RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



Among the women servants were Jane 

 Sherley, ' the abbas gentyllwoman,' as well as 

 a servant. The prioress, sub-prioress and 

 ' sexten ' (sacrist) had each their servant in 

 their respective houses, and so had ' Dame 

 Maud Burne in her house.' The other three 

 were ' lavenders ' (washerwomen) to the 

 abbess and convent. The officials and servants 

 were a general receiver, clerk, ' curtyar ' (cur- 

 tiler), cater, butler, cook, under-cook, baker, 

 convent cook, under convent cook, brewer, 

 miller, porter, under-porter, porter of Eastgate, 

 two 'churchemen,' ' Peter Tycheborne chylde 

 of the high aulter,' and two servants of the 

 receiver and clerk respectively. The corro- 

 diers were Thomas Legh, John Lichfeld and 

 Richard Yeckley. 



The twenty-six ' chyldren of lordys, 

 knyghttes and gentylmen brought up yn the 

 sayd monastery ' were : ' Bryget Plantagenet, 

 dowghter unto the lord vycounte Lysley ; 

 Mary Pole, dowghter unto Sir Gefferey Pole 

 knyght ; Brygget Coppeley, dowghter unto 

 Sir Roger Coppeley knyght ; Elizabeth Phyll- 

 pot, dowghter unto Sir Peter Phyllpot knyght ; 

 Margery Tyrell ; Adryan Tyrell ; Johanne 

 Barnabe ; Amy Dyngley ; Elizabeth Dyng- 

 ley ; Jane Dyngley ; Frances Dyngley ; 

 Susan Tycheborne ; Elizabeth Tycheborne ; 

 Mary Justyce ; Agnes Alymor ; Emma 

 Bartue ; Myldred Clerke ; Anne Lacy ; 

 Isold Apulgate ; Elizabeth Legh ; Mary 

 Legh ; Alienor North ; Johanne Sturgys ; 

 Johanne Fylder ; Johanne Francis ; Jane 

 Raynysford.' 



The commissioners put on record that the 

 religious persons of this house ' have been and 

 are of very clene, vertuous, honest, and charit- 

 able conversation, order, and rule synce the 

 furst profession of thym, which is also reported 

 not only by the Mayors and Comynaltye of 

 the Citye of Winchester, butt also by the 

 most worshipfull and honest persons of the 

 Centre adjoynynge thereunto, which have 

 daylye made a contynuall sute unto the said 

 Commyssioners to be suetors unto the Kinges 

 highnes for tolleracon of the said monastery.' 



' Item the said monastery is in a very good 

 state of Reparacon and standeth nigh the 

 middell of the Citye of a great and large 

 compasse envyround with many poor house- 

 holdes which have theyr only lyvynge of the 

 said monastery, and have no demaynes where- 

 by they may make any provysion butt lyve 

 only by theyr handes, making theyr provysion 

 in the markettes.' 



They returned the monastery as out of 

 debt, and reported that the convent seal was 

 put in a bag sealed with the seal of Richard 

 Poulet, locked in a coffer with three keys, 



which remained in the custody of the abbess 

 and two of the chief governors of the monas- 

 tery ; that the value of the lead on the 

 church and houses was 154 IDJ., and there 

 were five great bells and one little one, worth 

 28 2s. 6d. ; that the inventory of the jewels, 

 ornaments, household stuff, stock and stores 

 amounted to ,486 13*. "]d. ; that 24. 6s. 8d. 

 was owing to the monastery ; that the annual 

 value of the lands and possessions was 330 

 iSs. 6$d., and that the value of the woods 

 was 231 6s. 4< 1 



The Valor of 1535 returned the gross 

 annual value of the abbey as 245 175. 2^</., 

 whilst the clear value was only ^179 Js. 2</., 

 which brought it well within the limit of the 

 Act of the following year for the suppression 

 of the smaller monasteries. It is difficult to 

 account for the great discrepancy between this 

 valuation and that made by the commissioners 

 in 1536 as given above even after making 

 allowance for the former being an assessment 

 value. It was possibly owing to this higher 

 estimate that St. Mary's escaped the destruc- 

 tion of those houses whose revenue was less 

 than 200 per annum, but more particularly 

 on account of the payment of the great sum 

 or bribe of 333 6s. 8d. On 27 August, 

 1536, letters patent placed the establishment 

 on a new and diminished foundation, the 

 Wiltshire manors of Urchfont and All Can- 

 nings being granted to Sir Edward Seymour 

 (Viscount Beauchamp) and Anne his wife. 

 Elizabeth Shelley was at the same time con- 

 firmed in her position as abbess. 8 



But the respite was not for long. In 

 September, 1538, Cromwell's commissioners 

 proceeded ' to sweep away (from St. Mary's) 

 all the rotten bones that be called relics.' 3 

 At last, on 15 November, 1539, the 'sur- 

 render ' was signed, before Robert Southwell 

 and other commissioners, pensions being 

 granted to the abbess of 26 135. \d. ; to the 

 prioress, 5 ; to two nuns, 4 ; to two, 2 

 i6s. 8d. ; and to seventeen others, 2 13*. \d.^ 



In the following years these pensions were 

 confirmed, as well as 65. 8d. each to twelve 

 poor women called sisters, and the s ; te granted 

 to John Bello and John Brarholme. The 

 'houses' that were recommended to be ' sus- 

 stained ' were the abbess' lodging, stretching 

 from the church to the frater on the north, 

 with its court and appurtenances, the buttery, 

 pantry, kitchen and larder ; the gatehouse ; 

 the barn ; the bakehouses ; the brewhouse ; 

 the garner ; the stables ; and the mills. Among 



1 Aug. Off. Misc. Boob, cccc. 24. 



9 Pat. Hen. VIII. pt. 2. m. 14, vide supra. 



3 Letters and Papers, Hen. Vlll. xiii. (2) 401. 



4 Aug. Off. Misc. Boob, ccxlv. 96. 



125 



