HOUSES OF AUSTIN CANONS
3. THE ABBEY OF DARLEY
The history of the House of Darley has been
hitherto so much neglected that it may be well
to indicate the chief sources whence information
can be gained outside the public records.
Among the Cotton MSS. of the British Museum
is a chartulary of Darley Abbey, which lacks
however, its opening pages. (fn. 1) The part remaining (127 folios), is in good condition, and was
for the most part compiled towards the end of
the thirteenth century, but with some later
insertions. It is strictly speaking a chartulary or
transcript of charters. In 1780, Cole, the antiquary, made a transcript of a thin quarto of
twenty-two pages, then in possession of the master
of Emanuel College, Cambridge, which was part
of a chartulary of Darley Abbey in a hand of the
reign of Richard II. Most of the 112 charters
given in this are identical with those of the older
chartulary, but there are a few later, including some
of Abbot Laurence de Burton, 1353-83. (fn. 2)
It has been stated by Tanner, and frequently
repeated, that Robert Ferrers, second earl of
Derby, founded a religious house of Austin
Canons, near Derby, dedicated to St. Helen, in
the reigns of either Henry I or Stephen. No
authority is given for this statement, and no
corroboration is forthcoming. Contrariwise there
is a slightly mutilated and somewhat defaced
statement on the last page of the Darley chartulary,
in a thirteenth-century hand, which sets the
matter at rest. (fn. 3) The entry is sufficiently clear
for us to be able to state that in the year 1137,
when Innocent II was pope, and Stephen king,
a certain burgess of Derby named Towyne
established on his patrimony an oratory in honour
of St. Helen the queen, with the support of the
greater part of the burgesses, and that it was
dedicated by the bishop to be served by religious
men (canons) under the rule of St Augustine.
This house of St. Helen stood just outside the
walls on the north-west side of the town, near
the church of St. Alkmund, and its site is now
occupied by the Grammar School.
Of the abbey of St. Mary, Darley, the real
founder was Robert Ferrers, second earl of Derby.
Just at the close of the reign of Stephen, 1154,
with that king's sanction, and also with the
sanction of his successor Henry II, the earl gave
to the abbot and canons of the newly devised
foundation the churches of Uttoxeter and Crich,
a tithe of his rents in Derby, the third part of
the meadow of Oddebrook, land worth 6s. at
Osmaston with the oratory and cemetery there,
6 acres at Aldwark, and as much wood as might
be drawn with one cart from the wood of Duffield or of Chaddesden. (fn. 4) There was apparently,
however, a difficulty about the site the new house
was to occupy, when Hugh, rural dean of Derby,
came forward about 1160, and gave all his lands
at Little Darley for the purpose of building thereon
a church and a monastery. In consequence of
this grant the greater part of the Austin Canons
of St. Helen's moved from the immediate outskirts of the town of Derby, and occupied a site
a mile to the north of the town on the banks of
the Derwent, under Albinus their first abbot. (fn. 5)
Hence it was that Hugh was looked upon as a
joint founder; though that this is erroneous is
shown by the crown assuming the patronage of
the abbey on the confiscation of the Ferrers
estates, which resulted in the house having always
to apply for the royal licence to elect.
In the eighth chapter of the famous Chronicle
of Dale, there is an interesting reference to Darley,
at the time when the Austin Canons from Calke
were endeavouring to establish a lodgement on
that site, in the days of Henry II.
About the same time flourished Albinus, abbot of
Darley, brightly manifesting so many of the requisites
of a holy and virtuous life, that the interior of the
cloister and the church, and the most inward sanctuary of religion, may be perceived to this day to
be redolent with the fragrance of such a father. (fn. 6)
A comparison of several charters yields a little
information respecting the founder. Hugh
already referred to was the son of Simon of Derby,
and a chaplain of the church of St. Peter in that
town. He was rural dean of Derby at the
time of the foundation; but it was an office that
not infrequently changed hands, and there is
more than one charter in which he is not so
characterized. He had a son Henry; there were
at that time certain avowedly married priests, but
in this instance it seems more probable that he
took orders later in life when a widower. There
is no clue as to how he became possessed of the
landed property that he bestowed upon the abbey.
