8. THE NUNNERY OF SETON OR LEKELEY
The nunnery of Seton occupied a picturesque position on the northern boundary of
the parish of Bootle beneath the rising grounds
of Corney. It was originally called the nunnery of Lekeley from the name of the land in
the vill of Seton on which it was built. No
fewer than four religious houses owned land
in this vill. The abbey of Holmcultram
had the whole of Lekeley with the exception
of the land granted to the nunnery, (fn. 1) and the
priory of St. Bees had a grant of land in Seton
from Henry son of Thomas, which Thomas
was at one time parson of Bootle. (fn. 2) Before
1190 the abbey of Cockersand was in possession of 6 acres in Seton in Coupland with a
share of the pasture of the vill. (fn. 3)
The nunnery was founded at Lekeley by
Henry son of Arthur son of Godard, lord of
Millom, towards the close of the twelfth
century. Though the foundation charter is
not forthcoming, we have authentic evidence
of the grant. When Henry son of Arthur,
with the consent of Godit, his wife, gave
Lekeley in free marriage to Henry son of
William with his daughter Gunnild, he
excepted the land there which he had already
bestowed on the nuns (excepta terra in Lekeleya
quam dedi sanctimonialibus servientibus Deo et
sancte Marie in Lekeleya). (fn. 4) As Henry Kirkby
was reputed to have been the founder at the
time of the dissolution, (fn. 5) it must have been
Henry son of Arthur, lord of that district, to
whom reference was made. The nunnery
was entitled in the name of the Blessed
Virgin and its inmates observed the Benedictine rule. (fn. 6)
Religious associations of women did not
flourish in Cumberland. The rough life and
continual warfare of a border county did not
tend to promote institutions more adapted to
settled and peaceful districts. Though the
nunnery of Lekeley was far removed from the
Scottish frontier, in a secluded position on the
south-western seaboard, it was always in a
crippled state of finances. On 13 November,
1227, Archbishop Walter Gray granted, with
the assent of William, archdeacon of Richmond, the appropriation of the church of St.
Michael of Irton to the prioress and convent of Lekeley in consideration of their
poverty. (fn. 7) At a later date the condition
of the institution was even more deplorable.
On 1 April, 1357, Henry, Duke of Lancaster,
in the sixth year of his palatinate, learning on
undoubted authority that the priory of Seton
was so poor (ita exilis) that there was not a
sufficiency to support the prioress and nuns,
granted the appropriation of the hospital of
St. Leonard, Lancaster, which was at that
time vacant and of his patronage, with all its
lands and possessions, as a help to the
sustentation of the house. The duke also
gave to the prioress and nuns the advowson of
the chantry of one chaplain in the hospital, and
enjoined the burgesses of Lancaster to assent
to the gift and to bestow the alms and duties
on the said hospital which were incumbent on
them from time immemorial. (fn. 8) The abbey of
Holmcultram seems to have been considerate
to the poor nuns of Seton. On 18 October,
1459, Thomas York, abbot of that house,
leased all the lands the abbey possessed between
Esk and Duddon, called Lekeley, to Elizabeth
Croft, prioress, for twelve years at an annual
rent of twenty shillings. (fn. 9)
A fragment of what appears to have been
the monumental slab of a prioress is built into
the wall of a barn at High Hyton not far
from the nunnery towards the sea. It has
occupied this position from a time beyond
memory. One end of the slab has been
broken off and lost. The inscription cut on
either side of a pastoral crook reads: + HIC
IACET . . . DENTONA AN . . . The fragment
measures 34 inches in length and 22 inches in
width. From the charges made in 1536 by
Layton and Legh in their infamous 'book of
compertes' we learn that Joan Copland was
the prioress at that date and that Susanna
Rybton was an inmate of the house. In the
previous year, when the ecclesiastical survey
was made, Joan Seton is named as the
prioress, but she was probably the same person
under another surname.
The total revenue of the nunnery in 1535
was returned at £13 17s. 4d., and after
deducting reprises, £12 12s. (fn. 10) This sum was
made up of the following items: value of the
site of the priory, 30s.; rents and farms in
'Whitebyke' and tenements in 'Furdes' and
'Bolle,' 14s. 4d.; rents in the vill of Lancaster,
£6 0s. 4d.; spiritualities of the church of
Irton, £5 12s. 8d. By the valuation of
James Rokeby on 24 June, 1536, the demesne
lands in the occupation of the priory were
worth £3 6s. 8d., and the gross issues of the
rectory of Irton were £13 6s. 8d. The
value of the demesne lands when granted to
Hugh Ascue of the king's household in 1542
was set down at £4 11s. 4d. In the following year the rectory of Irton was leased to the
same person for twenty-one years. (fn. 11)
A tradition about the manner of granting
Seton Priory, which survived till late in the
seventeenth century, is of curious interest.
