FRIARIES
28. THE DOMINICAN FRIARS OF CANTERBURY (fn. 1)
In 1221 a band of thirteen Dominican friars
arrived in England, in the train of Peter des
Roches bishop of Winchester, and passed through
Canterbury on their way to London, which they
reached on 10 August. At Canterbury they
presented themselves to Archbishop Stephen Langton, who ordered their prior, Gilbert de Fresnoy,
to preach before him, and was so much impressed
with his sermon that he became henceforth a
warm friend of the order. (fn. 2) It was, however,
under Archbishop Edmund Rich that the Friars
Preachers first made a permanent settlement in
Canterbury. (fn. 3) It is probable that they came by
the invitation of the archbishop, who made them
a regular allowance of fuel from his woods, (fn. 4) with
the consent of the monks of Christchurch, (fn. 5) but
their chief founder and benefactor was the king.
On 10 March, 1236-7, Henry III granted
them an island in the Stour,
between the land late of Master Richard de Meopham
and the land late of Eleanor daughter of Iodwin on
the east, and the land late of William de Bury and the
stone house late of John Slupe on the west, (fn. 6)
and during the next twenty-three years the friars
received of the royal bounty sums of money
amounting in all to nearly £500. (fn. 7) Among the
gifts were 30 marks for the fabric of the
church from Queen Eleanor (17 June, 1237); (fn. 8)
in 1242, £20 for their works, 20 marks and
30 marks for their church; in 1243, £20 for
completing the church; in 1244, £10 for
making two spiral staircases in the church; (fn. 9) in
1246, 20 marks for the fabric of the church; in
1253, 40 marks to pay debts; in 1256, 100s.
for the glass windows in the church; in 1259,
£20 for building the kitchen and the wall next it.
The stonework of the church was probably finished
in 1243; (fn. 10) and it seems to have been dedicated
in honour of the king's patron saint, Edward the
Confessor. (fn. 11) Henry on several occasions gave
the friars timber from the royal forests, (fn. 12) the last
grant being one of ten oaks for some repairs to
their buildings in 1271; (fn. 13) and he continued
Archbishop Edmund's gifts of fuel after his withdrawal from the country in 1237. (fn. 14) Further,
the king permitted the friars to stop up a street
leading to the mill of the abbot of St. Augustine
in 1247, 'so that they made another road beyond
a certain plot which the king had caused Stephen
parson of Hadlinges to purchase with the royal
money.' (fn. 15)
Another early benefactor of the Friars Preachers
was John of Stockwell, citizen, who gave them a
plot to enlarge their area. This plot was subject
to a yearly rent of 4d. to the monastery of
St. Augustine; Henry III requested the monks
to remit this rent, but on 25 June, 1253, he
ordered the sheriff of Kent, in case the monks
refused, to find an equal rent for them in another
part of the city, so that the friars might be quit of
the charge. (fn. 16) To requite their benefactor the
friars obtained from the king in 1256 that-John
of Stockwell should be free from all tallage of the
city for three years. (fn. 17)
When the inquisitions were taken under the
great commission of inquiry appointed by Edward I in 1274, it was found (1275) that these
friars had enlarged their island and made a ' purpresture' on the bank, to the injury of and
hindrance to the king's mills, blocked up and
changed the common way by which people were
accustomed to go to the water, and inclosed some
land on the river bank 10 perches long and nearly
six feet broad. (fn. 18) No proceedings were taken
against the friars, who probably had legal justification for their actions.
On his return from Gascony in 1289 Edward I
granted the Friars Preachers of Canterbury 50s.
for three days' food; (fn. 19) in 1293, during the
vacancy of the see, he supplied them with fuel
from the archiepiscopal woods, and with twelve
oaks for piles in order to make a quay. (fn. 20) Between
1297 and 1302 the king gave them several
money grants for food, from which it would
appear that the number of friars residing in the
house at this time was about thirty. (fn. 21)
In 1294 Nicholas de Honyngton proposed to
confer on these friars a messuage in Canterbury, held immediately of the heirs of Letitia,
daughter of James de Porta, by an annual service
of 8s. 9d. and two hens, and valued at 13s. 4d. a
year. (fn. 22) An inquiry was held and a favourable
return made, but no licence for the grant is on
record.
