HOUSES OF AUSTIN CANONS
10. PRIORY OF CHRISTCHURCH, TWYNEHAM
The secular canons of the Church of the
Holy Trinity, Twyneham, had large holdings
in Hampshire at the time of the Survey,
which they held in the time of Edward the
Confessor. These possessions consisted of 5
hides and a virgate in Christchurch Twyneham, a hide in the Isle of Wight, Bortel
Bashley in Milton, and 8 acres in Audret in
the New Forest Hundred, together with certain tithes in Christchurch, Twyneham, and
Holdenhurst. (fn. 1) The establishment consisted
of twenty-four canons, who served their own
minster as well as the churches of Herne,
Burton and Preston. One of them, by name
Godric, was regarded as their head; but, like
Southwell Minster throughout its history,
the canons did not recognize any one as
dean (of which name even, as the chronicle
says, they were ignorant), but regarded
Godric as the elder and father of their household. They were accustomed to divide the
mass offerings and the profits from the churches
under their control after an approved and
equitable manner. Meanwhile, Ranulph
Flambard, of infamous memory, obtained
from the king a grant of the church and
town, coveting the possession, as the chronicler
states, because the minster was so prolific in
miracles, and hence abounded in treasures
and relics. He beguiled the canons into
allowing him to appropriate all their incomes,
saving a bare sustenance, in order to build a
greater church. He pulled down the old
church (primitivam ecclesiam), and nine other
churches, or rather chapels, that stood within
the surrounding churchyard. As Godric and
ten of the other canons successively died,
Ranulph suppressed their prebends, and is
said to have applied the income to the church
building.
With the death of the Red King came the
downfall of Ranulph Flambard, who was
imprisoned, and, escaping, fled the kingdom.
He died on 5 September, 1128. The minster of Twyneham, with its poor remnant of
five canons, was granted to Gilbert de Dousgunels on the overthrow of Ranulph. He
restored, as much as was possible, the old
order of services, and continued the building
of the church and canonical houses. When
all was finished, Gilbert set out for Rome to
obtain licence for the due refounding of the
house, but died on the return journey.
Meanwhile Henry I. gave the manor,
town and church of Twyneham to his
cousin, Richard de Redvers, and Richard
persuaded one of his barons, Roger del Estre,
to give to the canons his manor of Apse in
the Isle of Wight. A clerk, Peter de Oglander,
about the same time gave the manor of Ningwood, and the parishioners of Twyneham
agreed to pay their tithes to the canons.
Then Richard de Redvers appointed Peter
de Oglander dean over the canons, and gave
him the church of Twyneham and all its
privileges, which Ranulph and Gilbert, the
deans, had held, with all the possessions, to
wit, the towns of Herne, the land of Bortel,
Stanpit, Huborne, Stroud and 'Duslecompa,'
and the two Prestons, Apse, Hampstead,
Ningwood in the Isle of Wight, and certain
churches and chapels. (fn. 2)
Ralph was the next dean of Twyneham,
and he was succeeded by Hilary, a clerk of
Henry de Blois, Bishop of Winchester.
Baldwin de Redvers, Earl of Devon, confirmed to Dean Hilary and the canons, in a
long charter, all the lands and liberties, and
all the privileges they enjoyed, which included the town school. They were to have
tithe of wreck happening in the de Redvers
fee except great fish, a fishery for their servants, save the salmon fishing at the junction
of the Avon and Stour, and were entitled to
the first salmon of the season. They could
also claim two cartloads of fuel daily, and a
hundred cartloads of peat annually for use in
the kitchen, provided they had not a sufficient
supply in their own lands, and certain rights
in the market at Christchurch. (fn. 3)
In the year 1150, Dean Hilary (who had
been consecrated Bishop of Chichester in
1142), in conjunction with the Bishop of
Winchester, petitioned Richard de Redvers
to turn the house into a priory of canons
regular of St. Austin. With the sanction of
Baldwin, Earl of Devon, Richard's father,
this was accomplished. (fn. 1) Reginald was placed
at its head as the first prior, and the house
was termed Christchurch. It was arranged
that the secular canons should receive their
prebends for life, subject to good conduct and
obedience to the prior. Those in charge of
churches or chapels pertaining to the priory
were not to be disturbed in their benefices;
on their death no hereditary claim of parents
or others was to be admitted, but the canons
were to provide for the due service of the
churches. On their establishment as a priory
further charters were granted both by Baldwin
and Richard de Redvers. (fn. 2)
Reginald ruled as first prior of Christchurch
for thirty-six years. Ralph, second prior,
was elected in 1186; he died in 1195, and
was buried in the chapter-house.
