RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



priory precincts. The visitation was adjourned 

 until Michaelmas. 1 



The suffragan Bishop of Chalcedon and other 

 commissaries visited in August, 1520. Richard 

 Bettys, the prior, expressed himself as in every 

 way satisfied ; but the eight monks all gave 

 utterance to their suspicions of the prior's 

 dealings with one Margery Verre or Veer. It 

 was also complained that the prior had presented 

 no accounts since the first year of his appoint- 

 ment, and that he had sold certain silver bowls. 

 The commissaries were evidently not satisfied, 

 for the visitation was adjourned until Christmas. 2 



The visitation of July, 1526, by Bishop 

 Nykke in person, when John Eia was prior, was 

 quite satisfactory. The nine monks, as well as 

 the prior, were severally examined by the bishop ; 

 none of them knew of anything needing reform, 

 save the negligent keeping of the common seal, 

 which was mentioned by the subchanter. The 

 bishop ordered a chest to be prepared with three 

 locks and keys, and dissolved the visitation. 3 



The last recorded visitation was also personally 

 conducted by Bishop Nykke in July, 1532. 

 William Hadley, the prior, presented his accounts 

 showing a balance in hand of 495. 5§d. It 

 appeared that the common seal was still kept in 

 a coffer with only one key. Complaint was 

 made that they had two ordinals, one old and 

 one new, and that there were erasures in both 

 leading to confusion and dispute. Eight monks 

 were examined in addition to the prior. A page 

 is left in the register for Reformanda, but it has 

 never been filled up. 4 



The acknowledgement of the king's supremacy 

 was signed in the chapter-house by William the 

 prior, William Norwich the sub-prior, and six 

 others, on 20 October, 1 534.' 



The Suffolk commissioners visited this priory 

 on 26 August, 1536, and drew up a complete 

 inventory of goods and chattels. The furniture 

 of the high altar and quire was of trifling value, 

 the only item of moment being ' one payer of 

 old organs ner to the Qwyer Iytell worth, at xs.' 

 There were small ' tables ' of alabaster both in 

 the lady chapel and the chapel of St. Nicholas. 

 In the vestry was silver to the value of 

 ^13 4*. 6d., including three chalices and a pair 

 of censers. In addition to a variety of vest- 

 ments were ' iii Iytell boxes of sylver with 

 relyques, vj.' ' an arme of tymber garnysshed 

 with sylver called Saint Blasis arme, at vij. viiid.,' 

 and 'a Iytell piece of timber with a piece of a 

 rybbe in it, at xd.' 'An old masse boke called 

 the redde boke of Eye garnysshed with a Iytell 

 sylver on the one side, the residewe Iytell worth, 

 xxd.,' refers to the book of St. Felix from the 

 destroyed cell of Dunwich ; the 20d. would be 



1 Jessopp, Visit. 140-2. 



'Ibid. 183-5. 



3 Ibid. 221-3. 



4 Rymer, Foedera, xiv, 515. 



* Ibid. 294-6. 



the value of a silver boss or corner, the residue 

 in reality was simply priceless. 6 



The contents of the 'Queen's chamber' were 

 valued at "]s. id., the 'paynted chamber' 5/., 

 the 'inner chamber' 3;. 4^., and the ' grene 

 chamber' I Of. \Q>d. In the pantry were some 

 silver spoons, a goblet, a salt, and four masers 

 with silver bands. The simple contents of the 

 kitchen, bakehouse, brewery and parlour are also 

 set forth, as well as cattle worth £6 19*. 8d., 

 and ^10 as the value of the ' Corne growynge 

 opon the demaynes.' The total came to 

 £45 lys. iod. 7 



The formal suppression of the house took 

 place on 12 February, 1 536—7,® and on 7 April, 

 1537, the slte °f tne priory and the whole of 

 its possessions were granted to Charles duke of 

 Suffolk. 9 



A pension of £18 was granted to William 

 Parker, the prior. 10 



Priors of Eye 



Hubert, temp. William the Conqueror and 



Henry I u 

 Gauselins, temp. Henry I ls 

 Osbert, temp. Henry II 13 

 Roger, died 2 id. April 14 

 Godwinus, died 5 id. April 

 Silvester Bolton, died 16 kal. Mart 

 William de Sancto Petro, died 2 id. December 

 John Belyng, died 13 kal. January 

 Wakelin, temp. John 15 

 Roger, occurs 1202, 1215, 1228, 1232, 



1235 1S 

 Richard Jacob, occurs 1237 17 

 William Puleyn, occurs 1242, 1244, 1255, 



1276, 1282 18 

 Nicholas Ivelyn, appointed 1300 19 

 Durand Frowe, appointed 1313 20 

 Robert Morpayn, appointed 1323 s1 

 Michael Renard, died 1380 w 



6 See account of Dunwich Priory. 

 ' Suff. Arch. Inst. Proc. viii, 105-8. 

 8 L. and P. Hen. Fill, xii (1), 510. 



' Ibid. 1 103 (11). ,0 Ibid, xiii (1), 1520. 



11 Chartul. Danoun, 49, 675. 



" Ibid. 67b ; Malet, 22. 



13 Chartul. Malet, lib ; Danoun, 6jb. 



" These next five priors occur in a list in the 

 Danoun chartulary, with the days of their obits, but no 

 year. Reg. Eye, fol. 23. This is a register of Eye in 

 the possession of the Marquis of Cornwallis. Of 

 this register Mr. Davy made an abstract in 1814 

 (Add. MS. 19089, pp. 196-344) ; Chartul. 

 Danoun, fol. 66b. 



15 Reg. Eye, fols. 39, 70. " Ibid. fols. 50, 51. 



" Chartul. Danoun, 66b. 



"Ibid. fols. 30, 47, 55 ; Chartul. Malet, 50^: 

 Danoun, 67. 



19 Norwich Epis. Reg. i, 16. 



*> Pat. 7 Edw. II, pt. i, m. 8. 



" Norwich Epis. Reg. i, 102 ; Pat. 17 Edw. II, 

 pt. ii, ra. 27. 



Norw. Epis. Reg. vi, 71. 



75 



