HOUSE OF PREMONSTRATENSIAN CANONS
11. THE ABBEY OF WELBECK
Joceus de Flemmaugh is said to have formed
one of the train of William of Normandy at the
time of the Conquest; he acquired the third
part of a knight's fee in Cuckney. Joceus begat
a son named Richard who married a Nottingham
lady. There was living in Cuckney a man
called Gamelbere, (fn. 1) described as a 'dreng,' who
held, before the Conquest, two carucates of land
of the king in chief by the service of providing
a palfrey for the king, shod on its four feet at
the king's forge, whenever he visited his manor
of Mansfield, and by attending him in the time
of war. Gamelbere died without heir, and
his land escheated to King Henry I. The
king gave this land to Richard the son of
Joceus. Richard had a son of the like name
by his first wife, and on her death he took
for a second wife Avice, a kinswoman of Earl
Ferrers, granting her as dower the two carucates of land at Cuckney. By his second wife
Richard had a son called Thomas. Thomas
was brought up in the king's court, and on his
father's death inherited the two carucates.
Thomas is described as a most warlike man, who
followed the king (Stephen) throughout his campaigns; but when there was peace in the kingdom, in the reign of Henry II, founded the
abbey of Welbeck. (fn. 2)
This is the first part of the account set forth
at length towards the end of the Welbeck chartulary as to the history of the foundation and of
the founder's ancestry and progeny; but it represents a very confused tradition as to the origin of
the house, for another shorter account, which
immediately follows, makes Richard the son of
Joceus the original founder of the abbey. (fn. 3) This
latter statement is nearer the truth, for the abbey
was begun by Richard in 1153, and finished
by his son Thomas in the reign of Henry II; (fn. 4)
but, even so, the fact remains that 'Joceus'
cannot be identified in the more authentic records of the period to which this tradition would
assign him.
Nevertheless, as Thomas carried out and fulfilled his father's intentions with definite endowments, he is generally regarded as the founder;
but it was in his father's lifetime that a colony
of Premonstratensian canons from the abbey of
Newhouse, Lincolnshire, established themselves
in this north-west corner of the county of Nottingham. Thomas's charter, addressed to Roger,
Archbishop of York, and to all faithful sons of
the Church, sets forth that he has granted to
Berengarius, Abbot of Welbeck, and his successors,
by the counsel of Serlo, Abbot of Newhouse, the
site of the abbey of Welbeck, where the church
of St. James is founded, and all the land from
that site to the place called Belph, between the
rivulet and the wheel road (viam quadrigarum)
from the abbey to Belph. He also granted all
the meadows, pastures, groves, and cultivated
ground in Belph, and all his adjacent wood
land where Geoffrey and Hugh and Drenghe
dwelt; together with the church of St. Mary
of Cuckney, the church of St. Helen of Etwall
(Derbyshire), and the church of St John Baptist
of Whitton (Lincolnshire), the mill of Langwith,
all his lands at Hirst, and common pasture
throughout his demesnes. The charter concludes
with the statement that all this was done with
the assent of Emma his wife and of his three
brothers, Ralph, Silvan, and Richard. The first
of a large group of witnesses is William, Prior of
Radford (Worksop). (fn. 5)
Thomas son of Richard had by his wife Emma
a daughter Isabel. After her father's death Isabel
was a royal ward and given in marriage by the
king to Simon son of Simon. This Simon and
his wife gave the mill of Cuckney to the abbey. (fn. 6)
To Simon and Isabel were born three daughters,
Agnes, Isabel, and Petronilla, who were respectively married to Walter de Falcomburg, Walter
de Riboef, and Stephen de Falcomburg. These
three heiresses and their husbands confirmed to
the abbot and canons all the gifts they had received from their ancestors.