Other gifts speedily flowed into the new foundation, so that in a very short time the abbot and
canons, in addition to lands at Crich, Wessington,
Lea, Dethick, Tansley and Little Chester, and
various mills, held the advowsons of the churches
of Bolsover, Pentrich, Ripley, Ashover, South
Wingfield, and the three Derby town churches
of St. Peter, St. Michael, and St. Werburgh.
The Darley chartulary, though unfortunately
incomplete, is full of interest as to the ecclesiastical affairs of the county at large, and of other
religious foundations of Derbyshire with which
the abbey was connected. (fn. 6a) Various facts therefrom relative to the early establishment of
vicarages have been already cited in the general
ecclesiastical history. Details relative to the
nunnery at King's Mead, so closely attached to
this abbey; to their former establishment at
St. Helens; to the hospital of St. Leonard at
Derby; to the collegiate church of All Saints,
Derby; to the ordination of a chantry at St.
Peter's Derby; and to the estate of the Hospitallers at Waingriff, are given under the respective
houses.
Henry III granted three charters confirming
the possessions of the abbey; the first, (fn. 7) dated
5 February, 1229, refers to the property granted
to them by Henry II which included the site of
the church and other land given by Hugh the
priest and his brother Agemund, the close of
St. Helen, Earl Ferrers' bequest, a grant of
two mills on the Oddebrook made by the
abbot of Burton and others, the churches of
Brailsford and Bolsover, the latter given by
William Peverel, and the gift of William 'Barbe
April' of the school of Derby; in connexion
with this last item it may be mentioned that
there is in the Public Record Office a mutilated
fifteenth-century document which appears to be
the complaint of William Bisshop late schoolmaster of Derby against a sentence passed on
him by the abbot of Darley. (fn. 8) The second
charter, 20 August 1236, (fn. 9) relates almost entirely
to grants in Derby, including that of the advowsons of St. Peter's and of the church of Scarcliffe.
The third, (fn. 10) 27 November, 1251, details a
number of grants in Normanton, Wigwell and
a few other places. It would be wearisome to
go fully into all the very numerous early benefactions of this abbey, which was held in high
regard by the burgesses of Derby, but from an
inquisition (fn. 11) taken on the death of the abbot
(Henry de Kedleston) in 1287 we learn that
the abbey had a garden and courtyard—which
was enlarged about 1308 by the inclosure of
3 acres of the adjacent common (fn. 12) —and 240 acres
(4 carucates of 60 acres each) of land round it
with 6 acres of meadow; there were also two
mills but as there was no compulsory service
attached to them their value depended largely on
the goodwill of the neighbours; there was also
a pigeon-house. This inquisition gives details of
the abbey's holdings in Derby, £18 6s. 8d., the
manor of Aldwark with Wigwell farm, a watermill at Aldport and land at Youlgreave, £4 13s.,
the manor of Normanton, £7 3s. 2d., the manor
of Butterley, including the parks of Butterley
and Herthay, (fn. 13) and its members Ripley and
Pentrick with 60 acres in Crich and three mills
—one on the Derwent—£22 19s. 3d., and the
manor of Wessington with Glapwell, Scarcliffe,
and Bolsover, £8 5s. 0½d; which, with the abbey
demesnes at £15 17s. 2d., gives a total of
£74 18s. 5½d., agreeing very well with the
£72 19s. 3½d. of the return made by the commissioners for the taxation of Pope Nicholas in
1291, (fn. 14) of which there is a copy in the abbey
chartulary. (fn. 15)
In addition to this then considerable annual
income of £72 19s. 3½d. from their Derbyshire
temporalities must be reckoned £1 6s. 8d. from
temporalities in the archdeaconry of Stafford, and
£1 4s. in the archdeaconry of Nottingham.
The Testa de Nevill
(fn. 16) gives the abbot of
Darley as holding two fees in Ripley, and also,
of the grant of Henry II, 10s. rent in Derby.
In 1285 (fn. 17) he is returned as holding Ripley,
Pentrich and Chillwell as two fees of the barony
of Crich, but in 1302 (fn. 18) and 1346 (fn. 19) he pays for
two fees in Pentrich and two in Ripley, and
still does so in 1428. (fn. 20)
Among the earlier deeds transcribed in the
chartulary is one pertaining to the chapel of
Osmaston in St. Peter's parish, which formed
part of Earl Ferrers' original gift to the abbey.
