HOUSES OF BENEDICTINE MONKS
1. PRIORY OF ST. MARY OF WORCESTER
The origin of the cathedral at Worcester may
be traced far back to the establishment of the
episcopal see of the Hwiccas, in 680, on the division of the unwieldy diocese of Mercia carried
out by Archbishop Theodore, with the co-operation of the Mercian King Ethelred and other
Hwiccan princes. (fn. 1) Numerous grants and privileges were bestowed by Ethelred and subsequent
kings and viceroys on the bishop and his familia,
the first occupants of the cathedral monastery,
dedicated, like most Hwiccan foundations
of an early date, to St. Peter. It is difficult to
define the precise character of these early
societies and 'families.' Bede states that they
were originally composed of a mixed company of
clerks and monks, but which of the two elements
preponderated is still open to conjecture. The
first mention of another society composed entirely of monks, destined eventually to swallow
up and supersede the earlier establishment, occurs
in a charter of Ethelbald, king of the Mercians,
dated 743, granting to the monastery of St. Mary
of Worcester the reversion of lands at Cold
Ashton and Notgrove in Gloucestershire which
he had bestowed on Osred, a member of the
royal family of the Hwiccas. (fn. 2) Nothing is
known of the earliest origin of St. Mary.
Green suggests, but gives no authority, that it
may be identified with the monastery at Worcester founded by Alfred and presided over by
his daughter, the abbess Ethelburga. (fn. 3) The
more probable theory is that this second society
was the outcome of the separation of the dual
elements of which the first establishment was
composed, and that the mixed society which had
early formed the bishop's 'familia' resolved
itself into the secular college of St. Peter and the
monastic society of St. Mary. (fn. 4) In support of
this theory Dr. Stubbs (fn. 5) notes that the earliest
references to St. Mary occur about the time of
the Council of Clovesho, which laid a definite
obligation on all monks and nuns to follow the
rule of St. Benedict. (fn. 6) The distinction between
the two establishments continued up to the time
of St. Oswald, by whom the bishop's chair,
which had hitherto belonged to St. Peter's
church, was transferred to St. Mary's, which
henceforth became known as the cathedral
church of St. Mary of Worcester. In the centuries intervening the two churches existing side
by side benefited equally from the liberality of
Mercian princes. About the year 757 Eanberht, viceroy of the Hwiccas, with his brothers
Uhtred and Aldred, granted land at Tredingtonon-Stour to Bishop Milred and the church of
St. Peter, 'where our parents lie buried,' that
prayers and masses might be offered to God
daily. (fn. 7) His brother, the viceroy Uhtred, gave
land at Stoke Prior on the east of the river Salwarpe to the brethren serving God in the monastery at Worcester dedicated to the Virgin Mary,
and in 775 bestowed on the church of St. Mary, (fn. 8)
'where the bodies of my parents lie buried,'
Shipston-on-Stour, for the better keeping of a
good table and for the use of Christ's poor inhabiting there. (fn. 9) Probably the two churches
shared the same cemetery, though St. Peter's
churchyard is generally given as the burial
ground of Hwiccan princes. Wigferth, duke of
the Mercians, with his wife Alta, considerable
benefactors to the see, and of whose gift the
monks of Worcester claimed the manor and church
of Lindridge, (fn. 10) was buried here about the year
781 under a stone cross in the cathedral cemetery. (fn. 11) St. Oswald is said to have preached
to the people too numerous for St. Peter's
church from the stone cross in the churchyard before St. Mary's was built; we read
that it was taken down in the time of Edward
the Confessor in order to repair the church of
St. Peter. (fn. 12) Aldred the viceroy added Sedgeberrow, which he had obtained from King Offa, to
the possessions of St. Mary. (fn. 13) Offa made numerous grants to both churches, but the authenticity
of his charters as well as those of Uhtred the
viceroy is regarded as more than doubtful.
The see, and consequently the cathedral
chapter, profited largely by a practice in vogue
during the eighth and ninth centuries for rich
laymen to make temporary provision for their
families, and at the same time testify to their
devotion to religion by making over large grants
of money or land for the foundation of monasteries where relations of the donor could be
established for life, but with the intention of
their final reversion to the episcopal see. Fladbury was one of the earliest of these foundations
thus absorbed into the college at Worcester.
Bishop Oftfor obtained it by grant of King
Ethelred about the year 961, (fn. 14) and it was regranted by Bishop Ecgwin to Ethelheard, son of
Oshere the Mercian sub-regulus and early benefactor of the see, in exchange for Stratford, on
condition that its monastic state should be maintained. (fn. 15) It descended to the viceroy Aldred by
inheritance, and was by him granted to the
Abbess Ethelburga his kinswoman on condition
of its reversion to the see. (fn. 16) On her death it
was confirmed to Bishop Deneberht and his
familia by King Kenulf. The Danish raids fell
heavily on the diocese during the ninth century,
and the bishops were obliged to make considerable grants of church lands in order to purchase
protection. (fn. 17)
Bishop Oswald, destined to end the long
rivalry between the sister churches of St. Peter
and St. Mary, (fn. 18) was appointed to the see in 961
by the influence of Dunstan. (fn. 19) He proceeded at
once to bring about the reforms for which he had
been selected, but chose a gentler method than
that adopted by his fellow-reformers Dunstan
and Ethelwald: instead of forcibly expelling
the secular canons who refused to comply he
undermined and supplanted them. (fn. 20) He began
by showing a marked preference for St. Mary's
church, and by frequent attendance there at
divine offices so drew off the people who flocked
to hear him preach and receive his blessing that
St. Peter's became practically deserted. (fn. 21) He
then proceeded to build a new and stately
church in St. Peter's churchyard, which he
dedicated to the Blessed Mary. By these and
other means (fn. 22) the seculars found themselves so
reduced that, with Wynsin, a creature of Oswald's,
kirkward of St. Peter's and vicar of St. Helen's
church, at their head, they peaceably handed over
the keys, deeds, etc. of the college to the bishop,
and with but two exceptions consented to receive the habit. (fn. 23) Wynsin was sent to Ramsey,
and after undergoing three years' probation was
installed dean of St. Mary's, whither the inmates
of St. Peter's had been transferred. In this
manner the possession of the bishop's seat passed
over to St. Mary's church, or, in the language of
William of Malmesbury, 'the saint who bears
the keys of paradise made way for her who keeps
the door of heaven.' (fn. 24) The date of the completion of this transfer is generally given as 969, (fn. 25)
though the famous charter of King Edgar, now
generally regarded as a forgery, referring to the
reforms effected by St. Oswald, and commenting
severely on the previous occupants of the cathedral, is dated 964. (fn. 26) By it the lands and possessions of the bishop and chapter were consolidated
into the hundred of Oswaldslawe, containing
300 hides in Worcestershire, to be held under
the legal jurisdiction of the bishop with privileges and exemptions, excluding that of the
hundred or county courts.
The new cathedral church, with its twentyeight altars, (fn. 27) was completed in 983. (fn. 28) The
bishop was not allowed to resign Worcester on
his promotion to York in 972, lest in his
absence the reforms established by him in the
cathedral chapter should be undone. (fn. 29) On his
death in 992 he was buried in the church which
he had built from the foundations. Ten years
later his remains were translated by Aldulf,
then archbishop of York, and placed in a
shrine. (fn. 30)
The church of Worcester suffered severely
under the Danish invasion of the early part of
the eleventh century. A schedule of its possessions lost about this time states that during the
reign of King Ethelred the country was wasted
and depopulated under Sweyn, the pagan king of
the Danes, and that in order to meet the heavy
tax laid on the whole of England nearly all the
ornaments of the cathedral were taken, the
altars despoiled of their gold and silver tables
(tabulœ), crosses and chalices melted down, and
large sums of money carried off. (fn. 31) The citizens
of Worcester rose in rebellion under the extortion of Hardicanute, and pursued the two housecarls sent to enforce payment, and slew them
in the monastery whither they had fled. The
army sent by the king to take vengeance laid
waste the city for four days, and left on the fifth
day carrying plunder with them. (fn. 32) The cathedral thus ravaged with fire and sword remained
until replaced by the foundation of Wulfstan II.,
the last Saxon prelate, who succeeded on the eve
of the conquest. His predecessor, Archbishop
Ealdred, will be remembered for his curse of the
usurping sheriff of Worcester, Urse D'Abitôt,
against whose encroachments on their burial
ground the monks of St. Mary's had applied for
protection. (fn. 33)
Wulfstan began his career under Bishop
Brihteah, by whom he was ordained deacon and
priest. Urged by his parents, and especially his
mother, he proceeded to take monastic vows and
entered the monastery of St. Mary, of which his
father was already an inmate. He filled the
offices of scholasticus, or master of the school, and
treasurer in succession, and on the death of
Ethelwin, or Agelwin, was made prior. (fn. 34) He
was chosen, it is said, against his will to fill the
see vacated by the promotion of Bishop Ealdred
to York in 1061. (fn. 35) He was the friend of Harold,
but after the battle of Hastings when all was
lost he met the Conqueror at Berkhampstead and
with others made submission to him. (fn. 36) An entry
in Heming's chartulary records a grant of two
hides of land at Cullacliffe made as early as 1067
to the bishop and his monks on condition that
they should 'intercede faithfully for the Conqueror's soul and for those who assisted him when
he obtained the lordship of this land.' (fn. 37) Worcester
is said to have shared the fate of other monasteries
plundered in 1069, (fn. 38) but the feeling of mutual
confidence and respect between bishop and king
was maintained during the Conqueror's reign
nevertheless, and by another charter William
testified to Wulfstan the bishop and Urse the
sheriff that he had confirmed to Alstan the dean
and the monks of Worcester all customs and
privileges pertaining to their priory. (fn. 39)
According to the Domesday Survey the church
of Worcester (fn. 40) at that time held in Worcestershire, besides the triple hundred of the Oswaldslawe,
land at Cleeve Prior, Phepson, and Hanbury
within the hundred of Esch, at Stoke Prior and
Alvechurch within the hundred of Came, at
Hartlebury and Wolverley in that of Cresslau, and
the two manors of Eardiston in Lindridge and
Knighton on Teme assigned to the support of
the monks within the hundred of Dodingtree. (fn. 41)
In addition the church held various manors and
estates in the counties of Gloucester and Warwick. (fn. 42)
By a suit instituted on the death of Archbishop
Ealdred in 1069 and on the promotion of his
successor Thomas, Wulfstan was able to prove
the claim of the subjection of Worcester to York
to be groundless, the council confirming the
ancient liberties of the church as granted by the
kings of Mercia and of the English. (fn. 43)
In 1084 Wulfstan began his life's work, the
erection of a new cathedral in place of St.