From their heirs and descendants, John Hotham, Bishop of Ely, 30 September 1329, bought
the whole manor of Cuckney, together with other
lands and advowsons of the abbey. (fn. 7) On 4
December following the Bishop of Ely granted
to the abbey the whole manor of Cuckney, together with the towns or hamlets of Cuckney,
Langwith, Bonbusk, Holbeck, Woodhouse, Milnthorpe, Clowne, and Norton by Cuckney. (fn. 8) On
9 December John de Nottingham, Abbot of Welbeck, entered into a composition with the Bishop
of Ely, whereby the abbey undertook to add at
least eight canons to their number, whose special
duty it should be to act as chantry priests in
saying masses for the king and his royal ancestry,
for Bishop Hotham and his parents, and for other
specified benefactors or relatives. It was covenanted that the Abbot of Newhouse, their father
abbot, should always at his annual visitation inquire into the due observance of this composition. (fn. 9)
A memorandum in an early hand in the midst
of the Welbeck chartulary briefly records the
fact that the church of Whitton, Lincolnshire,
was dedicated by Robert, Bishop of Bangor, on
27 April, when he consecrated three altars,
namely the high altar in honour of St. John
Baptist, the altar in the body of the church
(in corpore ecclesie) in honour of the Blessed Mary
the Mother of God, and the altar in the north
aisle in honour of St. Mary Magdalene. (fn. 10)
Robert de Shrewsbury was Bishop of Bangor
from 1197 to 1215. The following are among
the more important entries from the chartulary,
the episcopal registers at York, and other sources,
relative to other property of the abbey, both in
temporalities and spiritualities:
Richard de Furnival released all his right in
the chapel of Bothamsall to the abbey of Welbeck,
acknowledging it to belong to the mother church
of Elkesley in the abbey's patronage. (fn. 11)
Robert de Meinill, lord of Whitwell, Derbyshire, gave to the canons a quarry on his land,
wherever most convenient, for building the
church of St. James and the necessary buildings,
with free ingress and egress for those thus
engaged. Walter de Goushill also granted a
quarry for the like purpose on the moor between
Whitwell and Belph, or elsewhere in the common
pastures of Whitwell parish, after the same manner
as had been done by his ancestor Robert de
Meinill. (fn. 12)
Roger Deincourt gave to the church of
Welbeck, for the sustenance of three canons who
were to specially celebrate for himself and his
family, all his lands and meadows and right of
pasture except the advowson of the church in
North Wingfield, Derbyshire. This gift was
confirmed by John Deincourt, rector of North
Wingfield, Roger's brother. (fn. 13)
In 1213 the Abbot of Welbeck brought the
king four palfreys to secure his confirmation of
the gift of the church of Flintham, together with
lands and tenements at the same place, which
Agatha daughter and heiress of Hugh Bretel had
made to the abbey. (fn. 14) This Agatha was first married
to Geoffrey Monachus, and afterwards to Humphrey, King John's cook. The gift was accompanied by pasture rights for 300 sheep at Flintham. (fn. 15)
Geoffrey, Archbishop of York (1191-1212),
sanctioned the appropriation of the church of
Whitton to the abbey, providing that a third part
of the income was to be assigned to the vicar as
a competency. (fn. 16)
A fine was levied in 1204 between Richard,
Abbot of Welbeck, and Alexander, Prior of Shelford, whereby it was arranged that the advowson
of the church of Kelham was to be held in
moieties between them. (fn. 17)
A royal grant was made to the church of
Welbeck in 1250 of 5 acres and a rood of
inclosure in the Peak Forest at 'Cruchill,' to be
held by rendering 21d. yearly at the Exchequer;
also a grant of the pasture of 'Cruchill,' by the
wood of Ashop and up the valley to Derwenthead, and also of all the pasture of Ashop up that
water to its head, and thence to Kendalhead,
which pasture the canons held by a charter of
King John. (fn. 18)
The abbot succeeded in 1276 in maintaining
his rights to freedom from passage and pontage
dues, and from all manner of hundred and other
court contributions, &c., as well as rights of free
warren on his Derbyshire estates at Duckmanton,
North Wingfield, Newbold, and Cresswell, and
the like over all his numerous Nottinghamshire
possessions, by the production of early charters. (fn. 19)
Grant of free warren was obtained or confirmed
by the Abbot and Convent of Welbeck in 1291
throughout all their demesne lands in the
counties of Nottingham, Derby, and Lincoln. (fn. 20)
A considerable and long-sustained controversy
was maintained in the reign of Henry III and in
the days of Abbot Hugh between the abbey of
Welbeck and the burgesses of Retford as to the
mills of that town; eventually in 1297 the mills
were taken into the king's hands and granted to
the abbey at £10 a year. (fn. 21)
In 1299 the Archdeacon of Nottingham
resigned into the hands of the Archbishop of York
the presentation to the church of Elkesley which
he had received from the abbot and canons of
Welbeck. (fn. 22)
There are various entries in the chartulary as
to the rights of the abbey in Sherwood Forest,
and perambulations both of Sherwood and of the
Peak Forests in the reign of Edward I are
recorded. (fn. 23) In 1307 the abbey obtained leave
from the Crown, on paying a fine of 200 marks,
to break and inclose and make a park of 60 acres
in Rumwood. The site is described as lying
between the park of Thomas de Furnival and
the abbot's wood, extending by the highway
that led from Worksop to Warsop. (fn. 24)
The church of Elkesley was appropriated to the
abbey in December 1348. In giving his sanction
Archbishop Thoresby provided that 10s. was to
be paid annually by Welbeck to the quire deacons
of York Minster. (fn. 25)
The church of Flintham was appropriated to
the abbey in 1389: at the date when Archbishop
Richard le Scrope sanctioned this appropriation
the abbot's chair was vacant, and William Staveley
was prior. (fn. 26)
According to the Taxation Roll of Pope
Nicholas in 1291, the temporalities of this abbey
in the three counties of Nottingham, Derby,
and Lincoln yielded an annual income of
£56 13s. 10d.; whilst the spiritualities produced
a further income of £52, namely the church of
Whatton £30, the church of Cuckney £20, and
a pension from the church of Rawmarsh in the
deanery of Doncaster 40s. The total income
recorded amounts to £108 13s. 10d. (fn. 27)
A taxation roll entered in the chartulary of
only two years' later date shows a considerable
increase in income over that just recorded, making
the total £140 18s. 2d. The increase chiefly
arises from the rectories of Littleborough (Notts.),
£3 6s. 8d.; of Etwall and Duckmanton, Derbyshire, which are respectively entered as yielding
incomes of £16 0s. 2d. and £5 6s. 8d.; and of
Whitton and Coates, Lincolnshire, with the
respective incomes of £18 6s. 8d. and £3. (fn. 28)
It would therefore appear that these five churches
were appropriated to the abbey between 1291
and 1293.
