10. THE PRIORY OF MAIDEN BRADLEY
Manasser Biset, steward of Henry II, was a
landowner in five counties in 1158-9, (fn. 1) and his
main interests lay in Hampshire and Wiltshire
and at Kidderminster (Worcs.). Before 1164 he
founded a hospital for leper women a mile north
of the village of Bradley in south-west Wiltshire,
and gave to it the manor of Bradley, which had
been brought to him by his wife, Alice. (fn. 2) He added
the reversions of the churches of Rockbourne
(Hants) and Kidderminster. (fn. 3) Walter son of Osmund granted a mill to the lepers of Bradley before
1166, in a deed witnessed amongst others by
Adam, Manasser's clerk. (fn. 4) Henry II confirmed
Manasser's gifts in at least three charters, probably before 1164 and in 1169 and 1170, and
granted freedom from forest fines and assarts. (fn. 5)
Roger of Gloucester, Bishop of Worcester (116479), Richard of Dover, Archbishop of Canterbury
(1174-84), and Manasser's son, Henry Biset, also
confirmed the grants. (fn. 6) The parish church of Bradley had earlier been granted to Nutley Abbey
(Bucks.), (fn. 7) and before Manasser's death, which
occurred about 1176, (fn. 8) a chapel was dedicated at
Bradley for the hospital, without prejudice to the
rights of Nutley Abbey in the parish church. (fn. 9)
Rivalry between the two churches led to disputes
between Nutley and Bradley: the Dean of Wylye
was ordered to intervene in 1274, (fn. 10) and the dispute
was still unsettled in 1483. (fn. 11) The church of Rockbourne was released to the canons of Breamore
(Hants) about 1188 for a rent of £5 a year; (fn. 12) but
that of Kidderminster was appropriated to Maiden
Bradley, probably by Henry de Soilli, Bishop of
Worcester (1193-5). (fn. 13)
Manasser's son, Henry Biset, succeeded him
as patron of the hospital. He gave to it land worth
10s. a year and a rent of £5 at Burgate, in Fordingbridge (Hants). (fn. 14) His sister Margaret built herself
a house in the court of the hospital; gave to it
services and rents in Wishford and Burton in
Mere, a rent of 6s. 6d. in Kidderminster, and a
piece of land called 'Wulsiscroft' in Bradley; and
obtained for it a grant from Henry III of freedom
to collect wood in the forest of Selwood, and of
£3 6s. 8d. out of the farm of Brampton in
Devon. (fn. 15) John Biset, grandson of Henry and
justice of the forests, died in 1241 leaving three
daughters, and was buried at Bradley. (fn. 16) With
John, his widow, and successors, the hospital contended for the advowson of Kidderminster church,
which it finally secured in 1336. (fn. 17)
A series of gifts from other benefactors can be
traced, in many cases, to the Biset influence.
William Marshal, the elder, Earl of Pembroke,
who died in 1219, released to the poor women of
Bradley 2 knights' fees which Manasser and Henry
Biset owed to him, reserving a yearly payment of
£1. (fn. 18) William Longespée, in his will dated 1225,
left the house of Bradley 100 ewes and 10 cows. (fn. 19)
Roger le Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk, grandson of
Pembroke and ward of Salisbury, granted common
of pasture in Marston Bigott Wood in Nunney
(Som.). (fn. 20) In and before 1226-7 Sir Ralph de Auxeville gave the Worcestershire manors of Comberton and Oldington in Kidderminster, with the
tenants and their issue, for the souls of his lord,
Henry Biset, and others, and partly in consideration of the payment of his ransom of £66 13s. 4d. (fn. 21)
In a charter of 1204 King John took the house,
which by this time had grown into a priory as well
as a hospital, (fn. 22) under his protection and granted
certain privileges, (fn. 23) and in 1213 he gave the hospital a fair at Bradley on the vigil and feast of
St. Matthew. (fn. 24) Henry III granted a charter of
confirmation in 1227 for the possessions but did
not mention the fair. (fn. 25) He confirmed the gifts
made by the Bisets and Ralph de Auxeville; also of
a virgate in Bishopstrow by Robert Mauduit and
property at Tarrant (Dors.) by his wife Agnes; of a
virgate in Rockbourne by William Crespyn; of
property in Homington by Geoffrey de Neville;
of property in North Tidworth by Roger la Suche;
of a virgate in Hampstead Marshall (Berks.) by
Halenald de Syfrewarst; of properties in Orcheston and Gurston by Cecily, daughter of William
Sewale; of land, a messuage and pasture at Chisenbury in Enford by Richard de la Folie, and of a
hide in Compton in the same parish, by Richard
the chaplain.
