RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



suggested by the name of the prioress. On the 

 one, circa 1200, appears the Blessed Virgin, 

 crowned and seated under a trefoiled arch, with 

 the Holy Child on left knee. In the base, under 

 a pointed arch, is the half-length kneeling figure 

 of the prioress. Legend : 



-f- SIGILL' . MARIE . d' . HUNTINGEFELD. 1 



On the other, circa 1300, appears the figure of 

 St. John Baptist, right hand raised in benediction, 

 in the left hand the Agnus Dei on a plaque. In 

 the base, half-length of prioress kneeling. Le- 

 gend : 



-)- s\ JOHANNE. PRIORISSE. DE. BUGEIA 2 



10. THE PRIORY OF REDLINGFIELD 



The foundation charter of this priory of 

 Benedictine nuns, dated 1120, shows that it 

 was founded by Manasses count of Guisnes and 

 Emma his wife, who was the daughter and 

 heiress of William de Arras, lord of Redlingfield. 

 It was endowed with the manor of Redlingfield 

 and all its members and all such customs as 

 William de Arras held. 3 



The assignment of the parish church of Red- 

 lingfield to the priory is an exceptionally early 

 instance of appropriation. In the official list of 

 appropriated churches of this diocese drawn up 

 in 1416, it was stated that the nuns of Redling- 

 field had held this church to their own use 

 {in proprios usus) from the year 1 1 20. 4 



Redlingfield is one of the very few religious 

 houses omitted from the taxation roll of 1291 ; 

 it was probably exempted on the ground of 

 exceptional poverty. In 1343, it was stated 

 that the prioress held part of the tithes of corn, 

 wool, and lambs of Redlingfield worth two 

 marks a year, and also forty acres of land 

 worth 145. 4</. 5 



The prioress and convent obtained licence, in 

 1344, to acquire land or rents to the annual 

 value of ^10 under the privy seal. 6 It was 

 not, however, until 1 381 that grants were 

 obtained covered by this licence ; in that year 

 Sir William de Kerdiston assigned to the priory 

 a third part of the manors of Hickling and 

 Rishangles, of the yearly value of £y 135. \d., 

 in full satisfaction of the licence of 1344. 7 A 

 further licence to this priory, described as of the 

 patronage of Queen Anne, was granted in 1383 

 to obtain property to the value of £20 a year, 8 

 and other small grants were subsequently made. 9 



1 B.M. Cast lxxi, 88. ' Ibid. Ixxi, 85. 



3 This charter is cited in an Inspeximus Charter of 

 1 285, Chart. R. 1 3 Edvv. I, m. 16, No. 51. 



4 Norw. Epis. Reg. viii, fol. 125. 

 4 Inq. Nonarum (Rec. Com.), 69. 

 6 Pat. 18 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 1. 



' Ibid. 4 Ric. II, pt. ii, m. 27. 

 * Ibid. 6 Ric. II. pt. iii, m. 16. 

 8 Ibid. 14 Ric. II, pt. ii, m. 46 ; Ibid. 19 Edw. IV, 

 m. 2?. 



The Valor of 1535 shows that the clear 

 annual value of this priory was at that time 

 j£8i 25. S^d. The temporalities in Suffolk and 

 Norfolk, chiefly from lands and rents at Redling- 

 field, Rishangles, and Thorndon, amounted to 

 j£68 iOi. lie/. The spiritualities consisted of 

 portions of the churches of Redlingfield, Wal- 

 pole, Melton, and Levington, amounting to 

 £12 lis. bd. The daily dole of pence, bread, 

 beef, and herrings, according to ancient use, and 

 certain alms to aged poor at Easter and Lent 

 cost the nuns ,£9.'° 



The foundation charter states that the house 

 was dedicated to God and St. Andrew, but the 

 Valor of 1535 gives the joint invocation of the 

 Blessed Virgin and St. Andrew. In 141 8 the 

 Bishop of Norwich transferred the feast of the 

 conventual and parish church of Redlingfield 

 from 24 December to 24 September. u The 

 cause assigned for this change was that there 

 ought to be an abstinence from work on the day 

 of the dedication feast, but that immediately 

 before Christmas there were so many worldly 

 occupations and social duties pressing on both 

 the nuns and the parishioners that the day could 

 not be duly observed. The reason given by the 

 bishop for selecting 24 September was that on 

 that date the feast of the dedication of Norwich 

 Cathedral was observed. 



More than one scandal came to light in 

 connexion with the episcopal visitations of this 

 nunnery ; but it is satisfactory to find that 

 the house had recovered its good tone when 

 the last of the series was held. The sad 

 irregularities disclosed in 1427 supply another 

 proof of the evil result of the rule of an un- 

 principled superior ; the result shows the genuine 

 character of such investigation. An inquiry 

 was held on 9 September, 1427, in this convent 

 by Dr. Ringstede, dean of the collegiate church 

 of St. Mary-in-the-Fields, Norwich, as com- 

 missary of the bishop, concerning alleged excesses 

 and dilapidations. Isabel Hermyte (prioress), 

 Alice Lampit (sub-prioress), five professed sisters, 

 and two novices, assembled in the chapter-house, 

 when the deputy visitor read his commission first 

 in Latin, and then in the vulgar tongue, in order 

 that it might be the better understood by the 

 nuns. The prioress confessed that on 25 Januarv, 

 1425, she had promised on oath to observe all 

 the injunctions then made ; she admitted that 

 since that date she had never been to confession, 

 nor had she observed Sundays or double principal 

 feasts as ordained. The prioress further admitted 

 for herself and for Joan Tates, a novice, that 

 they had not slept in the dormitory with the 

 other nuns, but in a private chamber contrary to 

 injunctions ; that there ought to be thirteen 

 nuns, but there were only nine ; that there 

 ought to be three chaplains, but there was only 



10 Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iii, 4.78. 



11 Norw. Epis. Reg. viii, fol. 231 b. 



83 