Osmaston was, from an early date, held of the
Ferrers by the family of Dun or Dunne, whose
chief residence was at Breadsall. Robert de
Dun lord of Breadsall supported the Ferrers' gift
by giving to the abbey of St. Mary at Darley,
for the good of his soul and those of his wife and
heirs, all the rights that he had in the chapel of
Osmaston by virtue of being its patron. He
coupled his gift, however, with the condition
that the abbot and canons were to pay two silver
shillings to the church of Breadsall every
Michaelmas. (fn. 21)
In 1215 the king acknowledged the receipt
of certain rings and other jewels which had
been left in the care of the abbot of Darley, (fn. 22)
and in 1216 Pope Honorius III issued his
mandate to the abbot of Darley and to two
other ecclesiastics to adjudicate in a dispute
between the chapter of York and the priory of
St. Oswald. (fn. 23) From this date onwards the
abbot of Darley for the time being was frequently called upon to take part in papal and
diocesan commissions.
Pandulph, the papal legate, was at Darley
17 July, 1220, and dated from there a letter to
the bishop of Winchester and Hubert de Burgh,
inclosing a petition of the men of Nottingham
and Derbyshire for the release of their corn
which had been seized by the crown. (fn. 24) Besides
the visit of Archbishop Peckham in 1279 we
find two distinguished guests in the persons of
Henry III, who on 25 November, 1251, was at
Darley (fn. 25) and there dated a grant to the abbey of
free warren and of a market at Ripley and a fair
there on the vigil, day and morrow of St. Helen,
and Edward I, who was there from 21 February, (fn. 26)
when he issued a writ for an inquisition concerning a gift of land to the friars of Derby, to
23 February, 1293. (fn. 27)
The charge of the parochial chapelry of
Glapwell, with its tithes in Bolsover parish, was
among the first of the benefactions to the abbey.
In 1250 a dispute arose between the inhabitants
and the convent owing to the chancel roof of
the chapel requiring renewal. The dispute
was settled by the freemen of the vill of
Glapwell, described as 'our parishioners,' consenting to accept five acres of land at Glapwell
from the abbey in discharge of all responsibility
for repairing the chancel and its kindred
obligations. (fn. 28)
About the year 1250 the abbey received an
important acquisition of land at Wigwell, near
Wirksworth; the grange at that place remaining
one of their principal outlying farms until the
dissolution. (fn. 29)
Between 1250 and 1252 Ralph, son of Ralph de
Wistanton, made various important gifts to the
canons of Darley. He bestowed on their tenants
at Wessington rights of pasturage for twelve oxen,
for six cows with their calves of two years, for
four horses or four mares with their foals of two
years, for twenty-four sheep with lambs of one
year, for forty sheep without young, and for two
sows and their litters of one year in the common
pasture of Wessington. If the convent or their
tenants had not so many animals of their own,
they were entitled without hindrance to bring
others. It was also lawful for them to pasture
goats. If any of the animals of the convent's
tenants entered Ralph's inclosed lands through
the frailty or breakage of the fences, they were
not to be impounded, but to be peaceably
removed. The same Ralph also gave the abbey
the land called 'Kard vilbeye,' eighteen acres of
land in Wessington, and a further plot of thirtyfour acres in the same vill with rights of housebote, haybote and firebote in the woods.
Another charter is simply concerned with giving
the church of the Blessed Mary of Darley, and
the canons serving God there, Maurice, son of
Robert the carpenter, his native or villein with
all his following, all his chattels, and two bovates
of land which Maurice held in the vill and territory of Wessington. (fn. 30)
These and other donations must have been a
serious drain on the resources of a man of quite
limited resources such as Ralph of Wessington;
but the explanation of this dispersal of his property is made clear in an agreement of 13 June,
1252, which is entered among the Fines of that
year. (fn. 31) Ralph had fallen into the hands of the
Jewish money-lenders of the day, and in order to
effect his deliverance out of their hands—ad
quietandum se de Judaismo—and to cheat them
of their prey, for they could not seize church
property, he eventually made over to the abbey
all his possessions, merely making life provision
for necessaries for himself and family. The
convent undertook honourably to supply Ralph
and his wife Maud for their lifetime with fourteen white loaves of the canons and fourteen
gallons of good beer every week, and other
dishes, in flesh or fish as befits the day, such as
would suffice for two canons; twenty-eight
service loaves and seven gallons of second beer
weekly for a servant and handmaid ministering
to them; honourable lodging for them and their
servants with other necessaries especially wood
or charcoal for fuel; a horse for Ralph as often
as he should have need to travel to a distance; a
tunic, super-tunic, and cape, or ten ells (at 20d.
