RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



The next visit of the bishop was on 22 August, 

 1482, when high praise was given to the abbot 

 for his administration. The debt on the house, 

 which was jf 140 in 1478, was reduced to £8o, 

 and there was abundance of grain and other 

 necessaries. 1 



At the visitation of 1488 sixteen canons were 

 present, exclusive of Abbot Thomas Doget 

 (Dolcet). The visitor enjoined a day's punish- 

 ment on Robert Colvyll and three others for 

 breaking silence, and complained about the ton- 

 sures ; otherwise he gave the house the highest 

 praise. 2 



The visit paid to the abbey on 30 September, 

 1 49 1, found everything satisfactory ; there was 

 a superabundance of all necessaries. 3 The next 

 visitation was in 1494 ; there were twelve priests 

 besides the abbot and six novices, and the report 

 was entirely favourable.' 1 



The return for this abbey in 1497, when the 

 abbot, fifteen priests, a deacon, and sub-deacon 

 were present at the visitation, pronounced every- 

 thing to be excellent. 5 



The visitation report on 13 October, 1500, 

 was somewhat longer ; Abbot Thomas Doket 

 and fourteen other canons were present. The 

 bishop enjoined that there was to be a little 

 window to each cell or chamber of the dormi- 

 tory. No canon, either within or without the 

 house, was to use hoods with either white or 

 black tails, 6 but simple cowls. Thomas March, 

 an apostate, was condemned to twenty days of 

 penance, but sentence was remitted at the prayer 

 of the convent. Everything else was excellent. 7 



This abbey came within the number of the 

 smaller houses suppressed by the Act of 1536. 

 The Suffolk commissioners came here on 

 21 August, 1536, and drew up a full inventory. 

 The conventual church was fairly well supplied 

 with ornaments and vestments. Details are 

 given of the high altar, and those in the Lady 

 chapel, St. Margaret's chapel, and the chapel 

 of the Crucifix. The last three altars were 

 supplied with alabaster tables, and there was 

 another small alabaster sculpture on the south 

 side of the quire door. The censers and candle- 

 sticks were of latten, but there were three pairs 

 of chalices (that is chalices and pattens) of silver 

 gilt. The vestments in the vestry were fairly 

 numerous, but chiefly old and of small value. 

 'A lyttell pair of old organs' in the quire was 

 valued at 10;. The furniture and utensils of 

 the chambers, cloister, buttery, kitchen, were of 

 an ordinary character, and of very little value. 

 The only large items of the inventory were the 

 cattle of the home-farm ^22 35. \d., and the 

 corn jTio 8x. 8d. The total of the whole in- 

 ventory only reached ^42 i6j. 3d'. 8 



Ashmole MS. I 5 19 (Bodl. Lib.), 35. 

 Ibid. 74. 3 Ibid. ' Ibid. 



' Liripiis nigris aut albis.' 

 1 Proc. Stiff. Arch. Inst, viii, 102-4. 



5 Ibid. 



' Ibid. 



George Carleton, the last abbot, received a 

 pension of ^20, 9 but his fellow canons were 

 turned out penniless, the Act only providing pen- 

 sions for the superiors of the suppressed houses. 



The abbey and its possessions formed a part of 

 the vast monastic grants made by the crown to 

 Charles, duke of Suffolk ; they were granted to 

 him on 7 April, 1537. 10 



Abbots of Leiston 



Robert, 11 occurs 11 82, 1 1 90 



Philip, 12 occurs 1190, 1235 



Gilbert, 13 c. 1 240 



Matthew, 14 occurs 1250 



Robert, 15 occurs 1253 



William, 16 c. 1280 



Gregory, 17 occurs 1285 



Nicholas, 18 occurs 1293 



John de Glenham,' 3 occurs 1308 



Alan, 20 occurs 13 10 



Robert, 21 occurs 1312 



Simon, 22 occurs 13 1 6 



Robert, 23 occurs 1326 



John, 24 occurs 1344 



John, 25 occurs 1390, 1399 



Thomas de Huntingfield,** occurs 1403, 14 I 2 



Clement Bliburgh, 27 occurs 1437, 1445 



John of Sprotling, 28 occurs 1456, 1459 



Richard Dunmow, 29 occurs 1475, 1482 



Thomas Doget, 30 occurs 1488, 1500 



Thomas Waite, 31 occurs 1 504 



John Green, 32 occurs 1527 



George Carleton, 3 ' 5 last abbot, 1 531 



The seal of Abbot Philip, c. 1200, shows the 

 abbot standing on a corbel, with crozier in right 

 hand, and book in the left. Legend : 



. . .HIXIPPI : ABBATIS : DE : LEESTONA M 



The conventual seal, attached to a charter "' 

 of 1383, also shows an abbot on a corbel, with 

 a crozier and book. Legend : 



+ sic' : abbatis : et : convent : de : 



LEESTONA 



8 Misc. Bks. (Aug. Off.), ccxxxii, 31. 

 10 Pat. 28 Hen. VIII, pt. iv, No. 8. 

 " Cott. MS. Vesp. E. xiv, 10, 39. 



12 H.irl. MS. 441, 24 ; Vesp. E. xiv, \ob, 38. &c. 



13 Addy, Beauchief, 25. 



" Suckling, Hist, of Stiff, ii, 431. 



" Cal. Chart. R. I. 426. 



16 Bodl. Chart. Suff. 226. '" Add. Chart. 102-4. 



18 Add MS. 8171, fol. 8 2 £. 



" Pat. 1 Edw. II. " Pre. Reg. No. 3. 



" Addy, Beauchief 47. " Close, 10 Edw. I. 



■ Pat. 19 Edw. [I. !4 Close, 18 Edw. III. 



'• Suckling, Hist, of Suff 



" Cal. Pap. Reg. v, 620 ; Add. Chart. I 2651. 



" Suckling, Hist, of Suff. 



,s Pre. Reg. No. 80. » Ibid. Nos. 496. 500. 



'" Ibid. Nos. 501, 507. 



31 Suckling, //;'//. of Suff. ii, +02. " Ibid. 



33 Ibid. » B.M. Cast, Ixxii, 6. 



" Harl. Chart. 54 I, 4. 



119 



