HOUSES OF AUGUSTINIAN CANONS
12. THE ABBEY OF KEYNSHAM
William Earl of Gloucester founded at
Keynsham, on the south side of the River Avon,
a house of Austin Canons soon after 1166, the
year in which his son Robert died, and traditionally at his son's dying request. At its
foundation the canons seem to have adopted the
then popular monastic discipline of St. Victor,
so that the head of this house is always called
the abbot, and the house known as the house of
the Canons of the Order of St. Austin and St.
Victor.
The whole of the manor and hundred of
Keynsham was conferred on these canons,
together with the church (fn. 1) of St. Mary and St.
Peter and St. Paul, and its dependent chapels
of Brislington, Charlton, Felton (or Whitchurch),
Publow and Pensford. All however of these
chapels may not be coeval with the date of the
foundation.
The first summary of endowments is that of
the Taxatio of 1291, (fn. 2) when the spiritualia
consisted of the churches of Keynsham, and
its dependent chapels, Backwell, Burford
(in Oxfordshire) and a portion of the church
of St. Lawrence, Bristol.
The chief authority for its foundation is an
inspeximus of 1318 of Edward II (fn. 3) who confirmed
a charter of confirmation granted by the hereditary patron, Gilbert de Clare, 1291–1314, tenth
Earl of Hertford, and ninth Earl of Gloucester,
On 13 March 1336 Edward III (fn. 4) confirmed
this inspeximus and confirmation of his father.
On 26 October 1276 (fn. 5) the claim of the Abbot
of Keynsham to fell trees in his wood at Fillwood
within the royal chase of Kingswood without
view of the forester was allowed in an order
to the Constable of Bristol Castle, and in 1280 (fn. 6)
the abbot was given licence to inclose a pasture
called 'Wynterleye' with a wall and make of
it a rabbit warren.
On 15 July 1310 (fn. 7) the advowson of the church
at High Littleton was given to the abbey by
Gilbert Aumery, and Bishop Drokensford sanctioned its appropriation by the abbey in 1322,
but the royal licence is dated 1328. (fn. 8)
In 1386 (fn. 9) owing to the inclosure made in the
parish of Eltham by Edward III, which impoverished the church there, the Abbot and convent
of Keynsham, to which that church was appropriated, obtained licence to acquire lands up to
a rental of 10 marks yearly, and on May 1387 (fn. 10)
definite sanction was given for the purchase
of land in Bitton, West Hanham in the parish
of Bitton, Upton (Gloucestershire) and Littleton
(Somerset).
On 21 July 1395 (fn. 11) Pope Boniface IX granted
permission to the abbot and convent on the
death or resignation of the perpetual vicar of
Keynsham to appropriate the vicarage, and to
serve the church through one of the canons, or
by a secular priest removable at pleasure. The
vicarage was valued at 40 marks, and the convent
at 250 marks. Apparently the appropriation
was never brought into effect, as in 1404 there
was an elaborate reordination of the vicarage by
agreement between Abbot Thomas and John
Jenyns the vicar. (fn. 12)
On 15 June 1423, (fn. 13) the abbot received licence
to provide a proctor to look after the estates
of the convent in Ireland. The proctor, after
paying all dues for the sustenance of the war
against the Irish rebels, was to forward all rents
and profits from the lands in Ireland to the abbot
and convent at Keynsham.
On 29 November 1461 (fn. 14) Edward IV confirmed a charter of the first year of Edward II
(1307), granting a weekly market at Keynsham
on Tuesdays, and a yearly fair on the festival
of the Assumption; and in 1463 (fn. 15) he confirmed
also a charter of 1265 granting a weekly market
at Marshfield on Tuesdays, and a yearly fair on
the festival of St. Oswald (5 August).
The Valor of 1535 (fn. 16) gives the endowments
of the abbey as worth £419 10s. 4¼d.
The spiritualia consisted of the churches of
Brislington, Publow, Newton St. Loe, Cloford,
High Littleton, and a pension out of the church
of Norton Maireward, the church of West Harptree, a pension out of the church of St. Mary le
port, and the church of 'Warborowse' (St. Werburgh) in Bristol, and the church of Burford in
Oxfordshire. The gross total income came to
£450 13s. 6d., out of which there had to be
paid dues, pensions, etc., £30 13s. 1¾d., leaving
the clear yearly value of £419 10s. 4¼d.
In 1242 (fn. 17) it seems as if the efficiency of the
monastery was generally recognized, for the
canons of St. Augustine, Bristol, elected as their
abbot the chamberlain of Keynsham.
In 1276 (fn. 18) Edward I stayed here on 17 and 18
September on his way from Bath to Bristol.
On 25 October 1277 (fn. 19) in an action brought
by Simon de Whyte of Bristol, Robert the
Abbot of Keynsham is said to be too infirm to
appear before the justices in eyre, and his
depositions are ordered to be recorded before
the local justices. Five of his fellow-canons
are mentioned by name.
In September 1300 (fn. 20) Edward I called upon
the house to receive an old and faithful servant,
Gilbert le Braconer, and find him for life necessaries according to the requirements of his estate.
