27. THE BRIGETTINES AT CHERRY HINTON
The earliest attempt to found a Brigettine house
in England is connected with Cherry Hinton.
A great popular devotion to St. Bridget of Sweden
which grew up in the years immediately preceding
the Council of Constance spread to England in 1406
when Philippa, daughter of Henry IV, became
Queen of Sweden. (fn. 1) Its greatest promoter was
perhaps Sir Henry FitzHugh, lord of Ravensworth, whom the Sion Martiloge describes as 'the
first who introduced this Religion into the kingdom of England'. (fn. 2) He was one of Philippa's
retinue, and when he was in Sweden in 1406 he
visited Vadstena, 'about the feast of St. Andrew',
and informed the convent there that 'he wished
to found in England a monastery of the Rule of
St. Saviour . . . and sought that two brothers
should be sent to England for the founding of
such a monastery'. His charter, dated 28 November 1406, to the Abbess of Vadstena for the
'foundation, building and perpetual support' of
such a monastery vested his 'manor of Hinton
near Cambridge in the diocese of Ely' in trustees,
on condition that 'if within ten years any brethren
of the aforesaid Order come to England they shall
assign, and not delay to assign' the manor to these
brethren for their house, 'even if these brethren
shall have been granted any other dwelling or site
by the lord king or by other nobles'; the trustees
to hand over in due legal form all their trust so
soon as the brethren arrived. (fn. 3)
As a result, a canon of St. Saviour named
Hemming did come to England, but he made only
a short stay and died on his way back on 1 November 1407. On 6 April 1408 he was followed by
two other brothers, John Peterson, priest, and
Katill, a deacon, who were sent by the convent
to England, 'where a certain noble and devout
knight' had promised to build a monastery of the
Order. (fn. 4) Peterson returned to Sweden in 1416,
when Sion had been duly founded by Henry V;
Katill did not return until 1421. (fn. 5) No actual
monastery was ever founded at Cherry Hinton,
but the Martiloge says that FitzHugh 'supported
certain brothers of this Order sent from Vadstena
. . . for many years at his own cost'—perhaps at his
manor-house of Up-Hall at Cherry Hinton. In
1444 there was a grant by Henry VI in frankalmoign to the Abbess and Convent of Sion of the
manor of Hinton called 'Uphalle' in Cambridge,
late of Henry FitzHugh, lord of Ravensworth,
deceased, and his other lands, &c., in Hinton and
the Wilbrahams 'which the said Henry granted
to Thomas, Bishop of Durham, deceased', and
his other trustees, 'to the intent they should grant
the same to the king, and the king should grant
the same to the said abbess and convent, when the
said monastery should be founded'. (fn. 6)
The first plans were probably affected by
Henry V's dealings with alien priories. A house
founded by Henry FitzHugh at Cherry Hinton would have been a cell to Vadstena. The
great foundation at Sion was made by the king
with the express permission of Martin V that it
should be the first house of an English congregation.