HOUSES OF BENEDICTINE MONKS
5. THE PRIORY OF ST. BEES (fn. 1)
The Benedictine priory of St. Bees occupies a favourable position on the western coast
at the opening of a valley sheltered by a great
berg or hill, which projects into the sea like a
vast irregular bastion, and is known as St.
Bees Head. It is said that the valley which
connects the promontory with the mainland
was once traversed by the tide. But there is
no warrant for assuming that any appreciable
change has taken place in the physical configuration of the neighbourhood within the
historic period. As the site of the priory
marks the level of the valley beneath the
south-eastern spur of the headland, the sea
must have receded long before its foundation.
The priory took its name from a previous
religious establishment, of which nothing
seems to have survived till the twelfth century
except the tradition of its former existence.
From the legendary life of Bees or Bega,
written in all probability by a monk of the
priory at a late date, (fn. 2) we learn that she was
the daughter of an Irish king, who reigned as
a Christian monarch in the seventh century.
For good reasons she fled from her father's
court, and taking ship, landed after a prosperous voyage 'in a certain province of
England called Coupland.' Bega found the
place covered with a thick forest, and admirably
adapted for a solitary life. Wishing to dedicate her life to God, she built for herself a
virgin cell in a grove near the seashore, where
she remained for many years in strict seclusion
and devout contemplation. In the course of
time the district began to be frequented by
pirates. The good saint however dreaded not
death, nor mutilation, nor the loss of temporal
goods, of which she was destitute except her
bracelet (armilla), but she feared the loss of her
virginity, the most precious treasure with
which heaven can endow her sex. By divine
command Bega hastened her departure from
the place, but she was induced to leave her
bracelet behind her, that miracles in ages to
come might be performed in that neighbourhood in testimony of her holy life.
At this time Oswald was the king of
Northumbria, and the holy Aidan was the
chief bishop of Lindisfarne. To the bishop,
Bega directed her steps and disclosed the secret
of her heart. The man of God, struck by
her story, admitted her to sacred vows, putting
upon her head a veil for a royal diadem and
a black garment for a purple robe, for before
that date, as Bede testified, the kingdom of
Northumbria was without nuns. By the
influence of St. Aidan she prevailed on King
Oswald to grant her a place fit for religious
uses, by name 'Hereteseia,' which by interpretation is called Hartlepool. Here she built
a beautiful monastery to which many maidens
flocked for the service of religion. Thus the
pious Bega was the first to establish a nunnery
in Northumbria.
Several centuries have elapsed since the
historian gathered up the traditions of the
priory, and wove them into a connected
story. We have little to say about the life or
miracles of the saint except as they bear on
the district with which her name is connected.
Leland mentions that 'Bega at first built a
humble little monastery in Coupland not far
from Carlisle in the extreme limits of England
where there are now so many monks of St.
Mary's, York, commonly called Sainct
Beges,' (fn. 3) but the venerable Bede is silent on
the saint's residence in Cumberland. The
legendary life gives no support to the belief
that a nunnery was continued at St. Bees
after Bega had taken her departure. If such
were the case, all trace of it must have been lost
during those dark centuries in northern history
which preceded the Norman Conquest.
There can be little doubt that the influence
of Bega was a power in the south-western
portion of the county in the early years of the
twelfth century. The district had borne her
name, and a parish church was entitled in her
honour before the Norman lord of that place
determined to found a religious house within
a few miles of his baronial seat at Egremont.
The date of the foundation of the priory by
William Meschin, the first Norman owner of
Coupland, can only be approximately given.
His first charter was, as one might say,
only declaratory of his intention to proceed
with the undertaking. It was also an invitation to his own knights and to the proprietors
of neighbouring fiefs to aid him in the work.
The new institution was to be founded as a
cell or subordinate house of the great abbey of
St. Mary near the walls of York, to which
his family apparently owed some obligation.