an ell) of russet or brown cloth yearly with
lambswool for the super-tunic for Ralph; a
tunic, super-tunic, and cloak or nine ells of
russet or green or brown cloth (at 24d. an ell) with
lambswool for the super-tunic for Maud; boots
and white sandals in winter, and shoes and great
sandals in summer for Ralph and boots and shoes
of dressed leather for his wife; and twelve ells
of linen yearly for Ralph and eight for his wife,
for their underclothing and their bed. Moreover
they granted to John, Ralph's son, four shillings
yearly for shoes during his father's life, and after
his death the place of a free servant in the house
of Darley and ten shillings for clothing and shoes.
To Nicholas, the younger son, they granted food
and clothing in the house until the age of puberty,
when he might have the place of a free servant
like his brother, with half a mark yearly for his
clothing whether at Darley or elsewhere.
In 1275 a controversy arose between Nicholas
de Oxton, vicar of Wirksworth, and Henry,
abbot of Darley, as to the small tithes of lands
that the abbey held in that parish. A composition was made between the parties which was
confirmed by Godman, the next vicar of Wirksworth, in 1278, and by the bishop of Coventry
and Lichfield, the prior and convent of Coventry,
and the dean and chapter of Lichfield in 1285. (fn. 32)
The old composition between the abbey and
the vicar of Wirksworth respecting the tithes of
Wigwell was renewed in 1359 by Vicar Robert
Ireton in the church of Wirksworth before
William Wryght of Hopton, 'notary public by
apostolical and imperial authority.' (fn. 33)
That energetic primate, Archbishop Peckham,
during his visitation of Lichfield diocese in
1279-80 had various matters pertaining to the
jurisdiction of Darley Abbey brought before
him. (fn. 34) His settlement of the dispute between
the canons and the parishioners of Crich will be
referred to under that parish. The differences
between the parishioners of the chapelry of Alveston
and the canons as rectors of St. Michael's, Derby,
relative to the repair of the chancel and finding
the quire books and ornaments, as well as concerning the Priestsmeadow, which was said to
have been given to sustain a lamp in the chapel,
were submitted to Peckham. By his decision
the expenses of repairing the chancel and of providing books, vestments, and chalice for the high
altar were to be divided between the abbey and
the parishioners; the Priestsmeadow was to be
continued in the possession of the abbey on
condition that the convent paid yearly 2s. at
Michaelmas for the lights of the chapel; and
with respect to the 5½ marks already handed
over by the abbey to the parishioners for repairs
of the chancel it was ordered that whatever had
not been spent was to be returned to the abbot,
and that the parishioners were to expend a like
sum whenever repairs were necessary before
calling on the abbey for any further money. (fn. 35)
The question of repairing the chancel of the
parochial chapel of Boulton, in the parish of
St. Peter's, Derby, and the finding of books, &c.,
was also brought before the archbishop. The
abbey in this case was ordered to undertake the
repairs of the chancel and to find all books and
ornaments used in the chancel, save the missal
and the chalice which ought to be found by the
parishioners. (fn. 36)
By letters of the archbishop dated from
Trentham on 1 April, 1280, it was certified
that at his visitation of the diocese of Coventry
and Lichfield evidences had been produced before
him that the abbot of Darley was possessed of
the churches of Bolsover, Crich, Pentrich, South
Wingfield, and St. Michael's and St. Peter's,
Derby, with their chapels. (fn. 37) St. Werburgh's,
Derby, had before this date been transferred by
the abbey to the Benedictine nuns of King's
Mead.
