47. THE PRIORY OF PANFIELD
In a charter (fn. 1) of William I to the abbey of
St. Stephen, Caen, witnessed by Hugh, bishop of
Lisieux, who died in 1077, Panfield is said to
have been granted to it by Waleran Fitz Ranulph. It appears from the Domesday Survey (fn. 2)
that Panfield did not belong to the abbey before
the Conquest, and so the date of the grant must
be between 1066 and 1077. Waleran also
granted land in Wood Street, London, and
tithes in several places.
Another benefactor to the abbey was William
de Escoiis, who granted the church of Moreton
in Essex and the manor of Well Hall in Gayton
in Norfolk. Probably through motives of
economy, the unusual course was adopted at an
early date of placing the Essex and Norfolk properties under the control of a single prior, who is
generally spoken of as the prior of Panfield and
Well. By the priory of Panfield the joint property is usually meant, until the dissolution of
the alien priories, when the two parts were
separated. These possessions were confirmed to
the abbey by Henry II. (fn. 3)
Henry III on 17 April, 1252, granted (fn. 4) to
the prior and monks free warren in all their
demesne lands in Panfield in Essex and Holt in
Norfolk.
At the time of the Taxation in 1291 the
temporalities of the priory were valued at £12 17s.
in Panfield and £1 10s. in London, and those in
Norfolk at £28 12s. 9d. yearly. The spiritualities, besides the churches of Moreton and Gayton,
consisted of portions of £2 in the church of
Aveley, £1 in the church of Elsenham and
£3 6s. 8d. in the church of Fulbourn in Cambridgeshire.
An extent of the priory was taken in 1324,
when it was in the king's hands, and its possessions in Panfield were valued (fn. 5) at £14 10s. 2½d.
yearly. They included 260 acres of arable land,
20 acres of fallow, 18 acres of meadow, 10 acres
of pasture, 40 acres of wood, and a windmill,
besides various rents and services. The priory
received £12 yearly from the church at Moreton.
Further details are also to be found in the
account (fn. 6) by the keeper of the priory for the
time.
The priory was taken into the hands of the
kings, like other alien priories, on account of the
war with France, and restored at farm. In
1338 (fn. 7) the prior paid £75 yearly, (fn. 8) but on
28 October, 1341, at the request of Queen Isabel,
the king reduced (fn. 9) this to £40. On 29 July,
1342, orders were issued (fn. 10) for the arrest of
William Naget, who had been sent as prior from
Caen to replace the existing prior, William
Pogier, as it was suspected that he was a French
spy; but in August, 1343, the king called this
suspicion a frivolous suggestion and restored his
lands. (fn. 11) On 29 August, 1342, the priory was
granted to him at farm for £40 yearly, besides
an additional rent of £20 yearly until the arrears,
which amounted to £150, were cleared off. (fn. 12)
Naget appears as prior in 1345, when he was
ordered (fn. 13) to give maintenance to William Pouger,
the late prior.
On 14 May, 1378, the custody of the priory
was committed (fn. 14) during the war to William de
Fulbourn and Hugh Fastolf. They were to pay
£40 yearly to the king and £10 to a monk,
besides maintaining the houses and paying tenths
and other similar charges. Licence was granted (fn. 15)
on 24 March, 1382, for John Devereux to
acquire the priory for life from the abbot and
convent, with successive remainders for life to
Margaret his wife, John their son and Joan
their daughter, at a rent of £40 yearly at the
Exchequer during the war. Joan married
Walter Fitz Walter, and on 25 May, 1400,
the king committed the custody during the
war to them and John Tanner at the same
rent. (fn. 16)
Henry V on 6 July, 1413, granted the priory
to John Wodehous so long as it should remain
in his hands, and on 9 July granted licence for
the abbot and convent to sell it. (fn. 17) There was
probably some trouble connected with the Act
of dissolution passed in the next year, for on
25 June, 1415, the king granted (fn. 18) the priory to
Wodehous and his heirs and assigns. It came
back later to the crown, and on 5 December,
1461, Edward IV granted it to Gresilda Hende
with all its possessions in Essex and London. (fn. 19)
The reversion was granted by Henry VI in
1471 to King's College, Cambridge, (fn. 20) but on
Edward IV's return to power it was transferred in 1472 to the prior and convent of
Christ Church, Canterbury, (fn. 21) whose possession
was confirmed by the same king on 7 February,
1483. (fn. 22) The prior and convent granted (fn. 23) it
in exchange to Henry VIII on 4 February,
1539, and on 12 March he granted (fn. 24) it to
Sir Giles Capell in fee.
Priors of Panfield
Peter, (fn. 25) occurs 1301 and 1303.
John, (fn. 26) occurs 1321.
Laurence, (fn. 26) occurs 1325.
William Pogier, Pougier, or Pouger, occurs
1341, (fn. 27) 1351. (fn. 28)
William Naget, succeeded 1342, (fn. 29) occurs
1363. (fn. 30)
John Moryn, occurs 1403. (fn. 31)