The date of the consecration of the high
altar and the altar of St. Stephen gives the
time of the completion of the quire of the
great church. On 29 December, 1195, the
altar of the Saviour, the high altar of the
canons, was dedicated by Rainald, Bishop of
Ross, (fn. 3) in which altar there were deposited
the following relics: fragments from the
place in which our Lord was born, from the
manger in which He was placed and of His
cradle, from the place where His feet stood,
from Gethsemane and from the place of
lamentation; also parts of the cloth in
which the cross of Christ was wrapped, and
parts of His sepulchre.
On the same day and year the same bishop
dedicated the altar of St. Stephen. The relics that were placed in this altar were
bones of Saints Stephen, Lawrence, Victor,
Blasius, Hypolytus, and part of the hair shirt,
of the sandals and the cowl of St. Thomas
of Canterbury. (fn. 4)
It would appear, from the date of altar
dedications, that the building of the nave of
the great church was not finished until about
1234.
On 12 November, 1214, the altar of the
Holy Trinity, which was the parochial altar
in the nave, was dedicated by Walter, Bishop
of Whitherne (1209-25). The relics placed
in the altar included parts of the manger, the
sepulchre and the table of our Lord. On the
same day the same bishop also dedicated the
altar of the apostles Peter and Paul. The
relics included bones of both those saints, and
of St. Bartholomew and the Holy Innocents.
At the same time a third altar was dedicated
to the honour of St. Augustine. The relics
enclosed were some of the hair of St. Bernard,
some of the bones of St. Columba, part of
the girdle of St. Peter, part of the wood of
St. Martial, and part of the girdle of
St. Malachy. On 7 December of the same
year an altar was dedicated by the same
bishop to the honour of St. John Baptist.
The relics placed therein were exceedingly
numerous, and included parts of the vesture
and robe of our Lord; part of the vestments
of the blessed Virgin; bones of St. John
Baptist and of Sts. Peter and Paul; some of
the blood of St. Stephen; bones of Sts.
Lawrence, Blasius, Victor, Vincent, Alban,
Hippolytus, Polycarp, Urban, Chrysogonus,
and Holy Innocents; bones of the martyrs
and confessors, Martin, Julian, Simplicius,
and Joseph of Arimathea; some of the oil
of St. Nicholas, monk of Rome; and bones
of the virgin saints, Agnes, Alice, Lucy,
Julianna, Perpetua, Margaret, Agatha, Barbara,
Beatrice and Martha. On the same day and
year the same bishop dedicated a third altar
to the honour of St. Edmund, placing therein
some bones of Sts. Peter, Lawrence, Blasius,
Hippolytus and King Oswald. (fn. 5)
In 1221, Nicholas, Bishop of the Isles, (fn. 6)
dedicated an altar to the honour of St. Michael
the Archangel. The relics were remarkably
numerous, and included portions of the manger
and cradle of our Lord, and of the stone upon
which our Lord stood when speaking in the
Temple; fragments from Gethsemane, from
the Sepulchre and from Mount Sion; part of
the vesture of the blessed Virgin; some of
the bones of St. Columba; parts of the chasuble
and altar-pall of St. Remigius, and part of
the shroud in which he rested 400 years; and
a piece of the sepulchre of St. Anne, the
mother of the Virgin.
At the same time Bishop Nicholas dedi
cated another altar to the honour of St. Martin, the relics of which are not enumerated. (fn. 1)
Whilst Peter was prior, the house had repeatedly to entertain an expensive and doubtless unwelcome guest. King John tarried at
Christchurch, sometimes for two or three
days, in the years 1200, 1204, 1205, 1206,
1208, 1210, 1212 and 1215. (fn. 2) In January,
1216, the king confirmed to the canons the
gift of the manor of Fleet.
