44. THE ABBEY OF WENDLING
The abbey of Wendling, dedicated to St. Mary,
was founded about 1265 by William de Wendling,
one of the king's justices, for canons of the
Premonstratensian order. By the foundation
charter, the abbey was endowed with William's
messuage at Wendling, and three carucates of
land in the towns of Wendling, Seaming, Great
and Little Fransham, with all appurtenances and
services, also with all his houses, buildings, services,
&c., at Feltwell, in order to sustain the lights and
ornaments of the abbey church, and for the dress
and shoes of the canons and lay brethren. By
other charters William de Wendling conveyed
to the canons all his possessions or rents in Langham, Yaxham, Reymcrston, Cranworth, Letton,
Shipdham, Rising Crethemere, Tilney, Wiggenhall, Saddlebow, Clenchwarton, North Lynn,
Walpole, Elmham, Oxborough, Brandon, Thetford, Dunham, and Kempstone.
Reyner de Gimmingham granted to Nicholas,
the first abbot, and his convent the advowson
of the church of All Saints, Burnham Ulph,
with two and a half acres of land, and the advowson of a moiety of Burnham St. Margaret with
three and a half acres of land.
Robert de Stoteville granted to the same abbot,
in 1273, his lordship in Wendling and the advowson of the church, and all the church and
chapels of Weasenham, together with forty acres
at a place called Merledelond. (fn. 1)
At the compiling of the Valor of 1291, this
abbey had possessions in twenty-nine Norfolk
parishes, and its annual value was £39 19s. 7½d.
This total was slightly augmented in succeeding
years by occasional gifts of lands and rents; thus
in 1306, the abbot and convent were licensed to
accept the gift, by Nicholas de Stokesley, of a
messuage, a mill, three acres of land, three acres
of meadow, and 26s. 8d. rents in Yaxham. (fn. 2) A
considerable number of deeds relating to grants
and leases made by or to the abbey in Seaming
and the neighbourhood are preserved at the
Record Office. (fn. 3)
The abbey obtained the royal licence to appropriate the church of Langham (fn. 4) in 1329, and that
of Yaxham in 1363. (fn. 5)
The clear annual value of the abbey was declared to be £55 18s. 4¾d. by the Valor of 1535,
when Thomas Ellington was abbot.
In September, 1291, the abbot of Wendling
received the papal mandate to grant a dispensation
to John de Scippedaham, priest of his monastery,
of illegitimate birth, to minister in orders received,
and to be promoted to dignities of his order. (fn. 6)
In September, 1327, the constable of Dover
Castle was ordered to permit the abbot of Wendling to cross the fens from that part to attend the
general chapter at Prémontré, and to supply him
with twenty marks towards his expenses. (fn. 7)
In 1330 Lady Margaret Foliot, as patroness
of the abbey, was buried before the high altar of
the conventual church on the north side.
Pope John XXIII, in 1411, granted an indulgence during ten years, of one hundred days
to penitents who, on certain specified feasts, should
visit and give alms for the repair of the monastic
church of Wendling, where were preserved certain pieces of the true cross, a foot of St. Lucy
the Virgin, and other relics. (fn. 8)
On the death of Abbot John de Norwich in
1339, the canons proceeded at once to the election
of a successor, without waiting for the necessary
formalities. Thereupon the abbot of Langdon,
who was acting as visitor and commissary for the
abbot of Prémontré, wrote to the abbot of Dereham, styling the late John of Norwich an unworthy
man who had assumed the position of abbot, and
pointing out the irregularities of the canons who
had proceeded to make another unworthy election.
He ordered the abbot of Dereham to cite before
him, as commissary, in the church of St. Radegund, on Monday after the Exaltation of the
Cross, the new abbot, (if he could be called so)
and two proctors to represent the convent, to
show cause why this uncanonical election should
not be annulled. (fn. 9)
The result is not known, but John de Tytleshalle eventually succeeded as superior.
At his first visitation tour as commissary of the
abbot of Prémontré, in 1475, Bishop Redman
tarried at Wendling from 28 to 30 June. (fn. 10) Three
years later he was again at Wendling, on 30
June, when the abbot was ordered to see to the
observance of the day and night hours, which
was imperilled through paucity of numbers, and
to rebuild the church, which had been destroyed
by fire, as soon as possible. The debt of £60
noted in 1475 had been reduced by the abbot's
care to £13.
In addition to John Skerning, abbot, and John
Grey, sub-prior, there were only four other canons.