Oswald's, which had been so grievously damaged
in the Danish raids, and which was now ordered
to be unroofed and demolished. (fn. 44) In 1089 the
work was completed, and the monks entered
their new and enlarged monastery on the Day of
Pentecost in that same year, the bishop offering
upon the altar on the dedication day of the church,
built to the pious memory of Blessed Oswald, the
manor of Alveston in Warwickshire, recovered
from the Conqueror at great labour and cost, and
now applied to the maintenance of the brethren
whose number Wulfstan had augmented from
twelve to fifty. (fn. 45) Among other good works for
the benefit of the community Sanctœ Mariæ in
Cryptis, (fn. 46) Wulfstan restored the house of Westbury,
which had fallen into decay through time, 'the
ravages of pirates, and the neglect of provosts'
(prepositorum), and gave it back to the use of the
monks of Worcester, with whom it had been
early associated as one of those 'family' monasteries of which mention has already been made. (fn. 47)
At his wise instigation 'Heming the monk'
codified the wonderful collection of charters and
documents relating to the see and church of
Worcester, known to us as Heming's Chartulary,
as a means of ensurance against further loss in
future. (fn. 48) One of the last acts of his life was to
convene a synod in the monastery of 'Saint Mary
in the crypts' in 1092 to decide a dispute between
the parish priests of the churches of St. Helen and
St. Alban as to which was the mother church of
Worcester. The prior and chapter put in a claim
to St. Helen's church, alleging that it had belonged
to them since the foundation of the see. The
synod found that there was no mother church but
the cathedral. (fn. 49)
The successors of Wulfstan the last Saxon
bishop (fn. 50) owed their appointment during the
twelfth century to court influence. Indirectly
their connexion with the king and official life
benefited the cathedral chapter by enhancing the
importance of the city and see of Worcester
before the sanctity attaching in the following
century to the tombs of SS. Oswald and Wulfstan
had established its fame. Bishop Sampson, consecrated in 1096, bestowed many gifts on the
monks, but was disapproved by them for revoking
the constitution of Westbury and re-establishing
secular canons there. (fn. 51) In the interval between
his death and the appointment of his successor
the cathedral was considerably damaged by fire,
in which it is said the roof was wholly consumed,
'the lead melted, the planks converted into
charcoal, and beams as large as trees fell to the
pavement'; the escape of Wulfstan's tomb was
regarded as miraculous. (fn. 52) Bishops Sampson and
Theulf were both buried in the nave of
St. Mary's before the crucifix. (fn. 53) Stephen was
received at Worcester in 1139 by the clergy
and citizens with open arms; the ring from his
finger which the king offered on the altar was
scrupulously returned to him the following day. (fn. 54)
In the later part of the year the city was thrown
into commotion by the report of the advance of
the Empress's troops. The citizens prepared for
assault by depositing their goods and valuables in
the cathedral. (fn. 55) The monks endeavoured to
avert the doom by carrying the relics of St. Oswald
in procession. The cathedral appears to have
escaped in the firing of the city which ensued. (fn. 56)
Bishop Simon showed himself a liberal benefactor of the convent, to whom he subjected
the priory of Little Malvern with the church of
St. Giles, (fn. 57) restored the church of Lawern, (fn. 58) and
gave back to the monks their right in the church
of Westbury. (fn. 59)
From the reign of Henry I. Worcester frequently became the headquarters of the king and
court during the great festivals of the year. (fn. 60)
Roger de Hoveden states that Henry II. caused
himself to be crowned for the third time with
Eleanor his wife at Worcester in the solemn feast
of Easter 1159. When they came to the offertory
the king and queen removed their crowns and
laid them on the altar with a vow that they
would henceforth cease to wear them. (fn. 61) Roger,
who occupied the see for the first part of the
reign of Henry II., during his rule settled
various disputes that had arisen between the
convent and Osbert de Say respecting the
churches of All Saints and St. Clement,
Worcester, (fn. 62) delivering judgment in the crypt of
the cathedral before the altar of St. Peter. In
1178 he terminated a controversy between the
monks of Worcester and the nuns of Westwood
respecting the patronage of the church of
Dodderhill. (fn. 63) In 1175 the new tower of the
cathedral is reported to have given way, and a
disastrous fire in 1189 did great damage. (fn. 64)
Richard I. in the first year of his reign granted
to St. Mary's church and the bishop and his
successors, for the soul of his father King Henry
and the good estate of his mother Eleanor and
himself, 614 acres of assarted land, parcel of
various manors belonging to the bishop. (fn. 65) John
de Coutances in the short term of his office is
said to have removed irreverently and by night
the bones of St. Wulfstan; they were restored to
their resting-place by Bishop Mauger in 1204. (fn. 66)
The wonderful miracles attributed to the relics
of the saint did not begin till 14 January, 1201,
'which for a whole year or more increased to
such an extent that sometimes fifteen or sixteen
sick were cured in one day.' (fn. 67) A deputation of
the monks was despatched to Rome to procure
the canonization of their patron, and on 1 September, 1202, the archbishop of Canterbury, with
other commissioners, visited Worcester at the
command of the pope for the purpose of holding
an enquiry. (fn. 68) As a consequence of this report
St. Wulfstan was canonized at Rome on 23 April,
1203. (fn. 69) These events had an important bearing,
for in 1202 the cathedral with its adjoining
offices was again visited by fire, (fn. 70) and the revenue
accruing to the brethren by the offerings of
pilgrims who flocked to the shrine largely enabled
them to rebuild their church and monastery.
By the year 1224 these offerings had become
so valuable that the bishop and convent had to
come to some agreement as to their respective
shares. (fn. 71) In 1216 the men of the earl of Hereford plundered the cathedral and exacted 300
marks from the monks, for which they were
compelled to melt down the shrine of St.
Wulfstan. (fn. 72)
King John visited the city (fn. 73) in the Christmastide of 1217, and having been received in
solemn procession made his prayer at the tomb
of the saint; subsequently at the request of the
prior he granted to the brethren full liberties
and customs within the manors of Lindridge,
Wolverley, Stoke and Cleeve Prior, (fn. 74) and commuted the fine to which they were liable for the
grant that it might be applied to the repair of their
church. (fn. 75) On the confiscation of church lands
which followed the Interdict in 1208, the king
ordered the sheriff to restore to the prior of
Worcester all his lands and rents. (fn. 76) Following
the death of Bishop Mauger the chapter elected
their prior to be his successor, but the election
was set aside in favour of Walter de Gray, the
king's chancellor, and Prior Ralph, having
renounced the right of his election, was blessed
by the papal legate as abbot of Evesham, (fn. 77) of which
body he was already a member. (fn. 78) John wrote
to the prior and chapter on the elevation of Gray
to York in 1216 pointing out the expediency of
making fit choice of those pastors who should be
useful to the king and his realm and desiring
them on those grounds not to elect their subprior or the prior of Little Malvern. (fn. 79) Thus
admonished the convent elected their prior
Silvester de Evesham who had just returned
from the Roman council, (fn. 80) having received letters
of protection from the king earlier in the year. (fn. 81)
The death of John followed some months later.
