may be noted that the
abbacy of Pontius extended from 1109 to 1125.
As the alleged bestowal of the priory upon Abbot
Pontius not improbably represents a genuine
tradition, the foundation may well have fallen
within these years. A charter of Henry I (fn. 2a) confirming Lenton to Cluni, preserved among the
muniments of the latter house, is ostensibly
not later than 1115, but its authenticity is
doubtful.
The inspeximus of 1317 (fn. 3) records the royal
confirmation charters of Henry I, of Stephen,
of Henry II and of John, as well as the following additional benefactions:—the church of
Wigston, Leicestershire, with the tithes of his
demesnes in that lordship and certain lands, by
Robert Earl of Leicester and Count of Meulan;
the tithes of the assarts or tilled lands within
Peak Forest, by William de Ferrers; the churches
of Ossington, Notts, and Horsley, Derbyshire,
and the half church of Cotgrave, Notts, in 1144,
by Hugh de Buron and Hugh Meschines his son
and heir; the church of Nether Broughton,
Leicestershire, with all its appurtenances, including a chapel to which were attached 15 acres of
land, by Richard Bussell; the Derbyshire manors
of Holme and Dunston, by Matthew de Hathersage; and a moiety of the church of Attenborough, the land of Reginald in Chilwell, the
church of Barton in Fabis, and two parts of his
demesne tithes in Bunny and Bradmore, by Odo
de Bunny. (fn. 4)
Fortunately for the sake of peace, it very rarely
happened that the gift of a pious founder gave
rise to whole centuries of litigation and strife, as
was the case with one part of the benefactions of
William Peverel to this priory—we allude to the
various tithes of the Peak district just enumerated.
When the vast estates of the Peverels were confiscated to the Crown in the reign of Henry II,
they were bestowed by the king on his second
son John, Count of Mortain. No sooner had
Richard ascended his father's throne than John
began to play the part of a conspirator. One of
John's most ready and able tools in the Midlands
was Hugh de Nonant, the turbulent Bishop of
Coventry and Lichfield. When his attachment
to John began to wane, the count secured his
further support by the gift of the churches of
Bakewell, Hope, and Tideswell, with all their
appurtenances. When John came to the throne,
he confirmed the gift of these churches to the
then occupant of the see, Geoffrey Muschamp,
but Geoffrey's successors in the bishopric, William
Cornhill (1215-1224) and Alexander Stavenby
(1224-1240), transferred these rights to the dean
and chapter of Lichfield.
Almost immediately after this transfer had
been completed, litigation broke out between the
priory and the chapter, which extended, with
certain intervals of peace, over three centuries,
during which period there were five several appeals to the Roman court. The matter at issue
between Lenton and Lichfield, though presenting
slightly different phases of the same questions,
always related to (1) the extent of the lordships
of William Peverel, (2) the right of bequeathing
tithes of land not under cultivation at the time
of the donation, and (3) more especially how far
the charters of the Count of Mortain overrode
those of William Peverel, whose descendants had
suffered sequestration.
The disputes assumed a violent form in the
years 1250-1, when the monks of Lenton by
force of arms seized on certain tithes of wool
and lambs in the parish of Tideswell. The
chapter of Lichfield actually ordered the wool to
be stored and the flocks to be folded within the
nave of the church for security; but the adherents of the priory disregarded sanctuary rights
and burst open the doors. Thereupon a free
fight ensued between the two parties; many of
the sheep and lambs were butchered under the
horses' hoofs or by the weapons of the combatants; and the pollution of both church and
churchyard rendered the suspension of all religious rites obligatory until they had been formally reconciled by the bishop. In this encounter
eighteen lambs were killed in the church and
fourteen were carried off to the grange of the
Lenton monks. Geese, hay, and sheaves of oats
were also seized by violent methods about the
same time. Bishop Weseham of Lichfield found
that it was high time to interfere to check such
a scandal, and himself suggested an appeal to
Rome. Pope Innocent IV, after failing with
earlier-appointed commissions, nominated a commission of three with extended powers, consisting
of the warden of the Franciscans of Leicester,
the Archdeacon of Chester, and the Prior of the
Dominicans of London. A decision was given
in 1252 in the church of St. Mary at Leicester
to the effect that (1) the priory should pay 100
marks fine to the sacrist of Lichfield, in addition
to the £60 already voluntarily paid by the priory
to the chapter as compensation for the damage;
that (2) all the greater and lesser tithes of Tideswell belonged to the chapter, except two-thirds
of the tithes of lead on the demesnes formerly
held by William Peverel, of the tithes of the mill
of Richard Daniel, and of the tithes of the studfarm and of the venison; that (3) the chapter
should pay 14 marks yearly out of the tithes of
Bakewell and Hope to the priory; and that (4)
two-thirds of the great tithes only should go to
the priory in other parts and of pastures and
places then under cultivation at Bakewell, Nether Haddon, Ashford, and Chapel en le Frith.
This decision was respected and secured peace
for about a quarter of a century, but the dispute
broke out again with some vehemence in 1275,
and was frequently renewed up to the time of
the dissolution of the religious houses. (fn. 5)
The connexion of the Cluniac house of Lenton with the adjoining town of Nottingham was
as close and important as that of the monastery
of St. Andrew, of the same order, with the town
of Northampton. The first charter of Henry II
freed from every form of tax, toll, or custom the
whole of the priory of Lenton, and any one disturbing the monks or their tenants in this respect was liable to the then huge penalty of £10.
