11. THE ABBEY OF NUTLEY
The Abbey of Nutley, or Crendon Park,
was founded early in the twelfth century by
Walter Giffard and Ermengarde his wife, for
Austin Canons following the customs of Arrouaise. (fn. 1) It was dedicated to the honour of St.
Mary and St. John Baptist. The exact date
of foundation cannot be given, but it seems
probable that it was about the same time as
that of Missenden, and it must certainly have
been before 1164, to fall within the lifetime
of Walter Giffard. It was the richest monastery in Buckinghamshire: its income at the
dissolution was very little short of £450, and
it had even then the patronage of eleven
churches.
Yet it has very little history. There are
one or two suits of importance during the
thirteenth century, and these constitute the
whole of our information for this period.
There was a long suit in connection with a
moiety of the manor of Lower Winchendon,
for which it seems that the abbot advanced an
unwarranted claim. It began in 1207, when
Agnes Wake had the land secured to her as a
marriage portion, and the canons were ordered
not to molest her in any way. (fn. 2) It was reopened in 1221, when Agnes showed the foregoing charter, while the abbot pleaded the
custom of an earlier date (fn. 3) ; and it was finally
settled in 1238, when the abbot quitclaimed
it to Hugh Wake, but received it back again
at a yearly rent of sixteen marks. (fn. 4) There was
another suit in 1214, when the canons secured the church of Bottesham in Cambridgeshire against Richard de Clare, by
showing the charter of Walter Giffard. (fn. 5)
Abbots of this house during the fourteenth
century were several times commissioned by
the pope to inquire into the circumstances of
appeals and petitions (fn. 6) ; and on this abbey
as well as Missenden, Edward II. and Edward III. used occasionally to quarter their
old servants. (fn. 7) At the beginning of the same
century there must have been some dispute
concerning jurisdiction between Bishop Dalderby and the canons of Nutley: for the
bishop complained in a letter to the Dean of
Waddesdon that the infirmarian and three
others had dared to try and hinder him from
administering the sacrament of confirmation
in the conventual church; they had attacked
his servants, beaten and trampled upon them,
and committed other enormities; and another canon in his malice defended these evildoers. The entry is unfinished, so the conclusion of the affair is unknown (fn. 8) : but it
seems that this house, though not exempt, was
seldom visited by the bishops of Lincoln.
Richard of Crendon, who was abbot in
1333, was mixed up in a very discreditable
affair in that year: the Prior of Walron in
Norfolk complained to the king that the
Abbot of Nutley and another canon with certain knights carried away two of his horses and
other goods of his at Kelling and Sherringham. (fn. 9) An inquiry was made in 1345 as to the
rights by which the canons of Nutley held so
many churches in proprios usus, as they were
found to be destitute of vicars (fn. 10) ; and it was
noticed more than a century later that the
churches belonging to this house were ruinous
and badly served. (fn. 11) In 1374 it was formally
stated that the abbey had suffered severely
from the Great Pestilence, and was not able
to maintain its wonted hospitality. (fn. 12) In
1383 the conventual church was attacked by
a band of armed men, who were excommunicated in consequence; nothing more is
known of the affair or its causes. (fn. 13)
In 1461 the priory of Chetwode and its
lands were granted to the canons of Nutley, (fn. 14)
on condition that they should fulfil all the
obligations attached to the suppressed foundation. Just before the dissolution the
abbey came into the king's hand, on account
of the attainder of the Duke of Buckingham,
who had been its patron. (fn. 15) The last abbot,
Richard Ridge, signed the Acknowledgment
of Royal Supremacy in 1535, (fn. 16) and surrendered
his house on 9 December, 1538. The Deed
of Surrender is signed by the prior and thirteen other canons besides the abbot; it takes
the form of an enfeoffment of the house to
Dr. London for the king's use. (fn. 17) London had
been busy in the neighbourhood just before,
taking the surrender of Eynsham, and defacing various shrines. (fn. 18) The pension list for
Nutley Abbey, as given by Browne Willis, is
to the abbot £100, to the prior £6 13s. 4d., to
the sub-prior £6, to Thomas Webb £6, and
to twelve others £5 6s. 8d. (fn. 19) As the house
possessed many churches, it is possible that
some of the pensions were commuted for benefices. Valentine Bownde, the prior, became
chaplain of Long Crendon, (fn. 20) and another
canon was cantarist of the fraternity of
Buckingham until its suppression. (fn. 21) The lastmentioned canon was the only one who survived till 1552, when he claimed two pensions: £5 6s. 8d. from Nutley, and £4 for the
chantry.
