15. THE PRIORY OF NUNKEELING
This nunnery was founded in 1152 by
Agnes de Arches, also called Agnes de Catfoss, (fn. 1)
in honour of St. Mary Magdalene (fn. 2) and St. Helen
for the health of the soul of her husband,
Herbert St. Quintin, and for the souls of Walter
and Robert, her sons, and those of her parents
and friends. (fn. 3)
Agnes, the prioress, and the convent of
Keeling in June 1299 covenanted to celebrate
every year the obit of Master William de
Haxby, canon of Beverley. They also undertook to malt 3 bushels of good wheat yearly
against the anniversary, so that each nun on
that day might have a gallon of ale well worth
a penny, and pittance of the same value. (fn. 4)
In 1281-2 (fn. 5) Archbishop Wickwane wrote to
the convent of Nunkeeling forbidding them to
receive anyone as nun or sister, or to admit
anybody to live in the nunnery without his
special licence, and in 1294 (fn. 6) his successor,
Archbishop Romanus, appealed to the Bishops of
Winchester and Lincoln, collectors of the tenth,
on behalf of the nuns of ' Killing,' whose poverty
was so great that the means of their house
scarce sufficed for their food and raiment. On
15 July 1310 (fn. 7) Archbishop Greenfield wrote
to the prioress and convent that in consequence
of what had been revealed to his commissaries
they were within three days of the receipt of
his letter to remove Isabella de St. Quintin from
the office of cellarer in the presence of the whole
convent. She was not to be appointed to any
other office, and was to keep convent, quire, &c.,
and not go outside the house. Two secular
women in the house, Beatrice and Nella Scot,
were to be removed.
In 1314 (fn. 8) the same archbishop held a visitation
of the priory, and issued a decretum. No nun
was to be absent from divine service on account
of her being occupied with silk work (propter
occupacionem opens de serico). The keys of the
cloister were to be in custody of the sub-prioress
and another worthy nun, and the sub-prioress
and her colleague were to be studiously careful
in the matter of locking the doors. The prioress and sub-prioress were to inquire diligently,
and see who the persons were by whom the
alms of the house had been pilfered and diminished, and if they found that the elemosinaria
had committed fraud or been negligent, she was
to be removed from office.
No young nun concerning whom sinister
suspicion might arise was to have her meals with
the brothers or other persons, either religious or
secular, in the hall of the hospitium, or elsewhere
outside the inner cloister, neither was a nun to
tarry for any length of time in those places
with such persons, or converse with them, except
in the presence of a nun of mature age. Nonuns were to make themselves remarkable as
regards their girdles or shoes, or wear anything
unsuitable to religion.
The prioress was not to allow the nuns to go
out except on the business of the house, or to
visit friends and relations, and then such a nun
was to have another as companion, and was not
to be away longer than fifteen days. All. the
money due to the house was to be received by
two bursars, elected by the convent.
The prioress was to keep convent in quire at
divine service, she was to have her meals in the
refectory and sleep in the dormitory, unless
hindered by entertaining notable guests, or other
lawful causes. In important business she was
to take counsel with her sisters, and all were
forbidden to lease manors, sell corrodies, or
receive to the habit of a nun, a sister, or a
conversus, any person, or to take boarders, or to
retain girls in the house after they were twelve
years old.
On 23 July 1316, (fn. 9) the see of York being
vacant, the commissioners of the dean and
chapter visited the nunnery, and on 11 August
Avice de la More, the prioress, resigned her
office into the hands of the dean in the chapterhouse at York. The new prioress then elected
was Isabella de St. Quintin, (fn. 10) who a few years
before had been deprived of the office of cellarer
for misconduct and pronounced ineligible for
office in the house. The dean and chapter
quashed the election as canonically defective in
procedure, but appointed her to the vacant
office on 19 August, and on 21 September (fn. 11) the
dean and chapter wrote to the new prioress and
the convent, making provision for Avice de la
More, who for a long period had laudably and
usefully superintended the house. She was to
have a chamber for herself in their monastery,
and a nun of the house assigned her by the
prioress as a companion. She was to receive for
her sustenance bread, ale, cooked food and
victuals daily as two nuns of the same house,
and her nun associate as one nun.
On 27 July 1318 (fn. 12) Avice de la More, on
account of her conspiracies, rebellions, and disobedience to her prioress, had to be warned
to desist, or she would be deprived of the provision made for her when she ceded the office
of prioress. But besides warning her the archbishop ordered her each Friday to say the seven
penitential psalms with the litany, humbly and
devoutly, and on those days she was to receive
a discipline in chapter, and to fast on bread, ale,
and vegetables, with one service of fish.
Dionisia Dareyns, for her disobedience and
other things, was not to go out of the precincts
except in worthy company. Each Friday she
was to receive a discipline until she showed
signs of true contrition. Avice de Lelle was
strictly forbidden to go outside the inner cloister
of the house, in any manner, or to talk to Robert
de Eton, chaplain, or any other secular person
whomsoever. She had confessed incontinence, and
was to undergo the penance appointed by the
rules of the order, and this was not to be mitigated until she had shown signs of true contrition
and amendment, concerning which the prioress
and convent were to certify the archbishop.
