RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



the result that the ancient rights of the church 

 of Castleton were confirmed. 42 



The other case was the revival of an old dis- 

 pute as to the advowson of the church of Harle- 

 stone, Northants, which had been granted to 

 the priory by Peverel in the foundation charter, 

 but had been claimed on several occasions by 

 alleged Peverel representatives. At last in 1329 

 one Thomas de Staunton claimed the advowson, 

 stating that his ancestor William de Staunton 

 had been seised of it in the time of Henry III, 

 and had successfully presented to it. Both 

 parties agreed to submit the decision of the cause 

 to single combat, and appointed their champions, 

 William Fitz Thomas for the claimant, and 

 William Fitz John for the Prior of Lenton. All 

 the formalities necessary to a trial by combat 

 were enacted, but at the last moment, when 

 both champions had been sworn at the bar and 

 were about to advance, Staunton was persuaded 

 to relinquish all claim for himself and his heirs 

 to the prior and his successors. 43 



It was in this year, too, that the pleas De Quo 

 Warranto were held in Nottingham at Martin- 

 mas. By the production of charters the Prior 

 of Lenton was able to establish the claim of his 

 house to the great Lenton fair, to full manorial 

 rights (including gallows) at Lenton and at Cot- 

 grave, to freedom from every kind of toll, to 

 market privileges, and to voidance of escheat 

 during vacancy. 44 



In 1331 the priory procured the appropriation 

 of the church of Beeston, 46 and in the following 

 year that of Wigston. 48 



In consequence of the great burdens of the 

 priory, the king granted his protection for two 

 years in 1334, appointing three custodians to 

 administer the temporalities. 47 



In 1345 Astorgius de Gorciis, Prior of Lenton, 

 in conjunction with the Cluniac priors of Lewes 

 and Northampton and of other English houses, 

 refused to pay his proper subsidy to Iterius, 

 Abbot of Cluni ; the abbot appealed to Rome, 

 whereupon Clement VI issued his mandate to the 

 Archbishop of Canterbury to cite Astorgius and 

 the other defaulting priors to appear before him. 48 



On the petition of Prior Astorgius, to whom 

 the king had committed the custody of the priory 

 at farm for such time as the priory remained in 

 his hands on account of the war with France, 

 Edward III in 1347 granted licence for him to 

 lease the manor of Dunston for ten years, and 

 to sell all portions of the tithes of sheaves 

 and hay pertaining to the priory in the High 

 Peak for a like period. The plea for this ex- 



"Harl. MS. 2064, fol. 251. 

 48 Godfrey, Hiit. of Lenton, 81. 



44 Plac. de Quo War. (Rec. Com.), 643. 



45 Thoroton, Notts. 211. 



46 Pat. 5 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, ra. 25. 



47 Ibid. 8 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 2. 



48 Cal. of Papal Letters, iii, 19. 



ception was the debt and other misfortunes that 

 were overwhelming the house. On a further 

 petition in the same year they obtained the 

 royal sanction to lease their High Peak lead 

 tithes for sixteen years to William de Amyas. 48 



Prior Peter in 1350 obtained the assistance of 

 the civil power to try to secure the arrest of 

 John de Tideswell, John de Rempstone, and 

 Richard de Cortenhale, apostate monks of Len- 

 ton, who were wandering about the country in 

 secular dress. 60 



An. interesting case occurred among the pleas 

 of the borough court of Nottingham in 1355, 

 relative to the repair of a costly pyx belonging 

 to the priory. Prior Peter appeared, by his 

 attorney, against Walter the Goldsmith, com- 

 plaining that though Walter had covenanted to 

 repair a vessel of crystal to carry the body of 

 our Lord Jesus Christ with pure silver and gold, 

 he had broken the agreement in three parti- 

 culars : (i) in not making it of pure silver; 

 (2) in not well or suitably gilding it ; and (3) in 

 soldering the vessel with tin instead of silver. 

 The prior claimed iooj. for this serious damage. 

 Walter replied that the vessel had been well and 

 suitably repaired, and would verify this by a 

 good inquest ; an inquest was accordingly ordered 

 against the next court. The prior further ap- 

 peared against Walter on a plea of debt ; alleging 

 that he was unjustly withholding from him a noble 

 and a half of gold ; the prior had delivered two 

 gold nobles to Walter wherewith to gild the vessel, 

 but only a half noble had been used. On this 

 claim Walter also demanded and obtained an 

 inquest. As a set off, Walter in his turn ap- 

 peared against the prior on a plea of debt, 

 alleging that he was unjustly withholding 361. 

 in silver, which was the covenanted price for the 

 work, although repeatedly asked for the same. 51 

 Unfortunately the issue of this case is not extant. 



In February 1361-2 Edward III restored to 

 the Prior of Lenton all the lands, tenements, 

 advowsons, &c., that had been in the hands of 

 the Crown by reason of the war with France. 52 

 This was in consequence of the peace of 

 Bretigny ; but on the recurrence of war a few 

 years later Lenton and the other alien priories 

 were again in a like plight. 



The custody of three messuages and 1 64 acres 

 of land of the cell of Kersall, Lancashire, was 

 committed to Lenton Priory. 63 



Grant for life, during the war with France, 

 was made by Richard II in 1387 to William 

 Kylmyngton, one of the king's servants, of the 

 office of porter of Lenton Priory, with power to 

 execute the office by deputy. 54 



49 Pat. 21 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m. 17, 2. 

 60 Ibid. 24 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 14 d. 

 " Nott. Bar. Rec. i, 161. 

 ** Rymer, Foedera, vi, 311. 

 " Abbrev. Rot. Orig. ii, 314. 

 " Pat. 10 Ric. II, pt. ii, m. 1 1. 



97 '3 