Henry III's licence (fn. 26) to stub, till, and inclose
50 acres of heath in Yarnfield, a tithing of Bradley
across the Somerset border, involved the hospital
in prolonged litigation with the Charterhouse of
Witham (Som.), its neighbour in Selwood. As a
result of many local inquiries, it was found that
the hospital had held all Bradley manor, including
Yarnfield, and that Henry II, when he founded
Witham, and allowed the Carthusians to inclose
'le Holt' in Yarnfield, did not compensate the
hospital. (fn. 27) The quarrel was begun in 1226, (fn. 28) and
a settlement was not reached until 1280. (fn. 29) Other
minor benefactions continued. In 1225 the prior
exchanged lands in Bradley with William and
Ralph de Aungers; (fn. 30) the prior and convent, probably as part of the transaction, released to Ralph
their common of pasture on Fox Hill. (fn. 31) Robert
le Norrais quitclaimed to the prior in 1229 1½
virgate in Yarnfield for 6s. 8d. (fn. 32) One Wulfric
gave a burgage in Kidderminster, held by a rent
of 1s. a year, (fn. 33) and Alfred the fuller, who died
about 1235, granted rents of 1s. and 1s. 7d. in
Kidderminster 'from the place where the hospital
used to be'. (fn. 34) Hugh of Wells, Bishop of Lincoln,
is said to have left a legacy to the lepers' house of
Selwood at the same time; (fn. 35) and in 1239 Robert
Bingham, Bishop of Salisbury, proclaimed an
indulgence for visitors to certain altars in the
hospital chapel. (fn. 36) Robert de Torenne gave a rent
of 1s. due from ½ acre of land on which the millpond of Langham in Southwick discharged. (fn. 37)
John Biset's three daughters married respectively Richard (or Robert) de Rivers, John of
Wotton, and Hugh de Plessis, and Wotton's son
John took the name of Biset. Each family maintained an interest in the hospital, and the Rivers
continued the feud over the advowson of Kidderminster. In 1267 John de Rivers gave a man
named Hugh in the Grove, with his issue and the
lands which he held. (fn. 38) John de Rivers and his
father, in agreement with the Wottons and the
Plessis, gave their third of Kidderminster manor
and regranted the church in 1269-70. (fn. 39) John
Wotton or Biset, for his part, gave to the prior and
hospital in 1303 certain free men and villeins in
Kidderminster, in return for men and their lands
given by his ancestors in Burgate; (fn. 40) and in 1307
his widow obtained as part of her dower a rent of
2s. 6d. in Kidderminster due from the prior. (fn. 41) The
will of William de Plessis, whose connexion with
Hugh is not known, was 'ordinated' by the Prior
of Bradley. (fn. 42) In 1286 the prior and convent made
an agreement with his executors, granting confraternity and an anniversary to William and obtaining the release of £21 10s. of 'old currency'
deposited with the hospital. (fn. 43)
Henry III granted timber from Gillingham
Wood for the church tower in 1245, (fn. 44) and in 1267
a Monday market at Bradley. (fn. 45) In 1270 Queen
Eleanor confirmed John de Rivers's grants of
a third of Kidderminster manor, of the church
there, and of the land and person of a villein; she
wrote to the local escheator in September, when
she and the king were at Marlborough, asking for
his help in these matters. (fn. 46) John of Heytesbury,
prior in 1260-86, had secured property at Tothill
in Westminster; and Eleanor persuaded the king
to grant in 1271 that the prior and convent should
hold their houses in Tothill quit of all livery of the
king or his officers, and that the royal household
should not be lodged there without the convent's
consent. (fn. 47)
Edith Mason gave a house and other property
in Kidderminster about 1248. (fn. 48) John of Waterleigh gave a burgage in Marlborough in 1259. (fn. 49)
In or after 1250 Richard de Cruce gave ½ acre
in Yarnfield called 'la churchelse'. (fn. 50) In 1260
William of Rodden granted a messuage and ½ carucate at Grendon, in Frome, in return for an obit
