RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



minster Netherbury.' In 1336 John GifFord 

 received the very lucrative appointment of master 

 of the wealthy hospital of St. Leonard's, York.^ 

 All these benefices he held until his death from 

 the plague in 1349. 



Affection for his native county and the place 

 of his first preferment, coupled with great loyalty 

 to his royal benefactors, was probably the 

 motive that caused Gifford to establish so con- 

 siderable a college at Cotterstock. 



Between 131 7 and 1333 John Gifford made 

 four appointments to the rectory of Cotterstock, 

 the last being John Ward of Holt. In February, 

 1 335) the said John Ward and his brother Peter 

 acknowledged their indebtedness to Gifford for 

 the sum of eighty marks, to be levied on their 

 lands and chattels in the county.^ It was just 

 at this time that Gifford began to formulate his 

 plans for a college on a great scale, and through 

 the rector's indebtedness to him was doubtless 

 able to prevent any opposition from that quarter. 

 The Patent Rolls have a variety of full entries 

 sanctioning the first inception of this project and 

 its gradual accomplishment ; but it was not until 

 5 December, 1339, that the scheme received the 

 necessary episcopal sanction, whilst the formal 

 appropriation of the rectory to the college was 

 only accomplished on 19 February following.* 

 When the rectory was appropriated, the bishop 

 of Lincoln retained a pension out of it of 40J., 

 the dean and chapter of Lincoln of 20J., and the 

 archdeacon of Northampton of 6s. id} 



This college, or very large chantry, was to 

 consist of a provost, twelve chaplains, who might 

 be either secular or religious, and two clerks, to 

 say daily mass in the church for the good estate 

 of the queen dowager as well as of the king and 

 queen and their children, and for their souls 

 after death ; and for the good estate of John 

 Gifford and his brother William and heirs, and 

 afterwards for their souls, as well as for the souls 

 of their parents, and of all benefactors of the 

 college. The charter, granted by the king on 

 23 June, 1338, was evidently regarded as a docu- 

 ment of grave importance. It is witnessed by 

 many magnates of the realm, the first being the 

 archbishop of Canterbury.^ The original en- 



1 Le Neve, Fasti Eccl. Angl. i. 196, iii. 190, and 

 Pat. 14 Edw. in. pt. 2, m. 22. 



2 Close, 10 Edw. in. m. igd. Separate letters 

 nominating attorneys to act for him as holder of these 

 three prebends and the hospital mastership were 

 granted in the year 1340, when he was about to 

 visit the court of Rome ; at the same time other 

 letters of attorney were granted him as lord of 

 Cotterstock. Pat. 14 Edw. III. pt. 2, m. 22. 



3 Close, 9 Edw. III. m. 35d. 



* Pat. 10 Edw. III. pt. 3, m. 40 ; II Edw. III. 

 pt. 3, m. 6 ; iz Edw. III. pt. i, m. 2 ; pt. 2, 

 m. 34 ; 14 Edw. III. pt. I, m. 14 ; Line. Epis. Reg. 

 Inst, of Burghersh, f. 232. 



5 Pat. 14 Edw. III. pt. 2, m. 15. 



« Chart. R. 12 Edw. III. No. 15. 



dowments for sustaining this great foundation 

 were the manor of Cotterstock, with two mills, 

 an acre of meadow at Pirho, a certain fishery in 

 the waters of the Nen, eighty-five acres in the 

 forest of Rockingham, with pasture rights 

 throughout the whole forest, and the advowson 

 and rectory of Cotterstock, together with the 

 advowson of the hospital of Pirho. The king 

 also granted the provost and chaplains free 

 warren over their forest lands, and immunity 

 from every conceivable kind of toll. In acknow- 

 ledgement of these special quittances to the college 

 of St. Andrew's, Cotterstock, John Gifford paid 

 over to the collectors of the customs of wool in 

 the port of Kingston-upon-Hull twenty sacks 

 of wool.'' 



A confirmation of the first charter of endow- 

 ment, granted 21 April, 1 340, gives a variety 

 of interesting additional particulars. In addition 

 to lands, John Gifford granted to the provost 

 and his twelve chaplains the following chattels : — 

 21 oxen, 6 plough horses, 6 cart horses, 24 

 cows, 2 bulls, 500 sheep (of which 40 were 

 muttons and 100 ewes), 6 sows with 80 swine 

 and little pigs (half of the age of one year or 

 more), 40 swine of the age of two years or 

 more, and 2 boars. 



The full dedication of the college or chantr)' 

 was in honour of the most Holy Trinity, and of 

 the glorious and most blessed Virgin Mary, the 

 most sweet Mother of God and of our Lord 

 Jesus Christ, and of the blessed Apostles, and 

 especially of the blessed Andrew, and of All 

 Saints in the church of St. Andrew of Cotter- 

 stock. The provost and chaplains should be 

 men of letters and of good fame, free from all 

 forms of luxury and from quarrels and strifes ; 

 they should study divinity after the example of 

 the blessed Titus and Timothy, and strive to 

 be a fragrant example to other priests. On the 

 death or resignation of the provost, the chaplains 

 should within ten days choose two of their 

 number the best fitted to succeed, and send their 

 names to the bishop of Lincoln, who within ten 

 days of such presentation should collate one of 

 the two to the provostship ; in default of the 

 bishop or his vicar-general, the collation was to 

 pass to the chapter of the cathedral church of 

 Lincoln. The provost was to take an oath of 

 personal and continuous residence at the chantry. 

 The provost, with three or four of the chaplains, 

 should prepare a balance-sheet of the affairs of 

 the college yearly, about the first day of May. 

 On a vacancy among the chaplains, the provost 

 and chaplains should choose another within 

 twenty days, and to insure the vacancy being 

 speedily filled were ordered to fast on bread and 

 water every day until the appointment was made. 

 Each chaplain was to take an oath of canonical 

 obedience to the provost. The two clerks were 

 to be men of regular life, and thoroughly com- 



7 Pat. 12 Edw. III. pt. 3, m. 11. 



167 



