FRIARIES
10. THE HOUSE OF DOMINICAN FRIARS OF GUILDFORD
Queen Eleanor of Provence, the widow of
Henry III., founded a house of Dominican
friars at Guildford, on the east bank of the
river, a little to the north of the High Street,
on the site where the militia barracks formerly
stood, at the end of Friary Street, opposite to
the royal park across the river; but the exact
date of the foundation is not known. The
late Father Palmer in his essay on this house (fn. 1)
has made it manifest that the Dominicans
were not established at Guildford at the time
of the death of the young prince Henry,
which took place at Guildford on 20 October
1274. Further he has offered fairly satisfactory proof that this house was founded by
Eleanor of Provence, in affectionate remembrance of her grandson, and that the foundress
listened to the desire of the young prince's
mother in the choice of the order, for Eleanor
of Castile was the nursing mother of the
friar-preachers. The heart of the boy prince
was deposited in the church of this priory,
and was solemnly exposed as the anniversary
of his death came round. On 17 May 1306
the Princes Thomas and Edmund, sons of
Edward I. by his second wife, Margaret of
France, were present in this church at a mass
for the soul of their half-brother, and made
an offering of 21d.
On 6 March 1275 Edward I. granted to
the friars a road leading from Guildford to the
royal park, to be enclosed for enlarging their
area. (fn. 2)
Various benefactors were forthcoming to
assist the friars in the erection of their church
and house. John de Westpurle gave the
timber for the dorter and £100 in money to
the building fund. Sir Hugh Fitz Otho
built the quire, and Lady Clarisan gave the
stalls. (fn. 3) The king granted them four oaks fit
for timber out of Guildford Park in 1294 as
well as two leafless oaks fit for fuel. (fn. 4) In
1298 Edward I. granted them six more leafless trees from the same place for a like purpose. (fn. 5) The king was at Guildford in May
1302, when he gave 4s. to the friars for a
day's food on three separate occasions. On
18 May he was present at the mass in their
church celebrated for the soul of Sir Arnold
Gavaston, and made an oblation of 5s. 4d.
Edward II. on coming to Guildford in 1324
gave 8s. to the twenty-four friars for a day's
food. Edward III. at visits paid to Guildford
in 1331, 1334, 1336 and 1337 made like
gifts for a day's food at 4d. a head, according
to the number then in residence, which
varied from 24 to 17. (fn. 6)
Henry IV. was at Guildford on 12 February 1403. The king and royal family lodged
at the friary, and before leaving a gift of 40s.
was made to cover the damage done to the
house vessels and gardens in entertaining the
royal guests. (fn. 7) By letters patent of 4 November 1504, Henry VII. granted to Prior
Venables and the convent 40 cartloads for
firewood every year out of the royal park at
Henley and the common of Worfesdon; in
return for this, two masses were to be celebrated every week by two friars at the Lady
Altar for the good estate of the king, of
Margaret his mother, of Henry, Prince of
Wales, and his other children, and for their
souls after death. (fn. 8)
In the University Library, Cambridge, is
an obituary calendar of Guildford Friary,
which gives the names and dates of the death
of the priors and other persons connected
with the house. (fn. 9)
In the year 1318 Edward II., desirous of
carrying out the intentions of his mother to
found a monastery of Dominican sisters,
formed the economical design of refounding
this house and appropriating it to Dominican
sisters instead of friars. To further his project he wrote divers letters to Pope John
XXII. in 1318-9, and eventually despatched
two Dominican friars, Richard de Burton
and Andrew de Aslakeby, to Rome to plead
in person. (fn. 10) It was proposed to endow this
nunnery, intended to support seven Dominican sisters, with the appropriation of the
Hampshire rectory of Kingsclere. The
Bishop of Winchester was persuaded to
support the scheme, and he also wrote to
the pope soliciting permission to appropriate
Kingsclere to the contemplated nunnery.
But the various applications failed, and the
friars continued to hold the house according
to the original foundation. (fn. 11)
On 20 June 1321 Bishop Asserio licenced
Richard de Erberfelde, Thomas de Leddrede,
Richard de Guildford, William de Newport,
John de Dene, Geoffrey de Godalming and
William Mandeville, friars of Guildford, to
hear confessions and to preach. (fn. 12)
Pope Benedict XII. in 1336 issued a
mandate to the Bishop of Winchester, the
abbot of Netley and the prior of St. Denis to
carry out ordinances and concessions touching those who left religious orders, having
special reference to Arnold Lym, of the
order of Friars Preachers, who had left the
convent of that order at Guildford, and
desired to be reconciled. (fn. 13)
Richard Fitz Alan, Earl of Arundel and
Surrey, by will dated 4 March 1393, ordered
that the houses of friars should be looked
after by his executors, especially those of
Arundel and Guildford, as they were bound
to pray for the souls of his father, mother,
wife and himself. Sir Reginald Bray, knight,
was also a benefactor. By his will, proved
28 November 1503, he bequeathed to every
house of friars in England 40s. to pray for his
soul for two years, and to the friars of the
house where his mother lay buried the large
sum of £200, at the rate of £10 a year, to say
mass for the souls of Dame Katherine his
wife, Richard his father and Jane his mother.