In obedience to his last wishes (fn. 82) the abbot of
Croxton, after performing the customary anatomical operation, conveyed the body of the king
from Newark to Worcester, where it was buried
before the high altar of the cathedral between
SS. Oswald and Wulfstan; the chronicler adds
'that the saying of Merlin might be verified,
let him be buried between the saints.' (fn. 83) The
monks seized the occasion to obtain from the
guardians of the infant king Henry III. that
part of the castle of Worcester within the king's
fee which they had long claimed, (fn. 84) the king himself confirmed the grant in 1232, (fn. 85) and in the
same year bestowed on the brethren the church
of Bromsgrove to provide for the yearly celebration of his father's anniversary. (fn. 86) In an entry under
the year 1224 we read of the king's order to the
Exchequer to pay for an embroidered cloth 'to
cover the tomb of our father.' (fn. 87)
In June 1218 the cathedral church all
this time in building was solemnly consecrated
and dedicated anew to St. Mary, St. Peter,
St. Oswald, and St. Wulfstan, in presence of the
young king, his nobles and bishops, and on the same
day the remains of St. Wulfstan were translated
to a permanent shrine. (fn. 88) William de Blois built
the charnel-chapel or Carnarie, situated between
the cathedral and the bishop's palace, with a crypt
under it for the bones of the faithful, and dedicated it to St. Thomas the Martyr. He ordained
that mass should be said daily in the chapel for
the repose of his soul and of his predecessor's. It
was endowed by Walter de Cantilupe in 1265
for the maintenance of four priests. (fn. 89) The
prior, we are told, began to build his house in
August 1225, and finished it in December next. (fn. 90)
The episcopacy of William de Blois, 12181236, was an important one in the building up
and consolidation of the power and independence
enjoyed by the convent at a later stage when
the interests of bishop and chapter had become
to a certain extent divorced. The frequent disputes which estranged the community taught
them at least the necessity of a clear definition of
the extent of the bishop's power in chapter, and
the limit of their submission to him as head.
Forced on the monks against their will by the
papal legate Guala, the convent reluctantly consented to elect William, then archdeacon of
Bucks, to the vacant see on the death of Silvester
de Evesham. It must be admitted that he showed
himself both able and energetic in carrying on
the work of building, and enlarging the revenues
of the monastery. In 1220 his struggle with
the community began. He visited and made a
searching examination into the internal and external affairs of the houses, with the object, it
appeared, of deposing the prior. (fn. 91) The attempt
was foiled by the obstinate resistance offered by
the brethren, and in the following year they
claimed to have received letters of indulgence
from Rome forbidding his deposition unless instigated by the pope himself. In the discussions
which ensued the sacristan was deposed and
three of the monks excommunicated in one day,
the enraged community retaliating by violently
opposing the bishop when he attempted to enter
the chapter-house with his clerks. The pope
suspended the prior the following year, and the
bishop returning from Rome deposed him and
instituted William Norman, prior of Great Malvern, in his place, the monks meanwhile violently
protesting. (fn. 92) The quarrel lasted till the year 1224,
in the course of which the bishop seems to have
seized certain pensions and rents of the monks
which he was afterwards ordered to restore. (fn. 93)
The meeting held in the chapter-house on
3 October, 1224, presided over by the archbishop of Canterbury, decided with an object of
putting an end to strife that William Norman
should resign his office and receive the manor of
Cleeve Prior for his lifetime by way of compensation, that the convent should pay his expenses,
amounting to 100 marks, in the suit, and that the
bishop should appoint another prior from outside
the cathedral body. For the future it was provided that on the vacancy of the house the convent should present seven of their number to the
bishop, who should appoint a prior out of the
seven, and he should not be removed save for
just cause, and during such vacancy the bishop
should have the presentation to churches belonging
to the priory together with wardships, marriages,
and escheats of all free tenants, all other profits
remaining to the convent. (fn. 94) The appointment of
a prior should not be delayed so as to cause
injury to the convent. (fn. 95) The bishop and chapter
should each retain half of the offerings made at
the bier and shrine of Blessed St. Wulfstun, and
both parties should appoint 'honest clerks' for
the custody of the same. It was further
enacted that the bishop before entering the
chapter-house should warn the convent, and
should be attended only by his clerks if he
intended to treat of spiritual matters. He
might be accompanied by seculars if temporal
matters were to be discussed. Finally all were
admonished to lay aside rancour and ill-feeling and
to forgive mutually all debts and expenses incurred by the other. (fn. 96) In 1234 a suit between
the bishop and chapter respecting the church of St.
Helen, Worcester, was settled by arbitration which
ordained that the bishop should have jurisdiction
over the church with the chapel of Claines on
the east of the Severn and that the convent
should hold in proprios usus the church with the
chapels of Wyke and Wickhamford on the west
of the Severn for the hospitality of their house. (fn. 97) A
composition in 1283 between Boniface, archbishop of Canterbury, and the monks of Worcester ordained that in the vacancy of the see the
custody of the spiritualities should be vested in the
prior, or in the event of his death or absence in
the sub-prior, as the archbishop's official, with the
right of exercising such spiritual jurisdiction
within the diocese as pertained to the office of
custodian. Two-thirds of the profits of administration should go to the archbishop, the prior
retaining the other third with all procurations
made in kind. (fn. 98) It may also be recalled here
that St. Wulfstan confirmed the right of the
priors of Worcester since the days of Wynsin to
be deans over all the churches belonging to the
monks so that no dean or archdeacon could have
any right therein, all ecclesiastical dues being
paid by the prior as dean direct to the bishop. (fn. 99)
Bishop Cantilupe obtained from Henry III.
grants of various privileges for lands belonging
to the church. He took, however, a prominent
part on the side of the Barons in the troubles of
the later part of the reign, and while under the
pope's ban for his complicity with the king's
enemies the prior was summoned to the great
parliament held at Winchester in 1265 after the
fall of De Montfort from which the bishop was
excluded. (fn. 100) We read that on the eve of these
troubles the archbishop of Canterbury visited
Worcester in 1260 and was received by the bishop
and convent who paid a procuration of four
marks. (fn. 101)
The thirteenth-century register of the Blessed
Mary of Worcester contains a minute account of
the internal economy of the convent about this
time. This interesting document, besides the
larger part, consisting of a specimen rent roll of
the monastery for the year 1240, contains entries
of public interest such as the re-issue of the
Charter in 1224, the charter of the forests,
with numerous charters and bulls relating to the
possessions and liberties of the cathedral chapter.
From it we learn the manner in which its large
revenue was applied to the various offices, the provision for lights at the various chapels and altars
as well as in the dormitory, the disposition of
bequests, (fn. 102) the celebration of the anniversary of
King John named among other benefactors and
departed priors, the wages paid to the servants
and to the prior's familia, the servants' Christmas
gifts, the daily distribution of bread outside the
convent body, the portion of St. Wulfstan, their
patron and benefactor whom the brethren deemed
ever present among them, the forms to be observed
on the death of a prior, the notices served on the
death of a member of the house to other houses
within the bishop's fraternity. (fn. 103) It is possible to
reconstruct much of the routine of this Benedictine house from such abundant material.
Immediately on his consecration in 1268
Bishop Giffard (fn. 104) bestowed on the prior and
chapter the church of Grimley with the chapel
of Hallow; (fn. 105) during his rule he confirmed the
composition made with William de Blois for the
custody of the priory during a vacancy, and in
1275 placed the cathedral under the protection
of the pope who confirmed to the church of
St. Mary all its possessions and prohibited the
custom of the king and bailiffs seizing the
movable goods of the priory on the death of its
bishop. (fn. 106) He augmented the number of priests to
officiate in the charnel-chappel from four to six,
and added to their endowment the churches of
St. Helen in Worcester and Naunton in Cotswold, (fn. 107) and shortly before his death bestowed on
the priory the church of Dodderhill. (fn. 108)
Edward I. was a frequent visitor at Worcester and is said to have had a special love for
St. Wulfstan. (fn. 109) He held Parliament here on an
outbreak of the Welsh in 1282, (fn. 110) and made a
practice of stopping to hear St. Wulfstan's mass
and to implore the aid of the saint's prayers
when summoned to quell disturbances in Wales.
