A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



Monkton ; the two Heworths ; Foletby ; with 

 all other churches, lands, meadows, mills, rents, 

 &c., held by them between Tyne and Tees. 

 In Northumbria [sic] they held Wallsend with 

 its chapel ; Willington [Wivelington] ; and land 

 in Cramlington. In the Tyne, a fishery which 

 Nicholas Grenville gave to St. Cuthbert. Across 

 the Tees the churches of Northallerton [Alver- 

 ton] and 'Materebrunton '; the chapel of Dicton 

 and other chapels ; and the churches of 'Werke- 

 shale' and 'Siggeston.' In York City, the churches 

 of All Saints, St. Peter, and Holy Trinity, with 

 all their lands and possessions in that city. In 

 Yorkshire, Holtby church with three carucates 

 of land ; Skipwith (?) [Scipwiz] church with 

 two bovates of land ; four carucates of land in 

 Everthorpe (?) [Evcrtorp] ; six carucates in Cave 

 (?) [Caue] ; fourteen and a half bovates of land 

 in Grentingham ; a carucate and a half in 

 'Luchefeld'; two carucates in Cleve (?) [Clif] ; 

 a mill in Applcton ; the vill of Hemingbrough, 

 with its church, mill, waters, meadows, and 

 woods ; two carucates with woods and waters in 

 Brackenholme ; one carucate with a wood and 

 waters in Grimsthorpe ; the church of Howden 

 with a carucate of land and the chapel of 

 Eastrington with its appurtenances ; the churches 

 of Welton, Walkington, and Brantingham with 

 the chapel of ' Alrecher ' ; Hundesley ; Middle- 

 hill ; and two carucates of land and a mill in 

 Droeton. In Lincoln city, the land which 

 belonged to Wulget, and the land given by 

 Hunfr' and his nephew. In Lincolnshire, six 

 bovates of land at Cleatham ; the church of 

 Blyborough with ten bovates of land ; three 

 bovates with a mill and sixteen acres of land and 

 meadow in Stainton ; the church of Kirkby 

 with nine bovates of land of lay fee with wood 

 and meadow, with the chapel of Birchwood ; 

 the church of Biscathorpe with a mill in that 

 vill and the tithes of Wispington ; a manse in 

 Torkesey ; at Stamford, St. Mary's Church near 

 the bridge, with eight manses and half a carucate 

 of land and meadow belonging to them ; and 

 outside the borough St. Leonard's monastery ^* 

 with its appurtenances ; half a bovate of land in 

 Rippingale ; and the lesser church of St. Mary. 

 In Nottinghamshire, two carucates of land with 

 an adjoining meadow at Gotham ; six bovates 

 with a meadow at ' Chirlingegastoca ' ; at Nor- 

 manton, the church with its appurtenances, five 

 carucates of land, two mills and a meadow ; ten 

 bovates with a meadow in Bunny Gay ton; five and 

 a half carucates of land in Kingston ; a carucate 

 of land with a meadow in Barton. In Notting- 



" This was one of the cells of Durham Priory ; the 

 others were Coldingham, Holy Island, Fame Island, 

 Wearmouth, Jarrow, Finchale, and Lytham in the 

 north ; and Durham College, Oxford, in the south. 

 There was also at one time a cell at Warkworth for 

 two Durham monks, endowed by Bishop Farnham. 

 Dugdale, Mot!. Augl. (ed. 1846), iv, 651. 



ham itself, the land of Onicar son of Alnot 

 monetarii ; two manses, the gift of Azur son of 

 Ulsag ; and a carucate of land called Nunewica- 

 thornes. 



In Northumberland, Bedlington church with 

 the chapel of Cambois and all its appendages ; 

 Fame Island and the adjacent islands ; the church 

 of Holy Island with all its chapels, and the lands 

 and wastes adjacent ; Fennum (nV), and what 

 they have in Elwick ; the church of Norham 

 with its chapels, lands, waters, and appurten- 

 ances ; and the vill of ' Sorwurth.' 



Across the Tweed, Coldingham with the 

 church of the same vill and all things thereto 

 belonging, viz. Aldecambus with its church, 

 Lumsden, Rainton, and Greenwood, and the 

 two Ristons, Aldgrave, Swinewood, and the two 

 Eytons with mills, and Prendelgest with a mill ; 

 Ederham, and the church of that vill with all 

 its chapels : the two Swintons with a church ; 

 the two Lambertons with a church ; Berwick 

 Church ; Fishwick with a church ; Paxton ; 

 Nesbit, with a mill ; the church of Edenham 

 with the chapel of Stichill ; and all besides which 

 they have in Loudoun (?) [Lodoneio].^' 



Further details respecting the interior life of 

 the convent will appear in the course of its history. 

 Enough has been said to show that the picture 

 presented to us, even in very early days, is that 

 of a well-organized, richly endowed, powerful, 

 and independent body, quite capable of conduct- 

 ing its own affairs, and not likely to be tolerant 

 of any attempt at oppression or interference. 

 Not only did the monks gradually become 

 possessors of a great part of the landed property 

 in the county ; but they were also the keepers 

 and guardians of the sacred body of St. Cuthbert, 

 and as such wielded a power difficult to realize 

 in modern days. Even the worldly, avaricious 

 and remorseless Bishop Flambard felt and ac- 

 knowledged this spiritual force. During his later 

 years he had carried up the walls of the church 

 as far as the roof, enlarged the common hall of 

 the monastery, and given rich vestments for the 

 holy offices ; but he had previously annexed 

 certain of the convent lands and dues, and he 

 dared not die until restitution was made. Struck 

 by mortal illness, he caused himself to be carried 

 into the church, and, resting on the altar, 

 lamented the injuries he had done to the con- 

 vent. The prior and monks, standing round, 

 received public restitution of their property by the 

 ceremony of offering a ring at the high altar.^" 



As early as 1 153 the monks came into 

 collision with the archbishop of York about the 

 election of Hugh Pudsey as bishop of Durham ; 

 and though the archbishop excommunicated 

 them, and even the papal legate, while absolving 



" MS. Treas. Dur. i"^ l™" Regalium 16. Printed, 

 Tcod. Prior. Dunelm. (Surt. Soc), 94. 



*° A.D. 1129. Sim. Hist. Eccles. Dun. Cont. (Rolls 

 Ser.), 1 40-1. 



93 