On Thursday before the translation of St.
Thomas the Martyr in the same year, (fn. 13) the
archbishop again visited the house and a month
later (30 January) sent a series of injunctions
very similar to those of 1314. As regards taking
boarders, the archbishop granted the prioress and
convent licence, on 21 May 1319, (fn. 14) to take
Margaret de Tweng to board in the house, at
her own charges.
Dissensions appear to have arisen again in the
following year, and the archbishop issued a
commission on 3 December 1319, (fn. 15) inquiring as
to the rebellious nuns of the house of Keeling,
clamorous information having reached his ears
that certain of the nuns had laid aside the
obedience and devotion to which they were
bound by their vows and had intrigued for the
injury and confusion of the house and their
sister nuns. They had revealed the secrets of
the chapter to seculars and to adversaries outside. (fn. 16)
At the same time the archbishop wrote to Avice
de la More that he had learnt with a bitter
heart that she had broken her vow of obedience
in arrogancy and elation of heart towards her
prioress, who was placed in charge of her soul
and body, and without whom she had no proper
will. (fn. 17) The archbishop exhorted her in the
Lord to desist from such behaviour, and study to
live according to rule.
There is after this a long silence in the Registers
as to Nunkeeling, except records of the election
and confirmation of prioresses of the house. On
4 March 1444 (fn. 18) Archbishop Kemp wrote to
Joan Bramston, the prioress, on behalf of Alice
Dalton, one of the nuns who had been guilty of
immorality and had apostatized. She had
undergone a penance at Yedingham, where she
had exhibited much contrition, and now desired
to be received back at Nunkeeling, and this the
archbishop directed to be done.
On 8 October 1487 (fn. 19) Archbishop Rotherham
granted licence to the prioress and convent to
celebrate yearly the day of the deposition of the
glorious confessor, St. John of Bridlington, as a
double feast, and ordered 'officia divina de propria historia dicti gloriosi confessoris, ipso die
dicenda, legenda, et cantanda' in the monastic
church.
Nunkeeling was one of the religious houses in
the county which for some unknown reason
escaped immediate dissolution with the rest,
being refounded by Letters Patent on
14 December 1537, but it surrendered in 1540. (fn. 20)
The deed of surrender has no signature, but the
convent seal is attached. The last prioress,
Christine Burgh, or Brughe, belonged to the
Richmondshire family of that name, and after the
Dissolution she settled at Catterick, where she
survived till 1566. In her will (fn. 21) she describes
herself as ' Cristine Burghe of Rychemond in
the countie of Yorke, gentylwoman, and laite
Priores of the laite dissolved nunrie of Nunkyllyng,' and directs that her body is to be buried in
the choir of Richmond Church. One bequest is
to 'Isabell Bane, gentylwoman, some tym a sister
of Nunkyllyng,' to whom she left ' one old
ryall.' (fn. 22) The total of her effects was valued at
£14 10s. 10d.
In a list of the members of the convent which
seems to have been drawn up on 30 May 1536 (fn. 23)
' Nonnekelyng' is described as of the Order of
St. Benedict; Joan Alanson, aged sixty, was
prioress, and the other nuns were: Cristine
Burgh (46), Agnes Hall (54), Alice Stapleton
(40), Margaret Sedgewick (46), Elizabeth Bayne
(40), Joan Mason (55), Isabella Mettam (36),
Alice Mason (36), Alice Thomlynson (36),
Dorothea Wilberfosse (25), and Joan Bowman
(26). They are described as ' All good religious
persons of good maner,' and against each name
is written in the margin ' religion,' indicating
that each desired to remain bound by her vows.
In 1526 the house was valued at £22 15s.6d. (fn. 24)
clear, and at the suppression at £35 15s. 5d. (fn. 25)
Prioresses of Nunkeeling
Avice, occurs 1250 (fn. 25a)
Agnes de Beverley, confirmed 1267 (fn. 26)
Agnes la Ruisse, occurs 1273, (fn. 27) 1300 (fn. 28)
Avice de Mora, (fn. 29) sub-prioress, (fn. 30) succeeded
1303, (fn. 31) resigned 1316 (fn. 32)
Isabella de St. Quintin, 1316, (fn. 33) occurs 1329 (fn. 34)
Isabella de Burton, admitted 1400 (fn. 35)
Joan Bossall, occurs 1423 (fn. 36)
Joan Berneston, (fn. 37) occurs 1434, (fn. 38) resigned
1453 (fn. 39)
Joan Tryrn, sub-prioress, 1453, (fn. 40) died 1493 (fn. 41)
Eleanor Rooce, confirmed 1493 (fn. 42)
Margaret Fulthorpe, confirmed 1504 (fn. 43) died
1505 (fn. 44)
Isabella Metham, confirmed 1505 (fn. 45)
Joan Alanson, sub-prioress, confirmed 1522 (fn. 46)
Christine Brughe, confirmed 1537 (fn. 47)
The 13th-century seal (fn. 48) is a vesica, 2¾ in. by
2 in., with a full-length figure of the patron saint
holding the cross. Of the nearly destroyed
legend there remains:
. . . IGILL .. . . NE DE KILLIN . . .