FRIARIES
20. THE BLACK FRIARS, BRISTOL
The house of the Black Friars of Bristol was
founded in the parish of the priory of St. James
in 1227 or 1228, by Maurice de Gaunt, greatgrandson of Robert Fitzharding, and Matthew de
Gurnay. (fn. 1) In 1230, at the request of the friars,
William of Blois, bishop of Worcester, came to
dedicate their altar and burial-ground. (fn. 2) In 1232
Henry III granted a licence to the friars to
enlarge their burial-ground, (fn. 3) and many of the
Bristol citizens in the thirteenth, fourteenth, and
fifteenth centuries willed their bodies to be buried
in the cemetery of the Black Friars. (fn. 4) Henry III
was a most generous benefactor of the friars. The
church and priory were over forty years in building, and the timber came from the Forest of
Dean, as the gift of the king, (fn. 5) and John de Plessetis earl of Warwick. (fn. 6) In 1232 Henry III
allowed the friars to make a conduit to their
house. (fn. 7) On several occasions he granted oaks
for fuel. (fn. 8) In 1251, to enable them to pay their
debts, he granted them 21 marks out of the exchequer. (fn. 9) He also granted them in perpetuity a
moiety of the prisage of fresh fish which came
into the port of Bristol. Gifts to friars are a
regular feature of the bounty of later kings; in
1293 Edward I gave six oaks for fuel, (fn. 10) and when
the provincial chapter met at Bristol on the
Feast of the Assumption in 1302 he gave ten
oaks for fuel. (fn. 11) On the next occasion, in 1323,
Edward II gave £15 for the food of the fathers, (fn. 12)
and in 1343 Edward III also gave £15 for the
same object. (fn. 13) The evidence of the wills which
are now extant shows that it was usual to remember the friars. (fn. 14) As late as 1532 Thomas V
of Berkeley left £10 towards repairing the cloister
of the Black Friars in Bristol. (fn. 15)
In 1532 or 1533 Hugh Latimer preached
against purgatory and other hitherto accepted
doctrines in the church of the Black Friars, (fn. 16) and
the prior, John Hilsey, preached in reply. In
1534 Hilsey became provincial of the order in
England, and was appointed by Henry VIII together with George Brown, prior of a house of
Augustinians, to visit the houses of the orders of
friars throughout England. (fn. 17) The object was to
force the acceptance of the royal supremacy upon
them, and to compel them to preach it to the
people. On 9 June Hilsey secured the submission of the Black Friars at Bristol. (fn. 18) The
greater part of them abandoned the convent and
fled from England, leaving only the prior, William
Oliver, and four brethren. (fn. 19) William Oliver's
preaching got him into trouble in 1537, (fn. 20) and
though he escaped condemnation he lost his office
and probably fled (fn. 21) to the continent.
The houses of the friars were not included
under the Act of 1536 for the suppression of
the lesser monasteries. However, in 1537 the
dissolution of the friaries was clearly contemplated. (fn. 22) On 9 December Richard Ingworth,
formerly prior of the Dominican house of King's
Langley, was consecrated suffragan bishop of
Dover, and soon afterwards he received two commissions to visit the friars. (fn. 23) He was ordered to
depose or suspend heads of houses against whom
any charge was brought and to appoint others,
and also to visit the convents, take possession of
the keys, sequestrate goods, and make indentures
and inventories. The friars were very largely
dependent on private charity, which diminished
as the result of the suppression of the lesser monasteries. (fn. 24) Accordingly they were reduced to
great poverty which forced them to surrender
their houses. (fn. 25) On 28 August, 1538, Richard
Ingworth wrote to Cromwell that the Black
Friars of Bristol were ready to give up their
house. (fn. 26) He took the surrender, which was signed
by the prior and four others on 10 September. (fn. 27)
The seal represents St. Paul, a tall, bearded
figure with nimbus, and loosely robed, in his
right hand a sword, in his left a scroll. (fn. 28) The
legend is:—
SIGILL . CONVENTVS . FRAT . PREDICATV.
BRISTOLL.