and £1 11s. 6d. a year for his life. (fn. 51) In 1265 the
daughters of Hereward of Newnham granted land
at Newnham in Sutton Veny, to be held until 12
crops had been received. (fn. 52) Geoffrey Husee gave
property in North Marden (Sussex) and Chichester, of the dower of Dame Maud Dymmok. (fn. 53)
John of Heytesbury, the prior, was superintendent
in 1268 of the will of Geoffrey's wife Cecily, who
left her body to be buried in the hospital and
bequeathed to it two horses or 2 marks. (fn. 54) Peter of
Boxsted, appointed chief steward in 1267, gave
property in Frome (including an alder-bed), and
Yatton Keynell, and 4d. a year for St. Mary
Magdalen's light in the church. (fn. 55) In 1270 John
and the brethren and sisters granted fraternity to
William of Swallowcliffe; they agreed (on penalty
of £26 6s. 8d. for the fabric of Salisbury Cathedral) to add a tenth priest for a daily mass, for
which William had assigned a carucate of land at
Baycliff in Horningsham. (fn. 56) Between 1269 and
1285 Roger la Zouche confirmed his father
Sir Alan's gift of a rent of £5 out of land in the
Biset Manor of North Tidworth, and the convent
granted a chaplain to celebrate for the souls of
Sir Alan and his wife. (fn. 57)
In 1273 the prior and convent obtained a
messuage and 22 acres in Baycliff in return for
two life corrodies on the scale of the daily commons which the brethren received (two loaves,
two gallons of ale, and a dish of 'provisions'); a
messuage and a carucate in North Tidworth;
and property in Purton and in Beckington and
West Hatch (Som.). (fn. 58) They agreed with John de
Aungers in 1277 that he and his heirs should be
free of toll in Bradley market, and that the goathouse which he had built might stand; in return
he quitclaimed two paths and a place 'de la Pleystret' of Bradley where the market was. (fn. 59) A chaplain of Heytesbury released to the priory in 1277
his claims in 2 burgages in the same Pley street. (fn. 60)
Edith, daughter of Robert de Homington, had
licence in 1290 to grant to the prior and convent
a messuage and 6 bovates in Homington which she
held of them by service of £1 a year and suit at
the prior's court every three weeks; (fn. 61) and in 1298
she released to them her right in a tenement in
Homington. (fn. 62)
Prior John le Fry resigned in 1306, and Sir
John de Rivers acted as patron for the election of
his successor. (fn. 63) Fry and two other early 14thcentury priors were remembered by pittances. (fn. 64)
But the hospital was now poor, and becoming
poorer, despite the accumulation of small endowments; it was excused from paying papal tenths
and procurations under Bishop Simon of Ghent; (fn. 65)
Henry of Bradley released in 1319 his inherited
corrody and hospitalities within it; (fn. 66) in 1320-3
indulgences were obtained from the Bishop of
Salisbury and two suffragans, and authority was
given by the former to change the anniversary of
the consecration of their church from St. Matthew's day to 1 October. (fn. 67) The canons were still
accumulating holdings in Yarnfield: an important
gift by Walter Aleyn in 1309; (fn. 68) another from
Richard Bricz in 1317, on condition of finding
a canon or chaplain to celebrate daily in their
chapel; (fn. 69) and access to common of pasture in
1333, by agreement with John Penston. (fn. 70)
Edward III, in 1335, confirmed Manasser
Biset's grant of the two churches, and gave to the
prior and convent in 1336 a general licence for the
acquisition of lands to the value of £10 a year. (fn. 71)
In 1337 he authorized grants of a messuage, land,
meadow, and 6s. rent in Great Corsley, Warminster, and Smallbrook in Warminster by William
of Littleton, and of 6 messuages, land, and wood
in Maiden Bradley and Hill Deverill by John
Daniell, chaplain, and Reginald the Palmer. (fn. 72)
John of Marshton and John of Homington had
licence in 1361 to grant property worth £2 3s. 8d.
