RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



In a long list of royal protections to religious 

 houses in 1295, in return for bestowing on the 

 king a tithe of their income, the priory of Bricett 

 is described as a cell to the priory of ' Noblac in 

 Lymoches.' ' 



In 1325 Thomas Durant and Margaret his 

 wife obtained licence to enfeoff John de Bohun 

 of a fourth part of the manor of Great Bricett, 

 together with the advowson of the priory of 

 St. Leonard of the same town. 2 



Licence was granted in 1331 for the aliena- 

 tion by Thomas le Archer, rector of Elmsett, 

 and Richard his brother, to the prior and canons 

 of Bricett of three parts of the manor of Great 

 Bricett, of the yearly value of £"] ? The fourth 

 part of the manor of Great Bricett of the annual 

 value of 361. 8d. was assigned to the priory in 

 1346 by Richard Hacoun and Anne his wife. 4 

 In the same year John Bardoun and Isabel his 

 wife released to the prior and canons of 

 St. Leonard's all their right and claim in the 

 manor of Great Bricett. 6 



The prior, with a great number of other 

 priors of alien houses and cells, was summoned 

 to appear before the council at Westminster, on 

 the morrow of Midsummer, 1346, 'to speak 

 with them on things that shall be set forth to 

 them,' upon pain of forfeiture and the loss of 

 the priory, lands, and goods. 6 



On the general suppression of the alien 

 priories, Bricett came into the hands of the 

 crown. In 1444 Henry VI granted the whole 

 of the possessions to the college of SS. Mary 

 and Nicholas (afterwards King's), Cambridge. 7 

 This grant was confirmed by the same king in 

 1452," and it was again renewed by Edward IV 

 in the first year of his reign, namely on 24 Feb- 

 ruary, 1 462.' 



In a book of surveys of the University of 

 Cambridge, 1545-6, the annual value of the 

 priory or manor of Bricett is set down under the 

 possessions of King's College at ^33 us. 8d. M 



Priors of Bricett 



William Randulf, appointed 1312 11 

 John de Essex, appointed 1337 '"' 

 Alan de Codenham, appointed 1372 13 

 Nicholas Barne, appointed 1399 u 



1 Pat. 24 Edvv. I, m. 21. 

 8 Ibid. 18 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m. 37. 

 3 Ibid. 5 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m. 26. 

 * Ibid. 20 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 4. 

 'Close, 20 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 23 a. 



6 Ibid. 21 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 6 J. 



7 Pari. R. (Rec. Com.), v. 93. 



8 Pat. 31 Hen. VI, pt. i, m. 20. 



9 Ibid. 1 Edw. IV, pt. iii, m. 23. 



10 Dugd.ile, Mon. vi, 175. 



11 Norw. Epis. Reg. i, 46. 



"Ibid, iii, 5. "Ibid, vi, 14. 



" Ibid, vi, 256. 



18. THE PRIORY OF BUTLEY 



This important priory of Austin canons was 

 founded in honour of our Lady, in the year 

 1 171, by Sir Ralph de Glanville, justiciary of 

 England. It was founded upon lands called 

 Brockhouse, which Ralph held by his wife 

 Bertha, daughter of Theobald de Valoins, lord of 

 Parkham. A chief part of the founder's original 

 benefaction consisted of the churches of Butley, 

 Farnham, Bawdsey, Wantisden, Capel, and 

 Benhall. 15 



Henry II, at the request of the founder, gave 

 the rectory of Burston, Norfolk, to the canons ; 

 but they subsequently resigned the appropriation 

 and appointed a rector, securing a pension of 

 4OJ. 16 It was further endowed, in the same 

 reign, with the rectory of Winfarthing, Norfolk, 

 but in this case the advowson and appropriation 

 were lost in 1425 17 . In 1209 the two moieties 

 of the advowson of Gissing, Norfolk, were 

 granted to the priory, and the appropriation was 

 sanctioned in 1 27 I. The advowson and appro- 

 priation of the church of Kilverstone, Norfolk, 

 together with a fold-course and common of pas- 

 ture in that parish were granted to the prior in 

 1217. 18 



The Norfolk parish of Dickleburgh possessed 

 four rectories ; sanction to appropriate one of 

 these portions was granted by the bishop in 

 1 180. The abbot of St. Edmunds drew pensions 

 from two of the other portions. But in 1454, 

 with the consent of all parties, the four portions 

 were consolidated, each rector covenanting to 

 pay a yearly pension of 3s. \d. to the priory of 

 Butley. 19 



There was hardly a religious house in the 

 kingdom, save some of the largest Benedictine 

 abbeys, that had so much church patronage, or 

 such a wealth of appropriations in its hands as 

 was eventually the case with the priory of Butley. 

 In the year 1235, William D'Auberville, grand- 

 son of Maud, eldest daughter of Ralph de Glan- 

 ville, the founder, gave to the priory his third "° of 

 the churches of Chedgrave, Somerton, Upton, 

 Wantisden, Capel, Benhall, Bawdsey, and Fin- 

 borough, with a moiety of the church of Glem- 

 ham Parva. In 127 1 Lady Cassandra Baynard 

 gave her share of the church of Chedgrave ; and 

 other shares of several churches subsequently fell 

 to the canons. 21 



The prior and convent of Norwich confirmed 

 in 1249 tne church of Little Worlingham St. 



15 The foundation charter is among the MSS. of 

 C. C. C. Camb., and is cited in full in Dugdalc, 

 Mon. vi, 380. 



16 Biomeficld, Hut. ofSorf. i, 125. 



17 Ibid, i, 181. 



18 Ibid, i, 5 + 3. 



19 Ibid, i, 191-3. 



80 The founder's property had been divided between 

 his three daughters and heire-ses. 

 " Add. MS. (Davy), 19100, 19096. 



95 