By an undated grant Prior Nicholas assigned
to the Abbot of Quarr land called Ma Gore'
in the manor of Apse, Isle of Wight, and a
yearly rent from the same manor; in return
for which the abbot granted to the prior and
convent of Twyneham all the lands in the
manor of Fleet, which he had of the gift of
Hawise de Redvers. (fn. 3)
The chartulary supplies minute particulars
as to the receipts and expenses of the different
manors pertaining to the priory, as well as
customaries, about the year 1270. An entry
of that date gives particulars of the synodals
paid to the bishop and procurations to the
archdeacon, on behalf of different churches
and chapels, by the sacrist of the priory. In
synodals the payment was 4s. 4½d.; namely
the church of Twyneham and the chapel of
Milton, each 15d.; and the chapels of Holdenhurst, Winkton and Haytokesle, 7½d. each;
whilst the archdeacon received 22s. 4½d.,
being 7s. 5½d. from each of the three churches
of Twyneham, Hope and Milford. (fn. 4)
The taxation of 1291 returned the annual
value of the temporalities of the priory in
Hampshire at £35 17s. 2d., whilst the rectory of Twyneham and chapels were estimated at £36 13s. 4d. In the diocese of
Salisbury they held temporalities to the annual
value of £32 3s. 4d., with £4 from the rectory of Fleet, and a pension of £1 from the
church of Iwerneminster and the chapel of
Hinton.
Prior Mawry died in 1302; his sepulchral
slab is still to be seen in the south aisle of the
quire. On 3 April the royal assent to the
election of William Quyntyn as eleventh
prior was signified to the bishop, and he was
duly installed. The temporalities were restored on 16 April. (fn. 5)
In November of the same year Peter de
Donewyco, the king's clerk, was appointed
to act in conjunction with the sheriffs of
Sussex, Hants, Somerset, Dorset, Gloucester,
Devon and Cornwall, to induce the bailiffs
and good men of various towns to send ships
furnished with men and necessaries to be ready
to set forth by the feast of the Ascension against
the Scots, at the king's wages. Twenty-five
was the total of the ships demanded from
these shores; Southampton was to send two,
Portsmouth and Gosport one jointly, and
Yarmouth and Lymington another jointly.
Only three ships were to be supplied at the
expense of the religious houses of this district, which embraced the whole of the west
of England. The abbot of Battle was to
supply one, the alien sea-coast houses of
Hamble and St. Helen's another, and the
prior of Christchurch a third. (fn. 6) This may
be taken as a proof of the importance and
supposed wealth of this priory, but it was an
honour with which the canons would gladly
have dispensed.
In 1306 a mandate was issued by Bishop
Woodlock interdicting John de Warham,
sub-prior of Christchurch, from leaving the
monastery, and in quire and chapter he was
to be on a level with the rest of the canons. (fn. 7)
This bishop visited the priory in 1310, on
the Thursday after the feast of St. Benedict. (fn. 8)
His register contains no adverse decrees.
It was during Prior Quyntyn's term of
office, viz. in 1312, that the very elaborate
chartulary of the priory's evidences and possessions was drawn up, which is in itself a
proof of vigorous temporal administration.
The priory was renowned for the amount
of its alms to the poor. On each of the
anniversaries of Richard de Redvers the
elder, of Adeliza his mother, of Hadewise his
daughter, of Richard his son, and of Baldwin,
William and Baldwin, Earls of Devon; of
Lady Joan de Briwere, of Bishop Henry de
Blois, of Roger Martel, of Adeline of
Stampit, and of the priors Reginald and
Nicholas, after solemn high mass for the
benefactors, forty poor persons received a loaf
of bread, a pottle of beer, and a dish from
the kitchen. On the anniversaries of Isabel
de Fortibus, Countess of Devon; of Nicholas
de Lakinges, sub-dean of Sarum; and of
Walter de Herford, the mason, one hundred
poor folk were similarly entertained; on the
anniversary of Ralph Bardolph, sixty poor;
and on the anniversary of Richard de Orestull, who gave to the priory the church and
mill of Stourpayne, fourteen poor. On the
anniversaries of other priors, thirty loaves and
thirty gallons of beer were distributed. The
total anniversary distributions to the poor for
each year amounted at that time to 1,354
loaves, 467 gallons of beer and 934 dishes
from the kitchen, in addition to broth (potagium).
Up to Prior Quyntyn's time four black (rye)
loaves and four dishes were distributed on the
anniversary of a canon; but Quyntyn further
directed that on the death of a canon 100
loaves should be given to the poor, fifty on
the obit and fifty on the morrow, the former
from the almonry and the latter from the
cellarage. It was further enjoined that for
the year the deceased canon's corrody in the
frater should be given to the poor.