a year at Frome Branch and Rodden both in
Frome, (Som.), at Shaftesbury, and at Corsley,
Whitbourne in Corsley, Maiden Bradley, and
Little Horningsham; and John of Marshton had
further licence in 1369 to grant a house worth
£1 a year and a rent of 6s. in Bristol, for a candle
before St. Mary's altar in the priory church on
all feast days. (fn. 73) Other property at Corsley had
been given earlier by William of Corsley. (fn. 74) About
1340 Nicholas of Oldington released to the prior
a messuage in Oldington, and a messuage in
Kidderminster was acquired; (fn. 75) in 1349 John of
Warselegh granted lands at Oldington. (fn. 76) Thomas
Poulton, Bishop of Worcester, left the hospital £1
in 1342. (fn. 77) In 1339 and 1347 the king excused the
canons from finding two men-at-arms for coast
defence. (fn. 78)
In the last two centuries the stream of acquisitions dwindled to a trickle. In 1381 for £13 6s. 8d.
paid by Thomas of Erlestoke, chaplain and parson
of Fisherton de la Mere, (fn. 79) the canons had licence
to grant £6 13s. 4d. a year from lands in Homington to a chaplain who should celebrate daily in
St. Thomas's Church, Salisbury, for the souls of
three citizens of Salisbury and others. (fn. 80) In the
same year they lent £66 13s. 4d. to Sir John atte
Wode. (fn. 81) Philip de la Mare of Nunney (Som.) had
licences in November 1390, for £6 13s. 4d. paid
by the canons, to cede to them property worth
£1 6s. 8d. a year in Maiden Bradley, Baycliff, Hill
Deverill, and Little Horningsham; in December
1390, with Sir Matthew Gurney's leave, to grant
an acre of land in Fisherton de la Mere and
the advowson of the church; and in 1394, for
£13 6s. 8d. which he paid, to cede to a chaplain
in Nunney church a rent of £6 13s. 4d. which the
prior and convent had granted to him out of
Maiden Bradley priory and manor, in exchange
for Fisherton manor. (fn. 82) The appropriation of
Kidderminster church was recovered in 1399-1401. (fn. 83) In 1402 John Gawen and others had
licence to grant land in Hill Deverill worth
13s. 4d. and the reversion of a messuage and land
in Maiden Bradley and Yarnfield, worth 3s., in
satisfaction of £1 a year under the general licence
of Edward III. (fn. 84) The canons obtained in 1444 a
further general licence, which apparently they
were not able to use, and in 1449 a widely drawn
charter of privileges. (fn. 85) They were allowed the
goods and chattels of felons; quittance of suits of
tourns; assay and assize of bread, wine, ale, and
other commodities; quittance of collecting, levying,
and receiving tenths and other clerical taxes; quittance of toll, pannage, and other imposts; free warren
in all their demesne lands; and all privileges granted
by the king's ancestors in his forest of Selwood.
As has been said, Bradley, originally founded as
a home for leper women, very soon became a
priory as well. According to Leland, (fn. 86) the secular
priests who at first staffed the hospital were replaced by a prior and Austin canons by Hubert,
Bishop of Salisbury (1189-93). However, Hubert's exemplification of the charter of Jocelyn,
his predecessor, does not confirm this. (fn. 87) Henry II's
first charter referred simply to the lepers of Bradley, (fn. 88) whilst that of Roger, Bishop of Worcester
(1164-79), mentioned the lepers and their servants. (fn. 89) By 1201, however, there was a prior at
Bradley, (fn. 90) and thenceforth the house was normally
described as 'the sisters, prior and brethren'.
