A HISTORY OF SUFFOLK 



Sir Nicholas Gcrnoun, knight, in his old age 

 and infirmity, was allowed to dwell at the house 

 of the Nuns Minoresses of Bruisyard ex devocione, 

 and he obtained leave from the crown in 1383 

 to continue to hold his rents and farm from 

 Drogheda to the amount of £t>6 13*. \d. yearly, 

 which had been forfeited for the defence of 

 Ireland by virtue of the statute of 3 Richard II 

 touching non-residence. 1 



Licence was granted in May, 1385, to the 

 executors of the Earl of Suffolk to alienate to 

 the abbey the manor of Benges, Suffolk. 2 In 

 the following February the abbess and convent 

 of Bruisyard were licensed to alienate this manor 

 of Benges to the prioress and convent of Campsey, 

 in exchange for the manor and advowson of 

 Bruisyard, together with leave to appropriate the 

 church. 3 In 1390 the abbey acquired various 

 plots of land in Bruisyard and adjacent parishes, 

 and in Hargham, Norfolk, as well as the advow- 

 son of the church of Sutton, Suffolk. 4 



The Valor of 1535 shows that the abbey then 

 possessed temporalities of the clear annual value 

 of ^43 15*., namely the manors with mem- 

 bers of Bruisyard, Winston, Alderton, South 

 Repps, Hargham, and Badburgham (Camb.). 

 The clear value of the spiritualities, comprising 

 the churches of Bruisvard, Sutton, and Bulmer, 

 amounted to £\7. Js. id., leaving a full total of 

 £56 25. id. 6 



This house seems to have been exempt from 

 episcopal supervision ; at all events it does not 

 appear in the visitation registers of Bishops 

 Goldwell and Nykke. 



I' 1 153 5, when dissolution was in the air, 

 some complaint was made to the Lord Privy 

 Seal as royal visitor-general, with regard to the 

 action of this abbey, whereupon the abbess and 

 convent wrote to Cromwell : — 



We your oratrices and humble subjects, thank you 

 for your worshipful letter, whereby you have com- 

 forted us desolate persons. We assure you we have 

 not alienated the goods of our house, or listened to 



any but discreet counsel. We have not wasted our 

 woods beyond the usage of our predecessors in times 

 of necessity. We beg you to intercede for us with 

 the King, our founder, that we may continue his 

 bcdewomcn, and pray for him, the queen, and the 

 princess. 6 



The Suffolk commissioners for the suppression 

 of the smaller religious houses visited Bruisyard 

 Abbey on 22 August, 1536, and drew up an 

 inventory. The ornaments of the church in- 

 cluded a variety of vestments and altar cloths, a 

 table of alabaster, two great candlesticks of 

 latten, and ' a payor of lytell orgaynes very olde, 

 att xj.' The parlour, several chambers, buttery, 

 kitchen, bakehouse, and brewhouse were but 

 poorly furnished. The church plate was valued 

 at ^28 1 2s. 4-d. ; it included six chalices, two 

 paxes, and a pair of cruets. The total inventory, 

 signed by Mary Page, abbess, reached the sum 

 of £40 13s. 4-d. 7 



The abbey, on payment of the sum of £(>0 

 to the king, was able to stave off the evil day, 

 being specially exempted from suppression, and 

 Mary Page confirmed as abbess by patent of 



4 July, I537- 8 



On 17 February, 1539, came the final sur- 

 render of the house and all its possessions, signed 

 by Mary Page, abbess, in the presence of Dr. 

 Francis Cove. 9 



The site and precinct of the abbey, with the 

 whole of its possessions, was assigned by the crown 

 to Nicholas Hare and Katharine his wife, on 

 9 March, 1539, at a rental of £6 41. ie/. ,u 



Abbesses of Bruisyard 



Emma Beauchamp, 11 occurs 1369 and 1390 



Agnes, 12 occurs 1413 



Ellen Bedingfield, 13 occurs 1 42 1 and 1425 



Katharine, 14 1444 



Elizabeth Crane, 15 occurs on 29 August, 1 48 1 



Alice Clere, 16 1489 



Margaret Calthorpe, 17 1497 



Mary Page, 18 1537 



HOSPITALS 



45. THE HOSPITAL OF BECCLES 



There was a leper hospital, dedicated to St. 

 Mary Magdalen, on the south side of the town 

 of Beccles, on a site now known as St. Mary's 

 Hill. It was probably of early foundation, as 

 was the case with almost all hospitals for this 

 special affliction, but no record of it is found 

 earlier than the year 1362, when Sir Richard 

 Walkfare, kt., and others gave to the hospital 



'Pat. 6 Ric. II, pt. i, m. 26. 



' Ibid. 9 Ric. II, pt. ii, m. 7. 



1 Ibid. 10 Ric. II, pt. ii, m. 26. 



'Ibid. 14 Ric. II, pt. i, m. 5. 



5 Vahr Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iii, 442-3. 



20*., annual rent issuing out of the manors of 

 Barsham and Hirst. 19 



Tradition relates that one Ramp, who was very 

 much afflicted with leprosy, was perfectly cured of his 



"I. and P. Hen. Fill, ix, 1094. 



7 Ibid, xi, 347. 



8 Pat. 29 Hen. VIII, pt. v, m. 6. 



9 Rymer, Foedera, xiv, 629. 



10 Pat. 30 Hen. VIII, pt. ii, m. 33. 

 " Tanner MS. Nonv. 



18 Ibid. » Ibid. 



14 Ibid. « Ibid. 



16 Ibid. 138. " Ibid. 202. 



18 Rymer, Foedera, xiv, 628. 



19 Pat. 36 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m, 34. 



132 



