50. THE PRIORY OF HALTEMPRICE
With the exception of the two charterhouses
at Hull and Mount Grace, (fn. 1) the Augustinian
priory of Haltemprice was the last founded of
Yorkshire monasteries. More than seventy
years had elapsed since the establishment of any
monastery in Yorkshire, and rather more than a
century since the foundation of that of Healaugh
Park, (fn. 2) the most recent of the Augustinian
priories, when Thomas Wake, lord of Liddell,
began his foundation of the priory of the Holy
Cross at Haltemprice.
In December 1320 (fn. 3) Pope John XXII issued a
mandate to the Archbishop of York to license
Thomas Wake to found a monastery of the
order of St. Augustine in his town of Cottingham, and to incorporate the church of the said
town, being of the founder's patronage, with it.
An abbot or prior was to be appointed, and the
number of canons determined. In Cottingham,
however, a secure title to the site could not be
obtained, and on 26 June 1322 (fn. 4) Edward II
granted licence by Letters Patent to Thomas
Wake to confer a messuage in Newton on a
religious house of whatever order he wished to be
built there, and also to endow it with a carucate
of land and other property, as well as with the
advowson of the church of Cottingham. The
original site was evidently in Cottingham itself,
and Newton, about two miles south of Cottingham,
was within the parish. On 1 January 1325-6 (fn. 5)
Pope John XXII issued a bull, addressed to the
archbishop, reciting that Thomas Wake had
begun to build an Augustinian monastery in his
town of Cottingham, and had erected the church
and other of its buildings, and that several canons
of the house of Bourne in the diocese of Lincoln
had, with the leave of their abbot, taken up their
abode in it, and were celebrating mass and divine
offices, but that it had been found that owing to
certain statutes, constitutions, and customs of the
kingdom of England, the heirs or successors of
the founder would have power to demolish it.
The pope granted licence that the monastery
should be removed to another fit place, and when
so founded, the archbishop was to order the
canons, and unite the church of Cottingham to it.
The monastery therefore was removed to Newton. By his foundation charter, dated the Sunday after the Conversion of St. Paul (25 January)
1325-6, (fn. 6) Thomas Wake granted to God, Blessed
Mary, and all saints, in honour of the Nativity of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Annunciation of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Exaltation of the
Holy Cross, and for his soul, and those of his wife,
his father and mother, and his ancestors and
heirs, &c., to the canons regular of Alta Prisa
his manors and vills of Newton, Willerby, and
Wolfreton, with the rents and services of the free
tenants arid serfs, ordaining that those three vills
Newton (que nunc Hawtemprice vocatur), Willerby,
and Wolfreton should be made a liberty, with a
court of frankpledge distinct from Cottingham,
and should have assize of bread and ale, &c. He
also gave half the toll of the market of Cottingham, and of the fairs there, (fn. 7) and the advowsons
of the churches of Cottingham, Kirk Ella,
Wharram Percy, and Belton in the Isle of
Axholme. (fn. 8) The advowson of Kirk Ella (fn. 9) had
originally been given to the abbey of Selby by
Gilbert de Tyson, and confirmed to that house
by Richard I, and it continued a rectory while it
belonged to Selby. On the request of Thomas
Wake, Edward III granted licence in 1328 to
the Prior and convent of Haltemprice to give
certain land in Hessle to Selby in exchange for
the advowson of Kirk Ella, and to appropriate
the church to their priory. The original grant
of this church by Thomas Wake in 1325
suggests that the arrangement with Selby was in
contemplation, but had not been effected in law.