In the first instance he made it known that he
had given to God, St. Mary and the holy
virgin Bega, six carucates of land in Kirkby
(Cherchebi), as well as the manor which
William the Bowman (balistarius) had in
addition, and moreover that he would confirm
similar gifts for the same purpose by any of
his knights from their own lands. Most of
those who witnessed this deed, Waldeve, Reiner, Godard, Ketel, William the
chaplain, Coremac and Gillebecoc, were
afterwards the foremost in forwarding the
scheme. When the project had taken practical form, Thurstin, Archbishop of York, in
whose diocese the barony of Coupland was
included, was called in to advise on the
character of the institution about to be established. It is evident that the great archbishop was the moving spirit of the whole
scheme. The large landowners of the neighbourhood associated themselves with the
founder, and contributed their share to its
first endowment. Waldeve, lord of Allerdale
below Derwent, who had received his barony
from Henry I., granted the manor of Stainburn; Ketel gave Preston; Reiner, two
oxgangs of land in Rottington with the native
who dwelt there. As a supplement to his
former gift, William Meschin added the church
of Kirkby and its parish, the bounds of which
were defined by trustworthy men as from
Whitehaven to the river Keekle (Chechel),
and as the Keekle falls into the Egre, and as
the Egre flows to the sea. He also gave the
chapel of Egremont within the said bounds
and the tithes of his domain and of all his
men, as well as the tithes of his fisheries and
the skins of his venison. One of the most
interesting grants in the early endowment of the
priory was that of Godard, lord of Millom, who
gave the churches of Whicham (Witingam)
and Bootle (Bothle), with two manses (mansuræ), and their whole parishes and tithes.
The gift was made by the advice and assent
of William the founder, his liege lord, in the
presence of Archbishop Thurstin on the day
of the dedication of the church of St. Bees for
the special purpose of finding lights for divine
service. These churches and estates were
demised to the Benedictine abbey of St. Mary,
York, with the view of founding a monastic
establishment in the church of St. Bees consisting of a prior and six monks of their
obedience. The pious work was done for the
health of King Henry and Archbishop
Thurstin, for the souls of Queen Maud and
William the Atheling, and for the relief (pro
remedio) of his ancestors and successors. From
these deeds it may be inferred that the foundation of the priory could not have taken place
before 1120. (fn. 4)
William Meschin the founder paid a graceful tribute to the co-operation of his wife
Cecily and his son Ranulf in his efforts to
establish the institution. His children and
descendants in after years were foremost among
its benefactors. To the memory of his father
and by the advice of Fulk, his uncle, Ranulf
gave the monks the manor of Ennerdale
(Avenderdale), and endowed them with many
liberties in his woods and forests. Alice de
Romilly, when she became owner of the
barony on the death of Ranulf her brother,
was a munificent patron of her father's foundation. There can be no truth in the story
that Ranulf Meschin was jealous of the
possessions of the priory, and sought to
diminish the boundaries of their franchise. It
is said that men, envious of the monastic life,
had instilled into that nobleman's ear that the
monks had encroached upon his lands. In the
suits at law which ensued the cause was
defended, and ample evidences were produced
on behalf of the priory, but no agreement
could be arrived at. On the day appointed
for measuring the landmarks and setting the
bounds, the dispute was settled by divine intervention, for the whole of the surface of the
adjacent country was covered with a deep
snow, but within the bounds that the monks
had attached to the church of St. Bees not
the vestige of a single flake appeared.
It would be tedious to enumerate the gifts
of lands, churches and rents made to the
monks at various periods. Numerous deeds
of endowment have been preserved in the fine
chartulary of the priory. Landowners, great
and small, distinguished and obscure, had
contributed a share to its possessions. But
there is one noticeable feature of the endowments worthy of special mention. It is very
remarkable how the traditions of a family
were carried on in connection with a single
religious house. It is not only true that
the descendants of William Meschin in the
barony of Coupland were generous to his
foundation, but the descendants of Waldeve,
Ketel, Godard and Reiner, who were associated with him in its first establishment, were
liberal in their benefactions. In fact it might
be said that the priory owed whatever measure
of prosperity it possessed to the munificence
of these families, the Romillys, Albemarles,
Lucys, Multons, Curwens, Milloms, Hudlestons, Rotingtons and others.
Though most of the property of the priory
was confined to that portion of the county
bordering on St. Bees, where the magnates in
question lived, the monks kept up a frequent
communication with the Isle of Man, where
they enjoyed some manors. It is said that the
prior of St. Bees had a seat in the little parliament of that kingdom. It is very probable.