On the anniversaries of Mabel, Countess
of Devon, and of Hadewyse, daughter of
Baldwin the elder, 6s. 8d. was divided among
forty poor folk. On the anniversary of Peter,
Bishop of Winchester, 5s. worth of bread was
distributed at the gates; and on the anniversary of Edward of Porchester 50s. was
divided among one hundred poor. (fn. 1)
Every day two masses were said in the
priory church for benefactors, one of our
Lady and one of the Holy Ghost. At the
beginning of each month there was a special
solemn mass for the souls of friends and benefactors. The year's total of masses, in addition to the regular mattin mass and high
mass and private masses, was 1,468. (fn. 2)
In the year 1316 Prior Quyntyn's health
began to fail. He was an old man, for at the
time of his death he had been a canon of
the house for fifty-nine years. In consequence
of his age and feebleness, Bishop Sandale
granted him a dispensation, dated 30 November, 1316, for meat in Advent. (fn. 3) He died in
April, 1317, and the convent elected Walter
Tydolneshide, one of the canons, in his place. (fn. 4)
On 14 August, 1319, Bishop Sandale cited
the prior and convent to appear at his forthcoming visitation of the priory. (fn. 5) As this
visitation is not followed by any decrees,
it may be presumed that everything was
satisfactory. In October of the same year
the priory was ordered by the bishop to
receive Stephen de Stapelbrugge, a brother
of the late order of the Temple, in his first
tonsure. (fn. 6)
On 30 April, 1324, Bishop Stratford wrote
a letter of monition to the prior as to the
grave excesses of John de Sandon, one of the
canons, but no particulars are given. (fn. 7) In the
following year Canon Thomas de Montague
was excommunicated for laying violent hands
on John Wastour, clerk; but the bishop
absolved him by commission. (fn. 8) A visitation
was held by the bishop in January, 1327, and
various articles of reformation were forwarded
to the prior at the end of the month. These
articles dealt with the attendance at the offices
of all save the obedientaries, steward and
cellarer; the number of masses at particular
altars; the appointment by the prior of four
confessors for the monastery; the observing
of silence, and that talk at permitted times
should be in Latin or French, and on no
account in English; the custody of the doors
of the cloisters, etc.; a bell for each service;
abstinence and dietary; money affairs and
the steward; the custody of the seal; prohibition of games of chess and dice; prohibition of keeping hounds save by the prior,
according to custom, if he desires it; and the
prohibition of writing letters or causing them
to be written, without leave from the prior or
sub-prior. The bishop also enjoined on the
prior to finish the new cloister with all
despatch. (fn. 9) There was evidently much criticism in the priory of this decree that covered
so wide an area of conventual discipline.
News of this talk reached the bishop, and on
30 July, 1328, he ordered an inquiry to be
held as to certain canons defaming their
diocesan in connection with his recent
visitation and forwarded a citation asking for
names. (fn. 10)
On 1 January, 1328, the prior of Christchurch was ordered to appear before the
king at York, on Monday after the Purification, to answer for his contempt in not
obeying the king's late order to come to him
to treat of certain of his affairs. (fn. 11)
Bishop Stratford inhibited the prior on
19 November, 1331, from celebrating in
the chapel of St. Katharine on the Hill of
Rishton, constructed on the soil of the
priory, on account of the lack of certain
formalities. Licence for celebrations in the
chapel was not granted until 1 February,
1332. (fn. 12)
In January 1333 restitution was made by
the Crown to Prior Edmund, in mortmain, of
the advowson and lordship of the house of St.