The Arrouasian canons had a great reputation for strictness of life at the first foundation
of their order; but there is very little to show
us how far this house was faithful to its original ideal. The Abbot of Nutley was one of
those deprived by Bishop Grosstête in 1236, (fn. 22)
a fact which suggests unsatisfactory administration at that time, if nothing worse. The
elections of 1268 and 1271 were both annulled
by Bishop Gravesend, not because of the unfitness of the persons elected, but because of
some informality in the procedure. (fn. 23) The
entry in Bishop Dalderby's register already
alluded to does not give us a favourable impression of the house in 1300; but not enough
is known of the circumstances to enable us to
judge the matter fairly. (fn. 24) A commission was
issued by the same bishop a few years later for
the visitation and correction of the abbey of
Nutley, but no report is preserved. (fn. 25) In 1323
an order was given for the readmission of an
apostate monk after absolution by the bishop. (fn. 26)
In 1350 there was certainly no unfriendly
feeling between the abbot and his diocesan,
for the former was commissioned to examine
the election of a prioress of Little Marlow in
that year. (fn. 27) The first formal report of visitation is dated 1379. It does not point to any
special laxity, but only to some defects of administration. It was enjoined that two
bursars should be elected annually by the
abbot and the 'greater and wiser part' of the
convent, who should receive all moneys and
render an account of the same. The officers
of the monastery were to be appointed and
removed by the abbot with the concurrence
of the 'greater and wiser part' of the brethren; but all should render due obedience to
the abbot. No pensions or doles should be
given without consent of the abbot and the
'greater and wiser part.' The kinsmen of
the abbot or the canons were not to be chargeable to the monastery without consent of the
abbot and the 'greater and wiser part.' (fn. 28)
The exact value of these injunctions cannot
be estimated without more knowledge of the
contemporary history of the house. They
read like a temporary expedient to check the
power of an abbot who had not shown sufficient consideration for his brethren, nor consulted them duly; for the stress laid upon the
consent of the majority is very unusual.
In 1391 an indult was granted by the pope
to the canons of this abbey, that they might
adopt the Use of Sarum for the recitation of
the divine office, that of St. Augustine having
become 'too burdensome' for them. (fn. 29) The
discipline of the order seems however to
have been in full force in this house towards
the end of the fifteenth century; for in 1471
Henry Honor of Missenden asked permission
to send the disobedient among his own canons
to Nutley to be punished, 'for the preservation of order.' (fn. 30) A visitation of Bishop Atwater in 1519 reveals no laxity and very few
causes of complaint. It was alleged that the
abbot did not pay the accustomed annuities,
nor consult the senior canons as he ought to
do; and a proper infirmary was not provided
for the sick. (fn. 31) No visitation of Bishop Longland is preserved. The abbot in 1525 was
accused of having falsified a lease of the parsonage of Hillesden; but the accusation was
made in the course of a family quarrel, and
may have been without foundation. (fn. 32) There
is every reason to suppose that the house had
an honourable reputation during its last years.
The election of 1528 was made under the
approval of Cardinal Wolsey (fn. 33) ; and the king
himself stayed at Nutley in 1529 while he was
making progress through the Midlands. (fn. 34) Dr.
London accused the canons of nothing worse
than superstition, and that only by inference:
he tells us how the chaplain of Caversham
fled home to Nutley with the only 'relic' he
had been able to save from destruction—' an
aungell with oon wyng that browght to
Caversham the spere hedde that percyd our
Saviour is syde upon the crosse '—and adds,
'butt I sent my servant purposely for ytt.'