In 1281 Robert Sacheverell, in consideration
of 10 marks of silver, acknowledged that the
advowson of the church (chapel) of Boulton
was the right of Henry, abbot of Darley, as
a free chapel pertaining to his church of
St. Peter, Derby, the abbot on his part agreeing that Robert and his heirs should present
a fit clerk or chaplain—the abbey reserving
the right to remove him without consulting
the patron if he be found unworthy—the chaplain to have a messuage and three bovates and
nine selions of land, for which he shall not pay
tithes, 12s. rent which had been given by
Robert's ancestors to a charity in the said chapel,
and all the small tithes and altar dues, paying for
them 4s. to the abbot, who also reserved to
himself the tithes of corn and hay. (fn. 38) In the
same year Robert le Escryveyn acknowledged
that three mills in Derby pertained to Henry
abbot of Darley and his successors, and were
held by him for life at a yearly rental of £4. (fn. 39)
In April, 1299, Walter de Upton made a
grant to the abbey and convent of a messuage of
80 acres of land in Langecroft. (fn. 40) Licence
for alienation in mortmain to the abbey by
Robert Careles was granted in March, 1309, of
a messuage, 20 acres of land, 4 acres of meadow,
two acres of pasture and 6d. in rent at Allestree
(Athelardestre). (fn. 41)
Licence was granted by the crown in May,
1327, to Robert, vicar of St. Peter's, Derby,
and Robert de Alastre, chaplain, to alienate to
the abbey three messuages, three tofts and land,
and rent in Burley, of the yearly value of 68s. 8d.
in part satisfaction of a licence from Edward II
to acquire in mortmain land and rent to the
yearly value of 20 marks. (fn. 42)
In November, 1379, £30 was paid for licence
to alienate in mortmain to the abbey, by Thomas
Fraunceys of Osmaston, clerk, and William of
Monyash, clerk, 15 messuages, 240 acres of
land, 4 acres of meadow, a rood of pasture,
20s. 10¾d. rent, and a rent of 1 lb. of cinnamon
in Thurlston, Alwaston and Ambaston, of the
yearly value of £6. In return for this endowment the abbey covenanted to find a chaplain to
celebrate daily in their conventual church for
the good estate of William Swyet while living,
for his soul after death, and for the souls of
Sir Godfrey Foljaumbe, his ancestors and
benefactors. (fn. 43)
A commission was issued by Edward I in
August, 1284, to inquire into the breaking of
the park of the abbot of Darley at Herthay by
certain persons, who hunted the deer therein and
carried them away. (fn. 44)
On 21 December, 1214, King John signified
to the keeper of the abbey and to the bishop of
Coventry that Henry de Rapendon, canon of
Derby, had been elected abbot with the royal
consent. (fn. 45) It was henceforth accepted that the
crown was to be regarded as patron or founder
of the abbey, and therefore a royal congè d'èlire,
with its accompanying fees and the retention of
the temporalities, were necessary at every vacancy.
Accordingly on 7 April, 1287, the prior and
convent of Darley sent word to the king at
Westminster, by Simon de Derby, sacrist, and
Robert de Melburn, canon, of the death of
Henry de Kedleston, and obtained licence to
elect. They made choice of one of their
canons, William de Alsop, and the royal assent
was granted on 6 May. (fn. 46)
In the early part of the fourteenth century
the abbey felt the pinch of poverty, and an
undated letter (fn. 47) of William, abbot of Darley,
to the king, mentions that he has been obliged
to send two of his canons to dwell in other
monasteries owing to the poverty of their own
house, due to the failure of their harvests and
the heavy mortality among their cattle. From
the similarity of this complaint to that of the
prioress of King's Mead we may probably ascribe
it to the same year, 1327, and in any case it
was before 1340, as King Edward is not given
the title of king of France. It is possible that
there were other causes of poverty than those
mentioned, as an anonymous letter (fn. 48) was addressed about this time by certain 'good and
loyal persons' to the king, saying that the abbot
of Darley was selling the woods and wasting the
goods and leasing the lands of the abbey to its
great impoverishment and begging him to forbid
the abbot to continue in this way.
In 1330 inquiry was made into the abbey's
title to its many rights and privileges; the abbot
duly produced his charters which the crown, as
a matter of course, challenged, but before their
validity could be investigated the abbot died, so
they were allowed to pass. (fn. 49)
On 12 December, 1330, the king wrote
to the treasurers and barons of the exchequer
that the abbot of Darley had shown, by petition,
before him and his council in parliament, that
the late king was indebted to him in 115s. 9d.
