A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



church. This, like the earl of Nortliampton's 

 foundation of St. Andrew's, Nortliampton, was a 

 cell of the great priory of St. Mary de Caritate 

 or La Charitd sur Loire.^ 



The early endowments of the priory, whose 

 dedication in honour of St. Augustine was some- 

 what unusual for a Cluniac house, were speedy and 

 considerable.- The founder bestowed the churches 

 of Preston Capes, Elkington, and Thorpe Mande- 

 ville, a mill at Everdon, 3 virgates of land at 

 Fawsley, and the lands of ' Edric' His grand- 

 son, Hugh Poer, gave the churches of West 

 Haddon and Cold Ashby. Earl Simon gave the 

 site of the conventual buildings, and his daughter 

 Maud, in conjunction with her husband, Saher 

 de Quinci, gave considerable demesne lands 

 adjoining the site. Maud afterwards, in her 

 widowhood, bestowed on the monks the three 

 mills of Daventry, forbidding any to establish 

 another save for their benefit, as well as con- 

 siderable lands, the church of Daventry with its 

 appurtenances, and a stretch of woodland for the 

 repair of their ploughs. Certain of her bequests 

 were charged with finding the habits and cowls 

 of the monks, and the wine for sacramental use. 

 Walter FitzRobert, the son of Maud by her 

 first husband, confirmed all his mother's gifts and 

 materially increased them, particularly in the 

 way of fish-ponds. Among other gifts the said 

 Walter gave the right of one day's fishing yearly in 

 his own fish-pond before the feast of St. Augustine, 

 a thousand herrings and ten wagon-loads of wood 

 and twenty-four bundles of kindling for the use 

 of the sacrist in preparing the wafers ; and for 

 the good of his soul and those of his two wives, 

 Maud de Lucy and Maud de Bohun, he 

 granted all the oblations due from his whole 

 family to the support of the lamps in the church 

 of Daventry, on condition that the chaplains of 

 his private chapel might retain a tenth of the 

 profits arising from the masses sung there, render- 

 ing an account of the remaining nine-tenths to 

 the sacrist of the priory .3 A letter of Hubert 

 Walter, the archbishop of Canterbury, 120 1, 

 addressed to the faithful in the dioceses of Lincoln 

 and Lichfield, offered a remission of fifteen days' 

 penance to those who, having confessed, should 

 give their alms for the repair of tiie church of 

 the monks of Daventry ; this indulgence was 

 granted for three years.* An indulgence was 

 granted to benefactors of the priory by Fulco, 

 archbishop of Dublin, in May, 1271.^ 



1 Cott. MS. Claud. D. xii. fF. i, 109, iii. This 

 is .1 fine chartulary of the priory in good preserv'ation ; 

 it belonged to Sir William Dugdale. 



- There is at the Bodleian a bull of Innocent III. 

 ( 1 2 1 o) confirming to the prior and monks of Daventry 

 all their possessions. Turner's and Coxe's Cal. of 

 Chart, and R. 256. 



3 Cott. MS. Claud. D. xii. ff. 1,6. 



* Turner and Coxe, Cal. of Chart, and R. 256. 



s Ibid. 257. 



Robert, the eldest son of Walter, and his 

 brother Simon confirmed all the gifts of 

 their family. Simon's son Walter bestowed a 

 further rood of land in Daventry to provide an 

 additional light at the Lady altar during mass, 

 and bound himself and his heirs to maintain a 

 lamp burning before the high altar all night and 

 every day at the time of mass.* The monks of 

 Daventry held all the churches of the Leicester- 

 shire barony of Foxton, comprising Foxton, Gum- 

 ley, Scalford, and Lubenham (Leic), Bisbrook 

 (Rutland), and Braybrooke (Northants), as well 

 as the churches of Staverton, Norton, and WaU 

 grave, also in Northamptonshire.'' According to 

 the Taxation of 1 29 1 the temporalities and spiritu- 

 alities of the house amounted to ^45 is. lihd.^ 

 In 1313 the monks obtained a licence from the 

 king to acquire lands and rents to the value of 

 ;^40 yearly, in satisfaction of which they added 

 considerably in 131 6' and later to their previous 

 endowment. 



A bond of special amity between the two 

 priories of Coventry and Daventry is recorded 

 in the year 1 1 50. Herbert being then prior of 

 Daventry, Lawrence, prior of Coventry, con- 

 firmed the churches of Cold Ashby and West 

 Haddon to the Cluniac community, and it was 

 then agreed ' that if any monk of Coventry 

 should be, by the consent of his prior and con- 

 vent, sent to Daventry, out of their great affection 

 for that house, he ought to be freely received and 

 reside there in that regular way as if he were 

 one of the same convent, until he should be 

 recalled by the prior of Coventry, and in case he 

 did depart this life during such his abode there, 

 all solemnities to be performed for him as for a 

 monk of Daventry. And the like were they of 

 Coventry to perform for those of Daventry touch- 

 ing such as should be sent tiiither from Daventry. 

 And that if any of either convent did happen to 

 die elsewhere, one priest of each monastery (his 

 death being known) should celebrate three masses 

 for him, his service with "Placebo "and "Dirige" 

 to be also performed in the convent with the 

 corrody belonging to a monk for that day, and 

 his name registered in the martyrology. And 

 when any of the priors of either monastery should 

 die, a trentall to be sung in the other convent 

 over and above the services before recited ; and 

 moreover, every year a mass of the Holy Ghost 

 to be celebrated, as well for the living in each 

 monastery as for the dead. And lastly, that in 

 all things, both spiritual and temporal, where 

 each might assist other, they should effectually 

 afford their aid.' i" 



6 Cott. MS. Chud. D. xii. fF. 8, 9. 



'I Ibid. 



* Pope Nich. Ta.K (Rec. Com.), pp. 39, 53, 54b, 

 55, 64, 66, 67, 73. 



9 Pat. 6 Edvv. II. pt. ii. m. 8 ; 9 Edw. II. 

 pt. i. m. 4. 

 10 Dugdale, Antiq. ofWarw. (ed. Thomas), i. 159. 



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