44. THE PRIORY OF HAVERHOLME
The Gilbertine priory of St. Mary, Haverholme, was founded as a double house in 1139
by Alexander, bishop of Lincoln. (fn. 1) In 1137 he
had offered the site, a marshy island in the river
near Sleaford, to the abbot of Fountains for a
Cistercian abbey. (fn. 2) Abbot Gervase accepted it;
two years were spent in erecting those monastic
buildings which were absolutely needful, and on
Candlemas Day, 1139, a band of monks was
sent from Fountains to take possession. (fn. 3) The
place displeased them, and the bishop gave them
instead the site on which the house of Louth
Park was built. Alexander then offered Haverholme to his former confessor, Gilbert of Sempringham, who had lived in his household for
eight years. The number of nuns at Sempringham was increasing very rapidly, the Cistercian
buildings were ready for them at Haverholme,
and the bishop considered that there was sufficient
arable and pasture land for their needs. (fn. 4) St.
Gilbert sent nuns, lay sisters and lay brothers to
Haverholme, but at first they suffered severely
from poverty. In 1140 Simon Tushett 'had
compassion on their good life, and fearing that
they would lack the wherewithal to live,' granted
them lands in Ashby. (fn. 5) Henry II, (fn. 6) Roger Mowbray, (fn. 7) and Roger de Lacy (fn. 8) were among their
later benefactors.
St. Gilbert added canons to the community
soon after his return from Citeaux, in 1148. (fn. 9)
He afterwards limited the numbers in the house
to 100 nuns and lay sisters, and 50 canons and
lay brothers. (fn. 10)
In October, 1164, Thomas, archbishop of
Canterbury, found shelter at Haverholme, among
other houses of the Gilbertine order, when he
fled abroad from the Council of Northampton. (fn. 11)
In 1254 the spiritualities of the house
were assessed at £40, the temporalities at
£100 11s. 10d. (fn. 12) Three years later Richard of
Gravesend, bishop of Lincoln, held that the resources of the house were insufficient for the maintenance of guests and poor, and appropriated to the
use of the convent the church of Sleaford (Vetus
Lafford) and a moiety of Ruskington. (fn. 13) In 1291
the value of the temporalities had increased by over
£18 a year, (fn. 14) and about the beginning of the fourteenth century the annual sales of wool amounted
to 15 sacks. (fn. 15) At that time the revenues
probably sufficed for the needs of the house;
apparently no efforts were made to get a licence
to appropriate lands in mortmain, money was
not advanced by the Italian merchants, no special
difficulty was experienced in the payment of the
taxes.
In 1303 the prior held one knight's fee in
Dorrington, seven-eighths of a fee in Ruskington,
three-quarters in Hougham, a quarter in Brauncewell, a quarter in Wilsfold, one-sixth in Marton, one-sixth in Dorrington, one-tenth in Timberland, one-seventeenth in Booth by, four-fifths
of half a fee in Wellingore, and seven-eighths
of half a fee in Anwick. (fn. 16) Like other monasteries and townships, the prior was presented for
neglect before the justices of sewers. In 9
Edward II complaint was made that the south
side of the water from Happletreeness to Kyme
was in decay, the prior was bound to repair a
great part of it and refused. (fn. 17) It was also stated
that he ought to provide a boat at the Bothe near
the Wathe mouth, the public crossing from
Kesteven, to carry over foot passengers by day
and by night. (fn. 18)
The disturbed state of the country in the
reign of Edward II and the earlier years of his
son is notorious, and Haverholme Priory did not
escape being embroiled with neighbours. In
1316 a commission of oyer and terminer was
issued on the prior's complaint that certain men
fished in his free fisheries at Iwardy, carried
away his fish and other goods, and threw one of
the canons into the water. (fn. 19) In 1327 John
Bussy of Thistleton, knt., and Hugh Wysman
of Agham and others broke into the prior's
close at Marston by Hougham, carried away his
goods, writings and muniments, and assaulted his
servants. (fn. 20) Three years later certain men fished
in his fisheries at Old Lafford and Haverholme,
broke the banks between which the water
flowed to his mills, and flooded 300 acres of
his meadow land. They assaulted two of the
canons, a lay-brother, and the prior's servant,
imprisoned one canon until he made a fine of
£10 for his release, and robbed the other of
40s. of the prior's money. (fn. 21) There is no
record of any reprisals, but in 1330 the prior
and two of the canons with the prior of Sempringham and others trespassed on a close at
Evedon. (fn. 22)
The later history of the priory is quite obscure.
Shortly before the dissolution there were many
manuscripts but few printed books. (fn. 23)
The house was surrendered on 24 September,
1538, by the prior and six canons. (fn. 24) Pensions
were granted to the prior and four canons, the
prioress and seven nuns. (fn. 25)
In 1535 the clear value of the property was
only £70 15s. 10½d. out of which the net income
drawn from the rectories was £7 13s. 8d. (fn. 26) The
demesne lands farmed by the prior's convent were
worth £9 6s. 8d. a year.
In the hands of the crown bailiff, four years
later, the property brought in £103 17s. 6½d., and
included the rectories of Ruskington, Sleaford,
and Anwick, lands in Ruskington, Anwick, and
Dorrington, and four mills in Lincolnshire, lands
and tenements in Staunton, Thorp, Thoroton,
Shelton, and granges at Warborough and Staturn
in Nottinghamshire. (fn. 27)
Priors of Haverholme
Richard, occurs 1164 (fn. 28)
Simon, occurs 1234 (fn. 29)
Odo, occurs 1255 (fn. 30)
William de Walden, occurs 1330 (fn. 31)
Robert Home, occurs 1522 (fn. 32)
William Hall, occurs 1535 (fn. 33) and 1538 (fn. 34)
Prioress of Haverholme
Margaret Woodhouse, occurs 1538 (fn. 35)
A seal, attached to a deed [1196-1203] (fn. 36) is a
pointed oval, and represents the Virgin seated,
with a crown, the Child between her knees, the
right hand uplifted. (fn. 37) The legend is imperfect,
SIGILLVM SANT . . . RHOL . . .
The prior's seal of the thirteenth century (fn. 37) is
a pointed oval, and represents the prior standing
on a carved platform, lifting up his hands. The
legend is
SIGILL' PRIORIS DE HAVERHOLME.