HOUSE OF THE GILBERTINE ORDER
21. THE PRIORY OF CLATTERCOTE
At Clattercote, six miles north of Banbury,
there was a house of the Gilbertine Order,
originally a hospital for lepers. A deed preserved
at Lincoln Cathedral throws some light on its
foundation and history. By this deed, William,
master of the order of Sempringham, gives notice
that 'as the house of Clattercote has so prospered
in worldly possessions by the gifts of the faithful,
that its own resources are sufficient to support
the brethren who live there; and in place of the
infirm, whose maintenance was of necessity more
expensive, by a wiser plan, the healthy are
elected, at our suggestion and request: we therefore quitclaim to Richard, bishop of Lincoln
(1258-79), £4 from an annual payment of
£6 10s., which was granted by Bishop Robert
de Chesney, in place of certain tithes, for the more
liberal maintenance of the infirm of the house of
Clattercote.' (fn. 1) The house therefore existed in
the time of Robert de Chesney (1148-66) and
was possibly founded by him, Clattercote being a
hamlet on the episcopal manor of Cropredy. (fn. 2)
A confirmation of Pope Innocent, 5 March,
1216, (fn. 3) gives the possessions of the 'house of
St. Leonard for lepers' as 2½ hides in Clattercote
(apparently the whole hamlet), 9 houses in
Banbury, a virgate in Little Burton near Banbury, 2 virgates in Appeltree, Northants; in
Warwickshire, 18 acres in Ratley, a virgate in
Wormleighton, and 200 acres in Fenney
Compton, with pasturage for 500 sheep, 8 oxen,
and 4 horses. Four years later Pope Honorius
granted a general confirmation (fn. 4) 'to the prior
and brethren of the hospital of lepers at Clattercote,' with an exemption from the payment of
certain small tithes.
In 1246, Robert, prior of Clattercote, having
obtained from Robert, prior of Laund, a property
in the adjoining hamlet of Claydon, to be held
in fee-farm, (fn. 5) agreed to pay to the bishop of
Lincoln 1 mark a year 'for the said manor' in
lieu of reliefs. (fn. 6) Soon after, as we have already
seen, Clattercote ceased to be a hospital of lepers,
and became an ordinary Gilbertine priory. In
1291 the possessions of the priory, that are
enumerated, are all in the immediate neighbourhood, the land in Fenney Compton being three
carucates (fn. 7) and the land in Clattercote and
Claydon reckoned at over £22; the total
income was about £33, to which must be added
the annual payment of £2 10s. by the bishop of
Lincoln, a payment which was continued until
the dissolution of the monasteries.
In 1343 Thomas earl of Warwick granted
the canons of Clattercote the rectory of Ratley,
Warwickshire, and five years later the bishop
ordained a vicarage there. (fn. 8) We see from the
Valor Ecclesiasticus that after payments to the vicar
of Ratley, the archdeacon, the bishop, and the
cathedral of Lichfield, this gift was worth £10 a
year, yet in 1535 (fn. 9) the income is still about £35,
the properties being much the same as before,
but the rents from Clattercote and Claydon
being less, and in 1526 the net income is stated
to be only £12. In 1536, at the dissolution of
monasteries, the house consisted of John Grene,
prior, and only three canons. (fn. 10) The college of
Christ Church, Oxford, obtained part of the
property of the priory, but possesses few of the
old deeds.
Priors of Clattercote
Adam, about 1180 (fn. 11)
Robert, 1246
John, 1344 (fn. 12)
John Greene, 1535
The seal represents a figure with a pastoral
staff in the right hand, perhaps St. Leonard, with
the legend:—
SIGILL' SANCTI L[EONARDI] DE CLATRECOT