Calendar of episcopal documents: Nos. 195-233

Westminster Abbey Charters, 1066 - c.1214. Originally published by London Record Society, London, 1988.

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'Calendar of episcopal documents: Nos. 195-233', in Westminster Abbey Charters, 1066 - c.1214, (London, 1988) pp. 93-107. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/london-record-soc/vol25/pp93-107 [accessed 19 April 2024]

Nos. 195–233

195. Mandate of Abp. Theobald to Robert [de Chesney], bp. of Lincoln. The monks of Westminster have complained that A[lice] de Condet has violently withheld a rent pertaining to their clothing revenues; that John de Stuteville (Stutehilla) has seized their land of Uppingham (Rutl.), and Robert Foliot their manor of Sulby (Northants.). The abp. has written to these three as well as to Bp. Robert, whom he orders to bring severe ecclesiastical censure to bear on them. [Dec. 1148 × early 1150]

WAD, f. 649v.

Pd: Saltman, Theobald, 507–8, no. 277.

Date: Theobald not yet legate (cf. Fasti II, 4). Robert de Chesney elected bp. of Lincoln, 13 Dec. 1148; consecrated at Canterbury, 19 Dec. (Fasti III, 2). The barony of Chipping Warden was 'conceded' to Robert Foliot by Henry II, 1154 × 1163 (F. M. Stenton, The First Century of English Feudalism, 1066–1166 (2nd edn., 1961), p. 264, no. 8), but Robert perhaps held it earlier (cf. Sanders, 33).

Note: It was recorded in 1166 that the abbot held of Robert Foliot's barony of Chipping Warden one knight's fee of old enfeoffment (Liber Niger Scaccarii, 2313; RBE, 331). Foliot himself had difficulty in securing Sulby against Robert de Mowbray (Charters of the Honour of Mowbray, ed. D. E. Greenway (1972), no. 283). The abp.'s mandate prompted Foliot to issue a charter of confirmation (479). On the lands of Alice de Condet, see The Registrum Antiquissimum of the Cathedral Church of Lincoln, I, ed. C. W. Foster (Lincoln Rec. Soc., 1931), 282–90. On John de Stuteville, see Early Yorkshire Charters, IX, ed. C. T. Clay (Yorks. Archaeological Record Soc., Record Series, Extra Series VII), 23–27.

196. Notification by Abp. Theobald, papal legate, to his French and English men of Harrow, that he has confirmed to Edmund the physician, son of Osmar, the land which his father held in the abp.'s manor of Harrow (Mddx.) comprising 1½ hides, rendering 5s. annually. Witnesses. Lambeth [1150 × ante 28 Sept. 1152]

WAD, ff. 501v–502.

Pd: Saltman, Theobald, 345–6, no. 124.

Date: After Theobald appointed legate, early 1150 (Fasti II, 4). Attested by Richard de Belmeis [II], without a title, but presumably in his capacity as archdeacon of Middlesex (Fasti I, 15). He was elected bp. of London in the spring of 1152, and consecrated 28 Sept. (ibid., 2).

Note: This document was acquired by the abbey when Matilda [de Paris], daughter of Simon Fitz Osmar, granted the land to the abbey (460–61).

197. Confirmation by Abp. Theobald, papal legate, of King Stephen's quitclaims of geld on the manors of Westminster (6/12 hides), and Battersea (Surr.) (44 hides), the remaining 28 hides to geld, and of his quitclaim of a virgate of land belonging to the church of Hanwell (Mddx.), according to the king's charters, which the abp. has inspected. [c. 1151 × 1154]

BL Campbell Charter XVI.1. (original); WAD, ff. 56v–57, and 162 (replacing concluding anathema by valete).

Pd: Saltman, Theobald, 505–6, no. 275; G. F. Warner and H. G. Ellis, Facsimiles of Royal and other Charters in the British Museum (1903), no. 28, with facsimile on plate XVIII facing; Monasticon I, 309, no. LVI.

Cal: Browning and Kirk, 236.

Date: Limits: Theobald's appointment as legate (Fasti II, 4) and d. of Stephen, whose charters concerning Battersea and Hanwell may be dated 1151 × 1152.

Note: Stephen's grants are 118–21, all purportedly dating from 1150–52, but only 118 is genuine. Theobald's attestation appears on all of them. His charter of confirmation would strengthen Westminster's title, in view both of doubts raised by these texts, and of the political uncertainty in the latter part of the reign. Given the variation in the conclusion of the WAD texts, Chaplais argued that the abbey received two charters on this subject from the abp. (Chaplais, 'Original Charters', 97, n. 2). The abp.'s confirmation should be compared particularly with 121, which he evidently accepted as genuine.

198. Notification by Abp. Theobald, papal legate, of his judgement in the prolonged dispute between William of Ockendon and Abbot Gervase, concerning the church of Ockendon (Essex), which William relinquished to the abbey. Henceforth Gervase and his successors may appoint parsons to that church, saving the dignity of the diocesan bp. [1150 × c. 1157]

WAM LI; WAD, f. 506.

Pd: Saltman, Theobald, 507, no. 276; Flete, 88–9 (extracts).