They had three churches in their charge, which
were served either by secular curates, or by canons
who could be recalled at will. (fn. 11)
When Bishop Redman reached Wendling on
his visitation tour of 1482, he praised the general
condition of the house. Considerable progress
had been made with the new buildings, but he
urged greater speed with the church. He gave
some attention to the smaller details of worship
(in minutis observanciis) such as directing that the
antiphons of the canticles should be sung only
by the priests. Richard Fenwick, contumacious
and rebellious, was sentenced to forty days of
severe penance, and to banishment to Leicester
Abbey for three years. In addition to abbot
and prior, there were but four other canons, two
of whom were novices. (fn. 12) The numbers were the
same at the visitation made on the 27 June, 1488,
when two of the inmates were sentenced by the
bishop. In one case there had been rebellion
(disobedience) but the offender promised obedience
and was ordered to be castigated, otherwise to
appear before the provincial chapter. The other
offender was brought before the visitor for defects
in singing the collects; but he refused to ask
pardon, and was ordered to say the nocturn of the
psalter in cloister the same day after dinner, as
discipline.
The bishop entered that everything else was
excellent, that there had been much progress in
the building of the church and conventual houses,
and that there was no debt. (fn. 13)
At the visitation of September, 1491, there
were six canons in addition to Abbot Skerning,
but one was a rebel. Thomas Milham, the rebel
of the last visitation, had not improved, but the
contrary; he was sentenced to forty days of penance and to three years' absence at Sulby. The
abbot was ordered to raise the number of canons
to at least eight. (fn. 14) There was, however, no improvement in numbers when the bishop again
visited in 1494; the canons, including the abbot,
numbered six. On this occasion there were
various ritual injunctions, and John Barlyng, for
incontinency, was condemned to forty days' penance and two years at some other house. (fn. 15)
At the visitation of 1497, there were five
canons and two novices. On this occasion the
bishop found nothing worthy of correction; the
house was not in debt, and was abundantly
supplied. The abbot was ordered to repair the
dormitory. Ave Maria Stella was to be sung
daily at evensong.
The last recorded visitation of Bishop Redman
was in 1500, when there were six canons and two
novices. The visitor found that all was delightful. (fn. 16) In 1536 the secret comperta of Legh and
Leyton allege incontinency against the abbot. (fn. 17)
Later in the same year the county commissioners reported that the abbot and convent had
leased, on 1 November, 1534, a large portion of
their lands and possessions for ninety-nine years
to Richard Southwell (one of the commissioners)
and Robert Logan. They found at the house
'religious persones and all prystes who done Require Capasities; Ther name ys nott goode.'
There were also two hinds and ten servants at
the abbey. The lead and bells were worth
£100, but the house was in much decay. The
goods were worth £ 12 8s. 9d. but the house owed
£66 17s. 11d. (fn. 18) According to the same commissioners' certificate, dated 27 January, 1537,
the 'stuff' of this house contained in the inventory was sold to Robert Logan for £13 6s. 8d.;
the plate, valued at 41s. 8d., was reserved in the
charge of Richard Southwell.
On 6 February, 1537, ex-Abbot Thomas
Ellington was assigned a pension of 100s. in spite
of the charge of incontinency. (fn. 19)
This small abbey was one of those whose dissolution was permitted by Clement VII's bull of
1528, and whose possessions were granted to
Cardinal Wolsey for the erection of his two
colleges. But Wolsey's fall prevented that dissolution being carried out. Eventually, in 1546,
Henry VIII granted it to the dean and chapter
of Christ Church, Oxford, on its own foundation.
Abbots of Wendling
Nicholas, (fn. 20) appointed 1265, (fn. 21) occurs 1273
Robert, (fn. 22) occurs 1286
John, (fn. 23) resigned 1329
William de Saxlingham, (fn. 24) elected 1329
John de Norwich, (fn. 25) died 1339
John de Tytleshalle, (fn. 26) elected 1339
Thomas, occurs 1352 (fn. 27)
John, (fn. 28) occurs 1377, 1398
Ralph, (fn. 29) 1425
Edmund, (fn. 30) 1432
John Skerning, (fn. 31) elected 1474
Thomas Walsoken, (fn. 32) elected 1503
Richard Rolston, (fn. 33) elected 1504
John York, (fn. 34) elected 1509
George, (fn. 35) occurs 1529
Thomas Ellington, (fn. 36) occurs 1535, last abbot