By his second charter the same king granted the
priory a fair of eight days at the feast of St.
Martin, with full toll of all things from which
toll may be taken, excepting on those purchases
which were made for food or clothing. In the
same charter Henry II warned both the sheriff
and castellan of Nottingham not to molest the
monks of Lenton in the slaughter of oxen, nor
in anything else to which they have been accustomed, such as the right of buying freely in the
markets. No complaints or pleadings against
the monks were to be permitted in any of the local
courts, but only before the king or his chief
justice.
It may be mentioned that Henry III in 1232
still further extended the length of the great
fair of Lenton at Martinmas, making it of twelve
days' duration. (fn. 6)
The benefactions to the priory and privileges
granted to it, in addition to those already cited,
were very numerous. (fn. 7) The following deserve
special mention:—The cell or hermitage of
Kersall, Lancashire, by Henry II; the first
draught of smelts, next after the draught of his
steward, by John de Laci, in his fishing of Chilwell, and whatever God should bestow in the
said draught on the brethren—as salmon, lamprey,
or any other kind of fish, he gave them freely;
the same donor subsequently increased the fishing
rights of the monks, provided they were for the
monks' own use and not let to farm; considerable gifts at Widmerpool by Robert de Heriz,
desiring that his body should be Christianly buried
in the priory church; the advowson of the
church of Nuthall, by Sir Geoffrey de St. Patrick,
a gift challenged (but in vain) by William de St.
Patrick in 1200, as being made under undue influence on his deathbed. (fn. 8)
By a charter of King John, in 1199, there
were confirmed to the priory the churches of
Meppershall and Felmersham, Bedfordshire, and
also free entry and exit, daily, into the forest of
Bestwood with a cart to take dead wood, and
with two carts to take heather, as much as would
suffice for the monks' proper use. (fn. 9) There were
various other grants of fuel, royal and otherwise;
but a yet more important charter of John at the
end of his reign granted to Peter the prior and
the monks of Lenton the tithe of the game taken
in the royal forests of the counties of Nottingham
and Derby, that is to say of harts, hinds, bucks,
does, wild boars, and hares. (fn. 10)
The ecclesiastical rights of Lenton in the town
of Nottingham are strikingly exemplified in the
statutes of Archbishop Gray, granted to the hospital of St. John in that town in 1234, which are
given below in the account of that hospital.
Henry III appears to have been ever ready to
assist the monks of Lenton in their building operations. He granted them quarry rights in 1229
in Nottingham Forest to obtain stone for the rebuilding of the tower of their church, which had
fallen in the previous year; (fn. 11) and later in the
same year five oaks were assigned to them out of
the king's hay at 'Willey' to make shingles for
the roofing of their dormitory. (fn. 12) In the following
years they were granted twenty-five tie-beams
out of Mansfield, and two oaks out of Linby Hay
to make shingles, and in 1232 thirty oaks out
of Sherwood towards building their church. (fn. 13) In
1249 the Prior of Lenton obtained the royal
licence to quarry stone in the wood of Nottingham within Sherwood Forest, for the fabric
of his church, a favour which was renewed
in the following year. In 1253 sanction was
given to the prior to take seven score cartloads of stone from the king's quarry in the
same wood for certain works there in progress
at the priory. (fn. 14)
The taxation of Pope Nicholas in 1291 gives
the annual income of the priory as £339 1s. 2½d.,
which was obtained as follows:—Spiritualities—
Lincoln diocese, £15 19s. 4d.; Coventry and
Lichfield diocese, £66 13s. 4d.; York diocese,
£108 12s. 10d.; Temporalities—Lincoln diocese,
£37 3s. 10½d.; Salisbury diocese, 13s. 4d.;
Coventry and Lichfield diocese, £17 6s.; York
diocese, £92 12s. 6d. (fn. 15)
The seizing of the revenues of the priory by
the Crown as subject to alien rule, during the
wars with France, which prevailed throughout
almost the whole of the 14th century, brought
about a diminution in income. Extents of the
priory possessions taken in 1380 give the total
income as £305 1s. 8d. (fn. 16) A detailed valuation
taken by inquisition in Lent 1387 gives the
total as £300 14s. 4d.; the net income derived
from the great Martinmas fair averaged £35 a
year; the chief income came from appropriated
tithes of corn, the rectories of Lenton, Radford,
'Kyrkton,' and Sutton brought in £20, St.
Mary's, Nottingham, 80 marks, Bakewell rectory, £54 13s., as well as many smaller sums. (fn. 17)
The financial history of this priory is somewhat exceptional, inasmuch as it obtained several
additions to its income in the period shortly
before the general dissolution. Thus the advowson
of Arksey, Yorkshire, was granted to the monks
in 1502, and the appropriation of the same in
1513. (fn. 18) Middlewich, Cheshire, was also appropriated to the priory in 1504; it was worth £30
a year. (fn. 19)
The Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1534 gives the
gross income as £387 10s. 10½d., and the clear
annual value £329 15s. 10½d. Of this estimate
the Derbyshire tithes and portions (about which
great sums of money had been spent in litigation)
contributed £70 18s. 11½d., but far the largest
share came from Nottinghamshire. The tithes
of corn and hay from Beeston, Lenton, St.