In July of the same year the friars settled some
disputes with the monks of Christchurch with
regard to the rents due to the latter. (fn. 23) They
were still paying an annual rent of 6s. 8d. to
Christchurch in 1535. (fn. 24)
In 1300 Archbishop Winchelsey licensed six
Friars Preachers to hear confessions in the diocese
of Canterbury, namely, Edmund de Amory, John
de Swanton, Walter de Cruce, Richard de Overlonde, Richard de Maydestan, Walter de Moningsham. (fn. 25)
Isabel of France, queen of Edward II, made
an offering of a cloth of gold at the high altar of
this church on 23 February, 1313-14. (fn. 26) Edward II, When at Canterbury on 5 March,
1319-20, gave 16s. to the friars for one day's
food, (fn. 27) and made a similar grant on 29 May,
1320. (fn. 28) The number of friars at this time was
probably thirty.
When in 1328 a subsidy was demanded of the
city of Canterbury for the Scottish war, the convent of Christchurch was called upon to pay its
share, and upon a refusal being given, William of
Chilham, the bailiff, called a meeting of the
citizens in the Black Friars' churchyard and
organized a furious riot against the monks. (fn. 29)
In his journeys made between 23 February,
1334-5 and 26 March following, Edward III
gave alms to many communities of friars for food,
and amongst them 16s. 4d. to the Friars Preachers
of Canterbury. On 18 June, 1336-7, he gave
a groat to each of the thirty-four friars of this
house. (fn. 30)
The friars continued to add to their area. In
1299 Thomas, parson of Chartham, gave them
a plot of land 150 ft. by 120 ft., valued at I2d.
a year, for the enlargement of their churchyard. (fn. 31)
On 1 January, 1318-19, they obtained two
small plots adjacent to their dwelling-place, one
from Edward II, the other from Simon Bertelot
of Canterbury; the former plot according to the
jurors was never of any value; the latter brought
in 1d. a year to the crown. (fn. 32) In 1338 a messuage held of the archbishop at a rent of 15s. a
year and worth 6s. 8d. over and above the rent,
was given them by William le Frenshe and John
atte Brome of Canterbury. (fn. 33) Shortly after this
they acquired from Isabel widow of Thomas
Poldre and the heirs of Simon de Bertelot a plot
of land, built on, containing 1 acre, 1 pole, for
the enlargement of their dwelling-place, without
the royal licence. In 1355, however, Edward III
made them a free grant of it, on condition that
the friars should be the more strongly bound
to pray for the souls of his progenitors and
himself. (fn. 34)
In 1356 the Black Friars by deed handed over
to the hospital of Eastbridge a place, shops and
garden, lying between ' our, new gate and the
entrance to our church,' i.e. between Friars' Way
and ' Brekyepotes Lane.' (fn. 35) The new gate stood
at the end of Friars' Way in St. Peter's Street;
it was beautifully built of squared flint, ornamented
with carved stone works, and over the middle was a
niche, in which stood the image of their patron saint.