Leonard, Rishton, by Palmersbridge, on payment of a fine of ten marks. The original
grant of the premises had been made by
Elias Deverel without the licence of Edward I.,
and the king, in consideration of the fine
made by the present prior, pardoned the
trespass committed by his predecessor, Prior
Quyntyn, in entering upon the premises
without licence. (fn. 1)
On 9 February, 1337, Bishop Orlton visited
Christchurch and preached in the chapter
house from the text, 'Ascendente Jesu in
naviculam, secuti sunt eum discipuli ejus.' (fn. 2)
In the following month Prior Edmund
died, and the convent, with the consent of
their patron, William Montague, Earl of
Salisbury, elected Richard de Bustehorne as
their fourteenth prior. (fn. 3) There was clearly,
some great irregularity about this prior, for in
July, 1337, after a rule of only a few months,
the bishop ordered the sub-prior to administer
the affairs of the priory, and appointed a
commission to inquire into and punish the
excesses noted in his late visitation. (fn. 4) The
bishop held another visitation in July 1339. (fn. 5)
During the previous voidance of the
priory on the death of Prior Edmund, the
Crown ordered Ralph de Middleneye, the
escheator, not to meddle further in the
manors of Piddleton, Little Piddle, Bernardsley,
and Fleet, co. Dorset, removing the king's
hands and restoring the issue. The king
had granted to William Montague and his
wife the castle and manor of Christchurch,
and the escheator had considered that the
custody of the priory (which was appurtenant
to the castle and manor) pertained to the
king during a vacancy, and had not permitted the sub-prior and convent to intermeddle with it. For this action the zealous
escheator was reprimanded. (fn. 6)
In March 1342 licence for alienation in
mortmain was obtained on payment of the
heavy fine of twenty-four marks, by William
Everard and Elizabeth his wife, of a messuage, 60 acres of land, 4½ acres of meadow
and 71s. 2d. of rents in Odeknolle, Southwelbergh and Eccinswell, to find a canon
of the priory as chaplain to celebrate at the
altar of St. Andrew in the parish church of
Twyneham for their good estate and their
souls after death, and for the ancestors and
heirs of Elizabeth, and also a wax light to
burn before the altar on the five feasts of Our
Lady, from the beginning of first vespers to
the end of second vespers. The chaplain
was to be paid 13s. 4d. beyond what other
canons received, to celebrate the anniversary
of William and Elizabeth as was usual for a
founder of the house, to transmit the obits to
every religious house of the same order in
England, as was wont to be done for a deceased canon, and to distribute early on the
days of the obit and anniversary, bread and
beer and a dish from the kitchen to sixty poor
persons of the town of Twyneham. (fn. 7)
From a relaxation of penance enjoined on
the canons of Christchurch at a recent visitation, dated 23 May, 1343, we learn that
Bishop Orlton must have held another
visitation shortly before this date. (fn. 8)
By the feudal aid of 1346, it appears that
the prior of Christchurch held a quarter of a
knight's fee in Whippingham and a twelfth
part in Delbourne. (fn. 9)
In 1359 Prior Henry made a most interesting and precise statement before the bishop's
official as to the vicarage of Twyneham,
giving the value of all the numerous payments
in kind, and citing the original ordination of
the vicarage and its augmentation in 1312.
It was stated that the annual value of the
corrody for the vicar and his servant came to
£10 14s. The vicar received weekly seven
loaves of convent bread, 3½d.; twenty-one
gallons of good beer, 21d.; and a daily dish
from the kitchen, 14d. His servant received
fourteen loaves (one of oats and one of barley,
daily), 2¼d.; three gallons of beer, 3½d.; and
dishes from the kitchen at ¾d. per day, 5¼d.
He received for his horse a share of a meadow
worth 13s. 4d., and oats worth 5s. He was
also paid a salary of 10s., as well as 2d. every
Sunday and a candle worth 1d. As to
offerings, there was a population of 2,000 at
Christchurch, and the confession offerings of
one penny were estimated at 41s. 8d., showing
that a fourth were expected to be of age for
that sacrament; and the pennies at burial
masses, purifications and marriages were
estimated at £10. The parish also gave the
vicar ten quarters of oats valued at 16s. 8d.
The rental value of the vicar's manse was
13s. 4d., and it was repaired by the priory;
so that the profits beyond the corrody were
worth £15 13s. a year. The vicar had no
synodal or procuration burdens, nor had he
to find books, vestments, wax, bread or wine.
He also received ten loads of peat yearly,
worth 3s. 4d.; half a quarter of barley a day,
8s. 8d.; a robe once a year, 20s.; in pence,
3s. 4d.; legacies, 6d. Moreover, the vicar
had wine on the greater and double feasts and
some other occasions, which was worth on
the average 35s. 4d. The prior estimated
the total value of the vicar's portion at the
then large sum of £21 2s. 10d. (fn. 1)
Prior Henry's eyesight began to fail him
in 1367, and at last his blindness increased to
such an extent that he was unable to discharge
either the spiritual or temporal functions of
his office. In January, 1368, the bishop
formally enjoined the prior to provide himself
within six days with a coadjutor. He nominated Peter Travers, a canon of the house;
the bishop in sanctioning and confirming this
appointment in the following June described
the prior as wholly deprived, by the will of
the Most High, of the sight of both eyes. (fn. 2)
About this time one of the brethren, John
Cossham, absconded and assumed a secular
garb. On expressing his penitence, he was
absolved by the bishop and sent back with a
letter to the prior and convent ordering his
readmission with suitable discipline. The
prior however refused to admit him, alleging
that he had been a sower of tares among
them, as well as guilty of a diversity of
crimes. The bishop replied, expressing his
fear of losing a soul, and formally citing the
prior and convent to show cause why the
penitent brother should not be readmitted. (fn. 3)
On 21 March, 1360, Wykeham addressed
a long and serious remonstrance to Sir William
Montague, second Earl of Salisbury, for
quartering his people on the canons of Christchurch. The prior had complained to the
bishop that the earl, sometimes for a year and
sometimes for half a year, was in the habit of
occupying all the houses of the priory with
his whole household of both sexes, to the
great oppression and considerable disturbance
of the religious, and that his servants kept the
keys of the houses in the earl's absence. He
was further charged by the prior with causing
the convent and their representatives to be
treated unfairly at the hundred and manorial
courts. Moreover, the prior had in the past
kindly permitted a bridge to be made for the
entry and exit of the Lady Katharine, his
mother, now deceased, for her quiet and
honourable use; but that now it was giving
rise to scandals to religion and to the house.