Cal: S.R., S.53.

Date: Issued between Theobald's appointment as legate and the deposition of Gervase.

Note: Ockendon was a demesne manor in 1086, but farmed from Herbert's abbacy onwards (Harvey, WA, 343), although the abbey had presumably retained the advowson.

199. Mandate of Abp. Theobald, papal legate, to Geoffrey Bataille and Richard de Fracheville, following the complaint by Abbot Gervase and the convent of their violent trespass on the manor of Kelvedon (Essex), held by the abbey TRE. Theobald orders them to relinquish that land to Westminster within fifteen days, under pain of anathema. [1150 × c. 1157]

WAD, f. 650.

Pd: Saltman, Theobald, 508–9, no. 278; Gilbert Crispin, 47 (abridged).

Date: Between Theobald's appointment as legate, and the deposition of Gervase.

Note: Cf. Harvey, WA, 342. The intrusion was prob. facilitated by the political unrest in Stephen's reign.

200. Notification by Abp. Theobald, papal legate, of his grant of an indulgence of forty days, together with participation in the prayers and spiritual benefits of the church of Canterbury, to those who visit the abbey at Christmas, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, on the feast of the Holy Relics, and on all feasts of St Peter. [1150 × 1161]

WAD, f. 390v.

Pd: Saltman, Theobald, 509, no. 279.

Date: After Theobald was appointed legate. He d. 18 April 1161 (Fasti II, 4).

201. Notification by Richard [of Dover], abp. of Canterbury and papal legate, to his men of Harrow, both French and English, that he has confirmed to Simon s. of Osmar the land which his father held in the abp. 's manor of Harrow, comprising 1½ hides, as his father proved his title to it. Witnesses. [May 1177 × Sept. 1181]

WAD, f. 502.

Pd: EEA II, no. 69.

Date: Attested by William [of Northolt], archdeacon of Gloucester, who acquired that office 1177/8, presumably post 15 May 1177 (Fasti II, 107). The abp. 's legatine commission lapsed 30 Aug. 1181 (ibid., 4).

Note: Cf. Abp. Theobald's confirmation of this land to Osmar's son Edmund (196).

202. Notification by Richard [of Dover], abp. of Canterbury, to his French and English men of Harrow, that he has confirmed to Matilda, daughter of Simon s. of Osmar, her father's land which he held in the abp. 's manor of Harrow (Mddx.), comprising 1½ hides. Matilda and her heirs after her may hold this land freely, as the father of her father Simon proved his claim to it. Witnesses. [1182 × ante May 1183]

WAD, f. 502.

Pd: EEA II, no. 70.

Date: The attestation of Peter of Blois as archdeacon [of Bath] indicates a date no earlier than 1182 (EEA II, no. 70n.), while that of the abp.'s chaplain, Moses, is earlier than Jan. 1183, when he became prior of Coventry (Heads, 41).

203. Notification by R[ichard de Belmeis I], bp. of London, that he grants that the convent may hold the church of Sawbridgeworth (Herts.), with tithes and all other appurtenances, since H I gave it to them with his consent and advice, and as he, R[ichard] caused them to receive seisin by Roger the archdeacon. [post 25 Nov. 1120 × ante 16 Jan. 1127]

WAM 8588; F, f. 287.

Pd: Formulare, preface xix.

Date: H I's grant of the church of Sawbridgeworth, which formerly pertained to the honour of Otwel Fitz Count, d. 25 Nov. 1120 (Orderic VI, 304), is 86. The bp. d. 16 Jan. 1127 (Fasti I, 1), and was predeceased by Roger Fitz Robert, archdeacon of Mddx., whose successor was installed 1121 × Jan. 1127 (ibid., 15).

204. Notification by Richard [de Belmeis II], bp. of London, of his grant of an indulgence of forty days, and of all benefits and prayers of the [cathedral] church, to those who visit the tomb of Edward, king of the English and most glorious confessor, canonized by Pope Alexander [III], on the feasts of the Deposition (5 Jan.) and Translation (13 Oct.), and from their vigils throughout their quindenes. [post 7 Feb. 1161 × ante 4 May 1162]

WAD, f. 393.

Date: Outside limits, bulls of canonization (167–8) and the bp.'s d. (Fasti I, 2).

Note: Clearly issued in anticipation of the Translation which, after careful planning, was postponed because of the king's absence abroad (Barlow, Edward the Confessor, 281).

205. Notification by Gilbert [Foliot], bp. of London, that, following a dispute between himself and the abbot and convent, concerning jurisdiction over the cell of Kilburn (Mddx.), he confirms to the abbot and his successors jurisdiction over that cell in spiritualities, rendering it permanently exempt from the jurisdiction of the bp. of London. The abbot and convent are empowered to administer the cell personally, and through proctors. [1163 × 1187]

WAD, ff. 636v–637; F, f. 239r–v; T, f. 41v.

Pd: L. and C. Foliot, no. 463; Monasticon III, 426–7, no. 3.