It was pulled down in 1787. (fn. 36)
Some time in the latter half of the fourteenth
century these friars complained of injuries done to
their houses, walls, and gardens by the abbot of
St. Augustine's, who had raised his mill-pond, ' by
which their herbage is destroyed and they deprived of their disports and other profits'; the
friars petitioned the king for redress, (fn. 37)
Friar Richard Bourne of this convent had concession from the master general of the order,
5 June, 1392, that he should not be removed
hence, except in the case of crime or grave
scandal, and that he should be relieved of the
common services of the community; and every
concession made to him by his convent was
ratified. (fn. 38)
On Saturday, 15 August, 1394, and the
following days, the provincial chapter was held
at Canterbury. The friars went in procession to
the abbey of St. Augustine, then to the cathedral,
where a sermon was preached in the vulgar
tongue. Mass was celebrated according to custom by the prior of Christchurch at the Black
Friars, and on three successive days banquets
were held in tents, torn and tattered by the rains
and the fury of the winds. On the first day the
archbishop, who was not present, furnished the
feast; on the second, the abbot of St. Augustine's
and the prior of Christchurch acted as hosts, the
expenses of the abbot being, £ 10; on the third
the friars enjoyed the hospitality, of the lords of
the county. In return for these great benefits
and honours the friars granted spiritual blessings
to the two churches, undertaking that every
priest of the order in England should say six
masses of every monk of both the churches. (fn. 39)
Friar William Boscombe, S.T.M., prior of the
Friars Preachers, Canterbury, on 30 December,
1395, was commissioned by the master general
to hold inquiry into complaints made against
John de Ping or Deping, prior of the Friars
Preachers, London, for some breaches of the rule,
and to remove him from office if the testimony
of six trustworthy friars of the London convent
went against him. John Deping was not deposed, and became bishop of Waterford and
Lismore in 1397. (fn. 40)
In 1412 the friars obtained from Henry IV a
confirmation of the grant of the island originally
made by Henry III in 1237. (fn. 41) In 1447 the
master general of the order admitted: the prior of
Christchurch to the privileges of confraternity. (fn. 42)
In a list of priests living at Canterbury who
were licensed to hear confessions at some time
when penitents appeared in greater number than
usual, probably at the jubilee of St. Thomas in
1470, are four monks of Christchurch, five
Dominicans including the prior, and two Franciscans, of whom one was the warden. (fn. 43)
The mayor and commonalty made a grant, of
6s. 8d. for pavage to these friars and to the Grey
Friars in 1481-2. (fn. 44)
The following persons were buried in the
church or cemetery or cloisters of the Black
Friars:
Sir Edmund Hawte, kt., and his wife Bennet,
daughter of John Shelving, afterwards the wife of
Sir William Wendall, kt., temp. Edward III; (fn. 45)
Robert and Bennet Browne, esquires; (fn. 46) Johanna,
daughter and heir of Henry Knowghte, 1450; (fn. 47)
Agnes Baker of St. Alphege, 1464; Thomas
Baker of the same, 1473; John Whittill, 1479
(buried in the cemetery); Roger Breggeland,
clerk, 1479; Thomas Peny of St. Alphege,
1481 (buried in the cloisters near his son William); John Sloden, brother of the hospital of
St. John Baptist, 1481; John Nash of St.
Alphege, 1486; Nicholas Boys, 1487; Thomas
Goldsmith of St. Mary Bredman, 1498 (buried
between the images of St. James and St. Nicholas);
Alice Elleryngton, 1512; John Walker of St.
Andrew, 1513, desired to be buried before the
image of our Lady, on the north side of the
church, and left 8 marks for making his tomb,
13s. 4d. to the prior, and £4 to Friar John
Rows to sing at our Lady altar for his soul. (fn. 48)
Others of their benefactors were; Richard de
la Wych, bishop of Colchester in 1253, who
bequeathed to these friars a copy of the book of
Hosea with gloss, and 20s.; (fn. 49) Roger de Northwood, who gave them 12 marks in 1342 for the
soul of his wife Elizabeth; (fn. 50) William de Clinton,
earl of Huntingdon, 1354; (fn. 51) Elizabeth de Burgh,
Lady Clare, third daughter of Gilbert de Clare,