Mary's Nottingham (with oblations), and Radford realized £48 6s. 8d.; tithe portions from
Greasley, Basford, Attenborough, Langar, Stapleford, Ruddington, Sutton, Thorpe in the Glebe,
and Bunny, £32 3s. 2d.; pensions from Barton
in Fabis, Basford, Costock, Cotgrave, Lenton,
Linby, Nottingham St. Nicholas, St. Peter and
the hospitals of St. John and St. Mary, and Rempstone, £5 6s. 4d.; demesne lands, rents, mills,
fair, &c., at Lenton, Newthorpe, Nottingham,
and Radford, £78 13s. 8d.; and rents at Awsworth, Ompton, Barton in Fabis, Bradmore,
Costock, Cotgrave, Cropwell Butler, Keyworth,
Mansfield, Normanton, Rempstone, and Watnall,
£17 4s. 3d. The remainder of the income came
from the counties of Chester, Lancaster, Leicester, Northampton, and York.
The outgoings were considerable, including
payments to the warden of Clifton College (fn. 20)
and to chantry priests in York Cathedral and in
the churches of Rotherham and North Wingfield. The sum of £41 1s. 8d. was expended
in the daily meat, drink, lodging, and firing, and
a penny each per week on five needy men, who
were to pray for the souls of William Peverel
and Adeline his wife, of Henry I and Matilda
his wife and their heirs. A further sum of
£2 13s. 4d. was distributed yearly to the poor
on the anniversaries of William and Adeline
Peverel, which were kept respectively on 20 and
28 January. (fn. 21)
The statement made by Godfrey (fn. 22) that the distinguished justice Robert de Lexinton was Prior
of Lenton during the early years of Henry III is
an error, apparently based on the casual juxtaposition of Robert de Lexinton and the Prior of
Lenton on certain commissions. (fn. 22a)
In 1234 Gregory IX issued his mandate to
the Abbot and Prior of Dale to induct the Prior
and Convent of Lenton into corporal possession
of the church of St. Mary Nottingham, granted
to them by the pope on the resignation of
Nicholas his nephew, subdeacon and chaplain, a
vicar's portion being reserved. (fn. 23)
One of his immediate successors in the papacy
granted a privilege to the Lenton monks which
would be much appreciated, as the great majority
of them came from the warmer climes of France.
They obtained a faculty from Alexander IV in
the winter of 1257-8, to wear caps suited to
their order at divine offices, in consequence of
the vehement cold of those parts. (fn. 24)
Several interesting records of visitations of this
priory during the 13th century are extant.
In 1262 Henry Prior of Bermondsey and John
Prior of the French house of Gassicourt were
appointed visitors of the subordinate English
houses by Yves de Poyson, twenty-fifth Abbot of
Cluni. They made searching inquiry as to the
condition of Lenton Priory, through two of the
obedientiaries of the house, Brother Alfred the
sub-cellarer, and Richard the almoner, who met
them in London; but the visitors do not appear
to have gone in person to Lenton. By the
showing of these, it was manifest that the state
of the convent was all that could be desired in
respect of spiritualities, and that divine offices
were conducted becomingly and according to
church ritual; the religious community consisted
of twenty-two monks and two lay brethren.
On a further inquiry of them as to the convent's financial condition, it is evident that the
house was loaded with debt, to the extent of
£1,000 of the English currency. (fn. 25)
The visitors appointed for England by the
Abbot of Cluni in 1275-6 were John, Prior of
Wenlock, and Arnulph, the abbot's equerry.
They visited Lenton on Friday, 22 February.
The monks then numbered twenty-seven and
the lay brethren four. The priory's debts
amounted to 180 marks. There were various
set orders enjoined by these visitors on most of
the houses, which were repeated at Lincoln,
such as the use when riding of saddle, crupper,
and leggings, the non-eating of meat with
seculars, the reading of the lection in the infirmary at dinner, and the tarrying of any in the
priory after compline. These were all enjoined
at Lenton, as had previously been the case at
Montacute, Wenlock, and other houses. It also
came to the visitors' knowledge at Lenton that
the lay brothers were wearing red or russet
habits; they were ordered henceforth to use as
their distinguishing colour something darker and
more nearly approaching black. (fn. 26)
The English visitation of 1279 for the Abbot
of Cluni was made by the Prior of Lenton in
conjunction with the French Prior of MontDidier. They arrived at Lenton on 6 September and found twenty-five monks, the usual
complement, leading good and commendable
lives, living according to rule, and solemnly conducting their devotional exercises. As the Prior
of Lenton was himself one of the two visitors, it
is to be hoped that only the Prior of MontDidier was responsible for the report sent to
Cluni, for it was stated therein that the superior
of the Nottingham house was 'a worthy good
man, of blameless repute.' When he entered on
his office there were debts of 935 marks in
money and of forty sacks of wool at 15 marks the
sack. Of this latter debt thirty-two sacks had been
paid, but the money debt had risen to 1,030
marks, chiefly through the strife with the chapter
of Lichfield, 'composed of rich and influential
persons, some of them being about the King.'