A later hand has added the annual value of
later appropriations, namely Flintham £30, and
Elkesley rectory 38 marks, and the vicarage
6 marks. (fn. 29)
The return as to Welbeck in the Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1534 possesses much interest. The
office of the general visitorship of the Premonstratensian Order in England and Wales brought in the
annual sum of £14. At each general chapter held
every four years all the houses of White Canons
throughout England paid 10s. to Welbeck as the
head house, producing (every fourth year) a further
sum of £14 10s. 'whiche draweth yerely to the
summe of lxxijs. vjd.' Cuckney Manor and rents,
with rents from Retford mills and divers places
in Nottinghamshire, produced £128 10s. 11d.;
Derbyshire temporalities at Newbold, Duckmanton, and Etwall, £33 5s. 1d.; and Lincoln
temporalities, £10. The Nottinghamshire parsonages or rectories of Cuckney, Elkesley, Bothamsall, Whatton, Aslockton, Flintham, and Littleborough produced £66 19s. 7d.; whilst from
the same county there was an annual pension
out of Shelford Priory of 20s. and a payment in
wax of eight pounds at 6d. a pound. Other
appropriated churches were Anstey, Yorks. (with
a pension out of Rawmarsh); Whitton and
Coates, Lincolnshire; and Etwall and Duckmanton, Derbyshire. The total annual income from
all these sources was entered at £298 4s. 8d.
Outgoings, however, brought down the clear
income to £249 6s. 3d. Under this head was
included the sum of £8 13s. 4d. expended in
obligatory alms, namely 3s. 4d. to the poor of
Anstey on Good Friday, and the remainder in
ale and bread weekly at the abbey in commemoration of Thomas Cuckney the founder. (fn. 29a)
Welbeck was a highly important house of
the English branch of the order, on account of
its numerous offspring, for the abbot was the
father abbot of no fewer than seven abbeys, and,
somewhat irregularly, stood in a like relationship
to one of its grandchildren, the Abbey of Titchfield, Hampshire, founded in 1231 by a colony
from the recently-formed house of Halesowen.
The abbey of Talley, Carmarthenshire, was
founded from the monastery of St. John's,
Amiens, but was subsequently made subsidiary
to Halesowen on account of the distance from
the father's house; and when that arrangement
proved unsatisfactory owing to its povertystricken and desolate condition, this small Welsh
abbey was transferred to the guardianship of
Welbeck. (fn. 30) Welbeck's seven direct children,
naming them in the order of their birth, were
Dureford, Sussex, c. 1160; Harnaby, Lincolnshire, 1175; Leiston, Suffolk, 1183; Beauchief, Derbyshire, 1183; West Dereham,
Norfolk, 1188; Torre, Devonshire, 1196;
and Halesowen, Salop, 1218. There must have
been indeed a most marvellous vitality and
fervour in this Nottinghamshire abbey, to have
been able to send out seven swarms into distant
parts of England within less than half a century.
The abbots of Premonstratensian houses,
though exempt from diocesan visitation, usually
made submission to their diocesan after election,
promising canonical obedience in all things
saving the rights of their order. Many of these
submissions of the abbots of Welbeck to their
diocesan appear in the archiepiscopal registers of
York.
The entry recording the obedience of John
de Duckmanton on his election in 1309 states
that he was a canon of the Austin Order. (fn. 31)
When William de Kendall was elected in 1316
the see of York was vacant, but the abbot duly
proceeded to that city and made his promise of
obedience to the dean and chapter on 25 July
of that year. (fn. 32)
A commission was appointed in 1334 on the
complaint of Elizabeth widow of the late
Thomas Furnival, alleging that John de Nottingham, Abbot of Welbeck, with one of his
fellow canons, his chamberlain, and severalothers, had broken into her park at Worksop,
and there hunted and carried away deer. (fn. 33)
Robert de Spalding, one of the canons of the
house, was elected abbot in 1341. Whereupon
the Abbot of Langdon, as commissary of the
Abbot of Prémontré, wrote to the Abbot of
Sulby stating that Spalding had lately been convicted of conspiracy and other crimes before
him and other visitors in the church of Welbeck,
and that he was to be peremptorily cited to
appear before him at Langdon. A certificate
was in due course forwarded to the commissary that on 21 July the new abbot of Spalding
had been served with the citation in his own
chambers, which was exhibited and read to him
by two canons of Sulby, in the presence of
three of the discreet canons of Welbeck, John
de Retford, John de Blyth, and William de
Gedling. (fn. 34) We know nothing further of these
charges, but at all events Abbot Robert was
allowed to continue in office until he was carried
off by the plague in 1349.
