A HISTORY OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 



Mary's Nottingham (with oblations), and Rad- 

 ford realized ^48 6s. Sd. ; tithe portions from 

 Greasley, Basford, Attenborough, Langar, Staple- 

 ford, Ruddington, Sutton, Thorpe in the Glebe, 

 and Bunny, ^32 3*. 2d. ; pensions from Barton 

 in Fabis, Basford, Costock, Cotgrave, Lenton, 

 Linby, Nottingham St. Nicholas, St. Peter and 

 the hospitals of St. John and St. Mary, and Remp- 

 stone, 5 6s. ifd. ; demesne lands, rents, mills, 

 fair, &c., at Lenton, Newthorpe, Nottingham, 

 and Radford, 78 131. 8d. ; and rents at Aws- 

 worth, Ompton, Barton in Fabis, Bradmore, 

 Costock, Cotgrave, Cropwell Butler, Keyworth, 

 Mansfield, Normanton, Rempstone, and Watnall, 

 17 4.5. T,d. The rema : nder of the income came 

 from the counties of Chester, Lancaster, Leices- 

 ter, Northampton, and York. 



The outgoings were considerable, including 

 payments to the warden of Clifton College * 

 and to chantry priests in York Cathedral and in 

 the churches of Rotherham and North Wing- 

 field. The sum of 41 is. 8d. was expended 

 in the daily meat, drink, lodging, and firing, and 

 a penny each per week on five needy men, who 

 were to pray for the souls of William Peverel 

 and Adeline his wife, of Henry I and Matilda 

 his wife and their heirs. A further sum of 

 2 131. 4-d. was distributed yearly to the poor 

 on the anniversaries of William and Adeline 

 Peverel, which were kept respectively on 2O and 

 28 January. 21 



The statement made by Godfrey 22 that the dis- 

 tinguished justice Robert de Lexinton was Prior 

 of Lenton during the early years of Henry III is 

 an error, apparently based on the casual juxtapo- 

 sition of Robert de Lexinton and the Prior of 

 Lenton on certain commissions. 223 



In 1234 Gregory IX issued his mandate to 

 the Abbot and Prior of Dale to induct the Prior 

 and Convent of Lenton into corporal possession 

 of the church of St. Mary Nottingham, granted 

 to them by the pope on the resignation of 

 Nicholas his nephew, subdeacon and chaplain, a 

 vicar's portion being reserved. 23 



One of his immediate successors in the papacy 

 granted a privilege to the Lenton monks which 

 would be much appreciated, as the great majority 

 of them came from the warmer climes of France. 

 They obtained a faculty from Alexander IV in 

 the winter of 1257-8, to wear caps suited to 

 their order at divine offices, in consequence of 

 the vehement cold of those parts. 24 



Several interesting records of visitations of this 

 priory during the 1 3th century are extant. 



In 1262 Henry Prior of Bermondsey and John 

 Prior of the French house of Gassicourt were 

 appointed visitors of the subordinate English 

 houses by Yves de Poyson, twenty-fifth Abbot of 



m See below. " Valor Red. (Rec. Com.), v, 149. 



"Godfrey, Hist, of Lenton, 179-81. 



"* Cat. Pat. 1225-32, pp. 281, 353. 



a Cat. of Papal Letters, i, 141. " Ibid. 355. 



Cluni. They made searching inquiry as to the 

 condition of Lenton Priory, through two of the 

 obedientiaries of the house, Brother Alfred the 

 sub-cellarer, and Richard the almoner, who met 

 them in London ; but the visitors do not appear 

 to have gone in person to Lenton. By the 

 showing of these, it was manifest that the state 

 of the convent was all that could be desired in 

 respect of spiritualities, and that divine offices 

 were conducted becomingly and according to 

 church ritual ; the religious community consisted 

 of twenty-two monks and two lay brethren. 

 On a further inquiry of them as to the con- 

 vent's financial condition, it is evident that the 

 house was loaded with debt, to the extent of 

 jl,OOO of the English currency. 36 



The visitors appointed for England by the 

 Abbot of Cluni in 1275-6 were John, Prior of 

 Wenlock, and Arnulph, the abbot's equerry. 

 They visited Lenton on Friday, 22 February, 

 The monks then numbered twenty-seven and 

 the lay brethren four. The priory's debts 

 amounted to 180 marks. There were various 

 set orders enjoined by these visitors on most of 

 the houses, which were repeated at Lincoln, 

 such as the use when riding of saddle, crupper,, 

 and leggings, the non-eating of meat with 

 seculars, the reading of the lection in the in- 

 firmary at dinner, and the tarrying of any in the 

 priory after compline. These were all enjoined 

 at Lenton, as had previously been the case at 

 Montacute, Wenlock, and other houses. It also- 

 came to the visitors' knowledge at Lenton that 

 the lay brothers were wearing red or russet 

 habits ; they were ordered henceforth to use as 

 their distinguishing colour something darker and 

 more nearly approaching black. 26 



The English visitation of 1279 for the Abbot 

 of Cluni was made by the Prior of Lenton irv 

 conjunction with the French Prior of Mont- 

 Didier. They arrived at Lenton on 6 Septem- 

 ber and found twenty-five monks, the usual 

 complement, leading good and commendable 

 lives, living according to rule, and solemnly con- 

 ducting their devotional exercises. As the Prior 

 of Lenton was himself one of the two visitors, it 

 is to be hoped that only the Prior of Mont- 

 Didier was responsible for the report sent to 

 Cluni, for it was stated therein that the superior 

 of the Nottingham house was ' a worthy good 

 man, of blameless repute.' When he entered on 

 his office there were debts of 935 marks in 

 money and of forty sacks of wool at 15 marks the 

 sack. Of this latter debt thirty-two sacks had been 

 paid, but the money debt had risen to 1,030 

 marks, chiefly through the strife with the chapter 

 of Lichfield, 'composed of rich and influential 

 persons, some of them being about the King.' 

 The matter in dispute was said to concern a 

 yearly tithe of 250 marks ; the prior had already 



" Duckett, Visit. ofEngl. Cluniac Foundations, 1 1. 12. 

 "Ibid. 17, 1 8. 



94 