Robert of Wykehampton, Bishop of Salisbury,
visited the priory in 1274 and issued regulations
for the profession and clothing of the women and
for the discipline of the canons and lay brothers. (fn. 91)
In 1301 John le Fry, then prior, set aside rents
amounting to over £11 a year for clothing the
priests, lay brothers, and sisters, with exact regulations of materials, colours, and renewals. (fn. 92) The
chamberlain was responsible for the spending of
this money, and a number of his accounts survive. (fn. 93)
He also managed the tannery which belonged to
the priory. In 1325 there were about 15 sisters,
the prior, 10 priests, and 4 to 6 lay brothers. (fn. 94) The
Bishop of Salisbury had written in 1321 allowing
the profession of 3 women who had been admitted
as sisters before his inhibition, but adding that for
the future his inhibition held good. (fn. 95) It is possible
that he intended in this way to close Maiden Bradley as a leper hospital. Leprosy had already declined in England, and it may well be that the
sisters gradually died out. The canons lasted until
the end. There were apparently 9 priest-canons
before 1270 and 10 thereafter; (fn. 96) there were 10 or
12 in 1326-30 in addition to the prior, (fn. 97) and 10
under prior Edward of Frome (1376-89); (fn. 98) but
in 1279, and again in 1381, the canons engaged
secular priests to fulfil some of their obligations. (fn. 99)
In 1465 there were 5 priest-canons, of whom 3
held offices, (fn. 100) and at the Dissolution there were
5 with 2 novices. (fn. 101)
Separate revenues were assigned to the sacrist
and the pittancer, as well as to the chamberlain,
before 1365. (fn. 102) Early 14th-century accounts of
these officials are preserved, but by 1465 there
were only a sub-prior, cellarer, and sacrist. (fn. 103) The
priors were elected by the canons from amongst
their own number, on the patron's congé d'élire,
and presented by the patron for institution by
the bishop. None of them was outstanding; two
metropolitical visitations were not followed by
serious reform, and control by the General Chapter of the Black Canons was evaded. (fn. 104) The priory
was visited by William Courtenay, Archbishop of
Canterbury, in 1390, despite the Bishop of Salisbury's protest against a visitation of his diocese; (fn. 105)
and in 1423 by Henry Chichele, who referred to
it as one of the four houses in the diocese 'exceptionally needing correction and reformation both
in spiritual and in temporal matters'. (fn. 106) Robert of
Ashton, who was elected prior in 1429, died in
1443 at Venice on his way to the Holy Land. (fn. 107)
Two priors, Edward of Frome and Robert Jakes,
presented themselves to the distant church of
Kidderminster. Edmund Lambard in 1493 left
bequests of money to the canons individually. (fn. 108)
There is no record of books belonging to the
priors or to the priory, except for a cartulary of
the Kidderminster property which is preserved in
the British Museum. (fn. 109) In 1400 one John Hyket
was accused of breaking into the prior's house and
taking 20 lb. of tallow (price 20d.), 4 white loaves
(panes), a small bag, and 2 lb. of candles (price
12d.) of the prior's goods. (fn. 110)
Corrodies existed by 1260, (fn. 111) and two corrodians
were in residence at the Dissolution; but Maiden
Bradley as a 'poor hospital' was not expected to
receive superannuated servants of the Crown.
The stewards appointed in 1267, 1355, 1365, and
1380 (fn. 112) lived in, and their contracts referred to
esquires and clerks. They received a white loaf
and a flagon of ale daily, a robe each year, and
candles in winter. The last chief steward, Sir
William Stourton, received a salary, but his help
was probably only invoked in time of trouble. The
auditor and the receiver-general of 1535 no doubt
had offices in the priory. The hired servants of
1535, sixteen to eight religious, (fn. 113) had succeeded
to the duties of the lay brothers. The small and
widely scattered estates of the priory were managed
in the 14th century by collectors and farmers, a
large number of whose accounts survive. (fn. 114) They
show mixed farming on the demesne lands, and a
negligible production of wool, except at Homington, where in Henry VI's reign the priory's farmer
was apparently a woman, Alice Gyles. (fn. 115) From the
13th century the Worcestershire properties were
managed as separate undertakings. (fn. 116) Later, as with
other houses, many estates were let on long leases.