Edmund Sandford, writing about the year
1675, has left us this version of it. 'The
religious house was gott,' he said, 'by one Sir
Hugo Askew, yeoman of the seller unto
Queen Catherin, in Henry the Eights time,
and borne in this contry. And when that
Queen was deforced from her husband, this
yeoman was destitute, and he aplied himself
for help to Lo(rd) Chamberlain for some place
or other in the king's service. The Lord
Steward knew him well because he had helpt
him to a cup wine the best, but told him he
had no place for him, but a charcole carrier.
Well, quoth this Monsir. Askew, help me with
one foot and let me gett in the other as I can.
And upon a great holiday, the king looking
out at some sports, Askew got a cortier, a
frinde of his, to stand before the king, and
then he got on his vellet cassock and his
gold chine and baskett of chercols on his
back, and marched in the king's sight with it.
O, saith the king, now I like yonder fellow
well that disdains not to doe his dirty office in
his dainty clothes—what is he? Says his
frinde that stood by on purpose, It is Mr.
Askew that was yeoman o'th celler to the late
Queen's Matie and now glad of this poore place
to keep him in yr Maties service, which he
will not forsake for all the world. The kinge
says, I had the best wine when he was i'th
celler; he is a gallant wine taster, let him
have his place againe and afterwards knighted
him.' (fn. 12)
After Askew got his lease of the priory
lands in 1537, he was not allowed to have
peaceable possession, for an attempt was made,
when the commonalty of the northern counties
rose in rebellion, to oust him and restore the
nuns to their old home. By a petition in
1540 'to the Righte Worshipfull Sor
Richarde Riche, Knighte, Chauncellor of the
Kynge's Courte of Augmentacons in (of) the
Revenues of his Crowne, moste humblye
sheweth, and complaynethe unto your good
maystershippe, your dailye oratour, Hughe
Ascue, officer in the kynges graces sellar, that
where your seide oratour hathe of the kinges
grace's dymyse by indenture undre his grace's
grete seale of his Courte of Augmentacons of
the revenues of his Crowne, the house and
scite of the late pryorye or house of nunes of
Seyton in the countie of Cumberland wt all
and singuler the appurtenances, by auctorytie
of parlyamente suppresside and dissolvyde, into
whiche saide house or pryorye by vertue of his
seide lease yor saide oratour dyd entre and was
therof peassablye possesside and the same did
furnyshe wt suche goodes and catalls as he
then hadd. So yt is that one Thomas
Skelton beynge accompanyde wt diveres other
rebellyous and mysdemenyde persons at the
tyme of the commocon in the Northe,
ryoutouslye entryde into the seyde late
pryorye then beinge in your oratour's hande,
as ys aforesaide, and there put in the late
pryores of the same late pryorye, whoe remanede ther afterwarde by the space of a
quarter of a yere and more wt here hole
retinue at the onlye coste and charge of your
oratour, and the goodes and catalls of your
seid oratour dyd waste, dystroye, and carye
awaye to the value of xxiiil. Wherfore it
maye please your good maistershipe the
premises tenderlye consideryde to graunte the
kynges graces lettres of pryvye seale to be
directide unto the saide Thomas Skelton,
commaundynge him by the same, other to
restore unto your said oratour his saide goodes
and catalls so by him so dystraynede and
caryede awaye, or agrewithe your seide oratour
that he be and personallye appere before your
maistershippe in the Kinges Courte of
Augmentacons of the revenues of his crowne
at a certayne daye and undre a certeyne payne
by your good maistershippe to be lymittede,
then and ther to aunswere to the premisses and
further to abyde suche ordre and dyrectyon in
the premisses as shall seme to your good
maistershippe to stonde wt equite and good
consceyence, and your seide oratour shall
daylye praye to God, etc.' (fn. 13)
Prioresses of Seton
Elizabeth Croft, (fn. 14) occurs 1459
Joan Seaton, (fn. 15) occurs 1535
Joan Copland, (fn. 16) occurs 1536