The matter in dispute was said to concern a
yearly tithe of 250 marks; the prior had already
spent 160 marks in litigation, and anticipated
further legal trouble and expense. The prior,
when first entering on his duties, found an insufficiency of all necessary provisions, and he had
also had to pay an annuity of 40 marks to his
predecessor, which could ill be spared. There was
another debt of £40 on certain property, which
originated with Roger, a former prior. (fn. 27)
In 1263 the priory became involved in a most
serious affray connected with the patronage of the
church of St. George's Burton-on-Trent, which
doubtless arose through the preferment of absentee
foreigners. According to the deposition of Bartholomew son of Adinulf, knight, of Anagni, papal
chaplain and rector of St. George's, the Prior and
Convent of Lenton, pretending that he was dead,
presented to it one Thomas de Raley; whereupon Bartholomew obtained papal letters addressed to Master John de Anagni, papal chaplain, resident in England, who, on the prior's
promise to expedite the business at his own expense, committed the matter to him. Afterwards the prior went to the church of St. George
with Bonushomo de Portia, the rector's proctor;
but certain servants of Thomas de Raley stripped
the proctor in the prior's presence, robbed him of
the papal letters, and eventually killed him in
the churchyard. The prior and Thomas were
cited to appear before the pope within a given
time, which they did not do, and were therefore
declared contumacious and excommunicated by
the Cardinal, to whom the pope had committed
the matter. This excommunication was pronounced in November 1263, but it was not until
August of the following year that the Bishop of
London received the papal mandate to publish
the excommunication of the prior and Thomas
de Raley throughout the archdeaconry of Nottingham and in other prescribed places, until
they made condign satisfaction in the cathedral
church of London. (fn. 28)
In 1267 the vicar of Lenton complained to
the diocesan that the Prior and Convent of Lenton were detaining certain mortuaries and oblations that pertained to the vicarage. Giffard
directed the Archdeacon of Nottingham to hold
an inquiry, and if the allegation were true, to
order the priory to restore the payments in dispute. (fn. 29)
The Prior of Lenton in 1285 appointed
brother Thomas de Amundesham, a monk of
that house, to serve as general and special proctor,
for presenting in his name to vacant benefices,
&c. The cause for this was doubtless the visit
of the prior to a general chapter at Cluni. (fn. 30)
The finding of a Nottingham jury, in 1284,
that William son of Nicholas de Cauntlow was
born in the abbey of Lenton (in abbatia de Lenton),
and was baptized in the church of the abbey on
Palm Sunday twenty-one years before, is at first
sight a little startling. (fn. 31) But within the precincts
of so important a priory as this there would be
sure to be special guest-chambers for visitors of
distinction, and occasionally, though somewhat
irregularly, they would be of the fair sex.
In fact Lenton Priory possessed in all probability a finer set of guest-chambers than any
that could be found in the town of Nottingham.
Henry III lodged at the priory in 1230. It was
at Lenton Priory that Edward I sojourned in
April 1302, and again in April of the following
year; whilst Edward II visited the house for some
days in the year of his accession, and again in
1323. Edward III was a royal visitor in 1336,
as well as on other occasions. (fn. 32)
In 1289 Pope Nicholas IV wrote to Edward I
requesting him to restore to Peter de Siriniaco
the full possession of Lenton Priory, of which he
had been wrongfully deprived, as other priors
had been, by the abbot and general chapter of
Cluni, in consequence of appeals to the Roman
court in regard to the non-observance of statutes
made by Gregory IX for the reformation of the
order, and to which Ranaudus or Renaud, a
Cluniac monk, on presentation of the abbot, had
been inducted by the king as patron. The pope
urged Edward to assign to the proctor of Peter
de Siriniaco possession of this priory, as the Abbot
of Cluni had died at Rome whilst the cause of
Peter and the priory was pending, and Peter's
presence was required at Cluni for the election
of an abbot. (fn. 33)
There were various disputes between the
priory and the mayor and burgesses of Nottingham as to the duration of the great Lenton fair
and its ordinances. An interesting agreement
was arranged between the parties in the reign of
Edward I, c. 1300. The priory pledged itself
to be content with eight days, beginning on the
eve of St. Martin, remitting four days, and promising never to ask for any extension beyond
the octave. The priory also covenanted for
themselves and their successors that cloth merchants, apothecaries, pilchers (makers of fur garments), and mercers of the community of the
town, wishing to hire booths in the fair, were to
pay 12d. for as long as the fair lasted, excepting
those selling blacks (Blakkes) and ordinary cloths,
whose fee was to be 8d. All others desiring to
hire booths were to pay 8d., save that those selling iron and desiring ground as well as a booth
paid 4d., or without extra ground 2d. Tanners and
shoemakers not occupying ground were to be
quit of covered and uncovered stalls. Each
booth was to be 8 ft. long and 8 ft. broad. None
of the community of Nottingham were to hire
booths or stalls for any stranger, or for the sale
of any alien goods, but only for themselves and
their own wares. All men of Nottingham buying and selling hides, tanned or untanned, and
all from Nottingham passing through Lenton in
fair time with carts, wagons, or packhorses, were
to be quit of toll and custom. In return for
this quittance, the mayor and burgesses granted
to the prior and convent a building for ever in
the Saturday market free of charge, and that no
market of any kind of merchandise be held within
the town of Nottingham during the eight days
of the Lenton fair, except within houses, and in
doors and windows. (fn. 34)
The priory was in an unhappy financial condition in 1313. In May of that year Edward II,
at the request of the prior and convent, appointed
