9. THE PRIORY OF ST. FAITH, HORSHAM
The priory of Horsham, dedicated to the
honour of St. Faith, and usually known by the
name of that Virgin Martyr, was founded by
Robert Fitz-Walter and Sybil his wife, daughter
and heiress of Ralph de Cheney, in the year
1105. An old English MS., quoted by Dugdale, gives an interesting story as to the origin
of this foundation. Robert and Sybil, returning
through France from a joint pilgrimage to Rome,
were set upon by brigands and imprisoned in
their stronghold. Offering devout prayers to
God and St. Faith, the saint appeared to them
in a vision, loosed their chains, and brought them
out of prison bearing their fetters with them.
Thereupon they made their way to the abbey of
Conches, in the diocese of Evreux, where
St. Faith was enshrined, and there offered up
their fetters, 'which remain within this place at
this day (1598).' (fn. 1) The abbot and his brethren
of this renowned Benedictine house, which had
been founded in 1050, received them joyfully
with great cheer for twelve days. During their
rest at the abbey, Robert and Sybil 'reade the
life of Saint Faith and the miracles that God
shewed for her ther daily and hourely' with the
result that they vowed, on their return to their
manor of Horsford, to build there a monastery
in the worship of God and St. Faith, which
should be a cell to the abbey of Conches.
They took with them, on their departure, two
of the monks, Barnard and Girard. When they
had come home building was begun upon a
certain ground at Horsford, 'called at this day
Kirkescroft,' but the work that was done in the
day fell down in the night, so that it was
removed to a site at Horsham where the enterprise prospered.
By the foundation charter, this priory or cell
was endowed with the advowsons of Horsford,
Reydone, and Moi, and certain tithes from sixteen other churches. In 1163 the foundation
charter was confirmed by Pope Alexander III.
The revenues were afterwards considerably
increased, chiefly by successive lords of Horsford
and Horsham.
At the time of the 1291 taxation, this priory
had possessions, mostly of a small amount, in no
fewer than seventy-seven of the Norfolk parishes,
yielding an annual income of £78 6s. 10¼d.
In 1325 an extent of the land and possessions
of this alien priory was drawn up. The site of
the priory was valued at 5s.; arable lands,
meadows, pastures, dovecote, wind and water
mills, rents and court perquisites of Horsham and
Horsford were valued at a yearly income of
£24 7s.; the church of Horsham, £11; the
church of Horsford, £7 10s.; tenements in
Helgheton, 62s.; tenements, rents, and services
in Ryburgh, 26s. 8d.; rents in Styberdde, 10s.;
the church of Helgheton, £10; the manor of
West Rudham, 104s. 8d.; the church of Hoxton,
£7 10s.; the church of Heveringland, £14;
the church of Corpusty, 100s.; the church of
Freethorpe, £7 10s.; the church of Runham,
£12; the church of Tibenham, £15; a portion
(of the church) of Wellingham, 6s. 8d.; of the
church of Faverham, 3s.; of the church of
Branston, 13s. 4d.; of the church of East Tuddenham, 6s. 8d.; of the church of Saxlingham,
20s.; of the church of Newton Flotman, 20s.;
of the church of Ling, 10s.; rents in Norwich,
50s.; and a tenement at Intwood, 40s. (fn. 2)
The clear annual income of the priory, as
certified for taxation in 1535, was £162 16s. 11½d.
An unusually large share of this income came
from spiritualities; there were appropriations or
pensions from twenty-three churches in Norfolk,
from fourteen in Suffolk, and from one in
London.