Henry VIII. built himself a hunting lodge
within the precincts, and professed great love
and affection for the friary. Among the
privy purse expenses of Henry VIII. in July
1530 is a 'reward' of £5 to the friars of
Guildford, and also the large sum (evidently
for some special service) of £12 10s., through
the Duke of Norfolk, to a friar called Anserois
at Guildford. The gift of £5 to the friars
was renewed in July 1531. (fn. 14) It has been
conjectured that these gifts were in return
for the labours of some of the community,
who were known to be skilled in horticulture,
in laying out the royal gardens and grounds
at Guildford as mentioned hereafter.
The treaty with Scotland was ratified by
Henry VIII. at the house of the Blackfriars,
Guildford, on 2 August 1534, in the presence of Robert, abbot of Kinlos, ambassador
of Scotland, the Bishop of Winchester, the
Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Northumberland, Thomas Cromwell and others. (fn. 15)
John Hilsey, Bishop of Rochester, wrote
to Cromwell on 10 August 1536, in favour
of the friars of Guildford, begging that the
king would grant them a perpetual alms for
the relief of their poverty. (fn. 16) This was followed by a petition to the Crown direct
from the Friars Preachers. They stated that
their house, which was now of Queen Jane's
foundation and whose first foundress was
Queen Eleanor, the wife of Henry III., together with the place of honour that the
king had built within their precincts, were
now decaying; that they had no property,
but lived on alms which had of late much
fallen off, so that they often wanted even food,
and were unable to serve the king 'in setting
out trimming and fashioning ground and gardens about the king's place,' and that they
begged the 'grant of some "benefice" prebend,
free chapel, corrody, commandry or order
and governing over any house of alms and
prayers.' (fn. 17)
Sir William, the treasurer of the household, writing to Cromwell on 1 August 1537
from Guildford, which Henry VIII. was
about to visit, recommended him to lodge at
the parsonage of St. Nicholas 'as the Freres
is but a little house and will be sore pestered
at the King's being there.' (fn. 18) In October of
that year the king, after his sojourn at this
friary, granted William Cobden, the prior,
and the house of the Black Friars, Guildford,
an annuity of 20 marks in pure alms. (fn. 19) The
friars had however no enjoyment of this annuity, for the house was 'surrendered' by
Prior Cobden and six other friars to the
'lord visitor' on 10 October 1538. (fn. 20)
By 'the lord visitor' is meant Richard
Ingworth, the renegade friar, then suffraganbishop of Dover. The visitor sold certain
goods to pay the debt of the house, and drew
up the following inventory:—
'The Black Freers of Gilforde.'
This Indenture makith mencyon off all the
staple remayning in the house of the Blacke Freerys
of Gilforde recevyed by the lorde visitor under the
lorde prevey seale and delyvored to John Dabarne
meyor and to Daniel Mugge to see and order to
the kingis use with the howse and all appertenances
till the kingis plesure be futher knowen.
The Quere. It. at the hey altar a feyer tabill
of alabaster. It. at the endis of the altar tabillys
peyntid with ymagery. It. a tabernakill over the
altar with an ymage of our lady. It before the
aulter a clothe hanging of clothe of badkin with
a frontlyt motley velvit. It. an aulter clothe on
the altar. It. a canopy over the sacrament, At
eche (end) of the altar a frame for an altar. It. ii
gret candelstickis of laten. It. a feyer egill for a
lecturne laten. It. feyer stallys well sileid (ceiled)
with an orgeyne lofte. It. a peyer of orgaynys.
It. ii pore lecternys tymber. It. a tumbe with a
marbill stone on the north side of the quere. It
under the stepill a feyer lofte, under that a stall.
It. in the stepill ii bellys a gret and a small.
The Churche. It. a proper chapell sileid with a
tabill alabaster on the altar. It. a feyer desk within the partclose. It. ii setis to knele before the
altar. It. ii othere auters in the churche within
the partclose with tabyllis alabaster before eche
altar a feyer sete within the partclose and ii setes
to knele before eche altar. It. a tumbe of marbil
and a feyer candelbeme new without the partclose.
It. iii tabillys allabaster on iii frameis for aulterys,
ii pueis (pews) with diverse other setis.
The Vestrey. It ii feyer framys for vestimentis
with allmerys and a borde to laye on vestments.
It. the upper part of the sepulcre woode.
The gret Kechin. It. a gret leade in a furnas.
It. ii gret chymneis with racks to rost. It. ii
chopping bordis and in the cnner howse a cesterne
of leade to water barly.
The entre betwixe both kechinns. It. ii setis
framys to sett on.
The litill kechin. It. ii frameis of leade to water
fische. It. dressing bordis.
The Pasthe. It. a gretboltinge hoche. It. a
gret trowe to knede in with a borde over yt. It.
ii molding bordis, an olde trowe under. It. in
the ynner howse a hoche for brede. It a gret
chopping borde. It. an other small borde and a
plank with racks of wood to hange flesche.
In the yarde. It. a feyer well with buckitt and
chenys to drawe water. There was also 105 ounces
of plate, broken and whole. (fn. 21)
The king retained this priory in his own
hands, converting the house into a good
dwelling as an occasional royal resort.
Priors of the Dominican Friars of Guildford
William de Guildford, (fn. 22) died 1324
Bernard Hermann, died 1373
William Andrew (Bishop of Meath), died 1385
Robert Tenowes, died 1404
Richard, died 1415
Thomas Wocking, died 1425
Hugh Stonhard, died 1428
Richard Graveney, died 1469
Thomas Tydman, died 1477
Marcellinus Akorton, died 1482
Robert Trenorsat, died 1505
John Venables, died 1519
William Cobden, circa 1537-8