As to the layout of the priory buildings there
seems to be no evidence, except for the mention
of the steward's chamber over the gate in 1380. (fn. 117)
Some traces of the buildings still survive, however,
at Priory Farm. These comprise a gatehouse
range forming part of the southern boundary of
the enclosure and a smaller structure projecting
into the courtyard near its west end. (fn. 118) The walls
are of roughly coursed rubble with freestone
quoins and dressings. Both buildings are of two
stories and retain door and window openings
which appear to date from the late 15th or early
16th century. It is possible that parts of the external wall of the gatehouse range are older.
The gateway itself has a four-centred arch, now
blocked, and lies near the east end of the building.
Above this is a large upper chamber of three bays
which retains its open medieval roof. This is of
the arch-braced collar-beam type with curved
wind-braces below the purlins. Farther west the
upper floor was evidently divided into smaller
rooms and here the roof trusses have tie-beams
and king posts. On the courtyard side two doorways at first-floor level give access to the upper
range. In one case traces of a stone stair remain.
Beside the other door a curious hooded stone
basin projects externally. It appears to have been
connected to ducts or pipes in the thickness of
the wall, but its function is obscure. At the
south-west corner of the smaller building is a stone
newel stair approached at ground-floor level by a
doorway with a four-centred head. The gable end
facing the courtyard retains part of a stone finial.
The bases of original boundary walls are still in
existence on the north and east sides of the enclosure, the latter forming part of a modern milking shed. At the west end of the gatehouse range
a block of masonry about 9 ft. from the ground
suggests the springing of a large stone arch. This
may indicate the position of one of the more important buildings of the priory. Otherwise these
have entirely disappeared.
By 1360 the patronage of the priory had descended from the Biset heiresses to Sir Edmund
Husee, and his elder daughter carried the advowson by marriage into the family of Hungerford. (fn. 119)
In spite of the losses which this Lancastrian family
suffered in the 15th century, the patronage remained with them; it was settled in 1490 on Mary
Hungerford, then the wife of Sir Edward Hastings,
and it belonged at the Dissolution to her son,
George, Earl of Huntingdon. (fn. 120) Two priors, William of Westbury and Richard Jennings, ruled in
succession from 1465 to 1535; the former sustained, in his generation, the credit of the house.
He complained to George Neville, Lord Bergavenny, of the behaviour of his officers in Kidderminster, and Bergavenny duly rebuked them. (fn. 121) He
and his canons were remembered generously in the
wills of his godfather, the chaplain of Homington
church; of John Mompesson, and of his tenant
and neighbour, Edmund Lambard. (fn. 122) He had in
1483 a papal dispensation to wear an amice
trimmed with grey fur in the priory, notwithstanding the constitutions of Otto and Ottobon. (fn. 123)
His successor left a different name.
Richard Jennings had received priest's orders in
December 1505, and he was prior in 1510. (fn. 124) In
1513 he was accused of assault on a neighbour; (fn. 125)
from 1515 to 1520 he held the vicarage of Kidderminster; (fn. 126) and in 1518 he was threatened with a
visitation on behalf of the General Chapter of the
Austin Canons. (fn. 127) He let many of the priory's
estates for lives, or for terms of 51 to 97 years. (fn. 128)
He pawned plate to the tenant of the mill at
Bradley, and sued him and was sued in return. (fn. 129) In
1531-2 he received £205 3s. 5d. on the priory
account, and spent £270 19s. 5½d. (fn. 130) Richard Layton wrote to Cromwell in 1535 an account of
Jennings's six children and of his papal licences for
self-indulgence. (fn. 131)
The return of endowments rendered in 1535 (fn. 132)
showed estates in Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset,
Hampshire, Sussex, and Worcestershire, with a
gross income of £198 18s. 8d. and fixed charges
of £18 8s. 4d. The priory was therefore dissolved
under the Act of 1536. The County Commissioners raised the estimate of clear income by
nearly £20 and drew a less unflattering picture
of the canons; they valued the lead and bells, the
movable property, and the great woods and coppice
at £268 3s. 4d. in all; they found £191 13s. 10d.