Date: Morey and Brooke comment: 'The nature of the case and the formulas suggest an early date, and it is not impossible that this is an act of Gilbert the Universal (1128–34)' (L. and C. Gilbert Foliot, no. 463n.).

Note: In 1231, a renewed agreement was made between Bp. Roger Niger and Abbot Richard of Barking (Monasticon III, 428, no. IX).

206. Confirmation by G[ilbert Foliot], bp. of London, of the foundation by Ralph Brito of St Laurence's hospital in Bordwadestone (Boston House in Brentford, Mddx.), for thirteen sick people, with church and cemetery attached, and endowment of rents in various places, for the salvation of King Henry II and his children; of his patron, Richard de Lucy, and of himself, his wife and children. The consent has been obtained of William of Northolt, parson of St Mary's, Hanwell (Mddx.), within the boundaries of which parish lies Bordwadestone. The consent has also been obtained of Abbot Walter and the convent, and the rights of the parish church are defined. [1176 × 1177/8]

WAD, f. 131r–v.

Pd: L. and C. Foliot, no. 464.

Date: Richard de Lucy appears to be alive; he d. 1179 (Howden, Chronica, II, 190). William of Northolt became archdeacon of Gloucester 1177/8, prob. post May 1177 (Fasti II, 107). Of those who attest as canons of St Paul's, Richard of Stortford attained this dignity in 1176, and Gilbert Foliot II in 1175 × 1179 (Fasti I, 51, 66). The unnamed abbot of Stratford [Langthorne] who attests, is prob. Ernald, occurs c. 1176 × 1181 (Heads, 144).

Note: The abbot and convent held the advowson of Hanwell at this period (cf. 210). On the prob. identification of Bordwadestone, cf. PN Mddx., 32.

207. Notification by G[ilbert Foliot], bp. of London, of his verdict, as papal judge-delegate, in the dispute between Abbot Walter and R[anulph] the clerk of Feering, alleged to have become a monk of Missenden (Bucks.), unjustly detaining the church of Feering (Essex). Gilbert restored the church to the abbot, and at his request, bestowed it on the abbot's clerk, Mr Maurice. Witnesses. [c. 1176 × 1180]

WAM 1045; WAD, ff. 262v–263; F, f. 245r–v (no witnesses); WA Mun. Bk. 3, f. 28.

Pd: L. and C. Foliot, no. 465.

Date: Attestation of Mr Ralph de Alta Ripa, without a title (Fasti I, 19).

208. A second, more detailed notification of G[ilbert Foliot], bp. of London, of his verdict as papal judge-delegate in the dispute between Abbot Walter and Ranulph the clerk of Feering, over the church of Feering (Essex). Ranulph is identified as a brother of the late Pope Adrian IV. His son N. guaranteed his father's promise, and, lest he or his father should renege, pledged as surety the whole fee which he held of the abbot of St Albans. Witnesses. [c. 1176 × 1180]

WAM 1044; WAD, f. 262v; WA Mun. Bk. 3, ff. 27–28, omitting attestation of Robert de Bureswelle; also omitting Johanne. Clerico immediately follows Agillun.

Pd: L. and C. Foliot, no. 466; NPS Facsimiles, plate 986 (facsimile) and transcript (from WAM).

Date: Attestations identical to 207; prob. the result of cautious afterthought, on the same occasion.

209. Notification by Gilbert [Foliot], bp. of London, of his verdict as papal judge-delegate in the dispute between Abbot Walter and the convent, and Mr Alexander, vice-archdeacon of Stow and canon of Lincoln, and Henry and Haket the clerks, over the churches of Doddington and Thorpe-on-the-Hill (Lincs.). Alexander, Henry and Haket renounced their claim to these churches, to which Bp. Gilbert, on the presentation of the abbot and convent, instituted Mr Nicholas the clerk. Nicholas, with the assent of the abbot and convent, granted half of the churches to Alexander, and to Robert Code, and the other half to Haket the clerk, for life, to be held of him for annual pensions. If Alexander and Robert relinquished [their share in] the churches, this would accrue to Haket, and vice versa, saving to Nicholas the sum total of the pensions, but if Nicholas d., or entered a religious order, the pensions would become due to the abbot and convent, or their assign. [1175 × ante 18 Feb. 1187]

WAD, f. 501r–v.

Pd: L. and C. Foliot, no. 467.

Date: Terms of office of Bp. Gilbert and Abbot Walter. Mr Alexander was promoted to archdeacon c. 1187, but prob. post 29 March (Fasti III, 45, 110), i.e. after the d. of Gilbert Foliot.

Note: Alexander alone held a perpetual vicarage in both churches when these were confirmed to Mr Nicholas by Hugh of Avallon, bp. of Lincoln, c. 1190 × c. March 1195 (224).

210. Notification by Gilbert [Foliot], bp. of London, that on the presentation of Abbot Walter and the convent, he has instituted Henry of Bayeux as parson of Greenford and Hanwell (Mddx.). Witnesses [c. 1183 × c. 1186]

WAD, f. 131; F, ff. 245v–246 (no witnesses).

Pd: L. and C. Foliot, no. 468.