21. THE GREY FRIARS, BRISTOL
The house of the Grey Friars of Bristol in
Lewensmead was founded before 1234. (fn. 29) In
1538 the mayor stated that the house was of the
foundation and purchasing of the town, and was
built by ancient burgesses at their own cost. (fn. 30)
In 1236 Henry III gave fifteen oaks from the
wood of Furches, (fn. 31) and afterwards he granted in
perpetuity a moiety of the prisage of fresh fish
which came into the port of Bristol. (fn. 32) The
Franciscans were popular with the citizens of
Bristol, and were often remembered in their
wills. (fn. 33)
After a visit to Bristol in 1538 Richard Ingworth wrote, on 27 August, to tell Cromwell
that the warden of the Grey Friars was 'stiff';
he was also warden of Richmond, 'yet for all his
great port,' added Ingworth, 'I think him twenty
marks in debt, and not able to pay it.' (fn. 34) There
were clamorous creditors, but as the warden
was absent they could not get payment. (fn. 35) On
10 September six friars surrendered the house
to Ingworth. (fn. 36)
22. THE AUGUSTINIAN FRIARS, BRISTOL
The house of the Augustinian Friars of Bristol
was founded in 1313 by Simon de Montacute,
who gave them a piece of land 100 ft. square
hard by the Temple Gate of the town. (fn. 37) In
1317 William de Montacute gave them an
adjacent plot for the enlargement of their dwelling-place. (fn. 38) The church was being built in 1329
when Ralph of Shrewsbury, bishop of Bath and
Wells, granted an indulgence of forty days to all
who should contribute to the fabric. (fn. 39) In 1344
Thomas of Berkeley gave four acres for the
enlargement of the site. (fn. 40)
In 1538, when Richard Ingworth visited
Bristol, he reported that the Austin Friars were
'stiff,' and would not give up their house. (fn. 41) On
27 August he told Cromwell that the prior had
sold the plate and the timber that grew about
the house for over 100 marks within the last
three years, and that almost all was gone. (fn. 42) On
10 September the prior and seven friars surrendered the house to Ingworth.
23. THE CARMELITE FRIARS, BRISTOL
The house of the Carmelite Friars of Bristol,
on the right bank of the Frome near the quay,
is said to have been founded by Edward, prince
of Wales, about 1267. (fn. 43) In 1358 the friars
received a grant of land for the enlargement of
their dwelling-place, (fn. 44) and until shortly before
the dissolution the White Friars prospered;
indeed, Leland wrote that the priory of the
Carmelites was the fairest of all the houses of the
friars in Bristol. (fn. 45) On 25 July, 1538, Richard
Ingworth reported to Cromwell that the house
was ready at the king's pleasure; the prior and
sexton had fled since his last visit, but he had
made sure of all the substance that was left. (fn. 46)
Three days later he went with the four friars
before the mayor, and they stated that divers
priors had sold and plundered all the jewels and
substance of the house, they were in debt, the
charity of the people was very small, and they
could not continue. (fn. 47) Accordingly they gave
their house into the hands of the visitor, (fn. 48) and
the sale of the goods satisfied the creditors. (fn. 49)
Ingworth begged Cromwell that the four friars
might have their capacities, for they had no
money wherewith to purchase them. They had
'a goodly house, meet for a great man,' but their
only source of income was the garden. (fn. 50)
A seal of the fifteenth century represents an
angel kneeling before the Virgin standing at a
lectern, on which is an open book, a star of six
points over her head. (fn. 51) Above the whole is a
trefoiled canopy, with traceried tabernacle work,
and at the sides panelled buttresses. In base,
under a trefoiled canopy, is the demifigure of a
friar holding up his hands in supplication with
his hood thrown back.
24. FRIARS OF THE PENANCE OF JESUS CHRIST OR FRIARS OF THE SACK, BRISTOL
The Friars of the Sack were established in
Bristol in or before 1266, when Henry III
granted them six oaks from Selwood Forest for
building. (fn. 52) The order was suppressed by the
Council of Lyons in 1274, but some of the
English settlements continued until the Dissolution. (fn. 53) The church of the Friars of the Sack in
Bristol is mentioned in 1322, (fn. 54) but as yet no later
reference has come to light. It is certain that
they had no house in Bristol in 1538. (fn. 55)