John de Hotham to be keeper of that house and
of all issues and profits and possessions, as the
king had taken it into his protection on account
of its poverty and indebtedness. After a reasonable allowance had been made for the prior and
convent and their men, all issues were to be
reserved for the discharge of debts, and for making
good the defects of the priory. So long as the
priory was in Hotham's custody, no sheriff,
bailiff, or other minister of the king was to lodge
there without his licence. (fn. 35) This appointment,
which was 'during pleasure,' was renewed in
the following year. (fn. 36)
In 1319, much to his credit, Prior Geoffrey
de Chintriaco had the courage to resist the papal
order to induct the proctor of Bertrand, Cardinal
of St. Marcellus, to the rectory of Ratcliffe on
Soar. In January 1320 Pope John XXII issued
his mandate to the Archbishop of York and the
Bishops of Hereford and Winchester to cite the
prior to appear personally before him to answer
for his disobedience, and at the same time to cite
in like manner Walter de Almiarslond, who had
'thrust himself into the parish church of Radcliff
of which papal provision had been made to
Cardinal Bertrand.' Prior Geoffrey put in no
appearance at Rome, and was excommunicated
by the Cardinal of St. Susanna as papal commissioner. For about three years the prior remained
contumacious, and then in November 1323 a
fresh mandate was issued by Pope John to the
Archbishop of York and two others not only to
renew the citation of Prior Geoffrey to Rome,
but also to publish and enforce the suspension of
the papal letters of protection granted to the
English Cluniacs, under which the Prior of
Lenton had sheltered himself in the matter of
Cardinal Bertrand, and to inhibit the Abbot of
Westminster, as conservator of the order of Cluni
in England, from taking any action in the matter.
Early in 1327, immediately after the accession of
Edward III, Prior Geoffrey again disobeyed a
papal mandate by refusing to put Cardinal Fouget
in possession of the rectory of Ratcliffe on Soar.
Being threatened by the pope with the destruction of his house of Lenton, the prior petitioned
the king, and implored him by the love of God
to write letters excusatory to Rome. To this
petition the king acceded and wrote to Pope
John XXII from Nottingham on 15 May 1327,
and also at the same date to the Cardinal of
St. Susanna, explaining the situation and justifying the prior. (fn. 37)
At the close, however, of 1328, the pope
secured the due submission of Prior Geoffrey and
removed the excommunication. (fn. 38) In 1331 Prior
Geoffrey resigned Lenton, which was reserved
by Pope John to Guichard de Jou, monk of
Cluni: the priory of Montacute being at the
same time reserved for Geoffrey. (fn. 39)
A grant was obtained from Edward in 1327,
that on any voidance of the priory no escheator
or other minister was to enter or intermeddle
with its possessions; but that, at the request of
the sub-prior and convent, the sheriff or the constable of Nottingham Castle should place a servant at the door for the protection of the goods
of the priory, taking nothing therefrom save his
entertainment. It was stated in the grant that
this was but a confirmation of the original
chartered privilege of William Peverel, the
founder, (fn. 40) whom we know to have been appointed
castellan of Nottingham in 1068.
Edward III, on his accession, restored to the
priory of Lenton and sixty-four other alien
priories their lands in England, seized by his
father on account of the war in Aquitaine. (fn. 41) But
on the resumption of the war with France the
Crown resumed its hold on the property of Lenton and of the other alien priories. The Patent
Rolls of both Edward III and Richard II abound
in entries of Crown presentations to the numerous
benefices whose advowsons were nominally in
the gift of the Prior and Convent of Lenton.
The year 1329 was of some celebrity in the
annals of Lenton Priory on account of two lawsuits which were then brought to an issue. In
the one case a dispute had arisen between the
Prior of Lenton and the Abbot of Vale Royal,
Cheshire, in consequence of the former selling
the tithes of beasts pasturing in Edale, Derbyshire. The abbot entreated Queen Isabella,
who was at that time lady of the Castle and
Honour of the High Peak, to instruct her bailiff
to see that the tithes both of deer and cattle in
Edale were reserved for the benefit of the church
of Castleton, of which the abbot was rector. An
inquisition on oath was accordingly held, with
the result that the ancient rights of the church
of Castleton were confirmed. (fn. 42)
The other case was the revival of an old dispute as to the advowson of the church of Harlestone, Northants, which had been granted to
the priory by Peverel in the foundation charter,
but had been claimed on several occasions by
alleged Peverel representatives. At last in 1329
one Thomas de Staunton claimed the advowson,
stating that his ancestor William de Staunton
had been seised of it in the time of Henry III,
and had successfully presented to it. Both
parties agreed to submit the decision of the cause
to single combat, and appointed their champions,
William Fitz Thomas for the claimant, and
William Fitz John for the Prior of Lenton. All
the formalities necessary to a trial by combat
were enacted, but at the last moment, when
both champions had been sworn at the bar and
were about to advance, Staunton was persuaded
to relinquish all claim for himself and his heirs
to the prior and his successors. (fn. 43)
It was in this year, too, that the pleas De Quo
Warranto were held in Nottingham at Martinmas. By the production of charters the Prior
of Lenton was able to establish the claim of his
house to the great Lenton fair, to full manorial
rights (including gallows) at Lenton and at Cotgrave, to freedom from every kind of toll, to
market privileges, and to voidance of escheat
during vacancy. (fn. 44)
In 1331 the priory procured the appropriation
of the church of Beeston, (fn. 45) and in the following
year that of Wigston. (fn. 46)
In consequence of the great burdens of the
priory, the king granted his protection for two
years in 1334, appointing three custodians to
administer the temporalities. (fn. 47)
In 1345 Astorgius de Gorciis, Prior of Lenton,
in conjunction with the Cluniac priors of Lewes
and Northampton and of other English houses,
refused to pay his proper subsidy to Iterius,
Abbot of Cluni; the abbot appealed to Rome,
whereupon Clement VI issued his mandate to the
Archbishop of Canterbury to cite Astorgius and
the other defaulting priors to appear before him. (fn. 48)
On the petition of Prior Astorgius, to whom
the king had committed the custody of the priory
at farm for such time as the priory remained in
his hands on account of the war with France,
Edward III in 1347 granted licence for him to
lease the manor of Dunston for ten years, and
to sell all portions of the tithes of sheaves
and hay pertaining to the priory in the High
Peak for a like period. The plea for this exception was the debt and other misfortunes that
were overwhelming the house. On a further
petition in the same year they obtained the
royal sanction to lease their High Peak lead
tithes for sixteen years to William de Amyas. (fn. 49)
Prior Peter in 1350 obtained the assistance of
the civil power to try to secure the arrest of
John de Tideswell, John de Rempstone, and
Richard de Cortenhale, apostate monks of Lenton, who were wandering about the country in
secular dress. (fn. 50)
An interesting case occurred among the pleas
of the borough court of Nottingham in 1355,
relative to the repair of a costly pyx belonging
to the priory. Prior Peter appeared, by his
attorney, against Walter the Goldsmith, complaining that though Walter had covenanted to
repair a vessel of crystal to carry the body of
our Lord Jesus Christ with pure silver and gold,
he had broken the agreement in three particulars: (1) in not making it of pure silver;
(2) in not well or suitably gilding it; and (3) in
soldering the vessel with tin instead of silver.
The prior claimed 100s. for this serious damage.
Walter replied that the vessel had been well and
suitably repaired, and would verify this by a
good inquest; an inquest was accordingly ordered
against the next court. The prior further appeared against Walter on a plea of debt; alleging
that he was unjustly withholding from him a noble
and a half of gold; the prior had delivered two
gold nobles to Walter wherewith to gild the vessel,
but only a half noble had been used. On this
claim Walter also demanded and obtained an
inquest. As a set off, Walter in his turn appeared against the prior on a plea of debt,
alleging that he was unjustly withholding 36s.
in silver, which was the covenanted price for the
work, although repeatedly asked for the same. (fn. 51)
Unfortunately the issue of this case is not extant.
In February 1361-2 Edward III restored to
the Prior of Lenton all the lands, tenements,
advowsons, &c., that had been in the hands of
the Crown by reason of the war with France. (fn. 52)
This was in consequence of the peace of
Bretigny; but on the recurrence of war a few
years later Lenton and the other alien priories
were again in a like plight.
The custody of three messuages and 164 acres
of land of the cell of Kersall, Lancashire, was
committed to Lenton Priory. (fn. 53)
Grant for life, during the war with France,
was made by Richard II in 1387 to William
Kylmyngton, one of the king's servants, of the
office of porter of Lenton Priory, with power to
execute the office by deputy. (fn. 54)
In May 1389 Richard II requested the Archbishop of York to inquire into certain dissensions
that had arisen between Geoffrey, Prior of Lenton
(who rendered a certain yearly farm to the king
for that alien priory), and certain of his monks
who had rebelled against him, to examine the
condition of the priory and inform himself as to
its rule and the rebellion, correcting defects and
removing monks refusing obedience to other
houses of the same rule. A further commission
to laymen about the same time shows that the
disturbance was a serious one, involving the
breaking open houses and chests of the priory,
taking two horses valued at £10 as well as
other goods and moneys, and so threatening the
prior and his servants that neither could he
attend to divine service nor they to the cultivation of the land. Some of the monks seem
to have taken the side of the mob. (fn. 55)
It was under Prior Geoffrey that this muchtried alien priory became nationalized or reputed
denizen, and no longer liable to be seized into
the king's hands. Richard II sealed this grant,
with the assent of the council, on 7 October
1392, a sum of 500 marks having been paid to
the Crown. (fn. 56)
In 1395 a commission was issued to the
Sheriff of the counties of Nottingham and Derby,
to the Mayor of Nottingham and others, to
arrest and bring before the king and council one
William de Repyngdon, a monk who had been
to the Roman court without licence and there
acquired divers bulls for obtaining certain offices
in the priory of Lenton, without the assent
either of the king or of the prior and convent of
that place. (fn. 57)
The general control that the priory exercised
over the ecclesiastical affairs of Nottingham was
again illustrated in the year 1400, when the
foundation instrument of Plumtree's Hospital at
Nottingham Bridge provided that the presentation of the two chantry chaplains was to be in
the hands of the Prior and Convent of Lenton. (fn. 58)
Boniface IX, in 1402, permitted the Prior and
Convent of Lenton to let to farm to clerks or
laymen all fruits, tithes, and oblations of their
churches, chapels, portions, pensions, and other
possessions, without requiring licence of the
ordinaries. (fn. 59)
A visitation report sent to Cluni in 1405
gives the proper complement of the brethren as
thirty-two, although some maintained that there
was no fixed number. Six daily masses were
celebrated, of which three were conventual with
music and three low masses; of the latter one
was of the Trinity and the two others for the
dead. The visitors found that monastic obligations were all duly and strictly observed. William Peverel is named as the founder, and it is
added that he and his successors, as patrons, were
bound to transmit yearly to the church of Cluni
a mark of silver, a provision confirmed by the
king's letters patent.