owed by the priory, and £54 2s. 8d. owing to it. (fn. 133)
Jennings obtained £48 11s. 7d. from the income
of 1535-6 for household expenses since Michaelmas 1535, and for himself the rectory of Shipton
Moyne (Glos.). (fn. 134) The future Duke of Somerset
obtained the house, site, and manor of Maiden
Bradley in 1537, and the future Duke of Northumberland the Kidderminster property in 1545; (fn. 135)
Agostino, the Venetian doctor who betrayed Wolsey and took service with the king, held Beckington Manor for several years. (fn. 136)
Priors of Maiden Bradley
Andrew, occurs 1201-c. 1210. (fn. 137)
Hugh, occurs 1225-33. (fn. 138)
William, occurs 1235. (fn. 139)
Ralph, occurs 1238-c. 1248. (fn. 140)
John of Heytesbury, occurs 1260-86. (fn. 141)
John le Fry, occurs 1298-1306. (fn. 142)
John of Tilshead, elected 1306. (fn. 143)
William of Welewe, elected 1325, occurs
1334. (fn. 144)
Henry of Frome, occurs 1335. (fn. 145)
John of Wells, occurs before 1348. (fn. 146)
Thomas of Tidcombe, elected 1349, occurs to
1355. (fn. 147)
William of Frome, elected 1361, occurs to
1373. (fn. 148)
Edward of Frome, 1376-89. (fn. 149)
Robert Jakes, 1389-1429. (fn. 150)
Robert of Ashton, 1429-43. (fn. 151)
William Mercer, elected 1443, occurs to
1449. (fn. 152)
Edmund Dyer, died 1465. (fn. 153)
William of Westbury, elected 1465, occurs to
1504. (fn. 154)
Richard Jennings, occurs 1510-36. (fn. 155)
A 12th-century conventual seal, (fn. 156) pointed oval
and measuring 3 by 2 in., shows a building of
masonry with a central tower over a round-headed
doorway. The tower has a conical roof and steeple
surmounted by a ball and cross. There is a cross
over each gable-end. The legend reads:
SIGILLUM · CONVENTUS · SBE · MARIE ·
DE · BRADELEGA ·
The seal (fn. 157) of a Prior John of the 13th century
is a pointed oval about 1¾ by 1½ in. It shows the
Virgin crowned and enthroned in a canopied niche
with the Child on her left knee. A figure, possibly of a saint, stands on her left. In the base
under an arch is the prior praying. The legend is
+ S' PRIORIS · ET · PCURATORIS DE
MAYDEN BRADLEG'
A 14th-century pointed-oval seal (fn. 158) measuring
2½ by 1½ in. shows the Virgin seated in a canopied
niche with the Child on her left arm. In the base
under a carved ogee arch is a kneeling bishop with
mitre and staff. To the left between two shields
of arms there appears to be an escutcheon within an
orb of martlets. The inscription reads:
SIS · PATRONA · PIA . . . MON . . . VIRGO MAR . . .
This is no doubt the authority for the coat of
arms attributed to the prior. (fn. 159)
The heater-shaped conventual seal, (fn. 160) measuring
about 1 in. across and used in 1383, shows armorial bearings which may be one of the Biset coats:
azure a bend argent.
A document of 1535 carries the round seal of
the prior, Richard Jennings. The legend runs:
S' RICARDI P'ORIS DE M . . . B L
Between the B and the L is a shield which appears
to bear the arms attributed by Matthew Paris to
John Biset. (fn. 161)
The Museum at Devizes has casts of the first
three, and of the seal of Lawrence the millward,
in a collection formed by Mr. Scanes.