for divers victuals (during his sojourn at the abbey
in 1293), as appears by certain bills of the king's
wardrobe, and the abbot was indebted to the
king's exchequer in 20 marks for the voidance
of the abbey, and that therefore the former sum if
found correct was to be deducted from the sum due
for the voidance. (fn. 50) But on this very day Roger de
Coventry and Nicholas de Parwich, canons of
Darley, brought news to Westminster of the
death of their abbot William de Alsop, which
caused another voidance, and obtained leave to
elect. (fn. 51) On 3 February, 1331, the royal assent
was given to the election of William de Clyfton,
one of the canons, and the temporalities were
restored on 3 March. (fn. 52)
Of one of these two canons who acted as
messengers to the king we have an earlier notice,
as Bishop Roger de Northburgh visited the abbey
in 1325, and subsequently wrote (fn. 53) to the abbot
that Nicholas de 'Peverwych,' canon of that
house, upon whom he had enjoined as penance
that he should not go out of the cloister and
should content himself with small beer (debili
cervis), may be dispensed therefrom in whole or
in part as may seem advisable.
A long-standing tithe dispute between the
abbey and the neighbouring church of Mackworth
was brought to a conclusion in 1331, by the same
bishop during a personal visitation. Edmund
Touchet, rector of Mackworth then entered into
a covenant whereby he expressed himself convinced by the evidences shown to him that the
abbey was entitled to hold a place within the
parish of Mackworth, qui vulgariter vocatur Hastowe, tithe-free, and he bound himself and his
father, Sir Robert Touchet, patron of Mackworth, never to demand such tithes. (fn. 54)
Walter le Furettour, who had long served
the king, was sent to the abbey on 25 August,
1318, to receive such maintenance in their house
as Richard Charlemayne, deceased, had had in
their house at the late king's request. (fn. 55)
Philip de Weston, king's clerk, obtained
letters on 24 March, 1331, to receive the
pension due from the abbot and convent of
Darley to one of the king's clerks, by reason
of the new creation of the abbot. (fn. 56) On 16 July,
1334, Henry de la Sale was sent to the abbot of
Darley to receive such maintenance in the house
as had been granted at the request of the late
king to Richard Charlemayne, deceased. (fn. 57) It
would seem that Henry de la Sale did not take
up his pensioner's position here, or else his time
was of brief duration, for in July, 1335, John
Sewer, the king's messenger, was sent to the
abbot to receive such maintenance as had
formerly been granted to Charlemayne. (fn. 58)
To 1333 belongs a petition (fn. 59) of William,
abbot of Darley, against contributing to the aid
towards the marriage of the king's sister, and
a similar protest of 1347, (fn. 60) when aid was
demanded for the knighting of the king's son,
sets forth that the abbey holds lands in Pentrich
and Ripley, in frankalmoin, of the gift of
Ralph FitzStephen, and by confirmation of the
king's ancestors, and has never given to the
royal aids except when in the late king's time
they were forced by grievous distraint to give
towards the marriage of the king's daughter.
On 1 July, 1339, the king promised to pay
the abbot of Darley, half at Michaelmas and half
at Easter, £21 3s. due for four sacks and six
stone of wool at 100s. the sack, taken by Simon
de Cestre of Derby and his fellows, appointed
to take for the king a moiety of the wool in
Derbyshire. (fn. 61)
The abbot of Darley was ordered on 1 September, 1340, to pay to Henry de Lancaster,
earl of Derby, £2,661 of £3,677 17s, 4d. of
the money of the first year of the subsidy of the
ninth of the county of Derby. The abbot had
been appointed receiver of the subsidy in place
of the prior of Thurgarton. (fn. 62)
In November, 1344, Pope Clement III sent
his mandate to the archdeacon of Norwich and
another, to cause to be observed the ordinances
touching apostates in regard to John de Scellye
and Thomas de Doncastre, canons of Darley,
who, having been maliciously thrust out of the
monastery by the abbot, and now wearing the
dress of secular clerks, desired to be reconciled
to their order. (fn. 63)
A petition (fn. 64) of the prior and convent asking
for the privilege of the custody of the abbey
during its voidance, so that it might not suffer at
the hands of the escheator, may probably be
referred to the interval between the death of
Laurence de Burton and the election of Thomas
de Haddon in 1383; it is endorsed with the
statement that in the time of the late King
Edward III the abbot of Darley paid 20 marks
that the prior and convent might have the
custody of the temporalities at the time of the
next voidance for half a year if it be so long
vacant, and if it should be vacant for a whole year
they shall pay the king 40 marks for the year,
and so forth. It seems, however, that this
arrangement was not continued, as in 1401 a
mandate was addressed to the escheator of Derby
to restore the temporalities to the new abbot,
Simon de Repyngdon. (fn. 65)
The Valor of 1535, when Thomas Groves
was abbot, gave the clear annual value of the
abbey as £258 13s. 5d. which included the
appropriated great tithes of Mackworth, Crich,
South Wingfield, Pentrich, Bolsover, Scarcliffe,
and St. Peter and St. Michael, Derby; tithes of
lamb and wool in the parishes of Bolsover, Scarcliffe, and South Wingfield; and pensions from
the churches of Brailsford and Uttoxeter. The
annuities payable by the abbey were unusually
numerous, and though mostly small in amount
reached a total of £26 16s. 1½d. Amongst
them may be named 5s. 6d. to the master of
St. Leonard's, Derby; 8s. to the nuns of Derby;
£11 to the sub-dean of All Saints; £4 13s. to
the archdeacon of Derby, for the procurations of
all their churches; 12d. towards the sustenance
of a lamp in Bolsover church during the winter;
12d. for straw for the church of Scarcliffe in the
winter, and 3s. 8d. to the Lichfield boy bishop
at Christmas.