St. Faith's being thus dependent upon the
foreign abbey of Conches, its priors were not
infrequently obliged to be absent from England
for periods of varying length; thus William,
prior of St. Faith's, nominated two attorneys to
act for him for two years, in April, 1303, and
obtained simple protection for a like period
during his absence. (fn. 3) In 1307 the same prior
again obtained protection for two years, (fn. 4) and
protection was granted, in 1344, to Prior Pontius
de Cerveria, going beyond the seas for causes
concerning him, and for his men, horses and
harness, with reasonable expenses in gold; provided he make no payment of tribute, nor carry
with him gold or silver plate, or jewels. (fn. 5)
On 1 December, 1307, a commission was
appointed in connexion with an outrage on the
priory of St. Faith. It was alleged that Robert
de Barwe, Hubert le Warner, with twenty-five
others, in the time of the late king, forcibly
entered the priory, consumed the victuals and
other goods, and guarded the gates of the priory
for four months, so that the prior could not
enter nor the monks within get out; that they
carried off his palfrey worth 10 marks; killed in
his wood seven swine worth 40s.; threw a monk
from off a horse on the king's high road, carried
him off to Horsford, spoiled him of his habit and
shoes, and imprisoned him; further, that they
entered the prior's market at the town of Horsham, collected the toll, pickage, and other dues
there, took away from his servants their goods
and wares, seized twelve cart-horses worth
30 marks, which were to carry his corn in the
autumn, and impounded them for four weeks,
whereby most of the corn being left in the fields
was trampled under foot by cattle, and the monks
had to carry on their backs the small residue
that escaped; threw from off a horse his servant
appointed for the gathering in of the corn, and
carried off the horse; felled his trees, broke his
ditches and closes, drove off his cattle, and
entered and hunted in his warren, and carried
away his hares. (fn. 6)
Edward III granted the custody of the alien
priory of St. Faith, when it was taken into the
hands of the crown, to the prior on condition of
his paying £100 a year; but in 1337 he remitted for that year half the amount. (fn. 7) In 1338
the prior, on the petition of the cardinals of
St. Praxed and St. Mary's in Aquiro, was pardoned the payment of £80 out of the £100
yearly so long as the priory remained in the
king's hands. (fn. 8)
In 1345 the king appointed Sir John Dufford,
knt., patron of Horsham Priory, to collect all
farms, rents, tithes, pensions, etc., due to the
priory, now committed to the custody of the
prior, at farm, as the king was informed that
many of these were in arrear, and unless they
are got in, the prior would be unable to answer
for his rent. (fn. 9)
In 1372 Pope Gregory wrote to the bishop of
Norwich commending to him four monks, the
bearers of the letter, of the monastery of Conches,
whom Abbot Draymond was sending to live in
the priory of Horsham. (fn. 10)
Thomas de Berthelet, appointed in 1389, was
the first prior elected by the monks of Horsham,
and in December, 1390, a crown grant was
made, at the request of the king's uncle, the
Duke of Lancaster, and of the king's brother, the
Earl of Huntingdon, of denization to the Benedictine priory of Horsham, wholly discharging;
them from all fines and impositions as aliens.
No prior was to be placed over them but a true
Englishman, and on all points they were to be
as free as the prior and monks of Thetford, on.
Condition that they paid the king 2 marks a year,
as they formerly did to the abbey of Conches,
and that they prayed for the king and queen and
for the good estate of the realm. In their petition begging to be thus naturalized, the monks
stated that their priory was almost ruined, divine
service nearly abandoned, and where there used
to be a prior and twelve monks to celebrate
three masses daily, and to give every poor beggar
a loaf and two herrings (in addition to other
charities), they had at present but a prior and
eight monks who could hardly subsist, because
they had to pay £50 yearly to the exchequer as;
long as the war with France lasted. (fn. 11) Horsham
was henceforward recognized as an English
priory.
In 1462, a grant was made by Edward IV in
free alms to the provost and college of Eton of
the pension or apport of 2 marks, which the
priory of St. Faith used to render to the abbot
of Conches. (fn. 12)
John Sarisbury was prior on 17 August, 1534,
when he signed the acknowledgement of the
king's supremacy, in conjunction with six of his
monks. (fn. 13)
In November, 1535, Dr. Legh and John ap
Rice paid several visits to St. Faith's at Cromwell's request. The former wrote to Cromwell
on 19 November, saying that the house was a
commodious one and spent about 300 marks a
year; there were but five monks with the prior,
and two wished to be dismissed. Two days,
later Prior Sarisbury wrote to Cromwell complaining that his visitor had sequestrated the
possessions and movables of the house without
any just cause, which had been brought about
by the sinister reports of his enemies. 'Being
of your advancement,' he adds, 'I should be
sorry to use myself unbecomingly.' (fn. 14)
The county commissioners for suppression
reported of Horsham, in 1536, that it was 'a
hede howse of thordre of seynt Benett'; that the
clear annual value was £163 13s.; that there
were only four religious, all priests, 'whereof the
priour hath a dyspensacion and ys a suffrican and
bysshoppe of Thetford and the residue requyre
dispensaciones'; that the neighbours' report of
them was all to their credit; that there were
eighteen dependent on the house besides the
monks, one of whom was a priest, six waiting
servants, and eleven hinds who had wages,
clothes, and 'levynges of the howse'; that the
buildings, with lead and bells, were worth £250,
and the church and cloister were in good repair;
that the movable goods and cattle and corn
were worth £69 15s. 11d.; that £15 6s. 8d.
