18. THE PRIORY OF WORSPRING
About 4 miles north of Weston-super-Mare
are the remains of the priory of Worspring, a
name which since Collinson's time has been
wrongly changed to Woodspring.
This priory was of the double order of St.
Augustine and St. Victor, and was dedicated
to the honour of the Holy Trinity, St. Mary
the Virgin and St. Thomas the Martyr of
Canterbury.
The house was founded in or about 1210 by
William de Courteney, a grandson of Reginald
Fitz Urse of Williton, one of the knights who
murdered Archbishop Becket. No foundation
charter exists. Our information comes from
the confirmation of the endowment by Edward
II in 1325, (fn. 305) and a copy of a letter of William de
Courteney to Jocelin, Bishop of Bath, which
records the founder's object. The house was
in some way connected with the larger house of
Austin Canons at Bristol, but the exact nature of
this connexion is not clear.
The letter of William de Courteney (fn. 306) to Bishop
Jocelin is not dated, but as the bishop is called
the Bishop of Bath, it is clear that it was written
after 1219 and before 1242. He says that he
had and he still has in his mind a desire to found
a convent at Worspring in his domain, where
he had built a chapel in honour of the blessed
martyr St. Thomas. The convent was to be
for canons of the Order of St. Augustine of
Bristol, and he purposed to endow the priory with
land at Worspring and with a church at Worle.
The Bath Cartulary (fn. 307) gives us an inspeximus
by Walter the prior of a charter of William
Button I, Bishop of Bath and Wells 1262, confirming a charter of Jocelin, Bishop of Bath, to
'the canons of Dodlinch' in the year 1230,
which itself is a confirmation of an earlier charter
granted by him to the same canons in 1217, by
which he confirmed to them the gifts of Sir
William de Courteney of the church of Worle
and of Master Geoffrey Gibwinne of the church
at Locking. The original foundation was at
'Dodlinch,' a place which has never been identified but probably was in the immediate neighbourhood of Worspring, and the site of the
first chapel of St. Thomas of Canterbury.
In 1226 (fn. 308) we find the Prior of Worspring
appearing as plaintiff against William de Cantlow
concerning the advowson of the church of
Bulwick in Northants. The prior did not gain
his case, but the incident proves that the transference from Dodlinch to Worspring must have
taken place before this date.
In 1243, (fn. 309) during the vacancy of the see, the
dean and chapter confirmed the appointment
of Canon Richard of Keynsham as Prior of
Worspring in succession to the late Prior Reginald,
and it is recorded that twenty-six canons were
present at that election.
On 16 August 1266 (fn. 310) John the prior 'of the
order of St. Victor,' in return for gifts received
from the late William de Wethamstede, provost
of Combe, and Alexander de Bamfield, canon
of Wells, their benefactors, for 100 marks provided by the executors of William and Alexander,
bound himself and the priory to provide 53s. 4d.
towards the maintenance of a chaplain in the
cathedral church of Wells to celebrate for the
souls of the said canons, and also to perform a
similar service in their own house on the morrow
of St. Vincent with Placebo and Dirige in the
choir for ever, and also provide pittances to the
value of 4s. to be divided among themselves
and the poor.
On 4 July 1277 (fn. 311) we find the same John,
the prior of Worspring, and the convent on
account of the benefactions granted to them
by William de Button II, Bishop of Bath and
Wells, and for 210 marks paid to them by
his executors as a legacy from him, agreeing
to pay 10 marks a year towards the obit of
the bishop, and the maintenance of a chaplain
who should say mass for his soul. This pledge
was also confirmed in 1279. (fn. 312) The prior says
that the bishop's legacy came to them at a
time of great need, and had enabled them to
pay off an annual payment of £10 due to Sir
John de Engayne and his heirs upon the manor
of Worle.
In 1298 (fn. 313) Lucy Lundreys of Wells bequeathed
in her will a silver spoon to her brother John,
canon of Worspring, and in 1310 (fn. 314) Sir John de
Engayne endowed the priory with rents to the
value of 20s.
In 1325 (fn. 315) we have in the inspeximus and
confirmation of the charters of the priory by
Edward II information concerning the earlier
endowments of the priory. The canons owned
all the land of Worspring that belonged to
William de Courteney and Robert de Newton.
Half of the manor of Worle was granted them
by Henry Engayne, and the homage and dues of
his tenants at Worle, Worspring, Kewstoke,
Milton, Ebdon and Locking.
In 1331 (fn. 316) Henry Cary, vicar of Locking,
obtained a licence to alienate to the priory his
lands in Sandford Marsh.
In 1410 (fn. 317) licence was granted to Robert
Pobelowe and John Venables to alienate 174
acres in Worle, Winscombe, Rolstone and
Poke Rolstone to the priory. In the Valor
of 1535 (fn. 318) the value of the property was assessed
at £98.
Bishop Ralph of Shrewsbury visited Worspring
in August 1333, (fn. 319) but nothing is recorded as
the result of his visitation. The house seems
to have been uniformly well-kept. The only
trouble it seems to have got into was in 1419, (fn. 320)
when the prior and canons were summoned for
placing obstructions on a public path or
causeway called Worall. Richard Spryng,
prior from 1491 to 1525, concerning whom
a papal letter enlarging and describing his
powers is preserved in Bishop Fox's Register, (fn. 321)
was appointed on 11 July 1505 vicar of Berrow,
and licence was given to him to hold Berrow
and Worle with the priorship of Worspring.
On 21 August 1534 (fn. 322) the prior and seven
canons signed the acknowledgement of the
king's supremacy.
It would appear from a letter (fn. 323) written by
Richard Byschoppe, the sub-prior of Bruton,
to Lady Lisle, that there was some rumour that
Prior Tormynton would not sign the Act of
Supremacy, and would therefore be expelled
from Worspring.
A letter from Humphry Stafford about February 1536 shows that the house was regarded as
desirable for a private residence (fn. 324) :—
So if it pleasith it yor mrship . . . my naturall
ffather willed me to write to yor mrship and to none
othere for to be good mr unto me for a house of
chanons yn somersett their called worspryng where my
seyd ffather is ffounder therof and as I do subpose
of like value or thereaboutes. And if it wold please
yor mrship to be as god mr unto me as to helpe me
to worspryng Priorie I were and wylbe wylst I leve
yr bedman and alweys redy to yor mrship suche
poore service and pleasure as shalbe come me to doo
whillest I do leve god wylling who ever have yor
mrship yn his provysshion ffrom Bletherwere this
present palme Sonday.
Priors of Worspring
Reginald, died 1243 (fn. 325)
Richard, elected 1243 (fn. 326)
John, occurs 1266, 1276 (fn. 327)
Reginald, occurs 1317 (fn. 328)
Henry, occurs 1325 (fn. 329)
Thomas, occurs 1383, (fn. 330) died 1414
Peter Lobiare or Loviare, elected 1414 (fn. 331)
William Lusshe or Lustre, died 1458 (fn. 332)
John Gurman, elected 1458 (fn. 333)
Richard Spryng or Sprynt, elected 1491, (fn. 334)
resigned 1525 (fn. 335)
Peter Tormynton, elected 1525, (fn. 336) surrendered
1536 (fn. 337)
The early 13th-century seal of the Austin and
Victorine canons of Worspring (fn. 338) is a vesica,
about 17/8 in. by 11/8 in., having a conventional
representation of the house. Below is the
martyrdom of St. Thomas of Canterbury, one
of the patron saints, before an altar on which
stands a chalice. Of the broken legend there
remains:—
. . . GILL SANCTI THOME DE . . . PRING.