23. THE ABBEY OF BRADSOLE OR ST. RADEGUND
This abbey, situated at Bradsole in the parish
of Poulton and dedicated in honour of St.
Radegund, was one of the two English houses
colonized directly from the chief house of the
order at Prémontré, Bayham in Sussex being the
other. Tanner mentions two chartularies belonging to it, one of which is now preserved in
the Bodleian Library (fn. 1) ; and some extracts from
them have been printed in the Monasticon. (fn. 1a)
The return of 1478 (fn. 2) gives the date of the
foundation as 1192 or 1193, which agrees well
with the scanty evidence of the early deeds; and
describes the abbot as being patron in himself,
which is consistent with the statement of Leland, (fn. 3)
that the founder was a canon named Hugh, who
was the first abbot. It may be that Hugh was
the moving spirit in the establishment of the
house and procured grants from various charitable
donors, none of whom was sufficiently predominant to claim the patronage. Walter Haket
and Emma his wife, with the assent of William
de Poltone and Stephen his heir, granted land at
Bradsole, and this was confirmed by their overlord Geoffrey, count of Perche, and later, with
other grants, by his son Thomas, count of
Perche. Robert de Poltone granted the manor
of Poulton. Hamo de Crevequer and Maud de
Abrincis his wife granted the advowson of the
church of Alkham and the chapel of Mauregge,
now Capel. The church of Leysdown in
Sheppey was granted by Robert Arsiche and confirmed by Archbishop Stephen. Philip de
Columbariis granted the church of Postling;
Bertram de Criol the manor of Combe; Hubert
de Burgh the churches of Portslade and Aldrington in Sussex; and Henry de Wengham, dean
of St. Martin le Grand, London, the church of
Shepherdswell.
In addition Richard I granted to the canons
100 acres of land adjoining their land of Bradsole.
John, on 24 August, 1199, confirmed to them
their place of Bradsole (fn. 4) ; and on 12 May, 1204,
he granted to them 100 acres of land in the
manor of River. (fn. 5) On 26 March, 1208, he
granted the church of River with the intention
that the abbey should be rebuilt there (fn. 6) ; but this
idea was soon abandoned, arid on 26 July, 1215,
he made another grant of the church for the
maintenance of the canons and, of pilgrims there,
saving to John de Riveria his possession during his
life. (fn. 7) Henry III on 16 March, 1227, granted a
charter of confirmation; (fn. 8) and on the same day
he gave to the abbot and convent a rent of 20s.
which he used to receive from the mill in the
court of River, which they had of the grant of
Alan Corbell, and also gave them the site of the
mill of 'Crabbehole. (fn. 9) Edward II granted a
charter of confirmation in 1315. (fn. 10)
There was at one time a small Premonstratensian
monastery at Blackwose (fn. 11) in Newington in Kent,
subject to the abbey of Lavendon in Buckinghamshire, where there were five canons and one laybrother; but the place could not maintain them,
and they were forced to wander about the country
to the great scandal of the order. The Premonstratensian chapter put them under the obedience
of the abbot of St. Radegund's, on account of his
proximity, and he repaired their house and paid
their debts; but the place was again destroyed
on the recurrence of war, and at the request of
the barons of Hythe was finally united with St.
Radegund's. (fn. 12) It appears from the Valor of 1535
that 2s. yearly was paid to the abbot of Lavendon
as compensation.
The temporalities of the abbey were valued at
£27 19s. 8d. yearly in the Taxation of 1291.
In the reign of Edward II the abbot complained
that some of his lands had been wrongly charged
for the sixteenth granted by the laity, and the matter was brought before the barons of the Exchequer.
It was found by inquisition that he had temporalities taxed at 50s. at Paddlesworth and 'Clavertegh',
11 marks at Pising and Shepherdswell, 1 mark at
River, 10 marks 2s. 8d. at St. Radegund's, Foxhole,
Hawkinge, Combe, and Blackwose, 50s. 8d. at
' Stottemere' and in the port of Dover, 5s. at
Leysdown, 5s. at Westbere, 40s. at Marsh borough
and in the port of Sandwich, 22s. at Canterbury
and ' Shierch,' and 6 marks at Sutton, and that he
paid a tenth on these with the other clergy. He
consequently was discharged of the sixteenth in
1324, and his successor obtained an exemplification of the judgement in 1341. (fn. 13)
Early in the fourteenth century St. Radegund's
was involved in a lawsuit with Bayham, apparently
in connexion with a dispute about the abbacy of
the latter house. (fn. 14) Abbot William and others
were charged with having on Sunday, the Translation of St. Thomas the Martyr, 1303, in the
king's highway at Ash near Wingham, seized
certain goods and chattels belonging to the abbot
of Bay ham in the custody of one John de Arundel,
his fellow canon, viz. a horse with saddle and bridle,
a prayer-book, a girdle and a purse, of the value
of £10, and also a papal bull concerning the removal of Solomon de Wengham, canon of St.