was owing to the house, and £35 4s. owed by
the house; and that there were 100 acres of
wood worth £200. (fn. 15)
On 18 August, 1536, Richard Southwell
wrote to Cromwell as to 'the house of Saint
Feythe now viewed and at a point to be dissolved.' He specially wrote in favour of the
prior there, who being a suffragan bishop had
neither house nor living, and prayed that he
might receive an adequate pension and some
other preferment. (fn. 16)
On 23 September Cromwell wrote to the
prior that the king intended to reform the houses
of religion in Norwich diocese; for the abuse of
religion and excess of living certain were to be
deposed, of which St. Faith's had been billed and
named to be one. However, through the labour
of the prior's friends and his (Cromwell's) own
diligence, his house had been taken out of the
king's books, and was now free from danger till
the return of his chaplain, the bearer of the
letter, whom he was to receive and treat
well. (fn. 17)
According to a certificate of the four Norfolk
commissioners, dated 27 January, 1537, all the
goods and chattels of the house were sold for
£27 7s. 1d. and the plate, valued at £37 2s. 2d.,
reserved in the custody of Richard Southwell.
The debts of the house amounted to £35 4s. 8d. (fn. 18)
Immediately after its suppression the priory,
with its demesne lands, the manors of Horsham
and West Rudham, and the rectories of Horsham and Tibenham were granted on lease,
to Richard Southwell, one of the suppression
commissioners. (fn. 19)
Prior Sarisbury, or Salisbury, was made dean
of Norwich, and in 1570 bishop of Man.
Priors Of St. Faith, Horsham
Austorgius, (fn. 20) occurs c. 1125
Savernius, (fn. 21) occurs in 1130
Bertrand, (fn. 22) occurs c. 1145
Bernard, (fn. 23) occurs 1163
Deodate, (fn. 24) occurs 1210
Eustace, (fn. 25) occurs 1227
Berengar, (fn. 26) occurs 1246
Carbunel, (fn. 27) occurs 1268
Reymund, (fn. 28) occurs 1281
William, (fn. 29) occurs 1303
Hugh Targe, (fn. 30) elected 1313
Pontius de Severa, (fn. 31) elected 1338
Hugh de Pardinos, (fn. 32) elected 1349
Gerard Sencoll, (fn. 33) elected 1349
Berengar Nathas, (fn. 34) elected 1356
Thomas de Berthelet, (fn. 35) elected 1389
Geoffrey Langele, (fn. 36) elected 1401
Nicholas, (fn. 37) occurs 1452
Ralf Norwich, (fn. 38) 1462
John Risley, (fn. 39) 1469, 1492
William Castleton, (fn. 40) occurs 1524
John Stokes, (fn. 41) occurs 1525
Lancelot Wharton, (fn. 42) occurs 1532
John Sarisbury, (fn. 43) occurs 1534
An impression in red wax of the interesting
early thirteenth-century seal of this priory is
attached to the deed of acknowledgement of
supremacy. (fn. 44) It is oval (2½ × 1¾ in.), and is
divided into two parts; the upper shows under
a simple canopy, a figure (fn. 45) seated, with a sword,
or sceptre, in right hand, and an open book in
the left, on either side is a monk kneeling under
a pinnacled canopy, above which are two angels
censing the central figure; at the top is shown
a cruciform church with central tower. The
lower division shows an embattled fortress
flanked on either side by a tower in which is a
figure, that on the right is shooting a crossbar
(that on the left is injured); in the centre of the
building an arched compartment in which is a
crowned female figure stooping to raise up a
woman sitting on the ground. Legend:—
SIGILLVM: COMUNE: CAPITU . . . AM: