24. THE PRIORY OF OLD BUCKENHAM
This priory was founded about the year 1146
by William de Albini, second earl of Arundel,
and Queen Adeliza his wife. The foundation
charter, given in full in the Monasticon, is cited
in confirmation charter by Edward II. (fn. 1) By this
charter the priory was endowed with the rectories
of All Saints and St. Andrews on the manor of
Buckenham, the site of the old castle, and its
materials, eighty acres of lands and much wood
and meadow. The priory was dedicated to the
honour of St. Mary, St. James, and All Saints,
and the canons were to follow the rule of the
order of St. Augustine, according to the institution of St. Mary of Merton, and to pray for
the souls of the founder and his wife, King
Stephen, Maud, their ancestors and progeny, and
for the souls of all benefactors.
William de Albini, earl of Sussex, the son of
the founder, gave the canons the advowson of
Kenninghall; Richard, son of Robert de Scenges
gave them the advowson of St. Mary's, Barwick,
Peter de Cley the advowson of St. Peter's,
Cleythorpe; Robert son of Robert de Tateshall
the advowson of Gunneby, and Thomas de St.
Giles the advowson of St. Benedict, Norwich.
They also received large benefactions, in the
lifetime of the founder's son, of lands, tenements,
rents, and services from Richard de Scenges and
others, as set forth in the same confirmation
charter of Edward II.
When the taxation roll of 1291 was drawn
up this house had possessions in forty-two Norfolk parishes, of the annual value of £52 0s. 9½d.,
and in one Suffolk parish, value 1s. 2d. (fn. 2)
Pardon was granted in 1335 to the priory for
having obtained various small grants of land in
Buckenham, &c., without mortmain licence, (fn. 3)
and the church of Griston was appropriated to the
convent in 1348. (fn. 4)
The Valor of 1535 gave the clear annual
taxation value of the priory at £108 10s. 2¼d.
On 18 August, 1310, the prior of Buckenham received a letter from the crown, thanking
him for the loan that he had agreed to make to
the king of victuals for the Scotch expedition,
namely, 6 quarters of wheat, 10 of malt, 10 of
oats, and 2 beeves and 10 sheep. He was
ordered to deliver them to the sheriff of Norfolk,
so that he might speedily forward them to
Berwick-on-Tweed, making indentures with
him of the sum of the victuals and of their
market price. He was to be repaid the following Easter. (fn. 5)
In 1479 there were eight canons at Old Buckenham Priory, in addition to the prior, namely,
Thomas Fincham, Richard Cley, Henry Lychefield, Thomas Beverley, John Buckenham, John
Chambyr, William Harnsych, and Richard
Buckenham, cellarer. In 1480 there were the
same canons, with the addition of John Baron.
In 1493 there were these nine canons, with the
addition of John Formale, a novice just admitted
amongst them. The full complement of the
house was reached in that year, for it consisted,
according to its foundation, of a prior and ten
canons. Each canon, in addition to food and
maintenance, received 40s. yearly stipend, somewhat after the fashion of secular canons. They
chose yearly from their numbers a sub-prior, a
sacrist, and a cellarer. The temporal officers
of the household were the steward of their courts,
a hayward, a woodward, and a porter. There
was also an auditor, appointed by the lord for
the annual auditing of their accounts. In 1493
John Bown was their auditor; the total income
was about £110, and they disbursed about £100.
In that year John Plattynge was prior. (fn. 6)
Bishop Gold well visited this house on 16 October, 1492; the prior and seven canons then
present were each privately examined, with the
result that various complaints were formulated
against the prior. They were to the effect that
Prior John did not show yearly to the chapter
the state of the house; that he was too partial,
and that there was not perfect charity among
the canons; that there was not a sufficiency of
fish on fast days; that he did not seek the advice of his chapter on serious affairs, but did
everything after his own judgement; that he had
pledged a silver-gilt bowl, value eight marks;
that if any of the brethren were ill he did not
assign anyone to attend them in the farmery but
obliged them to attend hall; that he farmed out
the dairy to the great loss of the house; that
the frater was not served save in Lent and
Advent, nor was care taken for the observance
of silence in cloister and quire; that the food
for the kitchen was not good or wholesome;
that the house and walls of the priory were
ruinous; and that a certain woman named Isabel
Warner was often at the priory under suspicious
circumstances.
Upon this the bishop adjourned the visitation
to the following day, and then further prorogued
to 9 July of the next year, doubtless with the
object of seeing whether the necessary reforms
were carried out.
On 26 June, 1514 Bishop Nicke visited; and
after a sermon in the chapter-house by Master
Forthe, Prior John Millgate complained that
Canon Thomas was not obedient; Sub-Prior
Beverley, that Canon Thomas Ixning was not
obedient, and only attended mattins and mass at
his pleasure; Sacrist Thomas Buckenham, that
Canons Ixning and Benet came late to mattins,
and that the procession before mattins was not
duly observed; Canon Richard Buckenham, that
Canons Benet and Tailour did not duly attend
divine offices; Canon George Buckenham, that
there was no due provision for the canons when
ill; Canon Ixning accused himself of very frequent absence from mattins; and Canons Norwich, Benet and Winkfield all testified that
omnia bene. A list of the debts of Canon
Ixning, amounting to 55s. 3d. was appended to
the visitation.
On 27 June, 1520, the house was visited by
John, bishop of Chalceddn, and two other commissaries of the bishop of Norwich. George
Walden, one of the canons, though duly summoned, did not appear, and was pronounced
contumacious. Prior John gave a good report,
and stated that the parish churches of Buckenham were served by the canons, by licence
sought and obtained from the bishop. The subprior, sacrist, and Canon Norfolk testified that all
was well, save that they had no schoolmaster
(preceptorem in grammatica). The remaining five
canons confined themselves to a good report.
The priory was again visited on 24 July,
1526, when John Millgate prior, Thomas
Beverley sub-prior, Thomas Brown sacrist, and
five other canons all testified omnia bene. Thomas
Flixtoun, and William Harvy, novices, complained of the insolence of a servant; whilst
John Sharpyng and Thomas Reve, two other
novices, complained that their annual stipends of
13s. 4d. were so small that they could not provide themselves with necessaries.
Yet another visitation of this house is recorded
on 13 July, 1532. Prior Millgate, five of the
canons, and two of the novices knew of nothing
worthy of reformation; Sub-Prior Brown complained that some of the younger canons left the
cloisters after compline against rule, and that
Canon Sharpyng wore pointed shoes; Canons
Sharpyng and Harvy owned to wearing such
shoes; Canon Flixton complained that silence
was not duly observed after compline, and that
some left the cloister; and Richard Godeman,
a novice, stated that Canon Harvy served the
cure of Stanford and was not fit for it, and also
complained of Canon Sharpyng.
The consequent injunctions ordered that the
canons should retire to the dorter immediately
after compline; that the south gates should
then be closed and no one suffered to go out
save by leave of the prior or sub-prior; that no
canon should wear pointed shoes, but only those
of the old pattern; and that no canon was to
serve a secular cure without the bishop's
licence. (fn. 7)
Prior Millgate and the full complement of ten
canons signed the Acknowledgement of the King's
Supremacy, in August, 1534. (fn. 8)
On 10 November, 1535, when it was known
that suppression was imminent, the aged Prior
Millgate wrote to Cromwell a somewhat piteous
letter, enclosing a fee, and 'beseeching that we
may obtain your favourable licence for the
keeping of one cure and one chapel with four
masses in the week day, with two honest religious priests for maintaining their poor house.'
Also that they may put some of the laymen of
their house in trust for employing their pastures
and receiving their rents; else they are afraid
great men who could not be resisted would
require them to do as they like; also that they
may receive members and observe Cromwell's
injunctions for maintaining God's service. Some
of the younger men of their company, the prior
continued, were not godly disposed, and rather
desire liberty than to be straitened. (fn. 9)
The local suppression commissioners of 1536,
who visited Buckenham on 22 September, (fn. 10) reported that this 'priory of Black Chanones' was
of the clear annual value of £143 7s. 8d., that
there were five canon priests, of whom one
desired to remain religious, and the rest desired
dispensations; that 'the name ys good as we
can lerne by reporte of there neybures,' that there
were twenty-one waiting servants of the house,
eleven hinds, and eight children which had their
living there; that the house was 'newly buylt
and in marvellous goode reparacion,' and worth
with the bells and lead £180; that the movables,
goods, stocks, and stores were worth £117 9s. 4d.;
that the debts due to the house were £50 2s. 11d.;
and that the woods of diverse years growth
covered 111 acres, and were worth £233 6s. 8d. (fn. 11)
The house was suppressed on 2 September,
1536. (fn. 12)
An inventory of church goods of this monastery, taken about 1536, mentions a silver-gilt
cross with crucifix attached, a silver-gilt cross
enclosing a portion of the true cross, a small
silver-gilt cross, two small silver-gilt crosses, four
small chalices parcel-gilt, a silver-gilt pix, a
silver-gilt pax, two silver-gilt candlesticks, a small
parcel-gilt censer, two pairs of small silver-gilt
cruets, a parcel-gilt ship, two parcel-gilt basins;
also a cope of red velvet, two copes of blue
velvet, three copes of white damask, one cope of
red damask, one of red silk, one of red satin, one
of blue satin, two of white satin, and four of
white fustian. (fn. 13)
A pension of £15 was assigned to Prior
Millgate on 1 February, 1537. (fn. 14)
According to confessions made by one John
Tumour of Old Buckenham on 24 May, 1537,
before Richard Southwell and others, a week
before the previous Palm Sunday, he had been
told by John Lok that Hugh Wilkinson had
offered him an angel noble to kill the king's visitors
in their beds that night at Buckenham Abbey.
Other confessions made at the same time seem
to show that there was no plot of the kind, but
merely some vague talk reflecting a certain
amount of popular indignation at the suppression. (fn. 15)
Immediately on its suppression, Sir Edmund
Knevett, of Buckenham Castle, obtained a lease
of the priory site and demesne lands. (fn. 16)
Priors Of Old Buckenham
William, (fn. 17) occurs 1216
Walter, (fn. 18) elected 1221
Hugh, (fn. 19) elected 1269
Richard de Otteley, (fn. 20) elected 1286
John de Multon, (fn. 21) elected 1307
Nicholas de Cotton, (fn. 22) elected 1327
Hugh de Brom, (fn. 23) elected 1329
William de Spykeworth, (fn. 24) elected 1354
William de Bonham, (fn. 25) elected 1381
Roger Carleton, (fn. 26) elected 1402
John Norwich, (fn. 27) elected 1437
Bartholomew Melles, (fn. 28) elected 1451
John Whalley, (fn. 29) elected 1458
John Bukenham, (fn. 30) 1480
John Plattynge, (fn. 31) elected 1493
John Millgate, (fn. 32) occurs 1514, last prior