On the eve of the Gascon expedition in 1293
he sent his clerk with offerings for St. Wulfstan
and two golden cloths for the high altar. On
the same day the chapter ordained that three
masses of St. Wulfstan should be said weekly
until the king's return in safety. (fn. 111) He came to
Worcester by boat in July, 1295, before embarking for France, and heard mass and made
offerings to the shrines of St. Wulfstan and
St. Oswald, and on the morrow, kneeling before
the tomb of St. Wulfstan, the prior and precentor
standing by, he vowed to God and the saints
that in return for the intercession of St. Wulfstan he would provide for the maintenance of
three monks in the convent and two candles
to burn before the shrine. (fn. 112) In fulfilment of
this promise he bestowed on the convent
the church of Worfield on the occasion of his
visit here with the queen 16 April, 1301. (fn. 113) The
king in 1302 made a grant to the convent of
the offerings of St. Wulfstan's shrine during all
future vacancies. (fn. 114) The monks had to sustain a
suit for their possession of the church of Bromsgrove in 1279 which they won, (fn. 115) but were
subsequently fined for holding assize of bread
within the manor. (fn. 116) The convent obtained from
the king in 1282 a confirmation of previous
charters granted to them by his predecessors. (fn. 117)
Despite the evidences of wealth and distinction that attended the rule of Giffard it was not
a time wholly of gain to the convent. The
bishop and chapter joined in concert in opposing
outside interference with their joint rights, but
the controversies that rent them internally were
long and bitter and did much to foster that
growing spirit of rebellion and independence
which marked the attitude of the monks. The
articles of complaint formulated against the
bishop by the convent on the occasion of the
archbishop's visitation in 1301 (fn. 118) contain the
gravamen of these disputes. (fn. 119) Among other
things the monks complained that the bishop
had stirred up the sacristan against the prior, (fn. 120) had
made the best churches in his patronage prebendal to Westbury, (fn. 121) and wasted the first fruits
of vacant churches within his diocese which
should have been applied to the repair of
the church of Worcester described as ruinous.
He was further accused of impoverishing the
convent by making certain grants prejudicial to
them without their consent, that he had on one
occasion when visiting them made grievous
statutes and received fifty marks from the chapter
for revoking them, and on another occasion had
brought with him so many of his kinsmen that
the number of horsemen quartered on the
monastery amounted to a hundred. Every
grievance, extortion, or encroachment was set
down, including the destruction of pots and
pans by the bishop's retinue. Many of the
charges were denied or explained away by
Giffard, but allowing for exaggeration much
truth remains in the complaints. Giffard had
picturesque qualities, but he was of an imperious
disposition with a stubborn temper that brooked
no opposition, fond of state and display, and
regardless of scruples that weigh with smaller
men. (fn. 122) He loved to entertain royally and to do
good to those of his kith and kin.
The convent was visited at frequent intervals
during the rule of Giffard; his visitations here
are recorded in 1282 (fn. 123) and in the year 1284,
when according to his register he found nothing
reprehensible. (fn. 124) In the intervening year the
diocese was visited by Archbishop Peckham; he
arrived at Worcester on the morrow of the
Feast of the Purification, 1283, and received procuration from the bishop but lay at the priory;
the following day he visited the monks. (fn. 125) Relations between bishop and convent in the
ensuing years became much strained owing to
prolonged and bitter dispute, and an incident
which occurred in 1288 rendered the contest
between them more acute. On the death of
Robert de Fangef, archdeacon of Gloucester, (fn. 126)
John de Ebroicis, a nephew of Giffard, was
appointed. In the first year of his appointment
he claimed the right of calling the names of the
candidates at an ordination held at Westbury;
the precentor of the cathedral, to whom the
office of custom belonged, attempted to vindicate
his claim, but was ignominiously expelled, the
bishop apparently assenting; the following year
the incident was repeated at Bromsgrove. (fn. 127) The
convent were up in arms at the slight, and
during 1288 protested against the bishop receiving the monks' professions pending their appeal
for the rights of their church. (fn. 128) The Annals
record two fruitless attempts on the part of
Giffard to enter the chapter-house in 1288.
Finally he yielded to the extent of admitting
that the rights of the church were whatever
they had been before the expulsion of the precentor from Westbury. (fn. 129) The monks were not
so successful, according to their own showing,
in their next controversy, and it served also to
stir up the archbishop of Canterbury against
them. Their smouldering dislike of the
Franciscan friars had in 1289 broken out in open
feud; they carried off by force the body of a
certain citizen of Worcester, H. de Poche, who
the friars asserted desired to be buried by them,
and caused it to be buried in their own
cemetery. (fn. 130) The archbishop interfered, (fn. 131) and
eventually, after a series of inquiries, the brethren
were compelled to dig up and return the body
to the brothers minor, who, regardless of their
promise to take it away secretly and with all
modesty, made the triumph an occasion of great
display and public rejoicing to the natural confusion of the monks. (fn. 132) Hostilities with the bishop
meanwhile continued, and in 1289 the community discerned a fresh grievance in his ' extortion'
of the chapel of Grafton which they were at considerable cost and labour to recover at law. (fn. 133)
The bishop came to visit the convent on 7
November, 1290, and in his official account
states that he was impeded on the second day of
his visitation as he was examining some of the
officials in the chapter-house by the violence of
the prior and his adherents. (fn. 134) It is not a matter
of great surprise after such litigation to find from
the bishop's injunctions published the following
March (fn. 135) that the convent was endeavouring to
raise money by the sale of corrodies and by contracting loans. The brethren were also forbidden to wander about or lead out harriers. (fn. 136)
The monks record that the bishop wrote to
them on 6 May, 1291, and visited them the
following day. Negotiations followed which resulted in the bishop revoking his former grievous
statutes, (fn. 137) and possibly it was in gratitude for
this concession that the prior and convent agreed
the following year that on the anniversary of
the bishop's death every year they would feed
thirteen poor persons. (fn. 138) In 1292 a brawl took
place in the cathedral; the monks on hearing
that blood had been shed, though it was doubtful if it had touched the pavement, carefully
abstained from celebrating, and divine offices
were said in the chapter-house until the church
had been reconciled by the bishop. (fn. 139) A brief
entry records that on 11 June, 1300, Giffard
visited the monastery, (fn. 140) he was breaking up fast
at that time, and in August of the same year
being hindered by increasing infirmity he gave
instructions for the visitation of the priory by
commissioners (fn. 141) and wrote to the prior and
chapter to notify impending visitation. (fn. 142) The
archbishop of Canterbury, notwithstanding the
bishop's protest, (fn. 143) came to visit the diocese in the
following spring. He arrived at Worcester on
14 March, 1300-1, and preached to the monks,
and afterwards went on to visit the bishop who
was lying ill at Wyke. (fn. 144) The following day
he visited the prior and chapter by his clerks
and lodged meanwhile at the prior's house, for the
guest-house of the convent was taken up with
pilgrims and guests. The annalist speaks of the
day on which the archbishop published his corrections as 'a day of tribulation and rebuke,' and
with reason, for he deposed the sub-prior, precentor, and chamberlain, and forbad the sacristan, third prior, and pittancer to leave the
precincts of the monastery for a year. (fn. 145) The
fourteenth century opens with the resignation of
the prior in 1301 (fn. 146) and the death of Bishop
Giffard in the following January, 1301-2. (fn. 147)
The cathedral priory rose during the ensuing
century to a position of commanding eminence,
notwithstanding papal pretensions which almost
invariably on the voidance of the diocese' provided' to the see regardless of the wishes of the
monks, and the fact that from and partly owing
to the rule of Giffard it was crippled from the
outset by want of sufficient funds to meet the
increased outlay required for building and other
purposes. The prior's ascendancy in the diocese
was also increased by a rapid succession of short
episcopates with intervals of voidance occasionally much prolonged, during which as official
custodian of the see (fn. 148) he exercised powers of
spiritual jurisdiction over other monasteries in
the diocese, which was much resented in the
case of great rival houses like St. Peter of
Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Bristol, and Winchcomb, and resulted in much friction and frequent
appeals on both sides to the court of Canterbury.
How successful the prior was in maintaining his
right to visit and exercise the spiritual authority
temporarily vested in him may be seen in the
register Sede Vacante. The frequent absence of
the bishop on affairs of the realm also placed him
in a position of redoubled trust and honour. In
regard to their relations with the diocesan the
convent continued to resist strenuously any
attempt to impinge on its prerogative or
curtail its liberty on the part of the bishop.
The chartulary of St. Peter's of Gloucester
contains an interesting copy of an agreement
dated 1315, whereby the monasteries of Worcester, Gloucester, Cirencester, and Lanthony
bound themselves together in opposition to any
molestations by their bishop and his officers, and
agreed to share law expenses incurred in carrying cases up to Canterbury or Rome. (fn. 149) In the
middle of the century Pope Clement VI. granted
leave to Prior John of Evesham (fn. 150) and his
successors to wear a mitre, ring, and pastoral staff
and give the solemn benediction at mass and
table. His successor, Innocent VI., confirmed
these privileges, but at the request of Bishop
Reginald decreed that the mitre and other
ornaments should not be worn in the presence
of the bishop, and, lest these should become more
magnificent than those of the bishop, ordained
that the prior's mitre should be of white with
orphreys but without gems or precious stones.
The prior petitioned Urban V. for leave to wear
his mitre in the bishop's presence, setting forth
the privileges obtained by other abbots and
priors. He was only able to obtain, however, an
indulgence for the use of a mitre ornamented
with pearls and precious stones, and other insignia to be worn in the absence of the bishop. (fn. 151)
It was further decreed by Innocent VI. that the
prior or sub-prior should not reconcile churches
or cemeteries, save during the vacancy of the see
or in the absence of the bishop out of England,
as the episcopal income was largely dependent
on the dues of such reconciliations. (fn. 152)
Building was carried on extensively all through
the century. In July, 1302, we are told that a
great part of the monks' dormitory fell down, the
result of negligence, as for a long time it had
been in a threatening condition. The drain of
constant litigation and appeals that needed backing by the power of the purse seems to have
allowed the brethren but scant means to set their
house in order. In a letter to the archbishop in
March, 1302, the prior reminds him of his promise to help the monastery, which at his visitation he found so oppressed by debt that there
was scarcely enough food, and pleads for the
confirmation of the church of Dodderhill, appropriated to them by the late bishop. (fn. 153) It was
urged as a reason for the appointment of John de
Sancto Germano that the building of the church
would be continued by him, and the state of the
monks improved with regard to their food and refection. (fn. 154) According to the Taxation Roll of 1291,
the prior of Worcester held temporalities in the
two archdeaconries of Worcester and Gloucester
amounting to £196 16s. (fn. 155) and £6 2s., (fn. 156) and
spiritualities of the value of £17 12s. 8d.; (fn. 157) he
held also temporalities and spiritualities amounting to £34 18s. 2d. (fn. 158) in the diocese of Hereford,
and £4 4s. in the diocese of Coventry and Lichfield. (fn. 159) The prior and convent added largely to
their estates during the present century, but
owing to their financial condition on its opening,
and its economic changes, were nevertheless constantly made to feel the embarrassment of insufficient means. The usual resort was made to
appropriation. In the last year of his reign
Edward I. appropriated to the convent the church
of Lindridge of their advowson for the maintenance of three more monks in their house, and
to provide wax lights to burn before the shrine of
St. Wulfstan. (fn. 160) In 1313 Bishop Reynolds appropriated to them the church of Dodderhill, (fn. 161) the
brethren in their petition reciting the loss of
eight manors and five churches in the time of the
wars and by general extortion, combined with
the increased drain on hospitality, so many
strangers making their way to the town by the
bridge over the Severn, whereby they had become so impoverished that without assistance
they would be obliged to reduce the number of
their monks. (fn. 162) During his episcopacy Reynolds
appointed a commission to remove the wooden
and stone tombs in the cathedral churchyard for
the repair of the fabric. (fn. 163) Bishop Maidstone
appropriated the church of Tibberton to the office
of the precentor at his request, showing that his
income was insufficient to defray the cost of writing new books and repairing the old, and of keeping
a horse and servant for the affairs of the monastery. (fn. 164) In 1330 the convent obtained a grant from
Edward III. for the appropriation of the church
of Overbury with the chapels of Washbourne,
Teddington, and 'Berghes' annexed; (fn. 165) the grant
was confirmed by the pope in 1346 at the prayer
of Queen Philippa, reciting that the priory at
that time was burdened with debt, the church
ruinous, and its manors in need of repair. (fn. 166) Bishop
Montacute in 1336 granted a licence to the prior
and convent to build a new domuncula, and renew
the cemetery in view of its age. (fn. 167) In the same
year he restored to the priory the manor of
Crowle Siward, originally granted in the reign
of Bertulf, the Mercian king, and since lost, (fn. 168) and
leased to the brethren certain lands within the
manor of Kempsey for a term of thirty years, in
order to augment the office of the sacristan. (fn. 169) To
indemnify the bishop for the loss of the manor, the
convent agreed to pay him and his successors an
annual pension of one mark from the manor of
Tibberton, (fn. 170) and in return for his 'paternal kindness' made him a partieipator in all their prayers
and religious exercises, placed his name in their
martyrology, and ordained the yearly celebration
of his anniversary. (fn. 171) Bishop Wakefield, in 1389,
appropriated the church of Stoke Prior to the use
of the chamberlain's office on account of the
poverty of its issues. (fn. 172)
Besides numerous pensions granted by the
convent, (fn. 173) frequent demands came from the king
for corrodies and grants to his retainers. In
October, 1287, Edward I. wrote to the bishop
for the exhibition of Alice, a lay sister, conversa,
and John her son, within the priory. (fn. 174) In
February, 1301-2, he wrote to the convent, asking for a corrody to be given to the bearer, John le
Traior, which was granted. (fn. 175) The prior in 1309
presented, as pertained to his office, a corrody
called the corrody of King John, to a certain
Nicholas atte Zales of Humelton. (fn. 176) During the
reign of Edward II. Nicholas de Renty was sent
to receive the necessaries of life, together with
maintenance for a horse and groom, within the
convent for his life. (fn. 177) John le Barber was sent
in May, 1316, to receive a similar allowance. (fn. 178)
On the death of Nicholas, the king requested
the prior and convent to admit Geoffrey de
Caroune on the same terms, (fn. 179) and in November,
1320, to allow Peter Dannyles, or Danviliers, to
receive such maintenance in their house as James
le Barber had had. (fn. 180) In 1322 came a request for
admittance and life maintenance for Alice Conan,
in return for her good services to the queen. (fn. 181)
The brethren attempted to evade the last imposition, and were summoned in Michaelmas
Term, 1323, by the king for neglecting to comply with his request. The prior protested the
inability of the convent, owing to the badness of
the times, but the reason being considered insufficient the matter was deferred. On the next
hearing the prior acknowledged the admission of
previous pensioners at the king's request, but
stated that the charter of King Edgar, which he
produced in court, granted the convent certain
indemnities, and that their lands had been given
in such a manner that it was not lawful for any
bishop or prince to withdraw or invade any of
their privileges so long as the Christian faith endured, consequently the prior was quit of all
claim for sustenance. Judgment was finally
given in the prior's favour, saving the right of the
king to imparl therein. (fn. 182) The convent appear to
have yielded the point as of courtesy, but secured
a promise from Edward III. in the first year of
his reign that the grant made by them of £10 a
year for the maintenance of her damsel at the
queen's request should not prejudice them or
their successors as a precedent. (fn. 183) The priory
received requests for aid in connexion with
various incidents in the reign of Edward III. (fn. 184) In
1335 John Ussher was sent to the priory to
receive such maintenance as John le Traior had
had at the request of Edward I. (fn. 185) The convent
obtained a licence from Edward III. in 1332 to
acquire four messuages and 8s. rent in Worcester,
for the maintenance of a chaplain celebrating
daily in the Lady Chapel for the souls of the
father and mother of William le Orfevre, of
Worcester: (fn. 186) by another licence in 1334 they
acquired land in aid of the daily celebration in
the church. (fn. 187) Richard II. in the first year of his
reign confirmed previous charters granted to the
priory; among these was one of Edward III. in
1369, giving leave to the monks to crenellate
their priory. (fn. 188)
The chapter of Worcester was visited with other
religious houses in the diocese by the prior or his
commissaries during the not infrequent vacancies
which occurred during the fourteenth century;
these occasions provided indeed an opportunity for
rigorously enforcing all episcopal rights of spiritual
jurisdiction. (fn. 189) On 3 September, 1303, Bishop
Gainsborough sent a notice to the prior and
chaplain of his intention to visit their priory. (fn. 190)
Bishop Maidstone in October, 1313, appointed
officials to visit all religious houses in the diocese
on account of his own disability. (fn. 191) The prior
was ordered in May, 1315, to correct and punish
the 'excesses' of his fellow monks in the monastery of Worcester lately visited. (fn. 192) Bishop
Montacute visited the monastery on Monday
before the Feast of All Saints, 1333, and preached
and received procuration. (fn. 193) In a subsequent
letter of corrections the bishop made earnest
endeavours to reform existing abuses, and, taking
different departments in order, laid down various rules for the guidance of each officer.
He desired the brethren also to labour quietly
for the spiritual welfare of their house, and
advised that the younger members should be
kept more usefully occupied, and not suffered to
wander from the precincts of the cloister except
for some special and approved cause. The eating
of meat in times and places prohibited by their
rule (fn. 194) was forbidden, together with the nonobservance of fast, and the sowing of discord;
the observance of silence, almsgiving, the care of
the sick in the infirmary, enjoined. Various
officers came under the bishop's mild censure,
the sub-prior was admonished not to absent himself from the priory without reasonable cause, the
sacristan ordered to restore two cloths sent for St.
Wulfstan's shrine by the king, and the vestments
bequeathed by Bishop Godfrey to the altar of
the Blessed Mary, and to make up his quarrel
with William de Incebergh. The brethren were
admonished generally to refrain from the company
of women, and to let greater kindness and
brotherly love dwell among them. (fn. 195) Notice of
another visitation was sent to the convent
6 November, 1335. (fn. 196) Prior Bransford succeeded
to the see on the death of Hemenhale, and
in the first year of his rule, 1339, signified
to the prior and chapter of Worcester his intention of visiting the convent on Thursday after the
Feast of St. Denis (October 9), on which day he
desired all absent brethren to be recalled. (fn. 197) He
remained two days at the priory at the expense of
the convent. (fn. 198) Notice of another visitation was
received in October, 1342. (fn. 199) The Black Death
ravaged the diocese during the short rule of John
Thoresby; the bishop did not visit his diocese
till 1351, when he was enthroned. (fn. 200) In August of
that year he warned the convent to prepare for his
visitation by summoning all absent members to
be present. (fn. 201) Visitations were frequently carried
out at this time by the bishop's officials.
Innocent VI. issued a bull in 1357 for the visitation of the diocese by the bishop or his vices,
the latter were not to receive procuration for more
than a day. (fn. 202) Towards the close of the century
the archbishop of Canterbury signified his intention of visiting the city and diocese, for which
he had received a special bull from Urban V. (fn. 203)
He was received on Wednesday, 12 October,
1384, by the bishop, prior, and chapter in solemn
procession, and led to the altar, where he read
the collect and prayer and celebrated mass.
During his stay he was entertained at the palace,
and on Thursday preached to the convent on the
text 'Descendam et videbo.' (fn. 204) On 29 October, at
Kempsey, he confirmed the various churches, pensions, and tithes held by the church of Worcester. (fn. 205)
The fourteenth century was a period of lawlessness and strife, and its history abounds in
instances of brawl and quarrel, robbery and
bloodshed profaning even the cathedral, and
breaking out within the hallowed precincts of
the ancient sanctuary. (fn. 206) In 1302 the prior of
Worcester ordered the excommunication of the
bailiffs of the city, 'men of blood and craft' who
had lured and arrested a clerk taking sanctuary
in the crypt of the cathedral. Public penance
was enjoined on the officials with their servants
at the door of the cathedral. (fn. 207) Reynolds in
August, 1313, ordered the prior of Worcester to
reconcile the cemetery from bloodshed, (fn. 208) and in
the following year Bishop Maidstone excommunicated certain persons who had dragged a fugitive
out of sanctuary and appealed to the king to
enforce observance of ancient privilege. (fn. 209) The
cathedral cloister was the scene of an affray in
1318, (fn. 210) and in the course of Cobham's rule
the monks complained of interference with
the pipes conveying their water supply. (fn. 211) In
July, 1337, an official of the city appeared
before the vicar-general to make submission,
having incurred sentence of excommunication
by distraining on the house of one John atte
Green, situated close to the cathedral cemetery
and within the church's fee. (fn. 212) In 1349 a
serious riot took place between the monks and
townsmen in which the bailiffs and commonalty
'comming in warlike manner with armes'
attacked the church and priory, broke the priory
gates, made assault on the prior's servants and
beat them, and 'with bows and arrows and other
offensive weapons' pursued the prior and the
monks and endeavoured to set fire to the
monastery. (fn. 213) The case was brought up before
the justices, who decided that trespasses had been
committed against the prior and assessed the
damages at £100 12s. (fn. 214) Thieves broke into the
the 'elemosinaria' within the cathedral cemetery
in the year 1350, and carried off whatever they
could lay hands on. (fn. 215) On 27 January 1390-1,
Bishop Wakefield reconciled the cathedral from
effusion of blood and afterwards absolved those
who had taken part in the affray. (fn. 216) Henry IV.
in the second year of his reign confirmed the
ancient grant of sanctuary within the church by
which it was ordained that no 'bailiffs, sergeants,
minister, or other person of the city of Worcester
shall hereafter carry or bear any mace or maces
but only in the presence of the king or his
children within the churchyard, priory, and
sanctuary of Worcester, nor intermeddle within
the aforesaid liberties.' (fn. 217) An indenture, dated in
the time of Bishop Carpenter, between the prior
and convent of the cathedral church of Worcester
and the bailiffs and commonalty of Worcester
gave licence to the said bailiffs and their successors 'for their worship and honour' to have
their maces borne before them by their sergeants
in the church or cemetery and in the parish
of St. John.' (fn. 218) During the rule of Prior John
Fordham the convent obtained from the bailiffs
of Worcester the privilege of conveying water
from the city conduits to their own precincts,
on condition that for this grant they and their
successors should present annually to the bailiffs
and their successors a red rose at the feast of
St. John Baptist. (fn. 219) A lengthy agreement was
arrived at in 1509, during the rule of John Weddersbury, respecting the lead pipes which conveyed
water from a spring at Henwick Hill to the
monastery (fn. 220) by which the convent agreed to mend
the pipes whenever broken within seven days.
The city authorities and the monastery agreed that
if in future either party should have a grievance,
four monks and four citizens should have 'loving
meetings and communications before anything
be attempted at lawe.' (fn. 221)
According to the number of the brethren
assembled for the election of Bishop Clifford in
1401 the chapter at that time numbered fortyfour; there was a third and fourth prior as well
as prior and sub-prior. (fn. 222) The number appears to
have dwindled to forty in 1419, (fn. 223) but forty-five
brethren and monks assembled in chapter for the
election of Thomas Bourchier in 1433. (fn. 224) The
brethren engaged in a dispute in the early part
of the century with the scholars of Queen's
College, Oxford, respecting the non-payment
of a pension due for the church of Newbold
Pacy during a vacancy. (fn. 225) In 1432 they came to
an amicable agreement with the Hospital of
St. Wulfstan, Worcester, as to the provision of a
chaplain for the chapel of Claines within the
parish of Bromsgrove. (fn. 226) An indenture dated
1412, and another in 1460, between the two
monasteries of Malmesbury and Worcester
transferred to the use of the latter certain
chambers at Gloucester College, Oxford, for the
convenience of their monks studying there. (fn. 227)
In 1437, in consequence of the long continuance of disastrous rains and the threatened
failure of crops, the prior and convent were
ordered to cause the shrine of St. Oswald to be
carried about in solemn procession 'as we byn
enformed that hyt hath byn afore this time for
cessyng of such continual reyne.' (fn. 228)
The prior and chapter received various requests for aid during the wars of the Roses.
Henry VI. in 1458 asked for an allowance to be
restored to Richard Hertlebure, brother of a
former prior, who had been grievously wounded
'in our warres beyond sea,' and reduced to
poverty. (fn. 229) In 1459 he acknowledged the loan of
a hundred marks to aid him against the rebels. (fn. 230)
Edward IV. wrote to the prior of Worcester in
the second year of his reign asking for a benevolence to be raised in order to meet the invasion
of 'oure grete Adversary Henre namyng hymselfe
Kyng of England by the malicious counseille
and excitation of Magarete his wife namyng
her selfe Quene of England.' Instructions were
given to assemble the brethren with all other
persons, householders, and inhabitants within the
precincts of the age of sixteen and upwards and
to read these letters and inscribe their names in a
book. (fn. 231) The convent obtained a pardon for divers
transgressions from Henry VII. in the first year
of his reign, 1485-6. (fn. 232)
The visitations of the monastery during the
fifteenth century throw little light on its condition.
In April, 1429, Bishop Polton commissioned his
official to finish the visitation of the priory,
being himself hindered, (fn. 233) and in June, 1432,
Parliament then claiming him, ordered the master
of St. Wulfstan's Hospital, Walter London, his
commissioner-general, to visit the prior and
chapter. (fn. 234) During the vigorous rule of Carpenter
the convent was twice visited. On the first
occasion the bishop arrived 22 September, 1461,
at the priory, where he was received by the
sub-prior, the prior being ill, (fn. 235) and the convent
with great state and entertained with his household for two days; his visitation sermon was
preached by the sacristan. (fn. 236) On the next
occasion, in October, 1466, he remained three
days and 'reformed' the church and brethren,
preaching himself from the text 'Fili quare
fecisti nobis sic.' In his register is enrolled
a copy of ordinances for the cellarer previously
confirmed by Bishop Bourchier in 1443. (fn. 237) The
bishop in his zeal for the spread of learning
added to the cathedral library which was in the
charnel-house, and in 1458 endowed it with £10
a year for the support of a chaplain who should
be a Bachelor in Theology and act as librarian. (fn. 238)
Bishop Alcock issued a special mandate in
December, 1481, for the visitation of the priory,
which was carried out on 8 January following
by his commissary, all the brethren being
present save those studying at Oxford. (fn. 239) In
1480 during his rule there was a bold robbery in
the Lady Chapel; the bishop issued a mandate
that all gold, silver, rings, jewels, drapery on the
image of the Virgin Mary which had been
removed should be restored within fifteen days. (fn. 240)
The visit of his successor, Robert Morton, in
1488 is described in the register of his acts;
he arrived at Worcester, Friday, 19 September,
and was received at the gate of the city 'called
the Forgate' by the clergy, aldermen, and bailiffs.