There is no necessity for entering here at
any length into the general question of the disputes at the beginning of the 14th century between the Abbot-General of Prémontré and the
houses of the English province, for Welbeck
took no exceptional part in this prolonged dispute. (fn. 35) Suffice it to say that Prémontré made
three claims from the English White Canons:—
(1) The attendance of the abbots at the general
annual chapter at the mother house; (2) The
appointment of a visitor to report to the abbotgeneral; (3) The taxation of the houses for the
benefit of the order in general and of Prémontré in particular. It was the last claim that
was the source of so many disputes. A royal
proclamation of 1306 forbade the payment of
any subsidy by religious orders in England to a
foreign superior. The English abbots, however,
were all summoned in 1310 by Adam de Crecy
(abbot-general from 1304 to 1327) to Prémontré and strictly ordered to bring with them the
arrears of tallage. Thereupon the English
abbots met, including John de Cesterfeld, Abbot
of Welbeck, and sent word to the abbot-superior
that they could not obey him, for Parliament
had forbidden them to leave the kingdom, and
if they disobeyed they would certainly be outlawed and unable to return to their respective
houses. Two of their number, the Abbots of
Newhouse and Sulby, were, however, permitted
to go as proctors of their brethren. Eventually,
at a general chapter held in 1316, an agreement
was arrived at whereby the English abbots,
owing to their distance from the foreign centre,
were permitted to be represented at the annual
chapter at Prémontré by certain delegates, and
the question of apport or tallage to the mother
house was held in abeyance until the law of
England should be changed. Subsequently
during both the 14th and 15th centuries no
impediment was placed in the way of the delegated Premonstratensian abbots crossing the
seas, provided the Crown licence was obtained
in each case. The entries on the Patent Rolls
granting permits of this kind to successive abbots
of Welbeck are sufficiently frequent to show the
importance of this abbey.
The granting of corrodies to royal pensioners
by this abbey was insisted on by the autocratic
Edward III. John de Norton was sent by the
king in 1353 to receive such maintenance at
Welbeck as Richard del Almoignerie, deceased,
had there at the king's order. (fn. 36) But all this
was changed in the succeeding reign. By the
advice of the council Richard II in 1383 released the abbot and convent in respect of any
corrody at the request of the king and his heirs,
notwithstanding the enjoyment heretofore at
the special request of Edward III of such corrody
or maintenance by John atte Lane, by Richard
de Merton, by Agnes the late king's laundress, and by others. This release was granted
on the petition of the abbey to the effect that
their house was founded by Thomas de Cuckney,
and was then in the patronage of his kinsman
and heir John de Cuckney; that it was never in
the patronage of any of the king's progenitors,
and that it was always free of corrodies up to
the time of the special requests of the late king. (fn. 37)
At the general provincial chapter of the order
held at Northampton in July 1454 it is recorded
that Brother Robert Staveley, sub-prior of Welbeck, was allowed to be present as proctor of
that house. Abbot Greene of Welbeck was at that
time across the seas on business of the order. (fn. 38)
The servants of John Bankwell, Abbot of
Welbeck, were concerned in a singular and
serious affray in 1393 under the following circumstances: Robert Veel, keeper of the rolls
of the King's Bench, and John Wynchecombe,
appointed to take carts for the carriage of the
rolls, were directed on Saturday before the feast
of St. Katherine, by Walter Clopton, chief
justice, to take the rolls from York to Nottingham by the following Tuesday. The excessive
rainfall much impeded them, and they found
that they could not reach Nottingham without
additional horses. Whereupon, by virtue of
their commission and of the chief justice's
order, they took two horses of John Levet and
John Turnour of Norton by Welbeck, to be
paid for in due course. This action was so
fiercely resented that a number of the abbey
servants raised all the men of Norton in insurrection, and at dusk, armed with bows and
arrows and swords and clubs, set upon the said
Robert and John (instigated by one of the
canons of Welbeck and by the vicar of Cuckney), assaulted them, shot at and pierced the
rolls in the carriage, took the horses and would
have carried them away 'but that by the grace
of God and help they made too good a defence.'
Eventually the delinquents in February 1392-3
obtained a royal pardon. (fn. 39)
The general Premonstratensian register contains a full account of the exceptional method
of electing John Greene to the abbacy in 1450
on the death of John de Norton. The election
was held under the direction of Robert, Abbot
of Newhouse. Almost immediately after the
burial of the late abbot, namely on 13 April,
the absent brethren having been duly summoned,
the electoral proceedings began. The mass of
the Holy Spirit having been sung, all assembled
in the chapter-house, John, Abbot of Dale,
being present as the coadjutor of the Father
Abbot of Newhouse. The aid of the Holy
Spirit having been invoked and the statute of
their order relative to elections recited, the whole
of the brethren for certain reasonable causes, of
their own free motion, not under any compulsion or suggestion, but of their own absolute
free will, declined to exercise their franchise
personally, but besought the two Abbots of Newhouse and Dale to select an abbot for them.
Thereupon the abbots, after much consideration,
chose John Greene, one of the Welbeck canons,
a prudent and discreet man, and much to be
commended in his life. The consent of the
elect having been humbly accorded, the election
was duly approved, ratified, and confirmed by
decree in chapter. The abbot was then conducted by his brethren before the high altar, the
Te Deum being solemnly sung. He was invested with corporal possession of the church,
installed in the abbot's seat, and brought back to
the chapter-house, where each of the brethren
made formal acknowledgement of obedience,
placing his hands, when on his knees, within
those of the abbot (obedientiam manualem), as his
father and pastor, without any objection from
anyone; meanwhile the obedientiaries laid their
respective keys at his feet, in token of obedience
and subjection. So soon as the election was
complete, the abbot first of all made oath to
observe in all its articles the composition made
between the house of Welbeck and John Hotham,
Bishop of Ely, for the manor of Cuckney. (fn. 40)
A letter has been preserved addressed to
Abbot Greene by one Richard Clerk, of Coventry, touching the appointment of Harry the
abbot's nephew; it is dated 28 September 1454.