The same visitation records that the cell of
Roche, subordinate to Lenton Priory, consisted
of a prior and one monk. (fn. 60)
On 11 June 1414 the temporalities of this
priory were made over by the Crown to a prior
of considerable celebrity in the world of letters.
Thomas Elmham was a monk of St. Augustine's,
Canterbury, but joined the Cluniac order in the
year of his appointment as Prior of Lenton. In
1416 he was appointed vicar-general to Raymond, Abbot of Cluni, for England and Scotland.
Ten years later (1426) he was made commissarygeneral for all vacant benefices belonging to the
Cluniac order in England, Scotland, and Ireland.
In the same year he resigned his priorship of
Lenton and was succeeded by John Elmham,
who was probably his younger brother. Elmham was an historical author of no small repute.
His history of the monastery of St. Augustine,
Canterbury, was published in the 'Chronicles
and Memorials' series as early as 1858. He
was also the author of a prose life of Henry V. (fn. 61)
The 15th-century records of the borough
court of Nottingham contain various incidental
references to the priory. Thus in 1436 Prior
Elmham and John Dyghton his fellow monk
complained, through their attorney, of Robert
Selby, carpenter, in a plea of debt of 2s. 8d.; it
was alleged that Selby on Sunday 8 May 1435
bought of Dyghton a cowl of black worsted,
promising to pay for it at the feast of St. John
Baptist, which promise he had failed to keep.
Another action by the same prior was also
against Selby, for a table and trestles which he
refused to deliver; and a third was for a debt of
tithes of hay. (fn. 62)
In 1464 William Lord Hastings, then Lord
Chamberlain, was a guest at Lenton Priory; the
corporation made him a present on Easter Day
of 'iij galons of rede wyne.' (fn. 63)
In the year 1504 the royal free chapel of
Tickhill, which had for some time belonged to
this priory, was transferred to the abbey of
Westminster. (fn. 64)
A corrody was granted by Henry VIII within
this monastery in 1510, under privy seal, to
Robert Penne, gentleman of the Chapel Royal. (fn. 65)
The foundation deed of the Nottingham Free
School, dated 22 November 1513, shows great
trust in and affection for Lenton Priory. The
foundress provided that if the mayor and corporation were in any way remiss in their trust, the
Prior and Convent of Lenton were to have the
rule, guidance, and oversight of the lands and
the school. (fn. 66)
When there was a vacancy in the headship of
this house in 1534, Sir Anthony Babington
wrote to Cromwell begging that the new prior,
in succession to John Annesley, deceased, might
be chosen from one of the monks of the house,
as it was then likely to prosper better than under
a stranger; 'for which reason my lord Cardinal
in his time made Thomas Holrose prior and
Simmes (?) that is late prior.' (fn. 67)
Nicholas Hethe or Heath, the last prior, was
appointed by patent on 27 December 1535. (fn. 68)
Soon after his appointment the new prior wrote
to Cromwell one of those numerous letters which
show so plainly the extortions of which that
minister was guilty. Heath states that it was of
Cromwell's favour that he obtained this promotion, but he had not found it in so clear a
state as had been anticipated. He had granted
to 'Mr. Richard' (Cromwell's nephew) for
Cromwell's use £100, but begged he would
take £60 and remit the rest till Martinmas.
He was bound to keep up hospitality, and if he did
not get this remission would have to resort to
some London merchant, which would be to his
great hindrance. He had accomplished Cromwell's pleasure touching the cell of Kersall in
Lancashire. He further begged that the new
rule discharging all religious under twenty-five
might be relaxed in favour of two of their young
monks, for all his brethren, except four or five,
were very impotent and of great age, and requested his favour that they might continue in
their religion. (fn. 69)
The quasi-legal means adopted to dissolve
this monastery differed from all others save the
similar case of the Cistercian abbey of Woburn
in Bedfordshire. Lenton had been much perturbed by Cromwell's visitors. Here, as elsewhere, certain religious were incited or tempted
to bring railing accusations against their superiors.
Hamlet Pentrich, one of the monks, brought a
charge against his prior before the Privy Council,
being released for the purpose from the Fleet,
where he was prisoner. Pentrich was, however,
a twice-forgiven 'apostate,' and for a third time
he forsook his monastery, carrying away with
him goods belonging to the priory. (fn. 70)
It is clear that Pentrich and one or two more
were ready enough to repeat or invent monastery
gossip against the king and Cromwell, in order
to save themselves from the results of their
own disorderly conduct. A long statement that
reached the Privy Council in the spring of 1537
as to talk over the fire (in the Misericorde) at
Christmastide contains it would seem much truth,
and in the light of resulting consequences is
somewhat pathetic reading. Said Dan Haughton,
'It is a marvellous world, for the King will
hang a man for a word speaking nowadays.'