Bishop Drokensford made provision in January
1309 for the ordination of two of the canons
of Keynsham, and in April 1310 (fn. 21) sanctioned
three more who were then acolytes to receive
two steps further in Holy Orders.
In 1314 (fn. 22) reference is made to the new Lady
chapel at Keynsham, and Sir John Bitton in his
will left large bequests to it, and £20 for his
funeral, expressing his desire to be buried there.
In 1315 (fn. 23) the bishop ordered the house at
Keynsham to receive from Taunton a canon,
Andrew de Sowy, who had been found guilty
of immorality. He was assigned to Keynsham
for penance, and the abbot and canons were
desired to treat him wisely according to his
contrition. The cost of his keep was to be
defrayed by a payment from Taunton.
In 1322 (fn. 24) the bishop approved the appropriation of the church of High Littleton to Keynsham, because of the losses which the abbey had
sustained in the floods, rain, and murrain in its
lands in Ireland and Wales, and in its loss of
the tithes of Chewstoke.
In November 1336 (fn. 25) Sir Walter de Rodney
gave West Harptree Church for the support
of the abbey. The Irish estates of the convent
seem at this time to have been a source of constant anxiety and of very little profit, and their
lands in Wales had been injured by floods, on
which account the bishop and the king allowed
the grant. (fn. 26) Proper provision at the same time
was to be made for a vicar.
On 1 September 1333 (fn. 27) Bishop Ralph of
Shrewsbury visited the house, and from Blackford he wrote soon after to the abbot to say that
he considered the canons were insufficiently
clothed.
On 14 February 1350 (fn. 28) the bishop drew the
attention of the abbot and canons to the neglect
they displayed in reference to their keeping of
the abbey gates. They were not shut at the
fixed hours of the day. The ornaments of the
church and the treasures of the house could
easily be stolen, so carelessly were they guarded.
At the hour of refection the lay folk were
allowed to enter the refectory instead of being
rigidly excluded. There were too many servants
for the work, and the bishop laid down certain
rules for the order and the work of the kitchen,
the cellars, and the infirmary, the cook being
ordered to send in a more regular account of
expenditure to the abbot. The canons were
not to keep dogs, particularly sporting dogs,
and when they went forth to work they were
not to eat and drink abroad, but wait till they
returned to the monastery.
The lands and tenements of the monastery
were not to be let out in perpetual copyhold.
The nightly devotions were to be said more
regularly, and with due intervals, and greater
devotion. John de Wamberge, chamberlain of
the monastery, was at once to be removed from
his office, and a fit canon to be chosen in his place.
In his visitation the bishop had already removed
him, but had allowed him to continue for the
time.
In January 1353 (fn. 29) the bishop again wrote
in reference to what he had seen amiss at Keynsham 'during his late visitation.' Since the
year of the pestilence, there had been a general
neglect on the part of the abbot and other
obedientiaries, and of the conversi who had
the management of the tannery, the smithy,
the barton and the vineyards, to draw up and
present to the convent, as they should do, a
proper account of receipts and expenditure.
Again the keepers of the outer doors were
neglectful of their duty, and laymen and women
were allowed to enter the monastery at unlawful
hours. The canons did not observe at the
proper times the rule of silence, and by the
ensuing Easter the bishop commands all those
in authority in the house to produce accounts
of their administration.
The charities for the poor which were bequeathed by Gilbert, late Earl of Gloucester, (fn. 30)
seem to have been, during the interval of the
Great Pestilence, altogether lost.
Not one-third of the convent seems to have
been in the habit of assembling in the refectory
at the hours of meals, and two-thirds of the
convent had their meals at other times and in
other places. The chamberlain did not pay
his debt to the convent, the bread was inferior
in quality, and there was an irregular distinction
made between the food given to the old and
that given to the young. The canons were not
to associate with those enjoying corrodies in
the house, nor to play games with them. John
Tankard, Robert Grindere and John Twynere,
shepherds to the convent, were accused of
stealing bread in large quantities, and selling
some of it outside. Edmund, the chamberlain's
servant, was very inefficient and the convent
suffered from it. John Golynge was to be
removed from being the servant in the infirmary,
and the chantry of John Seymour was to be kept
up. The deeds and charters of the abbey were
to be kept in a chest secured by three keys, one
to be held by the abbot, another by the subprior, and the third by the canon, John Wamberge.
A hundred years afterwards the same lack
of discipline compelled Bishop Beckington to
look into the affairs of the abbey. In 1451 he
ordered a commission of inquiry which was
followed almost immediately by a mandate
to the abbey to obey and to cause to be obeyed
the bishop's injunctions. (fn. 31) The abbot Walter
Bekynsfield was aged and incapable. In 1455
another commission was issued to compel action
on the Comperta of the previous inquiry and
the abbot offering resistance was compelled to
resign. In his place Thomas Tyler was elected,
and in 1456 Bekynsfield was granted a pension. (fn. 32)
Another canon, John Ledbury, probably a
leader of resistance to the bishop's orders, was
sent in 1458 to Worspring for discipline, and the
abbey of Keynsham received in exchange John
Blake, a canon of Worspring. (fn. 33) Matters were
settling down, but in 1458, and again in 1459
commissions of inquiry were issued as to the
obedience of the canons. (fn. 34)
During the 15th century the canons
received some benefit from legacies by way of
payment for masses for the souls of the dead.