The particular interest of this homely letter
lies in the writer's intended pilgrimage to Our
Lady of Doncaster, and to the cause which prevented his making it. Welbeck lay on the
north-western confines of Sherwood, and was
approached from the south by a road through
the forest.
'I hade proposede to a vysset you, and to hafe
soght that blessyd Virginne oure Lady of Doncastre now this Flesch-Tyme; but (os I was
enformid) ther was so grete wynde in Schirwod,
that hit hade bene no sesenabull tyme for me
(at that tyme made be the persones aboveseyde),
and I hade cummen with xl horses I schulde
hafe bene overthrowne, os it was sayde.' (fn. 41)
Shortly after the receipt of this letter, Abbot
Greene wrote a dimissorial letter on behalf of
John Lessbryke, a professed canon of Welbeck,
who had become a Trinitarian friar of Thelsford, Warwickshire. The abbot declared that
he left them to aim at the perfecting of a
better life, that he was free from any obligation
to their house and order, and they to him. (fn. 42)
Another letter, addressed to the same abbot in
1458, affords proof of the possession of a most
tender conscience by one of the beneficed
secular clergy. Thomas Hill, rector of Chesterford, Essex, wrote to the abbot at some length,
about two books, the one a breviary (bibliam
portativam) and the other a book of the Archbishop of Genoa on the Sunday Gospels. (fn. 43)
These two books Hill had borrowed from
Richard Scott, formerly a chaplain of the
Archbishop of Canterbury, but (as he afterwards heard) one William Danyell left them to
the monastery of Welbeck. Through the influence of Scott and other friends, Hill obtained
possession of these two volumes in 1420 from
the then Abbot and Convent of Welbeck by
purchase, paying for them 60s. Hill writes to
say that he was at that time young and given to
worldly gain, but that since he has been led to
think that he did not give a sufficiently good
price for the books, and he is willing either to
return the books on receipt of £3 or to pay to
the convent another 20s. so that the books should
remain at his disposition. On receipt of a
message under their seal, the 20s. would be forwarded. If his proposals were not pleasing, he
would arrange to charge his executors after his
death to hand the books to an accredited
messenger on receipt of the 60s., but otherwise
to sell the books for the best price they could
obtain, and to forward the balance to Welbeck.
He was directing his executors to spend the 60s.
for the good of his soul, that is in masses. The
old rector is careful to tell the abbot his exact
address; he was 7 miles beyond Cambridge and
2 miles distant from Saffron Walden. He adds,
out of the kindness of his heart, that if there
was any scholar from their parts reading at Cambridge, who was accustomed to pay occasional
visits to parents or friends in Nottinghamshire,
he would be glad to entertain him at Chesterford
Rectory, which would be a less expense. (fn. 44)
The most interesting man who appears in
connexion with the Premonstratensian order in
England during the 15th century was the zealous
official, Richard Redman, abbot of the small
house of Shap in Westmorland. At an early
age he was appointed commissary-general by
Simon Abbot of Prémontré. We first meet
with him in connexion with Welbeck in 1458.
Writing on 11 September, Redman warns
Abbot Greene of Welbeck to present the subsidies due from him for the past and present
years at the visitation which he proposed to hold
at that abbey on 9 December. He ordered that
dinner should be provided for him and his suite at
Papplewick, adding that he expected to be thence
safely conducted by the right road to Welbeck,
which he hoped to reach in time for supper. (fn. 45)
Papplewick lies about 8 miles north of Nottingham. From thence to Welbeck is 13 miles as
the crow flies. At that period the abbot would
have to pass through the densest part of Sherwood Forest, leaving the Austin Priory of Newstead on his left hand and the Cistercian Abbey
of Rufford on his right. The way could not
fail to be intricate, and we wonder at his courage
in undertaking it after dinner (probably at noon)
in the depth of winter. He naturally suggested
that he should be conducted from Papplewick,
for this was his first visitation, and in all probability he had not previously traversed the great
forest.
It was not, however, until 1 October 1466
that Redman was formally appointed visitor of
all the houses of the order in the British Isles;
at that date the commission as visitor granted to
the Abbot of Bayham was cancelled because he
had wholly neglected its duties. (fn. 46) Redman was
consecrated Bishop of St. Asaph in 1471, translated to Exeter in 1496 and to Ely in 1501,
dying in 1505. During all that period he was
allowed to be Abbot of Shap in commendam, and
he also acted with much zeal and diligence as
vicar-general to the Abbot of Prémontré. He
visited, as a rule, each house of the order every
three years.
In Redman's register particulars are given of
eleven of his visits to Welbeck, which occurred
in the years 1462, 1472, 1475, 1478, 1480,
1482, 1488, 1491, 1494, 1497, and 1500.
On 6 May 1462 Bishop Redman, visitor of
the White Canons of England, Wales, Scotland,
and Ireland, on behalf of the Abbot of Prémontré, made his formal visitation of Welbeck.
