HOUSE OF CLUNIAC MONKS
2. THE PRIORY OF ST. JAMES, DERBY
The priory of Bermondsey, Surrey (itself a
cell of La Charité-sur-Loire), afterwards raised
to be an abbey, was one of the most important
settlements of the Cluniacs in England. The
small priory of St. James, Derby, was in its
turn a cell of Bermondsey, and had but little
independent life of its own. There was in
early days a church or chapel of St. James in
the town of Derby, and in the year 1140 the
gift of this church by Waltheof, son of Sweyn,
to the monks of Bermondsey was confirmed by
King Stephen. (fn. 1) It would appear that the Bermondsey monks lost no time after this gift had
been made in establishing a small priory at Derby
ruled over by a prior of their denomination. In
connexion with the priory they established a
hospital for the infirm.
A general visitation of the English Cluniac
houses was undertaken in 1279, by order of
Yves de Chassant, abbot of Cluny. The
visitors were the prior of Mont-Didiér in France
and the prior of Lenton, Nottinghamshire. The
visitors arrived at St. James, Derby, from the
Shropshire house of Wenlock, on Monday,
27 August. They described it as a cell subordinate to Bermondsey. The house consisted
of a prior and two monks. The prior, who had
only come to take charge of the house since the
last feast of the Purification, was reported to be a
worthy good man and of exemplary report.
They also wrote in high terms of one of his
colleagues; but the second, who was living
disreputably, was expelled by the visitors and
sent to do penance at Bermondsey, whence
another monk was dispatched to take his place.
They found that the church offices were rightly
and properly conducted. The prior on his
arrival found the cell in debt to the extent of
40s., but, as there was nothing in the house, he
was under the necessity of contracting a further
debt of £4 10s. The visitors, however, added
that he was just on the point of getting in his
harvest, which would support him till the next
season. The conventual buildings were in a
sufficient state of repair, but the church roof
was in bad condition, and the visitors directed the
prior to have it renewed. (fn. 2) Five years earlier
the priory had had other visitors in the shape
of the royal commissioners who held their inquest
into the state of the borough of Derby, duly
entered on the hundred rolls, 'in the church of
St. James.' (fn. 3)
The taxation roll of Pope Nicholas, in 1291,
gives the annual value of the temporalities of
this house, in the archdeaconry of Leicester, as
£5 8s. 4d.
Protection was granted, with clause rogamus,
for two years in 1335, for the prior and monks
and their attorneys and proctors collecting alms in
churches for rebuilding their church and priory,
together with a hospital pertaining to the priory,
which had been accidentally burnt down. (fn. 4)
In 1396 Peter, prior of St. James of Derby,
complained against Richard de Staunton, chaplain, and Peter Sincker for unlawfully seizing
his hay; they, however, claimed to have taken
it as tithes due to the church of All Saints, and
the court found in their favour, the prior also
losing another action brought against the same
and three other chaplains, charging them with
having in 1298 broken the doors of his monastery, beaten him and stolen some of his property. (fn. 5)
During the wars with France this priory was
subject to a variety of disabilities as the cell of
a French house, but in 1325, when the property of almost all the alien monasteries was
seized by the king, the commissioners said that
they had left the priory's lands at Quorndon in
Leicestershire and at Derby in the hands of
Nicholas de Clifford the prior, as the king had
taken the priory of Bermondsey into his protection—its head, John de Cusancia, claiming to be
Burgundian and not French. (fn. 6) And on 14 September, 1330, protection was granted by the
crown for a year to the prior of St. James. (fn. 7)
But on 3 August, 1337, he was ordered
to pay 100s. yearly as a due to the crown,
together with 50s. for permission to retain the
custody of the house. On the 28th of the
same month the sheriff was commanded to proceed to the priory and demand immediate payment of the 50s., or on refusal to levy the money
on the goods and chattels of the monks, and to
take the prior to London to answer for his contempt. (fn. 8) In May, 1338, the king grew more merciful towards this small priory, and instructed the
treasury to forego the demand for 100s. yearly,
in consideration of the poverty of the house, and
the sheriffs of Derby and Leicester were ordered
to deliver all the prior's lands and possessions to
him, together with the issue thereof; and as
the king understood that the income hardly
sufficed for the maintenance of the prior, he
was willing to pardon the above payment so
long as the priory remained in the hands of the
crown. (fn. 9) When a charter of denization was
granted to Bermondsey in 1400, the cell of
St. James of Derby shared in the privilege, and
so escaped suppression as an alien priory. Though
no longer sending any tribute to the French
house, it remained under Cluniac rule.
John de la Cornere, in 1340, gave the prior
an acre and a-half of land for the enlargement
of his house. (fn. 10)
The total rental of the priory of St. James for
the year 1532 amounted to £11 15s. 11d. The
first entry runs—
Item of Master Tomson in the forest of Chernwode
in the Countye of Leceyter for Alderman Hawe with
the priors fielde with a corne myll and a walk mill
both under oone roof on Querne apon the River Soor
payeng by the yeere iiii li.
The other rentals were for tenements and gardens
in St. James's Lane, the Cornmarket, and other
parts of Derby. There were also annual payments of 10s. from the prior of Lenton, 12d.
from the master of Burton Lazars, 12d. from
master Anthony Babyngton, and two pounds
of wax on St. James's Day from the chamberlain of Derby 'for passage over Saint James's
brydge.' (fn. 11)
There is no specific mention of this priory or
cell under Bermondsey, or among the religious
houses of Derbyshire, when the Valor was taken
in 1535; but there are incidental references to
it under other houses. Lilleshall Abbey, Shropshire, is reported as charged with a payment of
2s. a year to the hospital of St. James, Derby,
for lands at Blackfordby; whilst Lenton Priory,
Nottinghamshire, paid 10s. a year to St. James,
out of lands in Duston.
Legh and Layton visited this Priory early in
1536, and reported that its rents were £10 per
annum. They gave the prior, Thomas Gainsborough, a singularly bad character for incontinency; (fn. 12) but no credence was evidently
given to their statement, for on the suppression
of the cell a pension of £7 was assigned to this
prior on the Bermondsey list. (fn. 13)
Priors of St. James's, Derby
Arnold, temp. Henry III (fn. 14)
Fromund, temp. Henry III (fn. 15)
Peter, occurs 1298, (fn. 16) 1306 (fn. 17)
Nicholas de Clifford, occurs 1325 (fn. 18)
Thomas Gainsborough, surrendered 1536 (fn. 19)