MYNCIIIN BUCKLäND PKIORY. 25 



and baptised at Durston, 29th of November, 6 Edward 

 III., 1332, who afterwards attended the Black Prince to 

 Spain ; another son Eichard ; and three daughters, Katha- 

 rine Prioress of ßuckland, Elizabeth wife of Sir John 

 StafFord, and Alice wife of Sir Nicholas Poines.* Here 

 we have an instance, by no means uncommon, of a noble 

 daughter of the house of a founder governing the Com- 

 munity which owed its origin to the piety of an ancestor 

 long gone to bis reward. 



For the year subsequent to this date we possess an 

 invaluable series of returns, which furnish us with a most 

 lively picture of the System of the Hospital in füll Operation 

 and activity. It will be remembered that, in the sketch 

 which I gave of the Order, I showed that all the provincial 

 Heads and Preceptors were simply delegates of the Prior of 

 England, and had to account to him for the surplus of their 

 receipts over their expenditure. The Hospital in England 

 was only a portion of that widely-spread Institution which 

 had possessions in at least two-thirds of the then known 

 World. An annual return was accordingly made from each 

 of the Preceptories or Commandries by the Preceptor or 

 receiver to the Prior of England, and by him to the head- 

 quarters of the Order, wherever those might happen to be. 

 Happily for us, we possess one of these interesting balance- 

 sheets, that for the year 1338, which was fortunately 

 discovered at Malta, and published three years ago by the 

 Ca'mden Society, with an admirable preface by my lamented 

 friend, Mr. John Mitchell Kemble. This truly valuable 

 contribution to historical and archgeological science would, 

 in my humble opinion, be perfect, but for the grave mistake, 

 for which my friend was not responsible, of printing the 



* Inq. p. ni. 2S Edw. III., n. 71. 

 VOL. X., 1860, PAKT ir. 1> 