Guthred, King of the Isles, gave the priory the
land called 'Eschedale' and 'Asmundertofts'
quit of all service, tam de pecunia quam de aconeux, in exchange for the church of St. Olave
and the little vill of 'Evastad.' King Ragdnald
bequeathed the land of 'Ormeshau' which lay
towards the sea at the port of 'Corna,' while
King Olave granted licence to buy and sell in
the island. The abbot and convent of
Rushen were consenting parties to some of
these charters. In later years, when Thomas
Ranulf, earl of Moray, and Anthony Bec,
Bishop of Durham, ruled the island, the grants
of the former kings were recognized and confirmed. The priory also owned some property
in the south-west of Scotland, chiefly of the
gift of the families of Curwen and Brus.
In comparison with the other monastic
houses in the county St. Bees was wealthy,
ranking in the matter of revenues after Holmcultram and Carlisle. In 1291 the cell was
valued at £66 13s. 4d., and in 1535 the gross
annual income was assessed for taxation at
£149 19s. 6d. or £143 16s. 2d. after the
deduction of reprises. (fn. 5) In 1545 a sum of
£280 2s. was returned to the Augmentation
Office as the total issues of the late priory
with arrearages. (fn. 6)
In 1178 the church of Neddrum, now
called Island Magee in Strangford Lough, was
remodelled into a monastic establishment by
Sir John de Courcy, the conqueror of Ulster,
and affiliated to St. Bees, as a cell of St. Mary
of York. The island was a portion of the
ancient possessions of the see of Down, but
as Malachi, the bishop, was a prisoner in the
hands of Sir John, his consent to the alienation
was easily obtained. In the bishop's confirmation of the grant it is stated that, when he
gave and confirmed to the monks of St. Bees
the church and two-thirds of all the lands and
benefices belonging to it, he was acting of his
own free will out of devotion to God, and not
under any compulsion. Courcy's gift was
also confirmed by Thomas and Eugene, archbishops of Armagh. The monks of St. Bees
do not seem to have taken kindly to their Irish
relation, for no memorandum of the transaction
was made in the register of their house. The
only connection that we have noticed between
the two institutions is that one of the early
priors of St. Bees was transferred to the priory of
Neddrum. Its conventual existence seems to
have been of short duration, for at the date of
the taxation of Pope Nicholas it is mentioned
simply as the church of Neddrum, and was
valued at the small sum of seven marks. (fn. 7)
The chief relic to which the monks of
St. Bees paid veneration was the bracelet
above mentioned, which St. Bega left behind
her on her flight from Cumberland. In the
legendary life of the saint several stories are
told of the power of this talisman. It had
been the means of convincing Walter Espec,
the great Yorkshire baron, that he was claiming wrongfully some possessions of the abbey
of St. Mary, York; and it brought destruction on Adam, son of Ailsi, who had forsworn
himself in favour of the lord of Coupland on
the subject of the Noutgeld to the detriment of the people of that district. On one
occasion, when the holy bracelet was exhibited in public on account of its great sanctity, a certain perverse creature sacrilegiously
stole the precious cloth in which it had been
wrapped and hid it in his boot. By the vengeance of St. Bega the leg of the thief became
paralysed, and thus was his sin discovered.
Having been carried to the priory church, he
confessed his guilt, and his leg was restored to
its original soundness by the goodness of the
most merciful Virgin, who is wont to pity
those who are truly penitent. There can be
no doubt that the bracelet of St. Bega was a
powerful institution in Coupland. The monks
used it to give special sanction to their agreements. Obligations were rendered pre-eminently binding and sacred when they were
made on the bracelet. For instance, John
de Hale, for the greater security of faithfully
observing his obligation, bound himself and
his heirs on his corporal oath by touching the
holy relics et super armillam sancte Bege. The
touching of the relics was the usual mode of
taking an oath, but in matters of high importance the bargain was made upon the
bracelet as the means of giving it the greatest
sanction.
The priory appears to have had little dealings with the ecclesiastical world in its papal
or diocesan aspect. There are few papal
documents in the register. Far removed
from the centre of the great diocese of York,
it pursued the even tenor of its way in solitude. It is true there are some deeds of the
mother house of St. Mary and some commissions from the archbishop with the men
tion here and there of an archdeacon of Richmond, but they are comparatively few in
number. Unlike the religious houses or the
county within the bounds of the see of
Carlisle, episcopal authority was seldom invoked for the purpose of discipline or for the
confirmation of the acts of the convent. At
some date between 1154 and 1181 Archbishop Roger of Pont l'Evêque confirmed to
the priory all their churches, chapels and
tithes in Coupland, with the lands belonging
to them, viz. the churches of Workington,
Gosforth, Corney, Bootle, Whitbeck and
Whicham; the chapels of Harrington, Clifton, Loweswater, and the chapel and tithes
of Weddicar. He also freed the church of
St. Bees for ever from attendance on synods,
and from all aids to archbishop or archdeacon,
at the same time granting the priory disciplinary powers to deal with the clergy of
their appropriate churches. Except for the
short period during the reign of Stephen,
when David, King of Scots, exercised
sovereignty over Cumberland as far south as
the river Duddon, the kings claimed no royal
prerogative in confirming the charters of this
house.
The priors of St. Bees did not take a prominent part in the public affairs of church or
state. Some of them, like Alan de Nesse,
Roger Kirkeby and Edmund Thornton, rose
to high dignity on becoming abbots of York;
but few of the others were known outside
their immediate surroundings. In 1219 Pope
Honorius III. appointed the priors of St. Bees,
Lancaster and Cartmel to determine a dispute between the abbot of Furness and the
vicars of Dalton and Urswick about the right
of burial in the chapelry of Hawkshead; they
delivered judgment in favour of the monastery, and ordered the chapel yard to be consecrated for sepulture. At a later date
Gregory IX. delegated plenary authority to
the priors of the same houses as a sort of
ecclesiastical syndicate to dissolve sentences
of excommunication and interdict against the
Cistercian monasteries of the province of
York. (fn. 8) It will be seen from the list of
priors that we have been able to collect how
few of them had attained to anything like
distinction in the general history of the
county. Perhaps the geographical isolation
of the district had a depressing effect on the
chances to promotion of its leading ecclesiastical magnates.
John Matthew, who was prior while the
clouds were beginning to gather around the
monastic houses, was not a favourite with
his superior, William, abbot of York. In a
letter ascribed to the year 1533, the abbot
told Cromwell that ' this man, in whos favor
ye writ to me of, hayth beyn prior at Lincoln
and at seynt Martin's, parcell of our monasterie, who alwey hayth beyn of such ordre,
condicions and liberalte that he thereby
brought our house to great dettes and other
cherges and vexacions.' On representations
from Cromwell, Matthew was transferred to
the priory of St. Martin near Richmond.
Sir George Lawson, in support of the abbot's
action, told the secretary that the prior was
' a verey yll husband as hath bene well
proved at Lincoln, Saynt Martyn's and Seynt
Bees where he hathe bene prior. And now
of late gret complayntes cumyng of extorcion
and other gret urgent wronges done at Saynt
Bees to the tenauntes and inhabitantes ther.
Wherapon on Saynt Calixt daye last, at the
generall chapitor yerely holden at Saynt Mary
abbey, as the usuall custume is, when all the
priors of the celles and other hede officers of
the said Monasterie dothe assemble to see and
aview the state and accomptes of the same,
knowing the demeanor and yll husbandrye
of the said Dan John, exchanged and revoked hym from Saynt Bees. And yete when
he shuld have bene a conventuall, for your
sake and favour of your former letter, named
hym to be prior of Saynt Martynes, a propir
Celle nye unto Richemond and a reasonable
good liffing, whiche he cold never obtayne
but in your favour. And now it is reported
unto you that he shuld be otherwise entreated,
whiche of a suretie is not so, but my lord
abbott dothe and woll do at your complentacion all that reasonably is to be done. And
yete his brethren and covent is sore sett
against the said dan John Mathew for his
mysdemeanour many wayes.' Sir George
urged Cromwell 'to give no credens to any
person that shall make suite or labour agaynst
my said lord abbott, for it hath not bene sene
that any perpetuite hath bene graunted undir
covent seale to such like person' as 'Dan
John Mathew, late prior of Saynt Bees, without a special and urgent cause and a man
proved of good demeanour and husbandrye
for the well of his house.' Robert Cokett,
a kinsman of the deposed prior, denied all the
charges made against him, and appealed 'to
ye gentyllmen and yomen in ye cowntre with
all ye honest men yerin' in proof of John
Matthew's honesty and good behaviour. (fn. 9) At
the dissolution of the religious houses John
Matthew was a cloister monk of St. Mary's,
York, and received a pension of £6 13s. 4d. (fn. 10)
It is evident that Prior Matthew was permanently deposed, for John Poule was incumbent of St. Bees in 1535 when the
ecclesiastical survey was made. (fn. 11)
The clouds had burst over the religious
houses and the end was drawing near. Priors
were made or unmade as it suited the royal
will. The last prior of St. Bees was Robert
Paddy, who caused a memorandum to be
entered on the flyleaf of the chartulary of his
house that he had agreed with Christopher
Lyster for all manner of labour, debts, payments, wages and covenants from the beginning of the world till Michaelmas Day 1538,
and that the said Christopher had undertaken
to pay at the following Martinmas his yearly
rent with all fines due to the said Prior
Robert from his entry or coming to the priory.