Date: Before the d. of Bp. Gilbert, since Mr Walter of Witney is not styled canon (Fasti I, 95–6). After appointment of Gilbert Foliot II as archdeacon of Mddx. (ibid., 16), and Robert Foliot as a canon (ibid., 86).

211. Confirmation by Gilbert [Foliot], bp. of London, to the convent, of the following churches, all with their appurtenant pensions: St Martin, Charing [i.e. St Martin in the Fields]; St Clement [Danes], near the Temple; St Dunstan [in the West]; St Brigid [Bride]; St Martin, Ludgate; St Alban [Wood Street]; St Agnes [within Aldersgate]; St Clement, Candlewick Street; St James in the Vintry [Garlickhithe]; St Laurence [Pountney] beside [London] Bridge; St Matthew [Friday Street], with the appurtenant land adjacent to it; St Margaret [New Fish Street], beside the Bridge; half of the church of St Magnus the Martyr [all the foregoing in or near London]; Ockendon, Kelvedon, Feering (Essex); Sawbridgeworth (Herts.), pertaining to the sacristy; Hendon (Mddx.); the chapel of Little Tey, with a pension; and the tithes of [White] Roding (Essex), pertaining to the precentor. Witnesses. [c. 1180 × ante 18 Feb. 1187]

WAD, f. 627; F, ff. 253v–254; T, f. 40r–v (attestations omitted from F and T, but both supply medietatem (omitted WAD) before the church of St Magnus the Martyr).

Pd: L. and C. Foliot, no. 462.

Date: Bp. Gilbert d. 18 Feb. 1187 (Fasti I, 2). Attestations, especially of Gilbert Banastre and Roger of Worcester, suggest no earlier than c. 1180 (ibid., 28, 43). Cf. L. & C. Foliot: 1163 × c. 1181; prob. early.

Note: The confirmation by Pope Adrian IV of the abbey's churches, dated 1 June 1157 (166) does not include those within the city of London, so that Bp. Gilbert Foliot's confirmation is the first document to provide a definitive list of these. See also Oxley, 'Medieval Church Dedications', 117–25. Bp. Richard [Fitz Nigel]'s confirmation of these churches is 212. At Michaelmas 1218, in a suit of darrein presentment, the advowson of Kelvedon was claimed by Baldwin Fillol, but awarded to the abbot, since the previous parson, Nigel of Kelvedon, had been presented by Abbot Laurence (WAM 1007).

212. Confirmation by Richard [Fitz Nigel], bp. of London, to the convent of Westminster, of their churches (unspecified) in his diocese, as contained in an authentic charter of his predecessor, Bp. Gilbert [Foliot]. Witnesses [31 Dec. 1189 × ante Dec. 1196]

WAD, f. 627.

Date: Bp. Richard was consecrated 31 Dec. 1189 (Fasti I, 2). Attested by Richard of Finchley, Alan the chaplain and John de Garland without their later title of canon (ibid., 60, 62, 66).

Note: Bp. Gilbert's charter, listing the churches, is 211.

213. Confirmation by Richard [Fitz Nigel], bp. of London, to the convent, of those churches previously confirmed by Bp. Gilbert [Foliot]. The churches and their pensions are identical with the list in Gilbert's confirmation. Witnesses. [31 Dec. 1189 × ante 30 Dec. 1196]

WAD, f. 627r–v.

Date: Outside limits as for Richard's generally-worded confirmation (212), but prob. issued shortly after that document, in order to obtain a detailed confirmation.

Note: The only marked amendment to Gilbert's list is a repetition of St Matthew's [Friday Street], after Ockendon, since the scribe had previously omitted to mention the appurtenant land and its rent.

214. Notification by Richard [Fitz Nigel], bp. of London, of his grant of the church of South Benfleet (Essex) to the convent, to augment the pittancer's office. The monks assigned to the chaplain of that church an annual vicarage, comprising the tithes due from four named individuals (as in 215); the offerings of the altar; and the lesser tithes, with the assent of Ivo [of Cornwall], archdeacon of Derby, parson of the church. The chaplain and his successors would answer for all obligations due from that church to the bp. or his officials. Witnesses. [c. (1190 ×) 1192]

WAD, f. 617v; F, f. 254v; T, f. 40v (sealing clause and attestations omitted in both the latter); WA Mun. Bk. 3, f. 23 (only the first five witnesses).

Pd: Monasticon I, 309, no. LIX, from F.

Date: Ivo was archdeacon of Derby in 1191, and prob. 1190–1192 (Councils & Synods I, pt. ii, 1006, n. 1); on his surname, cf. 215. Attestation of Peter de Waltham as archdeacon of London: appointed 1190 × 1192; in office in March 1194 × 1195 (Fasti I, 9–10); and of William of Ely, Roger the chaplain and John Witing without titles, whereas the first two became canons c. 1192 and Witing c. 1190 × 1192 (ibid., 35, 68, 75).