The bishop reminded the earl that he was
as patron of the monastery not to subject it to
a military thraldom, nor to oppress it, but
rather to defend it from all attacks, and
concluded with a strong appeal to his sense of
religion and charity of heart to cease all this
oppression and wrongdoing, and formally
cited him to remove his family from the
houses of the priory before the Feast of the
Holy Trinity next ensuing. (fn. 4)
In April 1386 Prior Wodenham received
a mandate from Bishop Wykeham, directing
him to censure severely, and to canonically
punish for any further offence, those canons
who disobeyed the claustral prior. (fn. 5) In the
following year a commission was directed by
the bishop to John Sydeforde, the official, and
another, to visit Christchurch amongst other
priories. (fn. 6)
In February 1402 there was a grievous
rebellion in the priory. Seven of the canons,
Roger Milton, John Andrew, John Manere,
Thomas Portlande, John Wymborne,
Thomas Snoke, and Thomas Corf, animated
by a devilish spirit, entered into a conspiracy
binding themselves by an oath on the Blessed
Sacrament violently to eject the prior and
their other superiors, and afterwards made an
apostate flight, taking with them after a
sacrilegious and furtive manner, certain goods
and valuables of the priory. The bishop
commissioned John Elmore, the official, and
Robert Keeton, to inquire into the matter
and report. The commissioners held the
inquiry, associating with themselves the
priors of two other Austin houses, Mottisfont
and St. Denis, as assessors. They found all
the accused, except Snoke, guilty and
deserving of deprivation, but proceeded to
modify their sentences. Milton, who is
described by them as the ringleader and an
intolerable whisperer of slander and a
scandalous mischief-maker, as well as a thief
of conventual goods, was sentenced to
removal to another priory in the diocese,
there to undergo penance. Manere, who is
called a man of great astuteness, dangerous,
and given to contumely, and the counsellor of
Andrew, himself an evil man, received a like
sentence; they were both to be kept in
solitary confinement. The others were
sentenced to penance (solitary confinement)
in their own priory, and were disqualified for
holding any office for two years. These
sentences were pronounced on 13 March, but
on 22 March the bishop revised the sentences
on Portlande, Wymborne and Corfe, namely
that they were to be strictly confined to the
cloister and not suffered to speak to any
secular person until Michaelmas; to receive
discipline openly from the president in
chapter every Friday up to the Feast of the
Holy Trinity; to receive discipline humbly
and devoutly from the whole convent on the
first Friday after this sentence; to leave
their stalls in the quire for the like time and
to sit with the servants and novices; and to
take their share of the menial work; and for
a whole year after this sentence to fast on
Fridays, Corfe and Wimborne on bread, beer
and brothy and Portlande on bread and
water.