He found nothing of which to complain save
slight breaches of the rule of silence. Contrariwise, he entered in his register unstinted
praise of the way in which the divine offices
were conducted (ad unguem perfectos) day and
night, under the most serene rule of their venerable abbot, who himself day by day observed the
rule with the most faithful minuteness, truly
bearing in all things the burden and heat of the
day. The visitor was so much struck with the
faithful zeal of the aged abbot, whom he noted
to be almost broken down with age and weakness, that, entirely of his own motion and
special grace, he exempted the venerable father
of the monastery from obligatory attendance at
any of the quire offices, save of his own good
pleasure, and he also left the use of woollen
underclothing entirely to the latter's discretion.
At the last visitation there was a debt on the
house of £40, but he found it rèduced to £20.
The house was abundantly supplied (peroptime
staurata) with grain and all necessaries.
The bishop further ordered, for the honour of
God, the convenience of this house, and for the
good of religion, that the abbot should without
delay select the most suited in life and knowledge of his fellow canons, and send him up
before Michaelmas to the university of either
Oxford or Cambridge, there to be supported at
the expense of the house. (fn. 47)
The next recorded visit of Bishop Redman
was in 1472, when he freed Robert Ouston, one
of the canons, from the obligation of attending
quire offices, on account of his infirmities and
age. (fn. 48)
In the record of the visitation of 1475 the
names of all the community who were present
are set forth. William Burton was abbot,
Robert Stanley prior, and Richard Symondson
sub-prior; there were also ten other professed
canons, and two novices. In addition to these
there were five vicars and a chaplain present
who were also still reckoned as White Canons
and subject in certain particulars to the rule.
The Premonstratensians were the only religious
order who held the privilege of presenting their
professed brethren to livings in their gift and
appropriation, without the need of any dispensation. When once episcopally instituted these
vicars could not be recalled, but they were
expected always to wear the habit of their order,
to attend visitations at their own abbey, and
in all ways possible to keep the rule. On this
occasion there were present the vicars of Cuckney, adjoining Welbeck; of Littleborough, on the
opposite side of the county near the Lincolnshire
borders; of Whatton, (fn. 49) in the south-east of the
county; of Whitton and Coates, both in Lincolnshire; and a chaplain in conventu Watton, which
must mean 'in residence at Whatton,' unless it
be the Gilbertine priory of Watton, Yorkshire. (fn. 50)
The general answers to the usual questions at
the visitation of 1478 show that the abbey at
that time held ten churches and two chapels.
Redman on this occasion appointed certain of
the canons to extra-official positions to help the
abbot, namely circator, provisor exteriorum, succentor,
and magister grangie, whose titles at once show
the duties expected of them. It was enjoined on
the circator to see that the doors of the cloister
were firmly locked and shut at nights and at
appointed times during the day. Brethren were
to wear almuces under their capes; the abbot
was to supply better bread and ale for the
convent, and to provide an infirmary where
a vicar was then residing, those premises being
vacated at once. All were to rise in time for
mattins; delinquents in this respect to be punished. None were to go into the woods for
shooting or hunting. At the previous visitation
the house had been found in debt to the extent
of £90, and the debt had not been lessened
owing to the great trouble there had been in
defending the rights and liberties of the monastery. There was only a moderate supply of
grain and other necessaries. The community
present on this occasion numbered twenty-four,
including two deacons and three novices; four
vicars appeared, and two others who are entered
as the respective chaplains of Bothamsall, near
Welbeck, and of Aslockton, a chapelry of Scarrington parish. (fn. 51)
The visitation of 1482 shows a grievous
decline; Abbot Burton proved a sad successor
to the virtuous Abbot Greene. Under an evil
superior any religious house would naturally go
downhill. The abbot was found guilty of
incontinence, as well as of dissipating the goods
of the monastery, pledging the jewels and plate,
and suffering the buildings to go into ruin; he
was formally deposed before the whole convent
and the Abbot of Beauchief, and sent to Barlings
Abbey, there to undergo certain years of penance.
Two other canons were also found guilty. The
care of the monastery was temporarily assigned
to John Colby, one of the canons, who held the
offices of sacrist and circator. (fn. 52)
Matters were not much better when Bishop
Redman visited Welbeck in 1488. One of the
canons was found guilty of incontinence; he
admitted the sin with great contrition, and was
subjected to severe penance for forty days, to be
followed by three years' banishment to some other
house of the order. (fn. 53) Another canon, William
Hankyn, guilty of disobedience, of absence from
divine offices, and of hunting, was warned that
for every repetition he would be put on discipline
for forty days; he was never to be allowed out
of the precincts lest he should return to his evil
habits, and he was meanwhile ordered to say
through the whole psalter by heart within the
year. John Colby, who was then vicar of Cuckney, was charged to pay yearly to the abbot and
convent 20s. at the feast of the Assumption,
according to custom, and for this was to have his
meals provided within the house and not outside.