215. Notification by Richard [Fitz Nigel], bp. of London, to all throughout his bishopric, that, on the presentation of the convent of Westminster, and with the assent of Ivo of Cornwall, parson of the church of South Benfleet (Essex), he has admitted John of Thrapston, chaplain, to the perpetual vicarage of that church. John would receive the lesser tithes and the offerings of the altar, with the tithes due from four named persons (as in 214), and would answer for all obligations due from that church to the bp. Witnesses. [Jan. 1190 × 1192]

WAD, f. 603v.

Date: Attestation of Peter of Waltham as archdeacon of London, and of William of Ely and Richard of Windsor without their later title of canon (Fasti I, 9–10, 35, 68). Evidently issued shortly after 214.

216. Confirmation by Richard [Fitz Nigel], bp. of London, to the convent of Westminster, on account of the poverty of their sacristy, of a pension of £2 annually, payable from the church of Staines (Mddx.) by William of Stortford, clerk, to provide for the improved lighting of the abbey church. Witnesses. [1192 × ante 30 Dec. 1196]

WAM 16738; WAD, f. 374.

Date: Attestations of Alard of Burnham and William of Ely as canons, and Alan as chaplain, but all without the further titles they acquired by 30 Dec. 1196 (Fasti I, 10, 32, 35, 62). In 1177, Pope Alexander III had prohibited the alienation of the church of Staines (176).

217. Notification by Richard [Fitz Nigel], bp. of London, that, at the petition of Abbot William Postard and the convent, he has established a pension of two marks (£1. 6s. 8d.), payable annually by the rector of the church of Sunbury (Mddx.) to the abbey chamber. Witnesses. [21 April × 30 Dec. 1196]

WAD, f. 504v; F, ff. 287v–288 (no attestations).

Date: Attested by Alard [of Burnham], archdeacon of London, appointed 21 April × 30 Dec. 1196 (Fasti I, 10); by Alan the chaplain, who subsequently became a canon within that period (ibid., 62), and by Gilbert [Foliot II], archdeacon of Mddx., last occurs in those months (ibid., 16).

218. Notification by Richard [Fitz Nigel], bp. of London, that, on the presentation of Abbot William [Postard] and the convent, who hold the church of St Martin, Ludgate (London), he has instituted to this church Joseph the chaplain, who will render to the monks the pension formerly due from it. Witnesses. [22 April × 30 Dec. 1196]

WAD, f. 474; F, ff. 288r–v (no attestations).

Date: Attestations of Alard [of Burnham] as archdeacon of London, and Alan and Richard [of Finchley], the chaplains, without the style of canon (Fasti I, 10, 60, 62).

Note: St Martin's, Ludgate, had been confirmed to the convent by Bp. Gilbert [Foliot] (211).

219. Grant by Richard [Fitz Nigel], bp. of London, to his kinsman, William of Ely, the king's treasurer, of the houses which he had in Westminster, and the whole messuage, with buildings and tenements, in fee and inheritance, saving an annual payment to the abbey of a candle of 2 lbs weight at the feast of the Translation (13 Oct.). Witnesses. [post 20 April × 2 Sept. 1196]

WAD, ff. 341v–342; F, f. 248r–v (attestations omitted after those of the two archdeacons).

Pd: Richardson, 'William of Ely', 79–80, no. I, from both.

Cal: S. H. Philipot, The Catalogue of the Lord Treasurers of England (London, 1636), 5, from the original.

Date: Factum est autem hoc anno pontificatus nostri septimo. The dating clause of the original, as translated by Philipot, read: 'Anno 1196, being the seventh yeere of the raigne of Richard I, and the said number of yeeres of the government of the said Richard in the Bishoppricke of London' (quoted by F. M. Stenton, 'Acta Episcoporum,' Cambridge Historical Journal III (1929). 6n.–7n.). The king's regnal year concluded on 2 Sept. 1196. Attestations of Alard of Burnham as archdeacon of London, and of Alan the chaplain and Benedict of Sawston as canons, all date from post 20 April 1196 (Fasti I, 10, 62, 64).

Note: Cf. 147, 313, and 439.

220. Notification by William (de Ste Mère Eglise], bp. of London, that, at the presentation of the abbot and convent of Westminster, patrons of half the church of St Magnus [the Martyr] next to London Bridge, and at the presentation of the prior and convent of Bermondsey, patrons of the other half, he has instituted to that church Mr Simon de Valenciis, clerk, reserving to the abbot of Westminster and the prior of Bermondsey, and their convents, the pensions (unspecified) which they formerly received from that church. Simon will answer for all obligations due to the bp. or archdeacon. Witnesses. London, 14 April 1208.

WAD. f. 478r–v.

Note: Cf. the final concord of 23 April 1182, between Abbot Walter and the convent and Prior Bertram and the convent of Bermondsey (287) and a joint presentation made 1186 × 1189 by Abbot Walter and Prior Henry de Soilly and their respective convents (368).

221. Notification by R[obert de Chesney], bp. of Lincoln, of his grant of an indulgence of twenty days, and of participation in all spiritual benefits and prayers of the church of Lincoln, to all those who, on the feasts of the Deposition (5 Jan.) and Translation (13 Oct.), from their vigils and throughout their quindenes, visit the tomb of Edward, king of the English and most glorious confessor, canonized by Pope Alexander III. [post 7 Feb. 1161 × Dec. 1166; ? c. 13 Oct. 1163]

WAD. f. 393.