It was not, indeed, until 1331 that the Abbot
and convent of Selby granted the church of Kirk
Ella to Thomas Wake (and not to Haltemprice),
and not till 1343 that Archbishop Zouch, on
the death of Robert de Spirgurnell, then rector,
appropriated the church to Haltemprice, and
ordained a vicarage therein, which was to be held
by one of the canons of Haltemprice. The
appropriation of the churches of Kirk Ella and
Wharram Percy to Haltemprice was confirmed
on 13 June 1352 by Pope Clement VI. (fn. 10)
Other gifts were made to the priory, and in
1361 (fn. 11) John de Meaux gave or confirmed the
manor of Willerby and 6 acres of land there, on
condition that during his life the canons should
pay him the sum of £32 yearly, and that three
canons, while he lived, and six afterwards, should
perform matins with the other hours, mass,
vespers, and compline, with Dirige and Placebo
for his soul and the souls of Maud his wife,
Geoffrey de Meaux his father, and the lady
Scolastica his mother, Joan, Countess of Kent, and
all faithful departed. On 10 September 1325 (fn. 12)
Archbishop Melton directed the Archdeacon of the
East Riding and his official to go 'ad locum juxta
Cotingham situatum,' which certain canons of the
monastery of Bourne in the diocese of Lincoln
were inhabiting, the report of whose excesses had
reached the archbishop's ears, and to inquire as
to them, and correct abuses. The expression
juxta Cotingham seems to imply that the house
was not then in Cottingham, and therefore at
Newton, otherwise Haltemprice, but it was not
until eighteen months later (5 May 1327 (fn. 13) ) that
Thomas de Overton, a canon of Bourne, was
appointed first Prior of Haltemprice. The rule
of the first prior was brief, for on 28 January 1328-9 (fn. 14) the archbishop directed Denis
Avenel, Archdeacon of the East Riding, to
inquire into the election of Robert Engaigne as
Prior of Haltemprice, vacant by the death of
Thomas de Overton. The new prior had been
elected by Brothers Walter de Hekyngton and
Henry de Northwell, it being reported that there
were only these three canons belonging to the
priory at the time. The archdeacon replied on
28 February (fn. 15) that he had made the necessary
inquiry, and having found that all had been
rightly done, he had installed the new prior.
Prior Robert de Hickling, who held office for the
first time from 1349 till 1357, (fn. 16) when he was
succeeded by Peter de Harpham, on whose
resignation in 1362 (fn. l7) he was elected fora second
term of office, does not seem to have been a
successful ruler of the house, for in 1367 (fn. 18)
Archbishop Thoresby ordered an investigation of
the state of the house of Haltemprice, which
public report declared was so gravely burdened
by debt, and in so parlous a state owing to the
indiscreet rule of the prior and the carelessness
of the officials, that absolute ruin was threatened.
To the prior (fn. 19) the archbishop wrote that Robert
de Burton, one of the canons, was to be associated with him in the rule of the house till
Michaelmas, without whose assistance he was to
do nothing pertaining to the temporal business of
the house.
On 10 November 1400 (fn. 20) Boniface IX
granted an indulgence of the 'portiuncula' to
penitents who visited and gave alms on the feasts
of the Annunciation and St. Michael to the
church of the Augustinian priory of 'Hautinprisse,' with an indult for the prior and six other
confessors, secular or religious, deputed by him,
to hear confessions, and on 21 May 1402 (fn. 21) the
same pope granted an indult to the Augustinian
Prior and convent of 'Hautenpriis,' who by the
institutions and customs of their order were
bound to wear sandals (ocreas), that in future
they might wear shoes (calciamentis seu sotularibus
bassis et communibus).
On 3 September 1411 (fn. 22) Pope John XXIII,
having learnt that the building and foundation of
the Augustinian priory of St. Mary the Virgin
and the Holy Cross of 'Hautenpris' had been
begun in times not far remote, and by reason
of its founder's death was not completed and
its endowment left insufficient, and, further,
that the bell-tower of its church had been lately
blown down, ruining the church and certain of
the priory buildings, and that a fire had destroyed
the costly priory gate and a number of the
adjoining offices, and that a number of the other
buildings were in ruin, so that the monastery
was scarcely habitable for the prior and convent,
regranted the indulgence of the 'portiuncula'
for a period of ten years. This is the only
information there is as to these disasters which
had befallen the priory at this period. In 1424, (fn. 23)
Richard Worleby having resigned the office of
prior, John Thwynge (sub-prior) was elected by
the other ten canons. (fn. 24)
When Henry VI in 1440 granted a charter to
the town of Kingston-upon-Hull, constituting it
a county of itself, the whole of the site of the
priory was included in the county of the town.
This, says Burton, (fn. 25) led to a dispute, which was
referred to Bryan Palmes, serjeant-at-law, and
others. The award was that the prior had all
such liberties, franchises, and royalties as the
lordship of Cottingham ever had, but that while
Cottingham carried its felons and murderers to
York Castle, the monastery of Haltemprice,
being in Hullshire, carried theirs to Hull.
