10. THE PRIORY OF HORSLEY
In the reign of William the Conqueror, Roger
Montgomery, earl of Shrewsbury, endowed the
Benedictine abbey of St. Martin at Trouarn in
Normandy with the manors of Horsley in Gloucestershire and Runckton in Sussex. (fn. 1) Another
Norman lord, Robert de Romeliolo, gave the
church of St. Andrew at Wheatenhurst near
Horsley. (fn. 2) A prior and monks from Trouarn
lived in the cell at Horsley until 1260. (fn. 3) In that
year the abbot and convent of Trouarn gave all
their property in England to the abbot and convent of Bruton in exchange for their possessions
in the dioceses of Coutance and Bayeux. (fn. 4) Thus
Horsley ceased to be an alien priory, and became
a dependent cell of Bruton, which had been
founded as a house of Augustinian canons in
1142 by William de Mohun. (fn. 5)
In 1262 Walter Cantilupe, bishop of Worcester, admitted Stephen, a canon of Bruton, on
the presentation of the prior of that house, to the
care, rule and custody of the priory of Horsley. (fn. 6)
The cell was managed entirely for the interests
of the mother house, and in 1271, on the request
of his brother, Walter Giffard, archbishop of
York, Godfrey Giffard, bishop of Worcester,
granted that the prior of Horsley should dwell at
Bruton or elsewhere for four years, and that the
prior of Bruton should administer the fruits of
Horsley as should seem expedient to him, for the
payment of the debts of his house, which was
then greatly impoverished. (fn. 7) In 1276 Giffard
ordered that on the presentation of the prior of
Bruton, the prior of Horsley should have the
cure of souls of Horsley and Wheatenhurst, with
all offerings and oblations, and should have with
him one canon regular, chosen by the prior of
Bruton. (fn. 8) Difficulties again arose in 1283. The
bishop wrote to the prior of Bruton, stating that
having been lately at Horsley he found that
hospitality was withdrawn and charity banished,
and that the profits of the priory were converted
to alien and strange uses. The bishop therefore
admonished the prior not to take more from the
priory of Horsley than was anciently 'accustomed
and due.' (fn. 9)
In 1307 the prior of Horsley resisted the commissaries of the prior of Worcester when they
attempted to visit his house during the vacancy
of the see. He was excommunicated, and made
an appeal to the archbishop of Canterbury, but
afterwards withdrew it, and acknowledged the
right of the prior of Worcester to visit the priory. (fn. 10)
In 1349 Prior Henry de Lisle determined to
go on a pilgrimage to Rome, and on 31 December, when the bishopric was vacant, the prior of
Worcester granted him a licence to set out, on
the understanding that the prior of Bruton had
given his consent. (fn. 11) He showed himself strangely
neglectful of his duties, and in 1355 Edward III
ordered an inquisition to be made into the devastations and dilapidations of Henry de Lisle at
Horsley. (fn. 12) The jurors declared that he had cut
down trees and sold wood to the value of £100,
and also sold eighty oxen and cows which fell in
as heriots at the time of the plague. He had
spent £60 in going to Rome and Venice without the licence of the prior of Burton. (fn. 13) In 1357
he resigned, (fn. 14) but the conduct of William Cary,
who became prior in 1363, (fn. 15) gave rise to still
greater dissatisfaction. At an inquisition (fn. 16) made
by command of the king in 1369 it was stated
that the prior had withdrawn all hospitality for
seven years, although he was bound to provide dinner every day for six poor people in his
hall. (fn. 17) He had leased the manor of Horsley for
the term of his own life to the prior of Bruton
without the king's consent; (fn. 18) and, although two
voidances had occurred, the profits had gone to
the prior of Bruton instead of to the crown.
Probably on account of diminished revenues the
prior and convent of Bruton were anxious to
withdraw the canons from Horsley. For a payment of twenty marks, Edward III restored the
manor of Horsley, which had been seized by the
escheators; and agreed that henceforward no
prior of Horsley should be nominated, and that
vicarages should be created in the churches of
Horsley and Wheatenhurst, (fn. 19) but some years passed
before the king's grant took effect. During the
vacancy of the see on 30 July, 1375, the prior
of Worcester sent a mandate to the rural dean of
Stonehouse to sequester the fruits of the priory
and of the two churches on account of the
absence of the prior, the peril of souls therefrom,
and the withdrawal of hospitality, adding that
the buildings of the priory had in great part
collapsed and the profits of the house had been
wasted. (fn. 20) The sequestrator was negligent, and
on 16 August another commissioner was
appointed in his stead, (fn. 21) but William Cary succeeded in preventing the seizure of the profits of
the churches. (fn. 22) In the following year Henry
Wakefield, bishop of Worcester, determined to
put an end to the scandal. The bishop of Bath
and Wells had excommunicated William Cary
for leaving his house without permission from
Bruton, and on 26 March, 1376, Bishop Wakefield sent a mandate to the deans of Gloucester and
Stonehouse to denounce the prior of Horsley as
excommunicate, (fn. 23) and the dean of Stonehouse
was bidden to sequester the fruits of the priory. (fn. 24)
On 5 July the bishop made a new ordinance by
which the prior of Bruton was able not only to
present the prior of Horsley but to recall him. (fn. 25)
Nothing further is known of William Cary;
but the prior of Bruton did not appoint a
successor. Acting on the charter of Edward III
he retained the manor. In 1380 Bishop Wakefield created vicarages in the churches of Horsley
and Wheatenhurst. (fn. 26) Possibly a part of the priory
buildings served as a manse for the vicar of
Horsley. The history of the cell thus came to
an end in 1380.
Priors of Horsley (fn. 27)
Stephen, 1262, (fn. 28) occurs 1269 (fn. 29)
Walter de Horwood, occurs 1271 (fn. 30)
Richard de la Grave, 1292 (fn. 31)
William, 1298 (fn. 32)
William de Milverton, ob. 1329 (fn. 33)
Laurence de Haustede, 1329 (fn. 34)
Henry de Lisle, 1335, (fn. 35) resigned 1357 (fn. 36)
Richard de Holt, 1357, (fn. 37) resigned 1363 (fn. 38)
William Cary, 1363 (fn. 39)