Games for money were prohibited. Better provision was to be made for the infirm. The
abbot was to see that the community had their
usual pensions, but if they did not spend sufficient
on their clothes he was to stop the payment, and
himself buy what was necessary. (fn. 54)
The next visit was made on 14 August 1491,
when Redman found that Abbot Acastre was
ruling well both in external and internal matters;
the buildings of the church and cloister as well as
outer buildings were then so fair, instead of being
ruinous and foul, that the abbot might be regarded
not so much as a repairer as a new founder. A
canon of Sulby who had been sent in punishment
to Welbeck was found guilty of disobedience and
not attending divine offices either night or day;
he was adjudged to be put on discipline for forty
days, and then to be removed to St. Agatha's for
ten years, but meanwhile to be kept in strict
custody. William Hankyn, who had been
warned three years before, was convicted of
apostasy, and of eating meat in secular houses;
he was now put on discipline for forty days.
Other canons were punished for eating meat
with seculars and not rising for mattins, whilst
the sub-prior was blamed for not at once correcting these things. The tonsure was to be in
accordance with the form approved by the order.
Neither deacon nor sub-deacon was to genuflect
at the elevation of the Host, but only reverently
to incline. At the election of the abbot the
debt of the house was 300 marks; it had been
reduced to £30. The house was abundantly
supplied with necessary stores. There were
twenty-four present at the visitation, including
six vicars, but the minister of Bothamsall is
entered as a vicar and not as a chaplain. (fn. 55)
Three years later Bishop Redman was again
at Welbeck, where twenty-two inmates offered
themselves for visitation, including six vicars.
He happily found everything in good order, and
nothing to correct; but he pronounced excommunication on one canon who had fled. (fn. 56) Redman was here again in 1497, when twenty-three
inmates or canon vicars were visited. Two
canons were punished for the extravagance of
their tonsures (pro enormitate tonsure); one of
them had to say the whole psalter, but the other
Salvum me fac nightly. Everything else was in
an admirable state; there was unity, concord,
and love between the head and the members, and
no complaints; there was an admirable provision
of every kind of grain and cattle and of all
necessaries. (fn. 57)
When the abbey was visited on 22 November
1500, the community were ordered to have their
meals together in the refectory on fast days and
during the seasons of Advent and Lent. One
canon had broken the rule and got into debt;
he was to see that he was clear of debt before
the next provincial chapter. For the rest all
was in good order; there was mutual goodwill
between the abbot and household, with filial
obedience. (fn. 58) Here the visitation records of this
house come to an end.
Thomas Wilkinson, who was elected abbot in
1503, became commissary-general and visitor for
the Abbot of Prémontré on the death of Richard
Redman (who was at that time Bishop of Ely) in
1505. (fn. 59)
Shortly before the dissolution of all the English
monasteries, namely in the year 1512, singular
honour was done to the abbey of Welbeck, for
it was placed both by pope and king at the head
of all the houses of White Canons in England
and Wales. The abbot (Thomas Wilkinson)
and his successors were declared ex-officio visitorsgeneral; a provincial chapter was to be held
annually at Welbeck, or some other place
appointed by the abbot, and its power was to be
the same as that of the general chapters hitherto
attended by the English abbots at Prémontré.
The order was henceforth to be exempt in England and Wales from any foreign jurisdiction,
and the Abbot of Welbeck was always to be
numbered amongst the king's chaplains. (fn. 60)
John Maxey, the penultimate Abbot of Welbeck, was appointed in 1520. In 1525 he was
consecrated Bishop of Elphen, but allowed to
remain abbot in commendam; he did homage to
the king and took the oath on Sunday 23 July,
when he was graciously received by Henry. (fn. 61)
This abbot was a favourite of Wolsey's, and
formed part of his suite in 1527. (fn. 62) Two years
latter the cardinal gave him a valuable spoon of
crown gold. (fn. 63) When Wolsey in the following
year proceeded to his manor of Southwell, the
Abbot of Welbeck was entrusted with the duty
of providing corn for bread, and drink for the
household. (fn. 64)
After the fall of Wolsey and the rise of Cromwell there are no more gifts for the Abbot of
Welbeck, and the correspondence with the Lord
Privy Seal bears the almost invariable characteristic of forcing money or money's worth from the
religious houses placed under his control. On
St. Matthew's Day 1533 the abbot wrote to
Cromwell from Welbeck saying that he sent him
his poor fee, and also 'according to your desire I
send you a good bay gelding, the best I have.'
