ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 



houses at Dunwich, Ipswich, and Sudbury ; the Franciscans at Bury (removed 

 to Babwell), Dunwich, and Ipswich ; the Austins at Orford and Little 

 Yarmouth ; and the Carmelites at Ipswich. 



After a long period of gloom, the diocese at last obtained, through the 

 free election of the monks of Norwich, in Walter Calthorpe (1245—57) a 

 bishop of a very different type. ' A man of unblemished character, a 

 graduate of the University of Paris, a scion of an old Norfolk house whose 

 ancestors had enjoyed large possessions in East Anglia, and a friend of Bishop 

 Grosseteste and of the Franciscans.' ' His episcopate is memorable for the 

 valuation of all the benefices of the diocese, which was drawn up for the 

 assessment of the tenths due from the clergy. It was compiled in 1256, and 

 is known as the Norwich Taxation. At the beginning of the Liber Albus of 

 the monks of St. Edmund is a tabulated copy of Bishop Calthorpe's taxation 

 of his whole diocese, beautifully written and rubricated on thirty-four folios. 2 

 The distinguishing feature between the portions relative to Norfolk and 

 Suffolk is that the latter has an extra column on the left hand of the 

 page, wherein another valuation headed ' Snaylwell ' is also set forth in a 

 later hand. 



The archdeaconry of Sudbury with its eight deaneries is the first to 

 be entered. In the deanery of Stow were thirteen parishes ; four of these 

 had duly endowed vicarages, Stow St. Peter, Stow St. Mary, Haughley with 

 the chapel of Shelland, and Newton. In the deanery of Thedwastre were 

 twenty-five parishes ; only one vicarage, that of Woolpit, is named. The 

 deanery of Blackburne contained thirty-five parishes, without any mention of 

 a vicarage. The deanery of Hartismere had thirty-two parishes, and again, 

 though there are many ' portions ' assigned to religious houses, there is no 

 vicarage. In Fordham deanery (a portion of which was in Cambridgeshire) 

 there were twenty-eight parishes ; seven of these had vicars, namely, Ditton, 

 Ixning, Mildenhall, Soham, Fordham, Chippenham, and Kirtling, but only the 

 first three are in Suffolk. In Thingoe deanery were nineteen parishes and no 

 vicarage. Sudbury deanery included forty-nine parishes ; out of this large 

 number there were nine vicarages, namely, Preston, Stoke, Wissington, 

 Cornard Magna, Edwardstone, Waldingfield Parva, Glemsford, Eleigh 

 ■Combusta, and Bures. Clare deanery contained twenty-nine parishes, four of 

 which, Gazely, Clare, Redington, and Poslingford, had vicarages. 



The archdeaconry of Suffolk was divided into thirteen deaneries. The 

 deanery of Bosmere had twenty-five parishes, the deanery of Claydon fourteen, 

 Hoxne twenty-four, Lothingland twenty-five, Wilford seventeen, Orford 

 twenty-one, Loes seventeen, Samford twenty-seven, Ipswich twelve, Wang- 

 ford twenty-two, Dunwich forty-eight, Carlford eighteen, and Colneys thir- 

 teen. There is not a single case of a vicarage mentioned in the Suffolk 

 archdeaconry ; but as there is only one instance of a ' portion ' entered, when 

 it is well known that there were many portions or pensions to religious 

 houses, it is clear that this record (or copy of a record), compiled on less 

 definite principles than that of Sudbury, cannot be relied upon to prove the 

 absence of any vicarages in these thirteen deaneries. 



The total number of parishes in the two archdeaconries in the 1256 

 taxation roll is 488 ; but from these thirteen have to be deducted, which 



1 Norwich Dioc. Hist. 90. * Harl. MS. 1005, fol. 1-34. 



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