Pd: EEA IV, Appendix I, no. XIX.

Date: Robert de Chesney d. 25 × 27 Dec. 1166 (Fasti III, 2). Later than receipt of Pope Alexander's bulls concerning the canonization (167–8). The bp. attended the Translation (Richard of Cirencester, Speculum Historiale de Gestis Regum Angliae, ed. J. E. B. Mayor (RS, 1869), II. 326), when he possibly granted his indulgence, although a similar indulgence of Bp. Richard [de Belmeis II] of London, must antedate 4 May 1162 (204).

222. Notification by Robert [de Chesney], bp. of Lincoln, to Nicholas [de Sigillo], archdeacon of Huntingdon, and to all the clergy and laity of Huntingdon and Herts., that, at the request of his friends Abbot Laurence and Richard [of Ilchester], archdeacon of Poitiers, he has confirmed to Elias the clerk the perpetual vicarage of the church of Datchworth, as set out in the charter of the abbot and convent. An annual payment of two besants [4s.] is due to Archdeacon Richard, and after his d., to the abbey. Witnesses. [c. 1164 × Dec. 1166]

WAD, f. 227.

Pd: EEA IV, Appendix I, no. XX.

Date: Robert de Chesney d. c. 25 × 27 Dec. 1166 (Fasti III, 2); Nicholas de Sigillo first occurs as archdeacon 1164 × 1166, prob. 1164 or early 1165 (ibid., 27).

Note: Richard of Ilchester had been appointed archdeacon of Poitiers by 1163 at latest (Diceto I, 312). Abbot Laurence's charter concerning Datchworth is now lost. Elias, dilectus filius noster, was prob. a member of the bp.'s familia: Elias son of Rannulf the clerk, Elias of Glemsford, and Elias de Ringesdon each attest one charter of the bp., of uncertain date (EEA I: Lincoln 1067–1185, ed. D. M. Smith (1980), nos. 119, 176, 188).

223. Notification by Hugh [of Avallon], bp. of Lincoln, that he has instituted his clerk, Mr Edmund, as parson of Deene (Northants.), at the presentation of the abbot and convent of Westminster, saving the perpetual vicarage held for life by Simon the clerk, all episcopal customs, and the dignity of the church of Lincoln. Witnesses. [21 Sept. 1186 × c. 1187]

WAM 16144; WAD, f. 242.

Pd: EEA IV, no. 209.

Date: The attestations of the magistri all appear without further title, whereas Mr Alexander was appointed archdeacon of Stow, prob. in the latter part of 1187 (Fasti III, 45) and Mr Robert of Bedford was precentor 1188 and at some date post 21 Sept. 1186 (ibid., 13, 116). Bp. Hugh was consecrated at Westminster 21 Sept. 1186 (ibid., 3).

Note: Mr Edmund is not otherwise recorded as a clerk of the bp. Deene was a demesne manor of the abbey TRE (Harvey, WA, 355). Simon the clerk is perhaps to be identified with the Simon of Deene who, at Michaelmas 1210, quitclaimed the advowson of Uppingham church to Abbot Ralph (338).

224. Confirmation by Hugh [of Avallon], bp. of Lincoln, to Mr Nicholas of Westminster, of the churches of Thorpe-on-the-Hill and Doddington (Lincs.), as he possesses them by grant of the abbot and convent of Westminster, for an annual pension of two besants [4s.], saving the perpetual vicarage held by Mr Alexander, archdeacon of Stow, who holds those churches for life, rendering a pension of £5 annually to Mr Nicholas, and saving the episcopal customs and the dignity of the church of Lincoln. Witnesses. [c. 1192 × c. March 1195]

WAD, f. 501 v; F, f. 289r–v (attestations omitted).

Pd: EEA IV, no. 210.

Date: Attestation of Mr Roger de Rolleston as archdeacon of Leicester (EEA IV, nos. 11n and 188n).

Note: Since the institution of Mr Nicholas to these churches by the papal judge-delegate, Gilbert Foliot, Alexander had acquired the reversion of the subsidiary interests in them which had then been granted to Robert Code and Haket the clerk (cf. 209).

225. Notification by Hugh [of Avallon], bp. of Lincoln; John [de Cella], abbot of St Albans, and Benedict, abbot of Stratford [Langthorne], papal judges-delegate, concerning the settlement of a dispute between Abbot William [Postard] and the monks of Westminster, and the nuns of Godstow, concerning the church of Bloxham [Oxon.]. The abbot and convent, pitying the poverty of the nuns, granted them the church in pure alms, except for a pension of five marks of silver [£3. 6s. 8d.], formerly due, which the nuns would render to the sacrist of Westminster, to illuminate the High Altar. Abbess Juliana and the nuns promised by the mouth and hand of their chaplain, Waleran, to pay the pension. This agreement was mediated, on behalf of Hubert [Walter], abp. and papal legate, by Hugh, abbot of Abingdon. Witnesses. 14 June 1197.