The prior and convent according to precedent
met him in procession in the middle of the
cemetery and escorted him into the cathedral
up to the high altar, where he bestowed on
the prior Robert Multon and on the brethren
the kiss of peace. The following day he
preached to the brethren from the text 'Vide
et visite vineam istam' and exhorted them to
continue in the worship of God and in the
observance of their sacred religion. (fn. 241)
From the brief notices of the formal visitations
made by the vicars-general of the Italian
bishops who followed, little information can be
gathered. Thomas Wodyngton commenced a
tour of the diocese in 1497, and visited the prior
and chapter on Monday, 7 May, of that year; (fn. 242) as
vicar-general for Silvester de Gigliis he visited
here again on 19 June, 1500. (fn. 243) Thomas Alcock
visited on 19 June, 1503, (fn. 244) Master Thomas
Hannibil came to visit on 25 April, 1512, and
again on 14 April, 1516; on both occasions he
received procuration for three days. (fn. 245) In 1506
during the rule of Mildenham a dispute was
referred to the bishop as to the right of his
chancellor to any allotted seat or 'place of
dewty' in the cathedral. Silvester de Gigliis in
a temperate letter signed 'Gilbert' made reply
that he was informed by credible persons that
the chancellor should sit next the prior and that
the prior should not usurp the bishop's place, but
sit with his brethren 'after ye old custom,'
which advice he deemed best until he could
come himself or depute the matter to be examined
indifferently. (fn. 246)
A vivid description is given by Leland of the
burial of the young prince Arthur in the cathedral
church in 1502. (fn. 247) The body of the prince, who died
on 2 April, was removed from the castle of Ludlow
on St. George's Day and conveyed to the parish
church, whence the procession set out for Worcester, where it was met at the city gate by the
'bayliffs and the honest men of the cittie on
foot' and in the churchyard by the abbots of
Gloucester, Evesham, Chester, Shrewsbury,
Tewkesbury, Hales, and Bordesley, and the prior,
of Worcester, the bishop not being present. At
Dirige there were nine lessons, of which the first
was read by the abbot of Tewkesbury and the
sixth by the prior of Worcester. The embroidered coat of arms, the sword, shield, and
crested helmet of the prince were conveyed up
the choir with the earl of Kildare's son wearing
the armour of the dead prince and mounted on
his charger, the abbot of Tewkesbury as gospeller
receiving the offering of the horse. At the conclusion of the great ceremony the corpse was
borne to the grave at the south end of the high
altar of the cathedral. It is said that no offerings
were allowed to be made by those of the city on
account of the sickness or pestilence that then
raged there. (fn. 248)
We read that a corrody in the priory of Worcester was granted in reversion to William
Gowre, groom of the chamber, by Henry VIII. in
the year 1513. (fn. 249) George Heynes, groom of the
buttery, was granted it on its next vacancy in
1532. (fn. 250) In 1522 Arthur Purde, student at
Oxford, obtained at the suit of his father the
pension which the bishop elect was bound to
give to a clerk of the king's nomination. (fn. 251) The
journal left by Prior William Moore who succeeded to the rule of the house in 1518, on the
death of John Weddesbury, gives a very fair idea of
the mode of life of the head of a great religious
house at that time. It exhibits the prior in the
pleasant light of a hospitable magnate entertaining
the gentry of the county, and as a kindly, easygoing man who did not forget the ties of blood
or neglect the claims of dependents. It shows
him travelling about, for comparatively little of
his time was spent at Worcester. It gives
details as to the entertainment provided when he
received distinguished visitors, among whom was
the Princess Mary, taking a share in humbler
festivities and family rejoicings withal, and
bestowing gifts on his father, mother, and other
relations. There are allusions to the sports and
amusements of the day, otter hunting, the visits
of players, minstrels, and jugglers, the feasting of
the citizens and their wives, entries occasionally
interrupted by pious ejaculations and versifications
on the part of the writer. The prior was also a
man of refined taste, and bought books, furniture,
'peynted cloths'; there is an entry for stained
glass windows. He is entered as a justice of the
peace in 1531 and the following year. (fn. 252) But the
luxury, ostentation, and show that may be natural
to a man of no spiritual profession consorts ill
with the ideal of one who has embraced that
state implying poverty and renunciation. In the
frequent absence of the head at his many manor
residences the government of the house largely
devolved into the hands of the sub-prior, and its
condition furnishes the reverse side of this
picture of easy-going, kindly existence, which is
not as attractive. The officers were at variance
and the convent split up into two parties, the one
headed by the sub-prior, Dr. Neckam, opposed
to the prior and resenting his open-handed
liberality with consequent financial difficulties,
the other favourable to a head whose pleasant
qualities made him universally popular. In
1528 we are told that ' the cellarer intends to
ask Wolsey for the office of sacrist and expel
the present holder, who,' the writer continues,
'had it of the gift of Wolsey and has exercised it
with much modesty.' (fn. 253) In 1534 the prior, subprior, almoner, and cellarer with thirty-seven
other brethren subscribed to the oath of the royal
supremacy, denying the authority of the pope in
England, (fn. 254) and at the beginning of the following
year received a visit from Archbishop Cranmer.
His 'iniuncciones et provisiones' for the order and
discipline of the convent dated 22 February,
1534-5, relate to the reading of the Bible and
its exposition in English, the use of the common
seal, the need of making an inventory of the
movable goods of the monastery, the provision of
properly cooked food, and the general conduct of
the officers of the house. (fn. 255) On the occasion of
Dr. Leigh's visit here on the king's commission
at the end of July, 1535, (fn. 256) the smouldering
embers of discord burst into a flame. John
Musard, a monk, took the opportunity to bring
an accusation of treason against one Richard
Clyve, and to prefer a charge against the prior of
deposing two discreet men, Dr. Neckam from
the office of sub-prior without any alleged lawful
cause, and William Fordham from the cellarer's
office 'for standing unto the right of the house.'
He also complained that 'he and several others
of the convent' had been oppressed for sixteen
years and several times confined in the bishop's
prison 'simply for telling the truth,' and that he
was imprisoned on 2 March by a party in the
convent for appealing to 'my lord of Canterbury's' visitation. (fn. 257) Two of the monks were
already lying under a charge of using 'seditious
words' and 'unfitting' demeanour, (fn. 258) and the
house was divided on the question of the merits
of the former and present cellarer. William Fordham writes to Cromwell immediately after
Leigh's visitation stating that the 'saddest' men
of the convent desire that he shall be reinstated; (fn. 259)
on the other hand a petition was addressed to
Cromwell on the part of the sub-prior and
twenty-five of the brethren praying that he will
retain their present cellarer Thomas Sudbury in
his office, and stating it as their experience that
'Sudbury has been a good husband to the profit
of the monastery,' while Fordham they describe
as 'a troublesome person who has put our house
to great expense and vexation.' (fn. 260) The possibility
of the prior's resignation as a result of the
allegations brought against him was early
expected. On 15 August, 1536, the archbishop
writing to Cromwell prays him on the vacancy
of the house 'to be good to Mr. Holbech, D.D.,
of the house of Crowland, or to Dan Richard
Gorton, B.D., of the house of Burton-on-Trent.' (fn. 261)
On 19 October we read that Neckam 'has got
the rule of the priory' for the time being, and
that 'he and his brethren are still troubled by the
cellarer.' (fn. 262) The disgraced prior meanwhile
retired or was banished to Gloucester, whither
the kindness of his friends followed him.' (fn. 263)
The Valor of 1535 gives the priory an income
of £1,386 9s. 8¾d., a not unconsiderable return;
nevertheless, John Musard, writing from his
prison 'this cold winter,' to which he had been
condemned 'in consequence of the complaints of
false conspirators to your under visitors,' says
'your Lordship's farmary (infirmary) is down,
your kitchen is down, your cloister had been
down before this time if Mr. Doctor, your officer, (fn. 264)
had not underset him with timber, your ostry
and brewery ready to fall with much more that
1,000 marks will not repair.' He proceeds to
lay the cause of 'the decays of your honourable
Lordship's monastery' against the prior and his
reckless hospitality, ostentation and love of display. 'Our untrue master,' he continues, 'kept
great hospitality upon our chancellor and bishop's
officers . . . with great fees and rewards, for he
has been most of his time at law with gentlemen,
the convent, and tenants, on account of the
affection he has to his kindred and servants.
He gives to them the alms the monastery is
bound to give in our prince's name to fourteen
poor people, viz., 16 bushels of corn each a year,
and they hold the greatest farms and profits
belonging to the monastery. There are three
goodly mitres and staves in the cathedral, but he
has sold plate to the value of £80 to buy a new
mitre and staff. . . . He has as servants 4 gentlemen, 10 yeomen, and 10 grooms, of whose wages
the convent officers pay much. Besides these,
10 yeomen belonging to the convent go in his
livery for whom he is not charged. Even this
number would not satisfy him, but he has
gentlemen waiters (fn. 265) as well, and has increased
their wages, diminishing the portion of the
convent. I wish you knew of the poor service
the convent has on fish days.' (fn. 266)
The writer describes the failure of his efforts
to obtain a hearing at visitations within the last
sixteen years and their result—'pore Musard to
prison for telling truth,' and begs Cromwell to
remove him to Westminster. There is a reference in the prior's journal under the year 1531
to John Musard which rather upsets the idea he
evidently desired should be entertained of him:
a reward to the beadle and others for 'fetching
and conveying Dan John Musard home from
Overbury after he robbed his master of certain
plate and other things'; (fn. 267) it explains the reason
why his complaints were lightly treated by
Dr. Leigh and other visitors, as is evidently the
case. William Moore's resignation must be
dated between 11 February, 1535-6, when he
came over to Worcester from Gloucester, according to the account given by Neckam, and applied
for the use of a horse and money to go and see
Cromwell, (fn. 268) probably with a view of coming to
terms as to his retiring pension, (fn. 269) and the 7 March
following, when the sub-prior and convent
received a licence to elect, vice William Moore,
resigned. (fn. 270) On the 13 March they made choice
of Henry Holbech, S.T.P., monk of Crowland,
and prior of the black monks studying at
Cambridge, (fn. 271) and his election was confirmed by
Henry VIII. on 22 March, 1535-6.
