13. THE DOMINICAN FRIARS OF MELCOMBE REGIS (fn. 3)
The friary at Melcombe Regis was the last
Dominican house established in England. It was
founded by Hugh Deverell, knt., and John Rogers,
chief of the house of Rogers of Bryanston in
Dorset. (fn. 4) In furtherance of their purpose the
provincial of England, supported by the mastergeneral of the order, applied to the Holy See in
1418 for powers to make the foundation; and
on 17 August Martin V gave the necessary leave
for erecting a convent here, with church, belfry,
churchyard and cloister, and all things necessary for
a religious house, even without the consent of the
ordinary of the diocese, provided there was no
other house of Mendicants within the distance of
150 cannae (about 280 yards) and saving the
rights of the parochial churches. (fn. 5) Deverell and
Rogers then gave two messuages, two tofts and
four curtilages, containing altogether 270 ft. in
length and 160 ft. in breadth, held of the crown
in free burgage at a rent of 2s. 1½d. a year and
estimated at the annual value of 6s. 8d. This site
was conveyed to Edward Polyng, who was appointed the first prior 'both by the superiors of the Order
and by the aforesaid Hugh and John,' (fn. 6) and with
him were associated friars John Lok and John
Lowen to carry on the new foundation. They
immediately established a chapel and set up an
altar in one of the houses and began their spiritual
ministrations among the people. John Chandler,
bishop of Sarum, opposed the new foundation, and
in 1426 shortly before his death declared the
friars contumacious and forbade their proceedings. (fn. 7)
Deverell and Rogers, however, secured the royal
licence for the foundation 16 February 1430–1 (fn. 8)
and addressed a petition to the bishop, Robert
Neville. (fn. 9) In this they stated that they had begun
the house moved by the desolation of the town;
that there was no place dedicated to God in Melcombe; that the parochial church of Radipole
was a long mile and a half away and was inconvenient for the burgesses; that the inhabitants
were rude, illiterate, and situated in angulo terrae:
that the vill lay open to enemies, whereby the
king's rent was not paid and the customs were
diminished. An arrangement was soon made
with the bishop and the prohibition removed.
The friars did not confine their attention to
the spritual welfare of the inhabitants, but contributed to the defence of the town and increase of
the port by building a jetty against the ebb and flow
of the tide. After they had begun this work,
they determined to add a tower as a fortification
for the town, port, and their own house. They
therefore applied to the crown for help, and on
17 February, 1445–6, received from the king and
council a grant of land, 1,000 ft. long and 600 ft.
broad by the sea for the site of the tower in free
alms without any rent, and also a sum of £10 a
year for twelve years out of the customs and subsidies of the port of Poole towards the expenses
of making the jetty. (fn. 10) In the Act of Resumption
passed in 1450 this grant was specially exempted
in consideration of the great charge and costs that
they have had and yet must have in making and repairing of a jetty in defence of the said town of Melcombe against the flowing of the sea. (fn. 11)
Friar Simon Ball or Bell, sometime prior of
this house, was collated to the rectory of Radipole,
18 December, 1533. (fn. 12) Owen Watson, rector of
Portland, who died in 1533, willed his body to
be buried at the Friars Preachers here where he
had built a tomb for himself. (fn. 13)
Shortly before the Dissolution some new altars
were erected and new stalls placed in the choir
and new seats in the church, as appears from the
inventory of the 'stuff' taken at the end of September 1538, when the bishop of Dover as visitor
took the priory into the king's hands. (fn. 14) Among
the belongings of the house may be noticed in
the choir a fair table of alabaster, 'a fair table
follt of beyond sea work,' a frame of iron hanging
for tapers, and new stalls: in the church, new
altars, seven images, six marble stones, new ceiled
seats at the Jesus altar, new seats in the body of
the church, and a little bell in the steeple. The
contents of the parlour, buttery, and vestry were
few and poor: in the chambers were four old
bedsteads, one feather bed and one flock bed: the
kitchen also was scantily furnished, though everything seems to be included in the inventory down
to a broken saucer. The visitor, however, paid
his expenses and discharged the debts owing by
the house, which amounted only to 20s. He
carried away a chalice weighing 11½oz. and left
the house in charge of John Clerke, controller of
the customs. (fn. 15) There was no lead except a few
gutters, (fn. 16) and the timber was hardly sufficient to
keep the fences in repair. (fn. 17)
The Black Friars was let in 1541 to Sir
John Rogers, knt., grandson of the founder, for
twenty-one years at a rent of 13s. 4d. a year. (fn. 18)
Sir John purchased the whole with other
monastic lands in 1543, holding the friary at a
rent of 16d. from the crown. (fn. 19)
The friary was situated in the east part of the
town, in Maiden Street, near the sea. (fn. 20) Leland
called it a 'fair house.' (fn. 21) The patron saint of
the church was, according to Speed, St. Dominic;
according to Willis, St. Winifred. The cemetery appears to have been on the north side,
where many skulls and bones were dug up in
1682. The priory was in a ruinous condition
in 1650, but some old buildings still remained
in 1803, including the church, which had been
converted into a malt-house. In 1861 the
whole of the buildings were pulled down and
the ground cut up into building plots. (fn. 22)