The surrender of the house followed in a few
days. (fn. 35)
The original endowment of Nutley Abbey
included the demesne land called Crendon
Park, the churches of Long Crendon, with the
chapels of Lower Winchendon and Chearsley,
Princes Risborough, Hillesden, Ashendon,
Chilton with the chapel of Dorton; the
church and chapel of Caversham, and
Stokelyle in Oxfordshire; Sherringham and
Choseley in Norfolk, Bottesham in Cambridgeshire, Bradley in Wiltshire. (fn. 36) To these
were added at a later date the churches of
Netherswell in Gloucestershire, Coleshill
and Blakeborough in Norfolk, (fn. 37) Lillingstone
(Dayrell) in Buckinghamshire (fn. 38) ; and in 1461
the lands of the priory of Chetwode, with the
churches of Chetwode and Barton Hartshorn,
and the chapel of Brill. (fn. 39) In the time of
Bishop Lexington (1254-8) the whole value of
the abbey in spiritualities and temporalities
was stated as £80 7s. (fn. 40) ; in 1291 its temporalities amounted to £48 16s. 6½d., (fn. 41) but the value
of its churches cannot be exactly given, as
they are not all mentioned in the Taxatio.
In 1284 the abbot held one third of a
knight's fee in Hillesden (fn. 42) ; in 1302 the same,
with the whole manor of Lower Winchendon (fn. 43) ; in 1346 both of these, with the addition of a portion of a fee in Long Crendon. (fn. 44)
In the Valor Ecclesiasticus the clear value
of the house was given as £437 6s. 8½d. (fn. 45) ;
the Ministers' Accounts amount only to
£402 19s. 4½d., including the churches of
Long Crendon, Chilton, Chearsley, Caversham, Princes Risborough, Ashendon, Hillesden, Lower Winchendon, Chetwode, Barton
Hartshorn, Stokelyle, Sherringham, Maiden
Bradley, Netherswell; and the manors of
Long Crendon, Chilton, Lower Winchendon,
Chearsley, Canonend, Chetwode in Bucks;
and Stragglethorpe, Lincs. (fn. 46)
Abbots of Nutley
Osbert, (fn. 47) occurs under Henry II.
Robert, (fn. 48) occurs 1189
Edward, (fn. 49) occurs 1203 and 1221
John, (fn. 50) occurs 1223, deposed 1236
Henry of St. Faith, (fn. 51) elected 1236
John of Crendon, (fn. 52) elected 1252, died 1268
John of Gloucester, (fn. 53) elected 1268, died 1269
Richard of Dorchester, (fn. 54) elected 1269, resigned 1272
Henry called Medicus, (fn. 55) elected 1272
William of Sherringham, (fn. 56) died 1309
John of Thame, (fn. 57) elected 1309
Richard of Crendon, (fn. 58) occurs from 1331 to
1357
John of Winchendon, (fn. 59) occurs 1367 and
1376
John of Chearsley, (fn. 60) occurs 1379, died 1389
Nicholas Amcotes, (fn. 61) occurs 1390 and 1395
Thomas, (fn. 62) occurs 1397
William, (fn. 63) occurs 1400
Nicholas Redding, (fn. 64) occurs 1447
William Stanton, (fn. 65) occurs 1457 till 1479
Peter Caversham, (fn. 66) died 1503
Richard Peterton, (fn. 67) elected 1503, died 1513
John Marston, (fn. 68) elected 1513, resigned 1528
Robert Brice, (fn. 69) elected 1528, died 1529
Richard Ridge, (fn. 70) last abbot, elected 1529
Pointed oval seal of the twelfth century,
taken from cast at the British Museum, (fn. 71) represents the Blessed Virgin with crown, seated
on a carved throne, the Holy Child on her
left knee, in her right hand a flower. +SIGILLVM: SANCTE: MARIE: DE: NVTLE.
A round seal of the fifteenth century taken
from a cast, (fn. 72) represents three Gothic niches,
with canopies crocketed and pinnacled, the
Blessed Virgin standing with nimbus and
crown, the Holy Child with nimbus on her
right arm, in her left hand a ball or orb, two
saints on either side, the one on the left with
nimbus holding a plaque, the other on the
right with nimbus and mitre holds apparently
a wheel. On tabernacle work at each side a
shield of arms: that on the left, quartering
1, 4, France (modern), 2, 3, England, that on
the right uncertain. In base, under a squareheaded arch, a shield of arms: a lion rampant. Legend: SIGILLUM C . . . MONAST'
GĒ MARIE ET SBI' IOHANIS' BAPTISTE DE NOTTELE.
Another seal of the fifteenth century, the
cast of which has been taken from an imperfect impression, (fn. 73) represents the Blessed Virgin standing on a corbel in a niche holding
the Holy Child on her right arm, in her left
hand a sceptre fleur-de-lizê. Legend: . . .
BEATE MA. . . .