In 1448 (fn. 35) Henry Warleigh of Keynsham
desired to be buried in the conventual church
of the Blessed Mary of Keynsham, and left
3s. 4d. to every canon regular to pray for his soul.
His executor was Richard Whitewade, vicar of
the parish church of St. John the Baptist, Keynsham. These two dedications show that there
were two distinct churches in Keynsham, one
the parish church of St. John the Baptist, and
the other the conventual church of St. Mary,
and not as at Bruton two distinct churches under
one roof.
In 1489 (fn. 36) John Chaunceler, leaving certain
benefactions to the canons, desired to be buried
in the conventual church of the Blessed Virgin
Mary. In 1493 again John Daysshell desired
to be buried in the conventual church.
In 1495 (fn. 37) so great a person as Jasper, Duke
of Bedford, Earl of Pembroke, and uncle to
Henry VII desired to be buried in the monastery
of our Lady at Keynsham, and in his will he hoped
he should be laid in a place convenient, where
'I will that my tomb be honourably made after
the state that it has pleased God to call me to.'
His monument was to cost 100 marks, and his
lands were to be burdened for the payment of four
priests to sing perpetually in the said church for
his soul and for the souls of others, his relations
and friends.
In 1501 (fn. 38) John Sturrage of Keynsham
bequeathed to the church of the Holy Trinity
of Keynsham a whole piece of cloth. This
refers to the parish church, and indicates that
the parish church had a double dedication in
honour of the Holy Trinity and St. John the
Baptist.
In 1534 (fn. 39) John Staunton, the last abbot, with
William Herne, the prior, John Given, the subprior, John Arnold, and twelve other canons
subscribed to the Act of Supremacy.
Richard Layton visited the house in August
1535 (fn. 40) and on 23 January 1539 (fn. 41) the abbot
and ten monks surrendered the abbey to the
king through the visitors, Tregonwell and Petre.
The conventual church was not left standing
very long. Within two years of the surrender
of the house, £12 was paid to Richard Walker
for melting the lead on the church, (fn. 42) the cloister,
and the steeple at Keynsham. Francis Edwards
bought the seven bells of the monastery, and
various useless buildings attached to it. (fn. 43)
Among the canons who were pensioned, John
Fowler was granted £5 6s. 8d. out of his £6 13s. 4d.
on condition that he acted as parish priest of the
church of St. Margaret at Charlton, and a similar
reduction was made in the pension of Canon
Thomas Parker, should he, in after years, be
promoted to any benefice. (fn. 44)
Robert Smart, one of the canons, was given
an annuity of £6 which was certainly paid him
as late as 1541. (fn. 45)
In Cardinal Pole's pension list, 1553, (fn. 46) nine
canons received pensions, and eight others
received annuities, among whom appear Canon
Smart and Canon Parker.
Abbots of Keynsham
William, occurs 1175, (fn. 47) 1205 (fn. 48)
George de Eston (fn. 49)
Richard, occurs 1225 (fn. 50) and 1230
John, occurs 1233 (fn. 51)
Peter, occurs 1253, (fn. 52) 1259 (fn. 53)
Gilbert, 1274 (fn. 54)
Robert, occurs 1272, (fn. 55) 1277 (fn. 56)
Adam, 1308 (fn. 57)
Nicholas de Taunton, occurs 1308, (fn. 58) 1343 (fn. 59)
John Bradford, elected 1348 (fn. 60)
William Peschon, 1377 (fn. 61)
Thomas, occurs 1396 (fn. 62) 1427
Walter Bekynsfield, occurs 1438, 1455 (fn. 63)
Thomas or John Tyler, elected 1456 (fn. 64)
John Gybruyn, 1486 (fn. 65)
John Graunt, elected 1496 (fn. 66)
Philip Keynsham, 1499, (fn. 67) died 1505
William Rolfe, elected 1506, occurs (fn. 68) 1514
John Staunton or Sturton, 1528–1539 (fn. 69)
The first seal of the Austin Canons' House of
St. Mary at Keynsham (fn. 70) is 13th-century work,
and shows Our Lady seated, with a bridge or
arcade below. The legend is lost. The counterseal, also much damaged, has a representation of
the Annunciation. Below is a canon in prayer.
The second seal (fn. 71) is late 14th-century work.
It is a vesica, 2¾ in. by 15/8 in., with Our Lady,
crowned and standing in a niche, holding the
Child on her right arm and a sceptre in her left
hand. On either side are smaller niches with
figures of St. Peter and St. Paul. Below is a shield
of the arms attributed to the founder. (Gules),
six clarions (or). The legend is:—SIGILLUM COMMUNE MONASTERII SANCTE MARIE DE KEYNESHAM.
The seal of Abbot Adam (fn. 72) (c. 1269) is a
vesica, about 2 in. by 1¼ in., with a figure of the
abbot holding book and crozier. The legend
is much defaced.