The commissioners supervised the house on
26 May 1536 (fn. 26) and suppressed it on 12 August
following; Robert Collynson was then prior, and
there were nine 'confratres.' Law expenses
are recorded in going to London and Hull in
actions 'versus homines ville de Hull.' There
were forty servants and boys at the time of the
suppression. As to superstition, Drs. Layton
and Legh (fn. 27) say that there was a 'peregrination'
to Thomas Wake for fever, and that an arm of
St. George was had in veneration, and a piece of
the Holy Cross, and the girdle of the Blessed
Virgin, esteemed salutary to women in childbirth.
The clear annual value in 1535 was
£100 0s. 3½d. (fn. 28)
In the return 6 Edward VI, (fn. 29) as to the
payment of pensions, the commissioners reported
under 'Alt'price'—'Robert Collynson nuper
prior de Hawdymprice obijt circa xm diem
octobris ultimo elapso [1551] [et] his pencon was
by yere xx li.' No other names are given, from
which it may be surmised that no members of
the house were then alive.
Priors Of Haltemprice
Thomas de Overton, 1327, (fn. 30) died 1328 (fn. 31)
Robert Engayne, elected 1329, (fn. 32) resigned (fn. 33)
John de Hickling, confirmed 1331 (fn. 34)
Thomas de Elveley, confirmed 1332, (fn. 35)
resigned 1338 (fn. 36)
William de Wolfreton, 1338, (fn. 37) died 1349 (fn. 38)
Robert de Hickling, 1349, (fn. 39) resigned 1357 (fn. 40)
Peter de Harpham, 1357, (fn. 41) resigned 1362 (fn. 42)
Robert de Hickling, elected 1362 (fn. 43) (query
second time), occurs 1367 (fn. 44)
Peter (query de Harpham a second time),
occurs 1370 (fn. 45)
Robert Claworth, died 1391 (fn. 46)
William de Selby, confirmed 1391-2, (fn. 47) occurs
1414 (fn. 48)
Richard Worleby, occurs 1415, (fn. 49) 1423, (fn. 50)
resigned (fn. 51)
John Thweng, elected 1424 (occurs 1425,
1430-5, 1437) (fn. 52)
Robert Thweng, occurs 1435, 1439
Thomas Dalehouse, elected 1441, (fn. 53) resigned
1457 (fn. 54)
Robert Holme, confirmed 1457 (fn. 55)
William Maunsel, elected 1471-2, (fn. 56) died
1502 (fn. 57)
William Kirkham, 1502, (fn. 58) died 1506 (fn. 59)
John Wymmersley, 1506, (fn. 60) died 1514 (fn. 61)
John Nandike, confirmed 1514, (fn. 62) occurs 1517 (fn. 63)
Nicholas Haldesworth, elected 1518 (fn. 64)
Richard Fawconer, elected 1528, (fn. 65) resigned
1531 (fn. 66)
Robert Colynson, elected 1531-2, (fn. 67) last prior
The remarkable 14th-century seal is circular,
2¾ in. in diameter. On the obverse, (fn. 68) inclosed
in an octofoil, having fleurs de lis and leopards'
heads alternately in the spandrels, is a representation of the house, with two banners on, its roof of
the arms of Thomas, Lord Wake of Liddell, the
founder. On the right is a shield of his arms,
two bars with three roundels in the chief, and
on the left is a burelly shield which perhaps
represents the arms of the Stutevilles of Liddell,
whose heiress was great-grandmother of the
founder. Below is a third shield charged with a
cross paty. The legend is
✠ CEO EST LE SEAL LABBE E LE COVENT DE
COTINGHAM QVE NOVS THOMAS WAKE SINGNOVB
DE LIDEL AVOMES FOVNDE.
The reverse, (fn. 69) in an architectural octofoil,
shows a three-storied architectural composition
with a rood in the uppermost compartment.
Below, the prior kneels between St. Peter and
St. Paul, and at the bottom are five praying
canons. Outside this design are two kneeling
figures. That to the left is the founder, Thomas,
Lord Wake, with his arms upon his ailettes;
that to the right is his wife. Above each of
them is a banner of Wake, and the same arms
are repeated on a small shield at the base of the
composition. The legend on this side is a
continuation of that on the obverse, and runs
✠ EN L'AN DE L'INCARNACION MILL' CCCXXX
SECOVNDE AL HONOVR DE LA VERAI CROYZ E
DE N[otr]E DAME E SEYNT PERE E D' SE[yn]T POVL.