Little is recorded of the rule of the last prior.
In November, 1536, he sent Cromwell, 'as a
remembrance of his duty,' an annuity of twenty
nobles from the manor of Alvestone. (fn. 272) Bishop
Latimer visited the priory in 1537, and left
injunctions reproving the neglect of the king's
ordinances for the suppression of idolatry and
superstition, desiring that in future they should
be observed, and that the prior should have a
whole Bible in English to be fast chained in
some open place either in the church or cloister,
and that each religious person should have at
least a New Testament in English by Christmas
next. He also laid down rules that all singing
and other ceremonies should be laid aside during
the preaching time, and that a lecture in English
should be read every day except holidays. (fn. 273) A
report is given under date of 27 August, 1537,
of the examination of malcontents against the
stripping of the ornaments and jewels of the
image of the Virgin Mary in the Lady Chapel. (fn. 274)
The following year the prior was appointed
bishop suffragan of Bristol; (fn. 275) after the suppression
of the house, 18 January, 1539-40, (fn. 276) he was
reappointed as first dean of the cathedral church
on its newly-constituted basis, according to the
charter of foundation of Henry VIII., dated
24 January, 1541-2.
Priors of Worcester (fn. 277)
Wynsin or Wynsius or Winsige, 971, died
before 992. (fn. 278)
Ethelstan, circa 992. (fn. 279)
Ethelsinus. (fn. 280)
Ethelsinus II. (fn. 281)
Godwin. (fn. 282)
Ethelwin or Agelwin. (fn. 283)
St. Wulfstan, before 1057, (fn. 284) made bishop of
Worcester 1062.
Elfstan, 1062. (fn. 285)
Egelred, (fn. 286) circa 1088.
Thomas, (fn. 287) circa 1089; died 1113.
Nicholas, (fn. 288) died 1124.
Gwarin or Warin, (fn. 289) circa 1130.
Ralph, (fn. 290) died 1143.
David, (fn. 291) succeeded 1143, deposed 1145.
Osbert or Osbern, (fn. 292) succeeded 1145; died
the same year.
Ralph de Bedford, (fn. 293) succeeded 1146; died
1189.
Senatus, (fn. 294) resigned 1196.
Peter, (fn. 295) 1196, deposed 1203.
Ralph de Evesham, (fn. 296) 1203, made abbot of
Evesham 1214.
Silvester de Evesham, (fn. 297) 1214, made bishop
of Worcester 1216.
Simon, (fn. 298) 1216, deposed 1222.
William Norman, (fn. 299) 1222, resigned 1224.
William de Bedford, (fn. 300) 1224, died 1242.
Richard de Condicote, (fn. 301) 1242, died 1252.
Thomas, (fn. 302) 1252, died 1260.
Richard de Dumbelton, (fn. 303) 1260, died 1272.
William de Cirencester, (fn. 304) 1262, died 1274.
Richard de Feckenham, (fn. 305) 1274, died 1286.
Philip de Aubyn, (fn. 306) 1286, died 1296.
Simon de Wyre, (fn. 307) 1296, resigned 1301.
John de Wyke, (fn. 308) 1301, died 1317.
Wulstan de Bransford, (fn. 309) 1317, made bishop
of Worcester 1339.
Simon de Botiler, 1339, died the same
year.
Simon Crompe, 1339, died 1340.
John de Evesham, 1340, died 1370.
Walter de Leigh, 1370, died 1388.
John Green, 1388, died 1395.
John de Malvern, 1395, died 1423.
John de Fordham, 1423, died 1438.
Thomas Ledbury, 1438, died 1443-4.
John Hertelbury, 1444, died 1445.
Thomas Musard, 1445, died 1469.
Robert Multon, 1469, died 1492.
William Wenloke, 1492, died 1499.
Thomas Mildenham, 1499, died 1507.
John Weddesbury, 1507, died 1518.
William Moore, 1518, resigned 1536.
Henry Holbech, 1536, surrendered 1539-40.
Deans of Worcester (fn. 310)
Henry Holbech (last prior), 1541-2.
John Barlow, 1544.
Philip Hawford, alias Ballard, last abbot of
Evesham, 1553-4.
Seth Holland, 1557.
John Pedder, 1559-60.
Thomas Wilson, 1571.
Francis Willis, 1586-7.
Richard Eedes, 1597.
James Montague, 1604.
Arthur Lane, 1608.
Joseph Hall, 1616.
William Juxon, 1627-8.
Roger Mainwaring, 1633.
Christopher Potter, 1635-6.
Richard Holdsworth, nominated by the
king 1646 but never installed. Vacancy
11 years.
John Oliver, 1660.
Thomas Warmestry, 1661.
William Thomas, 1665.
George Hickes, 1683.
William Talbot, 1691.
Francis Hare, 1715.
James Stillingfleet, 1726.
Edmund Marten, 1746.
John Waugh, 1751.
Sir Richard Wrottesley, 1765.
William Digby, 1769.
Hon. St. Andrew St. John, 1783.
Arthur Onslow, 1795.
John Banks Jenkinson, 1818.
James Hook, 1825.
George Murray, 1828.
John Peel, 1845.
Hon. Grantham Munton Yorke, 1874.
Lord Alwyne Compton, 1879.
John Gott, 1886.
Robert William Forrest, 1891.
The description of the pointed oval seal of the
eleventh century is taken from a cast at the
British Museum. (fn. 311) The obverse represents the
Virgin crowned, seated on a throne, her feet on
an ornamental corbel with the Child in her arms,
in her right hand a fleur-de-lis. Legend:—
+ SIGILLVM S[ANCT]E DEI GENIT[RIC]IS MA[RIE]
WIGORNEN[S]IS ECL'E
Reverse: A small oval counterseal representing
a woman pouring out a libation to a deity,
from a fine antique gem. There is a mark of
the handle of the seal. Legend:—
+ HABVNDANS CAVTELA . R. NOCET.
The C is square in 'cautela' and 'nocet.'
A round fifteenth-century seal, red, is attached
to the deed acknowledging the king's supremacy. (fn. 312)
The obverse represents the Virgin crowned, seated
on a throne in a carved niche, with elaborate canopy
of five cusped arches, holding the Child who is
standing on the seat, in the left hand a sceptre.
Overhead, in a small niche of similar design, the
Trinity. On either side in a small niche an
angel, full length, swinging a censer. Outside
these niches, on either side, a tree on a mount
with a shield of arms slung upon the branches,
the left defaced but perhaps the royal arms of England, the right ten torteaux in pile, the arms of
the see of Worcester. In base an arcading.
Legend:—
SIGILL': COM . . . . BEATE: DEI : GENITRICIS:
MARIE: WYGORNIE
Reverse: Two carved niches with Gothic
canopies, containing on the left St. Oswald with
crosier, on the right St. Wulfstan with pastoral
staff; each lifting up the right hand in benediction. Over the canopies three small niches
containing the coronation of the Virgin between
two angels swinging censers. At either side a
niche, canopied, containing a kneeling ecclesiastic,
with a similar kneeling figure over each canopy.
Legend:—
OSWALDVS: PATRES: [et] : WLSTANUS: MONACHOR. SERVANT: HOS ..... A: REORU[M].
The description of the later seal for the new
foundation, 1542, is taken from casts at the
British Museum. (fn. 313) The impression is chipped,
but represents on the obverse the Nativity. In
the field are two scrolls inscribed Gloria in Excelsis and Natus est Nobis. In base a carved shield
bearing the arms of the see. Legend:—
+ SIGILLU[M]. DECANI. ET. CAPITVLI [C]ATHEDRALIS. WIGORN ... AN. 154 . .
The reverse represents Henry VIII. in robes of
majesty, seated on a carved canopied throne, on
either side a number of ecclesiastics, over them
two labels inscribed: Vivat Rex. Above the
canopy St. Peter, half length, with nimbus,
holding a key in the left hand; in his right hand
a label inscribed: Non . . . . . Legend:—
QVI + PROVOC . . . + REGEM + PECCAT + IN
+ ANI . . . . VERBES + 20 +.