Radegund's, out of the abbey of Bayhamand letters
executory of the said bull, and 48s. in money.
The defendants pleaded that they were acting in
pursuance of a mandate from the abbot of Prémontré, and took the canon as rebellious to his
superiors, that he might be punished; the purse
contained only 4s. 9d. and they offered everything to the abbot of Bay ham, who refused to receive them, but did afterwards accept the horse.
The saddle and bridle had rotted by age, and
the prayer-book had been given back to the canon,
but the girdle and purse and 4s. 9d. they handed
into court. The jury found for the defendants.
The abbot was summoned to Parliament under
Edward I, but not afterwards. (fn. 15)
The king claimed the right of corrody in the
abbey, and in 1316 sent Richard Trallock to the
abbot and convent to receive maintenance in food,
clothing, shoe-leather, and other necessaries of life
and a chamber within the inclosure of the abbey
for his residence. (fn. 16)
In 1327 the abbot was allowed to cross at
Dover to the chapter general at Prémontré with
£15 for his expenses. (fn. 17)
Pope Boniface IX in 1401 granted indulgence
to penitents visiting the abbey on Palm Sunday
and the feast of St. James the Apostle, with power
for the abbot and seven other priests deputed by
him to hear their confessions. (fn. 18)
Discipline does not appear to have been well kept
at St. Radegund's; for we hear of several apostate
canons, and successive abbots appealed to the
crown for the arrest of William de Sandwico as
such in 1305, John Strete in 1388, Thomas
Watsone in 1464, and John Newynton in 1473. (fn. 19)
Protection was granted in 1453 to the abbots
of Bayham and St. Radegund's, making a visitation
of the houses of the order in England. (fn. 20)
The Premonstratensian records (fn. 21) throw considerable light on the history of the abbey. The
abbot was one of the intermediaries in the dispute
between the abbot of Prémontré and the English
houses of the order in 1311. On the resignation
of Abbot Henry de S. in 1345 the election of John
R. as his successor, which was conducted by the
abbots of Dale and Bayham on 4 October and
was by way of compromise, is described in detail.
Provision was made on the following day for the
retiring abbot; he was to have a manor belonging
to the monastery, with all stock and utensils, and
an allowance of 10 marks yearly; he might have
a canon of the house to stay with him for a week;
if he went to the monastery a competent chamber
was to be assigned to him; and he was to have
all the furniture which he had before. In 1475
Ingram Fraunce was abbot, and there were ten
other canons, of whom two are described as
apostate. In 1478, in answer to the set form of
questions, it was stated that the abbot was patron
himself, the abbot of Prémontré was father
abbot, the abbey had six churches, some served by
canons and some by seculars, and it was founded
in 1192 or 1193. (fn. 22) The names of Abbot
Ingram, Thomas Hewlett, sub-prior, and five
other canons are given.
Richard Redman, bishop of St. Asaph, abbot
of Shap, and vicar of the abbot of Prémontré
in England, visited St. Radegund's several times.
On 30 August, 1482, he ordered the abbot not
to allow the canons to celebrate outside the monastery except in churches belonging to it, and not
to receive canons professed in other houses. The
monastery was in urgent need of repair, which
should be undertaken at once. The canons were
to work in the gardens or wherever else they
might be required; they were to wear amices, and
their number was to be increased. An apostate
canon of Shap appeared before him and asked for
pardon, and he was put in charge of the abbot
until his case should be considered at the next
provincial chapter. The debt of the house, which
was £70 at the preceding visitation, was now
reduced to £40, and the house was sufficiently
supplied with corn and other necessaries. Ingram
was abbot and Thomas Reypost sub-prior, and
there were four other canons.
In 1488 Redman visited on 14 July, when
John Hey was abbot and Thomas Raypose prior,
with ten other canons, including ex-abbot Ingram.
He formally excommunicated John Newton as
an apostate and a sower of discord. The abbot
was ordered to provide properly for the canons,
not to correct them before seculars, and to observe
certain rules in their admission to the monastery.
The canons were not to go out of the monastery
without leave of the abbot, nor to play games for
money, dice and cards being especially forbidden.
The house was in moderately good state considering the ruin and waste made by the late abbot,
whose debt of £212 had been diminished by £60.
In 1491 he visited on 9 October and found
agreement between the abbot and convent and no
complaints. The monastery needed great repairs,
but the new abbot had already set about them
and the debt was now reduced to 28 marks.
John Newynton, the late apostate, was now abbot
and William Kyrkby sub-prior, with the ex-abbot
Ingram Francys and five other canons.
At the next visitation on 28 June, 1494, one
of the canons who had been detected in apostasy
and, what was worse, in wearing secular dress,
submitted himself, and after explanations and at the
intercession of the abbot his punishment was left
over till the provincial chapter. The abbot and convent were charged to observe the customs of the
order properly, and Thomas Haut was appointed
sub-prior. The debt was now £20, but the
supply of corn and animals was sufficient. John
Newynton was still abbot, with nine other canons,
of whom two were novices.