Darley abbey being well over £200 in annual
value escaped the earlier destruction of the lesser
houses. The cajoleries used at a later date to
secure surrenders are illustrated by a letter from
Thomas Thacker, Cromwell's chief tool among
Derbyshire residents, to his master, dated
23 September, 1538, wherein he states that he
had laboured for the past three months with the
abbot of Darley, 'where I was born and where
my poor lands lie' to surrender his house to the
king; he hoped to receive shortly his letter of
assent and he begged his lordship to help him
(Thacker) to the house and goods. (fn. 66)
The actual 'surrender' was signed on
22 October, 1538, by Thomas Page, abbot,
William Stonebag, prior, Richard Machyn,
sub-prior, and ten other canons. (fn. 67) The surrender
was made to Dr. Legh, the royal commissioner
of evil repute.
In the Augmentation Office Books is a full
record of all the 'Implements or Householde
Stuffe corne catell Ornaments of the Churche
and such other lyke' pertaining to this monastery,
which were sold to 'Mr. Robt. Sacheverell,
gent.' on 24 October, 1538, by the king's commissioners:— (fn. 68)
'The Churche. Fyrst on fayre table before the hye
alter, ij tabernacles, ij great standers of laten, ij lampes,
ij Candlestykes of leron, j great payre of Organs.
The Chanons seates in the quire; ij other ould alters
in our Lady Chapell or ylde, ij Candlestykys of
Brasse before the same alter, oulde setes in the seid
Chapell, j Clocke, j great Crucyfyx, ij alters and
ij tables of Alebaster in seint Sythes Chapell and
tymber about the same chapell and j Sacrying bell
sould for vj li.
'Item all the pavyng ther the tombes and gravestones with the metell on them and the Roffes of the
Churche and Ildes, the glasse and Ieron ther also,
xx li.
'The Cloyster. Item the Roffe ther glasse leronn
pavyng stones frestones and the laver of laye metell
soulde for x li.
'The Chapter House. Item the glasse Ieron and
pavyng stones and the Roffe ar soulde for xx s.
'The Frater. Item v oulde tables, j bell, the Roffe
glasse Ieron the pavyng, ij oulde Chestes, iij tubbes
for ale—lxvj s viij d.
'The Vestrye. Item j sute of ould wyte baudekynn,
j sute of whyte counter set baudekynn; j other sute
all of Armes, j suit of blue chamblett, vj copes of
dyvers sortes, ij sutes on of whyte fustiann the other of
Gren say, v oulde alter clothes and iiij towells, soulde
for xlvii s.
The bedsteads and bedding of ten chambers
particularized as the 'Lowe, Glasse, Second, Great,
Mayfeld and Servantes rooms,' with four inner
chambers, sold for a total of £4 17s. 4d.
The furniture and utensils of the hall, buttery,
pantry, parlour, kitchen, pastry, larder, brewhouse, Bakehouse, 'Boultynghouse,' 'Yelynghouse,' and 'Blakehouse' realized £16 4s. 2d.