On 3 July of that year, Manere was
released from solitary confinement elsewhere,
and restored to Christchurch, but to undergo
a sentence there like that just detailed on his
three colleagues. (fn. 1) Meanwhile Andrew and
the other canons took proceedings against the
prior for false imprisonment in the Arches
Court, and on 8 February, 1403, the prior
was discharged from further observance, and
the matter remitted to the bishop and the
archbishop. (fn. 2) Previously to this, however,
namely in November, 1402, the ringleader
Milton, who was undergoing solitary confinement in another Austin house, convinced the
bishop of his penitence, and was discharged
from his obligations to Christchurch, and
received the episcopal licence to enter a
stricter rule of religion. (fn. 3)
On Wykeham's death the religious houses
of Winchester diocese were visited during the
vacancy of the see by John Maydenhith, dean
of Chichester, acting as commissary for the
Archbishop of Canterbury. Christchurch
priory was visited in November, 1404;
amongst the findings of the visitor may be
noted that there were twenty-two canons
instead of the statutory number of twentysix; that there were twelve sick in the
farmery; and that Prior Borard had not
rendered a proper balance sheet in the
presence of the chapter. (fn. 4)
Sir Thomas West, who married Jane,
daughter of Roger, Lord de la Warre, by his
will dated 5 April, 1405, ordered that his
body should be buried in the new chapel of
Christchurch, where his mother Alice was
buried. He left £100 to the priory building
fund, as well as large chantry bequests.
Thomas Talbot, the twentieth prior, died
in August, 1420; his sepulchral slab is in the
north quire aisle, while that of his predecessor,
Prior Borard, is in the south quire aisle.
An inspection and confirmation of royal
charters was granted by Edward IV. to the
prior and convent of Christchurch on 23
June, 1461, for a fee of five marks, when
charters of William II., Stephen, Henry II.,
John, Richard I., Edward I., Edward II. and
Richard II. were produced at Westminster. (fn. 5)
On 12 November, 1494, the priory was
visited during the vacancy of the see by Robert
Sherborne of Hereford (afterwards Bishop of
Chichester), as commissary for Archbishop
Morton. At this visitation the prior and each
of the canons were severally examined.
Prior Draper deposed ' nil'; the sub-prior
and fifteen other canons followed his example.
It was reserved for Canon Thomas Selby to
make the only complaint to the archbishop's
commissary, which was duly entered in
the metropolitical register, namely that the
convent beer was remarkably weak (valde
tenuis). (fn. 6)
This priory was again visited on 22 March,
1501, by Dr. Hede, the commissary of the
priory of Canterbury, in the vacancy of that
see. The prior, John Draper, stated that the
attendance at the night and day offices was
regular; that the sub-prior of the house also
held the offices of sacrist and master of the
mills, of which an annual balance sheet was
furnished; that the common seal was under
four keys, kept respectively by himself, the
sub-prior, the steward and the third prior;
that none of the valuables of the house were
pledged, and that there was no debt.
William Eyre, sub-prior, John Warner,
steward, Richard Cogin, third prior, Nicholas
Bryght, precentor, John Baker, almoner,
John Gravy, cellarer, John Gregory, warden
of the frater, William Beaver, warden of the
chapel of St. Mary, Walter Lodge, master of
the works, and various other canons holding
no particular office testified omnia bene.
Robert Godewyn, sub-deacon, stated that the
sick in the farmery did not have what was
necessary for them. The prior expressed his
inability to state the statutory number of the
canons of Christchurch, but Thomas Wimborne, one of the canons, on the following day
(for the visitation extended over two days),
testified that the number was twenty-four.
Prior Draper died on 12 November, 1501,
and the convent elected William Eyre, the
sub-prior, in his place. It was afterwards
alleged, on the accession of Henry VIII.,
that this appointment was invalid in consequence of the Royal assent not having been
obtained, and an inquisition held by the
abbot of Quarr and others confirmed this
statement. Finally, however, in 1515, this
inquisition was declared untrue, and the
Master of the Rolls was ordered to cancel it. (fn. 1)
Prior Eyre died on 6 December, 1520. To
him succeeded, as twenty-sixth and last prior,
John Draper II., who was installed on 31
January, 1521. (fn. 2)
Sir James Worsley and the other commissioners first appointed to visit the
Hampshire houses with a view to their overthrow reported in May, 1536, most favorably
of Christchurch; and Prior Draper (who was
Bishop of Neapolis partibus infidelium) addressed
an able letter to the king, which has been
already cited, (fn. 3) pointing out what a great
convenience and boon the priory was to the
surrounding district. But this priory was far
too wealthy to be treated after any exceptional
fashion. Visitors of a totally different character to the first commission, including the
notorious Dr. London, paid several visits;
and by threats and cajolery induced what was
termed a ' surrender.'