The number of the canons was the same in
1497, but three are described as apostate. The
bishop visited on 14 October, and found great
dissensions between the abbot and convent—so
great that he could not discuss them, and
adjourned the settlement until the provincial
chapter. In the meantime he charged all to
live in harmony and the abbot to increase the
number of the canons and make repairs to the
monastery. The debt amounted to £10, and
the provision of corn and animals was sufficient.
Matters had only grown worse when Redman
made his next (and last recorded) visitation on
3 October, 1500. John Newton was still
abbot, with Edmund Norwich as sub-prior, and
nine other canons, three of them novices. The
convent charged the abbot with frequenting
taverns on Sundays and feast-days, and with bad
language and incontinence; and the visitor
ordered him to repair the whole monastery,
which was visibly ruinous, to cease frequenting
taverns and other assemblies of laymen except at
proper times, and to apply himself to his office.
He admitted a debt of £30, but the supply of
corn and animals was sufficient. It is significant
that the next abbot appears to have come from
Bayham.
St. Radegund's was marked for visitation by
Thomas Wilkinson, abbot of Welbeck, on
2 October, 1506, but the result is not preserved.
The possessions of the abbey in 1535, (fn. 23) including the parsonages of Shepherdswell, River,
Portslade, Postling, Leysdown, and Alkham, and
the manors of River, Shepherdswell, Hawkinge,
and Pising, amounted to the value of £142 8s. 9d.
yearly; but deductions for rents, fees, pensions,
and obits brought the net income down to
£98 9s. 2½d. It was consequently dissolved
under the Act of 1536. The canons appear to
have tried to make the most of their last days,
for a correspondent writes (fn. 24) to Cromwell that
'the abbot of St. Radegund's is setting men to
fell his woods at a great pace, and, if Cromwell
does not stop him, will do much harm to the
place, one of the properest in Kent.' Thomas
Dale, prior, received a pension of 20 marks, (fn. 25)
and it is probable that he is identical with
Thomas, who was abbot in 1532. (fn. 25a)
The site of the monastery was leased (fn. 26) to
Richard Kays on 10 May, 1537, for twenty-one
years at a rent of £13 10s. 8d. and on 31 July,
1538, the reversion was granted to the archbishop
of Canterbury. (fn. 27)
Leland, writing about the time of the Dissolution, says (fn. 28) of St. Radegund's: ' The Quier
of the Chyrche is large and fayr. The Monastery ys at this tyme metely mayntayned, but
yt appereth that yn tymes past the Buildinges
have bene ther more ample then they be now.'
Abbots of St. Radegund's
Hugh (fn. 29)
Richard, (fn. 30) occurs 1222
Henry, (fn. 31) occurs 1241, 1258, 1265
John, (fn. 32) occurs 1273
William, occurs 1303, (fn. 33) 1312 (fn. 34)
Robert de Monyngeham, elected 1325 (fn. 35)
Gilbert, occurs 1328 (fn. 36)
Richard de Offynton (fn. 37)
Henry de S., resigned 1345 (fn. 38)
John R., elected 1345 (fn. 38)
Warisius de Cant', elected 1362 (fn. 39)
Richard Brygge, deposed (fn. 40) 1386-7
Clement, elected 1387, (fn. 41) occurs 1391 (fn. 41a)
John Strete, died 1396-7 (fn. 41b)
John, occurs 1415, (fn. 41c) 1421 (fn. 41d)
William, (fn. 42) occurs 1446 (fn. 42a)
John Petre, died 1454 (fn. 43)
John Chilton, elected 1454 (fn. 43)
Thomas, occurs 1464 (fn. 44)
Ingram Fraunce or Francys, (fn. 45) occurs 1475,
1482
Henry (fn. 46)
John Hey, (fn. 47) occurs 1488
John Newynton or Newton, (fn. 47) occurs 1491,
1500
Thomas Willouse, occurs 1509 (fn. 47a)
William, occurs 1523, (fn. 47b) 1529 (fn. 48)
William Bukler, resigned c. 1530 (fn. 48a)
John Wylmerton, occurs 1531 (fn. 48b)
Thomas, occurs 1532 (fn. 48c)
The seal (fn. 49) (thirteenth-century) of the abbey
is a pointed oval measuring 1⅝ by 1⅛ inches, representing St. Radegund seated on a throne,
turned to the left, giving a pastoral staff to a
kneeling abbot. Legend:—
SIGILL' ABBATIS ET CONVENTUS SANCTE
RADEGUNDIS
A later seal (fn. 50) (fifteenth - century) measures
2⅝ by 1⅞ inches, and represents St. Radegund
crowned, standing in a canopied niche with
carved towers at the sides, in the right hand a
pastoral, staff obliquely, in the left a book. The
corbel of the niche in masonry. Legend:—
SIGILLF ABBATIS ET GONVENTUS SBE
RADEGUNDIS