By the Rev. W. G. Clark-Maawell, FSA. 363 
































personal character than most of the documents which we have 
been considering :— 
‘To the honourable Father in God, Simon Bishop of Salisbury, his knight 
John Bluet sends greeting: 
“Dear Sir, since Sir Robert de Dorinton, parson of the Church of Lacok 
in your diocese, which you have appropriated to the Abbess and Convent of 
Lacok, is willing in the name of charity and in aid of them, to submit himself 
and his church with all rights and appurtenances, to your decision, and to 
agree by his letter, that you shall appoint to the Abbess and Convent a pension 
from his church, so that by the payment and receipt of this pension they may 
have possession of the church: I humbly pray that it would please you, to 
appoint to the Abbess and Convent, a pension according to the form of the 
submission of the aforesaid parson, so dear sir, that they can have possession 
of the church, and enforce their right, in right of the appropriation; And I 
also who formerly had the advowson of the same church, with the Abbess 
and Convent, agree and bind myself and my heirs and assigns, to hold and 
have as firm and lasting whatever it shall please you toappoint anddo. And 
in witness [&c.] Given at Lacok the Sunday before the feast of St. 
Augustine! the seventh year of Edward son of King Edward.” 
This letter is dated at the end of August, 1313, and John de 
Dorinton’s letter on the 17th June preceding; but no decision 
seems to have been come to in the matter till June 7th, 1315. The 
_ reason of this may be the ill-health of the Bishop, who died in this 
year, and the instrument issued in the name of Richard of Battle, 
one of the Canons, acting in the vacancy of the see as “ official” by 
the appointment of Walter (Reynolds) Archbishop of Canterbury." 
The document after citing the original appropriation of 1312, goes 
on to fix half-a-mark as to be paid annually to the Abbess and 
Convent during the Rector’s lifetime, as an acknowledgment that 
he held the Church of them. 
The Abbey being now fully recognised as possessed of the 
Rectory, had to carry out their part of the bargain with regard 
to the building of the Lady Chapel in the Abbey. It had been 
begun at least as early as 1312; as on the Wednesday before 

1 This was probably the feast of S. Austin of Hippo, on August 28th, not 
that of the Archbishop of Canterbury, on May 26th, which would throw the 
date into 1314. 
- 2 Appendix No. X. For an account of how episcopal jurisdiction came 
to be vested in the Chapter of Salisbury during the vacancy of the see, vide 
Diocesan History of Salisbury (S.P.C.K.), p. 112. 
2B 2 