WAD, ff. 378v–379; Godstow Cartulary, PRO, E 164/20, f. xiij r–v.

Pd: Jane Sayers, Papal Judges–Delegate in the Province of Canterbury 1198–1254: a study in Ecclesiastical Administration (1971), App. B, 354–5, no. 5; EEA IV, no. 211.

Cal: Detailed transl., in Middle English: The English Register of Godstow Nunnery near Oxford, ed. A. Clark, 3 vols., EETS 129, 130, 142 (1906–1911), III, 229–30, no. 309; tabulated Sayers, Papal JudgesDelegate, 295, no. 117.

Note: King Henry II granted Bloxham church to Godstow 1173 × 1189. Roger de Clifford was to hold it for life, rendering one besant [2s.] annually, with reversion entirely to the nuns (Godstow Cartulary, f. xiij). Roger was prob. a kinsman of Henry's mistress, Rosamund Clifford, who d. c. 1176 and was buried at Godstow (Monasticon IV 366, nos. XIII, XV; DNB iv, 531–3). H II is said to have enriched the nunnery in consequence (Gesta Henrici II, 231–2; Howden, Chronica, III, 167–8). The king's grant of the church was confirmed by Walter of Godstow, archdeacon of Oxford (Godstow Cartulary, f. xiij) by Bp. Hugh of Lincoln (ibid., f. v verso); by Pope Celestine III in 1191 (ibid., f. clxxix verso); and included in a general confirmation by King Richard I (Monasticon IV, 364–5, no. VII). Bp. Hugh ordained the establishment of a perpetual vicarage there on 12 Dec. 1197 (Godstow Cartulary, ff. v verso–vj). See also The English Register of Godstow, 228–9, no. 308.

226. Confirmation by Hugh [of Avallon], bp. of Lincoln, to the abbot and convent, of the churches of Oakham and Hambleton (Rutl.), donated by W I, so that the monks receive annually from the incumbent a pension of thirty marks (£20), for the maintenance of a hospital, saving the customs and dignity of the church of Lincoln. Witnesses. [1197 × c. 1198]

WAD, f. 594; F, ff. 267v–268.

Pd: EEA IV, no. 212.

Date: Attested by Roger [de Rolleston] as dean of Lincoln: in office from 1195 × 1198 (Fasti III, 9–10); and by Richard [of Kent] as subdean: appointed to this office in 1197, and promoted to the archdeaconry of Northampton ante 19 Sept. 1200 (ibid., 22, 31). See also Fasti III, p. 167, Appendix 44.

Note: Cf. Abbot William's charter granting a pension from these churches to celebrate his anniversary (321); the subsequent charter of Abbot Ralph concerning them (336); charters of W I and W II concerning churches in Rutland (46, 55–6); two charters of James Salvage, 1204 × 1205, concerning pensions from these churches (482–3); Harvey, WA, 49–50, 389–90, 404. The Registrum Antiquis simum of the Cathedral Church of Lincoln, ed. C. W. Foster, Lincoln Record Soc., II (1933), 75–79, nos. 373–4; III (1935), nos. 1008–9.

227. Notification by Hugh [of Wells], bp. of Lincoln, that he has instituted Mr Simon of London to the church of Launton [Oxon.], on the presentation of the patrons, Abbot Ralph and the convent, reserving to Henry de Colwell, who holds that church, the perpetual vicarage, which he has, rendering an annual pension of two marks [£1. 6s. 8d.], saving the episcopal customs and the dignity of the church of Lincoln. Witnesses. London, 5 Oct. 1213.

WAM 15683; WAD, f. 275v.

Note: Launton was a demesne manor of the abbey TRE (Harvey, WA, 356). On 14 Oct. 1214, papal judges–delegate resolved a dispute between this rector and vicar, whereby Simon swore to leave Henry in peaceful possession of the vicarage in return for certain payments (WAM 15684; WAD, f. 276r–v; Cheney, Selected Letters of Pope Innocent III, 264, no. 901; C. R. and M. G. Cheney, Calendar of Letters of Pope Innocent III, 149, no. 901; tabulated Sayers, Papal Judges Delegate, 291, no. 76; 297, no. 5). Henry de Colwell still held the perpetual vicarage when Mr Robert s. of Robert, nephew of N[icholas de Romanis], bp. of Tusculum, was presented to Launton by the abbot and convent (Rot. Hugh de Welles I, 70).

228. Writ of Hilary, bp. of Chichester, ordering William s. of Gervase and Mr Serlo that they are not to exact any secular service from the virgate of land given by William s. of Odo to the church of St Peter's, Parham (Sussex), and to the bp.'s clerk, Alberic. [1147 × 1169]

WAM 4058; WAD, f. 582v.

Pd: The Acta of the Bishops of Chichester 1075–1207, ed. H. MayrHarting, C & Y Soc. (1964), 114–15, no. 55.