The prior of St. Bees was suspected of complicity with the 'Pilgrimage of Grace.' William, Abbot of York, wrote to Cromwell early
in 1537 that he had sent Dan Robert Paddy
'to his room,' but was afraid of what might
befall him on the journey. 'I sent him thither,'
he said, 'and as it is surmised he should be
lettyd by ye commons in these parts in his riding thither un knowledge or writing of me.' (fn. 12)
The king's agents in 1536 were unable to
find cause of complaint against the prior, and
though efforts were made to connect him with
the northern rebellion, nothing seems to have
come of it. The only evil report made by
the commissioners was that two of the monks,
John Clyffton and John Fullscroft, were
accused of personal depravity. When the
priory was surrendered Robert Paddy, the
last prior, received an annual pension (fn. 13) of
£40, the warrant being dated 3 June, 1538.
In his survey of the monastery at the time
of the dissolution James Rokeby, auditor of
the Court of Augmentations, thus described (fn. 14)
the priory precincts: 'The scite of the late
house, with a towre koveryd wt lead called
the Yatehouse, and other edificez with garthings lienge within the utter walls, contenyng
one acre and di. (a half) and is worth by the
yere over and above the reparacons, wt one
dufe cote wt in the same scite, vs.'
On 21 November, 1541, Thomas Leighe
was granted a lease (fn. 15) for twenty-one years of
'St. Bege monastery, with the rectory of
Kyrkeby Beycoke and chapels of Lowsewater, Ennerdale, Eshedale and Wasedale.'
Priors of St. Bees
Robert (fn. 16)
Deodatus, (fn. 17) late twelfth century
Richard (fn. 18)
Waleran, (fn. 19) circa 1197
Robert, (fn. 20) 1202
John, (fn. 21) circa 1207
Daniel, (fn. 22) circa 1210
Ralf, circa 1220
Guy, (fn. 23) circa 1235
John de Lestingham, circa 1254
William de Rothewel, circa 1256
Nicholas de Langeton, (fn. 24) circa 1258-82
Benedict, circa 1282-6
Absalon, (fn. 25) circa 1287
William de Dereby, circa 1288-94
Hugh de Cumpton, circa 1301
Alan de Nesse, (fn. 26) 1313, transferred to
St. Mary's, York
William de Seynesbury, (fn. 27) 1360
Thomas de Brignol, circa 1370
Thomas de Cotingham, (fn. 28) circa 1379
Nicholas de Warthill, circa 1387
Roger Kirkeby, (fn. 29) 1434-6
Dr. Stanlaw, (fn. 30) circa 1465
John Warde, circa 1474
Roger Armyn, circa 1485
Edmund Smyth or Thornton, (fn. 31) circa 1496
Edmund (Whalley?), (fn. 32) circa 1516
Robert Alanby, (fn. 33) circa 1523
John Matthew, 1533
John Poule, 1535
Robert Paddy, 1536-8
There is an indistinct cast of a seal (fn. 34) at the
British Museum, showing what appears to be
an ornamented cross, the legend of which is
defaced.
An impression of the seal of Prior Absalon,
circa 1287, exists. (fn. 35) It is a pointed oval, and
shows the Lamb of God. The legend is
SIGILL' FRIS'SALON' PRIORIS DE BIGEE.