The grain (wheat, rye, barley, and pease) at
the monastery and at Normanton Grange, together with fifty loads of hay at 2s. a load was
sold for £31 13s. 8d. As to the cattle, there
were only 'ij lame horses' at the monastery,
which were valued at 5s. each, and seven horses
and mares at Normanton Grange, at 46s. 8d. the
lot. Twenty oxen at Darley realized 15s. each,
whilst eighteen oxen at Normanton fetched
26s. 8d. the yoke. Ten 'keyn' at Normanton
sold for 10s. a piece, and there were a large
number of pigs at each place.
The inventory also includes several wains and
carts and the contents of the smith's forge. A
more important item was the six bells, which
were sold for £30. The grand total amounted
to £168 13s. 4d.
'Rewards,' that is gratuities for the immediate
needs of the dismissed servants, and for the sustenance of the religious until their pensions
arrived, were granted in accordance with the
general custom. Thomas Page, the abbot,
received £6 13s. 4d.; William Stonebag, the
prior, and five of the canons, 50s.; whilst the
eight other canons only obtained 40s. Fifty-six
servants, including the hinds, and 'a lytell pore
boye' received £23 8s. 8d. in varying amounts
amongst them.
Among the goods that then remained unsold
were
one Crosstuffe and ij Chaleses gylte wayenge,
xcviij oz.; v spones one chales and a pyx all Whyteplate wayenge xxxvj oz.; clx fother of lead valued
at cxl li.
The pensions assigned by the commissioners
to the religious were £50 to the abbot;
£6 13s. 4d. to the prior; £6 to the sub-prior
and to two other canons; £5 6s. 8d. to three
canons; and five each to the remaining five
canons. It is pleasant to find an annual grant of
26s. 8d. assigned to 'Thomas Tutman, schoolmaster,' as that may be taken as evidence of
some provision made by the canons for the
instruction of the young. There is, however,
one thoroughly discreditable annuitant in the
list. The two commissioners for this dissolution
and for the two other Derbyshire houses of Dale
and Repton were Dr. Legh and William
Cavendish, the latter acting as accountant; and
yet they had the face to write down an annuity
of £6 13s. 4d. to 'Mr. Doctor Legh.' It is
satisfactory to know that Legh and Cavendish
got into serious trouble over their accounts in
winding up these three houses and others, it
being proved that the latter had made entries
(apparently among the 'rewards') after the clerks
had withdrawn. (fn. 69)
The site was made over to Robert Sacheverell,
as holder for the crown, by the commissioners on
24 October. Two years later it was granted by
the crown to Sir William West, and has since,
like so much monastic land, changed hands with
remarkable frequency.
The pension roll of 2 and 3 Philip and Mary (fn. 70)
shows that pensions were still being paid in
1555 to the prior, sub-prior, and three other of
the former canons. The annuities to the earl of
Shrewsbury and to various lay-folk were also
continued.
Abbots of Darley
Albinus, c. 1160 (fn. 71)
William, occurs 1192 (fn. 72)
Henry, died 1233 (fn. 73)
Ralph de Leicester, 1233-47 (fn. 74)
Walter de Walton, elected 1247 (fn. 75)
Andrew, occurs 1259 (fn. 76)
William de Wymondham, 1260-75 (fn. 77)
Henry de Kedleston, 1275-87 (fn. 78)
William de Alsop, 1287-1330 (fn. 79)
William de Clifton, 1330-53 (fn. 80)
Laurence de Burton, 1353-83 (fn. 81)
Thomas de Haddon, 1383-92 (fn. 82)
John de Ashburne, 1392-1401 (fn. 83)
Simon de Repington, 1401-32 (fn. 84)
Roger de Newton, 1432-53 (fn. 85)
Henry de Killingsworth, 1453-77 (fn. 86)
John Ashby, 1477-1518 (fn. 87)
Henry Wyndeley, 1518-24 (fn. 88)
Thomas Grevys (or Groves), 1524 (fn. 89)
Thomas Page, surrendered 1539 (fn. 90)
The thirteenth-century seal (fn. 91) is a pointed
oval, and represents the Blessed Virgin, with
nimbus, seated on a throne; the right hand
supports the Holy Child, and in the left is an
orb with sceptre terminating in a fleur de lis.
Legend:—
SIGILLVM : SANTE : MARIE : DE : DERLYE.