'Yea,' said Dan Ralph, 'but the King of Heaven
will not do so, and he is the King of all Kings;
but he that hangs a man in this world for a
word speaking, he shall be hanged in another
world himself.' Then, said the sub-prior, 'I was
afraid for my life, for I had heard many of the
monks speak ill of the King and Queen, and
lord Privy Seal, whom they love worst of any
man in the world.' (fn. 71)
The documents effecting the dissolution of
Lenton Priory, though fairly numerous, are
fragmentary, and it seems impossible now to
discover with precision under what nominal plea
the prior and many of his monks were accused
of high treason; but there can be little doubt
that it was accomplished under the provisions of
what was known as the Verbal Treasons Act of
December 1534. (fn. 72) Prior Heath was seized and
thrown into prison in February 1538, and it is
clear from Cromwell's private 'remembrances'
or notes that his doom was fixed and he was to
be executed. (fn. 73) In March the prior with eight
of his monks and four labourers of Lenton were
indicted for treason. The names of the monks
were:—Ralph Swenson, Richard Bower, Richard Atkinson, Christopher Browne, John
Trewruan, John Adelenton, William Berry, and
William Gylham. (fn. 74) The prior and Ralph
Swenson, according to a letter from the special
commissioners to Cromwell dated 11 April, were
the first to be executed. (fn. 75) One other monk,
William Gylham, as well as the four labourers,
was also sentenced, according to the Controlment Roll, to the shocking punishment then
dealt out for treason, of being hanged, drawn,
and quartered, with all its unspeakable barbarities.
The executions were at Nottingham or its
immediate vicinity, and, judging from analogy,
directly in front of the priory, where some of
the quarters of the victims would be displayed.
There are two references to these executions in
the chamberlain's accounts of Nottingham for
1537-8. The town gave my Lord's judges
two gallons of wine, costing 16d., 'when the
Monks of Lenton suffered death.' Another
charge in these accounts is 2d. paid for clearing
Cow Lane 'when the monks of Lenton suffered
death.' Judging from this last entry it is possible
that the victims were done to death in the
market-place, for Cow Lane was one of the
principal approaches; the name was altered to
Church Street in 1812. (fn. 76)
As the priory was dissolved by attainder, not
a single monk or servant of the house obtained a
pension. Even the five poor men maintained
there in accordance with the charter of the time
of Henry I were apparently thrust out penniless.
The site of the priory has changed hands with
extraordinary frequency ever since the dissolution
of the house.
Priors of Lenton
Humphrey, temp. Henry I (fn. 77)
Philip (fn. 78)
Alexander, occurs c. 1189 (fn. 79)
Peter, occurs 1200-1214 (fn. 80)
Damascenus (fn. 81)
Roger, 1230 (fn. 82)
Roger de Normanton, (fn. 83) occurs 1241 (fn. 84)
Hugh Bluet, occurs 1251 (fn. 85)
Roger Norman, 1259 (fn. 86)
Matthew, 1269 (fn. 87)
Peter de Siriniaco, occurs 1281, 1285, 1287 (fn. 88)
Reginald de Jora, occurs 1289, 1290 (fn. 89)
William, occurs 1291, 1292, 1294, 1299,
1305, 1306 (fn. 90)
Stephen de Moerges, 1309 (fn. 91)
Reginald de Crespy, 1313 (fn. 92)
Geoffrey, 1316 (fn. 93)
William de Pinnebury, occurs 1324 (fn. 94)
Guy de Arlato, occurs 1333 (fn. 95)
Astorgius de Gorciis, occurs 1336-7 (fn. 96)
Peter de Abbeville, occurs 1355 (fn. 97)
Geoffrey de Rochero, occurs 1389 (fn. 98)
Richard Stafford, died 1414 (fn. 99)
Thomas Elmham, 1414 (fn. 100)
John Elmham 1426 (fn. 101)
John Mydylburgh, 1450 (fn. 102)
Thomas Wollore, 1458 (fn. 103)
Richard Dene, 1481 (fn. 104)
John Ilkeston, occurs 1500, 1505 (fn. 105)
Thomas Gwyllam, occurs 1512, 1516 (fn. 106)
Thomas Nottingham alias Hobson, 1525
John Annesley, 1531
Nicholas Heath, 1535 (fn. 107)
Seals
There is a fine but imperfect impression of the
common seal of the priory attached to a charter
c. 1212. It is a pointed oval, about 3 in. by 2
in. when perfect. The obverse has Our Lord
enthroned on a rainbow, right hand raised in
benediction, book in left hand. Legend:—
. . GILLUM : CONVENTUS SAN . . . NTO . . .
On the reverse is the smaller pointed counterseal of Prior Peter, showing the prior in half
length, holding a book, in base a plinth with
arcade of round-headed arches. Legend:—
+ SIGNUM PETRI P . . . RIS DE LENTONA (fn. 108)
There is a sulphur cast at the British Museum
of very imperfect impression of a second seal of
the 15th century, which has the Trinity in a
carved niche. The only lettering remaining
is . . . MONASTERII : s . . . (fn. 109)