earl of Gloucester, and Joan of Acres, daughter
of Edward I, 1360; (fn. 52) John Tyece of Canterbury, 1361; (fn. 53) Richard atte Lease, kt., 1393; (fn. 54)
Richard Fitz Alan, earl of Arundel and Surrey,
1393; (fn. 55) John Roper of St. Dunstan's Church,
Canterbury, 1401; (fn. 56) Sir Stephen le Scrope of
Bentiey, 1406; (fn. 57) Richard Fawkener, of Warehorn, 1442; (fn. 58) John Chamberlayn, who in 1464
left instructions that a fit chaplain of the order
of Friars Preachers, Canterbury, should receive
100s. a year for seven years for celebrating divine
service for his soul in the church of St. Paul
without the walls of Canterbury; (fn. 59) Richard
Tylle or Tilley of Selling, 1485; (fn. 60) John Halden
of Fordwich, who in 1493 left £2 13s. 4d. for
the reparation of the house; (fn. 60a) John Bakke
of Canterbury, 1500; (fn. 61) Joan Hougham, 1504; (fn. 61a)
Elizabeth, wife of John Hale, alderman, 1506; (fn. 62)
John Roper of Eltham, 1524; (fn. 63) Henry Hatche
of Faversham, 1533. (fn. 64)
The fraternity of the gild of St. Nicholas kept
by the parish clerks of Canterbury in the house
of the Friars Preachers is mentioned in some
wills at the end of the fifteenth and beginning of
the sixteenth centuries. (fn. 65)
Friar Robert Shroggs of this convent made a
pilgrimage to Rome in 1505, and was received
into the hospital of the English there in forma
nobilium, or as one paying his own expenses. (fn. 66)
When in 1535 Cranmer preached in the
cathedral against the authority of the pope and
in favour of the royal supremacy, the prior of
the Black Friars preached against him, and was
summoned to appear before the archbishop.
Cranmer, on 26 August, 1536, wrote to the
king detailing the matter and complaining that
he was ' marvellously slandered in these parts'
owing to the words of the friar. Being a party
to the case he did not wish to have the judgement of the cause, but insisted it would be a bad
example if this man were not 'looked upon.'
The prior's name and fate are unknown; he
probably escaped over sea. (fn. 67)
The Black Friars surrendered on 14 or 15
December, 1538, to the bishop of Dover, who
reported that though in debt they were able with
their implements to pay their debts, the visitor's
costs and a little more. (fn. 68)
Immediately after the suppression the houses
and lands were let to tenants; the site of the
priory with churchyard, gardens and orchards, to
John Batehurst, or Batherst, for 40s. a year; a
garden to James Thomson for 2s.; another
garden to Thomas Lawrence for 2s. 8d. The
friars had already demised a garden to Robert
Hunt for 20s. a year; and a chamber near the
river late held by Friar Richard Mede, a fuel
house near the door, of the chamber, and a
chamber or cell in the dormitory, to Robert
Collens, LL.B. for 13s. 4d. a year; and both
leases were continued. The total rent to the
crown was thus 78s. (fn. 69)
Hunt's garden was demised 6 February, 1543-4,
to Richard Burchard for twenty-one years at
13s. 4d., 20d. being added in 1549 for a house
built in the garden wall. (fn. 70) Batehurst or Batherst
secured a similar lease for what he, Thomson,
and Lawrence, held at the old rents. (fn. 71) He
was a clothier whom the king wished to settle
in Canterbury for the erection of clothmaking,
arid the Black Friars' house seems to have been
used for this purpose. (fn. 73) In 1560 the whole
property was purchased by John Harrington and
George Burden, gentlemen, at thirty years' purchase, or £109 10s., to be held as of the manor
of East Greenwich, in socage and by fealty only. (fn. 73)
They soon sold it, and it passed to William
Hovenden of Christchurch, Canterbury, who died
in 1587. Peter de la Pierre or Peters bought it
in 1658 and divided it among his five children
on his death in 1668. (fn. 74)
The principal house of the Black Friars was
taken down in 1800. In William Smith's plan
of the city of Canterbury in 1588 the church is
represented as having a tower surmounted by a
high spire. (fn. 75) In the more detailed and accurate
drawing by Thomas Langdon, (fn. 76) made 30 September, 1595, the church has no tower or transepts and the cloister lies on the north side of the
church.
Priors
Lawrence of Sandwich, 1326 (fn. 77)
John Ryngemere, 1342 (fn. 78)
William Boscumbe, S.T.M., 1395 (fn. 79)