Date: Outside limits: the bp.'s term of office: consecrated 3 Aug. 1147 (Gervase of Canterbury I, 132); d. 1169 ('Tewkesbury Annals', Ann. Mon. I, 50; 'Winchester Annals', Ann. Mon. II, 59). Mr Serlo was a clerk of Queen Alice who, with her second husband, William d'Aubigny, earl of Arundel, promised restitution of their exactions from churches in the diocese of Chichester (The Chartulary of the High Church of Chichester, ed. W. D. Peckham, Sussex Record Soc. XLVI (1961), no. 297; cf. PUE II, no. 57, dated 1148).

229. Notification by Hugh [du Puiset], bp. of Durham, of his grant to all those visiting the abbey on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, and the feast of St Peter in Chains, of an indulgence of ten days, together with participation in all spiritual benefits and prayers of the church of Durham. [20 Dec. 1153 × 3 March 1195 (? × 1157)]

WAD, f. 390.

Date: Outside limits, the bp.'s term of office (Fasti II, 30), but prob. before the canonization of King Edward, and also before the deposition of Hugh's cousin, Abbot Gervase (Hugh was a nephew of King Stephen: Fasti II, 30). Cf. 145, 304.

230. Notification by Henry [Marshall], bp. of Exeter, that, with the consent of the abbot and convent of Westminster, he has built a chapel, for the use of the church of Exeter, and for his successors, on the abbey's estate, in Longditch Street (Westminster), on land he bought from Geoffrey Picot. In this chapel, the divine office may be celebrated, although the chapel is not to function to the prejudice of the mother church of Westminster, nor to that of the chapel of St Margaret, in which parish the land is situated. [March 1194 × ante 10 Sept. 1198]

WAM 17312; WAD, f. 352v.

Date: Attested by Richard Fitz Nigel, bp. of London, d. 10 Sept. 1198 (Fasti I, 2). Henry Marshall was consecrated between 10 Feb. and 28 March 1194 (HBC, 246); profession of obedience ante 28 March 1194 (Canterbury Professions, ed. M. Richter, C & Y Soc. LXVII (1973), 57). Later than the confirmation of the land to the Lady Altar by William s. of William, whose tenant Geoffrey Picot was (445).

231. Notification by Richard [of Ilchester], bp. of Winchester, to all the faithful of his diocese, that, in honour of St Katharine he has granted to St Peter of Westminster and the convent the churches of Wandsworth and Battersea (Surr.) with all appurtenances, so that their tithes and offerings may support the monks of the Infirmary, adjacent to St Katharine's chapel. A vicarage is to be established, with perpetual vicars who, on the presentation of the abbot and convent, will be instituted by the bp. of Winchester, and answer for all obligations due to him. Witnesses. [post. 7 Nov. 1176 × 1188]

WAD, ff. 570v–571; WAD, f. 571 (confirmation, reciting in full); WAM 1816 (notarial copy, dated 28 Feb. 1306), which is torn and badly damaged by fungus, all attestations lost; WA Mun. Bk. 3, f. 20 (attestations defective); WA Mun. Bk. 12, f. 3v (memorandum).

Cal: Taylor, Our Lady of Batersey, 22.

Date: Bp. Richard d. 21/22 Dec. 1188 (Fasti II, 85); attestation of Peter [de Leia], bp. of St Davids (Gams, 186).

Note: See 18, 166, 169, 177, 232. See also Harvey, WA, 411–12.

232. Notification by Godfrey [de Lucy], bp. of Winchester, to all the faithful throughout his diocese that, having inspected the charter of his predecessor, Bp. Richard [of Ilchester], concerning the concession and grant of the churches of Wandsworth and Battersea (Surr.) to the church of St Peter of Westminster and the convent, he has confirmed it. At the presentation of the abbot and convent, perpetual vicars may be instituted by the bp. of Winchester, answering for all obligations due to the bp., and to the monks for an annual pension of six marks [£4] from the church of Wandsworth, and two marks [£1. 6s. 8d.] from the church of Battersea, provided that these vicars answer for all episcopal burdens, and conduct themselves honestly, and that the episcopal rights, and the authority and dignity of the church of Winchester, are upheld. Witnesses. Southwark, 6 July 1193.

WAD, f. 580; WA Mun. Bk. 3, f. 21; WA Mun. Bk. 12, f. 3v (memorandum).

Cal: Taylor, Our Lady of Batersey, 22.

233. Notification by Mauger, bp. of Worcester, that he has instituted Mr Simon as parson of the church of Todenham (Gloucs.), at the presentation of Abbot Ralph [Arundel] and the convent, saving parochial and episcopal dues. Witnesses. [30 Nov. 1200 × late March 1208]

WAD, f. 324r–v; CAY, f. lxxii (memorandum).

Cal: Bentley, 37, no. 259 (item 3), from CAY.

Date: Bp. Mauger, 1200–1212 (Fasti II, 100), was one of the bps. ordered by Pope Innocent III to publish the Interdict (Selected Letters of Pope Innocent III, 102–3, no. 34). Consequently he fled into exile from the end of March 1208, and never returned, dying at Pontigny in 1212 (F. M. Powicke, Stephen Langton (1928), 76).

Note: The manor of Todenham had been acquired with Deerhurst, TRE, and was prob. always held in demesne (Harvey, WA, 345).