The surrender was made on 28 November,
1539. The original letter announcing the
surrender, dated at Christchurch, 2 December,
and signed by Southwell, Carne, London,
Poulet and Berners is extant. The commissioners say, ' We founde the prior a very
honest conformeable person, and the house
well furnyshyd with juellys and plate whereof
some be mete for the kinges majestie in use,
as a litell chalys of golde, a gudly large crosse
doble gylt, with the foote garnysshyd and
with stone and perle; two gudly basons doble
gylt. And ther be also other thinges of
sylver right honest and of gudde valew as
well for the churche use as for the table
reserved and kept to the kinges use. In thy
churche we finde a chaple and monument
curiusly made of Cane (Caen) stone preparyd
by the late mother of Raynolde Pole for her
buriall wiche we have causyd to be defacyd
and all the arms and badges clerly to be
delete. The surveying of the demasnyes of
this house wiche be lardge and baryn and some
parte thereof xx myles from the monastery
wiche we also do survey and mesure hath
causyd usse to mak longer abode at thys
place than we intendyd.' (fn. 4) The visitors
declared the clear annual value to be
£519 3s. 6½d. The buildings to be sustained were, ' the late prior's lodging wholly
as it are sette in a quadrauntly,' with hall,
buttery, pantry, kitchen and lodgings over
the same. Also the gatehouse to the base
court, the bakehouse, and brewhouse, with
stable and barn. The buildings deemed
superfluous were the church, cloister, chapter
house, frater, farmery, and sub-prior's lodging,
with outer cloister and gallery, with the
chapel in the same cloister and all the houses
thereto adjoining. The lead on the church,
cloister and buildings was 38 fodders. There
were seven bells, of which five were assigned
to the parish. The ornaments, goods and
chattels sold realized £177 0s. 10d., whilst
there were 26 ounces of gold plate and 1,907½
ounces of silver-gilt, parcel-gilt and silver
plate reserved for the king. (fn. 5)
The ' conformable' Prior Draper was
rewarded with the big pension of £133 6s. 8d.
as well as the mansion house of Somerford
Grange, where there was a prior's lodging, for
life. Robert Beverey, the sub-prior, obtained
a pension of £10, and seventeen other canons
pensions varying from £6 13s. to £3 6s. 8d. (fn. 6)
There was however sufficient influence in
the county and neighbourhood to save the
splendid church, which Cromwell's visitors
naturally deemed 'superfluous.' The quire,
body, bell-tower, with seven bells, stones,
timber, lead of roofing and gutters of Twyneham priory church, together with the cemetery
on the north side, were granted, in 1540, to
the churchwardens and parishioners. (fn. 7)
At the dissolution this priory held the manor
of Christchurch Twynham, with the toll of
the fair and the rectory, the manors of
Somerford, Aisshe and South Chewton,
Hinton, Herne, Milford with the rectory,
Lymington, Walhampton, Sway with the
rectory, Ningewood, Shalfleet, Apse, ' Barnerdesligh,' ' Hynbury,' Puddletown, Eastington, Fleet, ' Odiknolle,' and ' Chameleygh.'
Also the rectories of Buldoxley, Brockenhurst
and Southdown, and land and rents in Gorley,
Brookhampton, ' Gunter,' Rackhams and
Radcliff, 'Swartelinghide,' Boldre, Paynshill,
Northampstead, Easthampstead, Avon and
Ripley. They likewise had the manor of
Clopton and lands at Porton in Wiltshire, the
rectory of Blandford and tithes, etc., in
Hampreston, Westport, ' Penyton,' and elsewhere in Dorsetshire. (fn. 8)
Deans or Heads of the House
Godric
Ranulph Flambard, to 1128
Gilbert de Dousgunels, 1128
Peter de Oglander
Ralph
Hilary, about 1140
Priors
Reginald, about 1150
Julian, (fn. 1) 1161
Ralph, 1186-95
Peter, 1195-1225 (?)
Roger, 1225
Nicholas de Warham
Nicholas de Sturminster, 1272
John de Abingdon, 1272-8
William de Nitheravene, 1278
Richard Maury, (fn. 2) 1287-1302
William Quyntyn, (fn. 3) 1302-17
Walter Tydolneshide, (fn. 4) 1317
Edmund de Ramsbury, 1323-37
Richard de Bustehorne, (fn. 5) 1337
Robert de Legh, (fn. 6) 1340
William Tyrewache, (fn. 7) 1345-57
Henry Eyre, 1357-77
John Wodenham, (fn. 8) 1377-97
John Borard, (fn. 9) 1397
Thomas Talbot, d. 1420
John Wimborne
William Norton
John Dorchester, (fn. 10) about 1450
John Draper I., 1477-1501
William Eyre, (fn. 11) 1501-20
John Draper II., (fn. 12) 1521-39