At their next meeting he promised to further
show him his mind concerning religion (i.e. the
Premonstratensian Order). He had heard that
in the lower house an act had been conceived
touching vicars, which would profit no one but
the bishops. 'My religion was mostly founded
in spiritualities, and if the vicars are called home
and their benefices given to secular priests, it
would undo the third part of our houses. By
the pope's bulls and the king's grants, we
may give our vicarages unto our religious
brethren.' (fn. 65)
The abbot of the Premonstratensian house of
West Dereham, Norfolk, died on 26 October
1535, and when the certificate reached Abbot
Maxey at Welbeck he wrote on 2 November to
Cromwell desiring to know his pleasure in writing, although the king had granted him and the
monastery of Welbeck the elections of all of their
religion within the realm. (fn. 66) He was evidently
determined to do his best to deserve well of the
despot. In January 1536 Maxey again wrote
to Cromwell, sending him £10, 'as your fee for
my religion,' a 'fee' for which there could be
no shadow of pretence. (fn. 67)
The abbey had to submit in 1536 to a visitation from the notorious royal commissioners,
Legh and Layton. According to their statement three of the canons were guilty of unnatural offences and one was incontinent. Three
of them sought release from their vows. The
annual income was returned at £280, and the
debts at £40. (fn. 68)
Abbot Maxey, Bishop of Elphen, died in August
1536, and the Earl of Shrewsbury wrote to
Cromwell on the 18th telling him of the death
and saying that the brethren were going up to
the king to make suit for free election. The
earl begged Cromwell that he would favour
them, believing that there were several among
them discreet and able to be master. (fn. 69)
In the spring of 1537 the Abbot of Barlings
was accused of concealing various items of property pertaining to his own and other religious
houses in order that it might escape confiscation
at the hands of the Crown commissioners. Information was given to the council that he had
deposited over £20 worth of plate with the
vicar of Scothern near Barlings, which was
laid in pledge by the Abbot of Welbeck,
deceased. (fn. 70)
Richard Bentley was the name of the abbot
eventually nominated by Cromwell to succeed
Abbot Maxey. On 20 June 1538 he signed
the surrender of his house; the deed of surrender
was also signed by William Hatfield, the subprior, and by the following sixteen other canons:
Thomas Sysson, John Cheenys (cook), John
Rawlinson, William Rotheram, Richard Awsten,
Thomas Hyll, Richard Hogley, Edward Thomson, William Almunde, John Lychfeld, Nicholas
Bolland, James Casson, Richard Halifax, Christopher Bentlay, Thomas Castell, and William
Wilson. (fn. 71)
In the following month pensions were assigned
to the dispossessed canons. The abbot obtained
a pension of £50, William Hatfield the subprior and one other £6, and the rest sums
varying from £4 to £40. (fn. 72) The pension list
omits altogether five canons who signed the
surrender: they were probably holders of the
abbey's vicarages; but three others who did not
sign, and who were most likely absent at granges,
gained pensions; it therefore follows that there
were twenty canons of Welbeck, in addition to
the abbot, at the time of its dissolution.
It is noteworthy, as discrediting the scandals
of Legh and Layton, that of the four canons
accused by them of terrible offences three received
pensions, of £6, £5, and 7 marks respectively,
whilst the fourth retained his vicarage.
In February 1539 Richard Whalley of Shelford obtained the grant in fee, on payment
of £500, of the church, steeple, churchyard,
water-mill, &c., within the site of the dissolved
abbey of Welbeck, together with the granges
called Bellers Grange and Hurst Grange, and
various closes and pastures in the parish of
Cuckney, Rumwood and other woods, and the
reversion of other of the monastic property, of an
annual rent of 56s. 2d. (fn. 72a)
The first seal of Welbeck Abbey was a pointed
oval, bearing St. James in episcopal vestments,
right hand raised in benediction, and pastoral
staff in left hand. The somewhat indistinct
impression in the British Museum has the
marginal legend: + SIGILLUM: CONVENTUS . . .
OBI. APOSTOLI DE WELLEBE. . . (fn. 73)
A small second seal (late 13th century) is a
pointed oval having St. James, with bonnet,
wallet, and staff, standing on a platform, and an
abbot with a pastoral staff kneeling before him.
Above the figures is a trefoiled canopy, and in
the field an estoile of six points. Remains of
legend:—. . . IGI . . . SCI. JACOBI . D . . .
WELLEBE . A. (fn. 74)
A later 14th-century seal has St. James in
similar pilgrim dress standing on a carved corbel;
the wallet is charged with an escallop. Only
a few letters of the legend remain. (fn. 75)
There are also impressions extant at the
British Museum of the seals of Abbot Adam
(1193) and of Abbot Richard (13th century). (fn. 76)
Abbots of Welbeck
Berengar, occurs between 1153 and 1169 (fn. 77)
Adam, occurs between 1183 and 1194 (fn. 78)
Richard, occurs between 1194 and 1224 (fn. 79)
William, occurs 1229, 1236, 1243 (fn. 80)
Richard, occurs 1250, 1252, 1256-7 (fn. 81)
Adam, occurs 1263, 1272, 1276 (fn. 82)
Thomas, occurs 1281, 1292 (fn. 83)
John de Duckmanton, 1309 (fn. 84)
John de Cestrefeld, 1310 (fn. 85)
William de Kendall, 1316 (fn. 86)
John de Nottingham, 1322 (fn. 87)
William de Aslakeden, 1335 (fn. 88)
Robert Spalding, 1341 (fn. 89)
John de Wirksop, 1349 (fn. 90)
Hugh de Langley, 1360 (fn. 91)
George de Gamelston, occurs 1369, 1383,
1387 (fn. 92)
William de Staveley, occurs 1389 (fn. 93)
John Bankwell, occurs 1393 (fn. 94)
John de Norton, occurs 1412, dies 1450 (fn. 95)
John Greene, 1450 (fn. 96)
William Burton, occurs 1475, 1482 (fn. 97)
John Lancaster alias Acastre, occurs 1488,
1491 (fn. 98)
John Copper, occurs 1492 (fn. 99)
Thomas Wydur, occurs 1494, 1497, 1500 (fn. 100)
Robert, occurs 1502 (fn. 101)
Thomas Wilkinson, 1503 (fn. 102)
John Maxey, 1520, (fn. 103) died 1536
Richard Bentley, surrendered 1538 (fn. 104)