RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



farm of Aisheley in Dorsetshire. 1 The manor 

 of Kingston Deverill (Wilts) was bestowed on 

 Sir Edward Seymour in the following year. 3 

 The reversion and rent reserved upon a lease 

 granted in 1502 by Abbot John Burges of 

 the manor of Gomshall, Surrey, was given in 

 1538 to Sir Edward Braye. 3 The tithes of 

 Wellow rectory and land there were granted 

 in 1539 to Sir Richard Lyster, chief baron. 4 

 The pointed oval seal, illustrations of which 

 and the counterseal are given, of the year 1329 

 represents an abbot, with crozier in right 

 hand and book in left, standing between four 

 monks, two on each side. The legend reads : 



COMMUNE ABB DE ' LETTEL . 



The reverse has a smaller pointed oval 

 counterseal. The full length abbot has 

 crozier in right hand and book in left. 



Legend : + s' ABB'IS LOCI sci EDWARDI. 



ABBOTS OF NETLEY 

 Robert, 8 1245 



Walter de Cheseldene, 1290 

 William, 9 1311 



Henry de Inglesham, 10 1371-4 

 John Stelhard, 1374-87 

 Philip de Cornhampton, 11 1387 

 John de Glocester, 12 after 1396 

 Richard de Middleton, 13 after 1396 

 Thomas, 14 1468 

 John, 15 1475 

 Thomas, 16 1496 

 John Burges, 1502 

 William, 17 1507 

 John Corne, 18 1516 

 Thomas Stevens, 19 152936 



HOUSE OF CISTERCIAN NUNS 



9. THE PRIORY OF WINTNEY 



A small priory of Cistercian nuns, dedicated 

 to the Blessed Virgin and St. Mary Magda- 

 lene, was founded at Wintney in the twelfth 

 century. Occasionally its superiors were 

 termed abbesses. According to the obituary 

 of the convent calendar, Richard Holte and 

 Christine his wife, the daughter of Thomas 

 Cobreth, founded the house and Geoffrey Fitz 

 Peter the first church towards the end of the 

 twelfth century. Leland names Roger Cob- 

 reth and his son Thomas as the founders. 5 

 Various members of the Cobreth family were 

 benefactors; and we find that Dame Diana 

 Cobreth had her heart buried before the high 

 altar. 



In 1234 the temporary church or chapel 

 of wood was succeeded by a stone church, 

 which was dedicated on 4 October. 6 Richard 

 de Herriard was the founder of this church ; 

 his obit was kept on April 6. Several other 

 members of that family, who took their name 

 from an adjacent parish, were also benefactors 

 of this convent. 



Among the Cotton MSS. is a handsome 

 twelfth century volume in excellent preserva- 

 tion which belonged to the nuns of Wintney. 7 

 Its chief contents is the rule of Benedictine 



1 Letters and Papers, Hen. Vlll. xi. 38? (3). 

 * Ibid. xii. 617(1). 



3 Ibid. xiii. 646 (39). 



4 Aug. Off., Misc. Books, ccx. f. 59. 

 8 Leland's Collectanea, i. 69. 



Cott. MSS. Claud. B. iii. 

 1 Ibid. 



nuns set forth both in Latin and English in 

 parallel columns. At the end is a fine calen- 

 dar, in which are entered the names of bene- 

 factors, prioresses and sisters of the convent ac- 

 cording to their several obits. This obituary so 

 mentions six Bishops of Winchester, beginning 

 with Godfrey de Lucy (1189-1205); two 

 Bishops of Bath ; six abbots of Reading, be- 

 ginning with Elias (1200-13); two priors 

 of Southwick ; and Adam, abbot of Waverley, 

 1216-29. There are a few entries of the 

 fifteenth century. Eleven prioresses of Wint- 

 ney are named, but in no case is any year 

 given ; they are in calendar order, Emma, 

 Sabina, Isilia, Clarice, Lucy, Julia, Alice, 

 Lucy II., Havisia, Cecily and Rose. The last 

 prioress commemorated in the obituary is 

 Alice de Dunmore, elected in 1301. There 

 is also mention of Maud de Quincy, who 

 founded the dorter. 



8 Cal. of Papal Letters, i. 212. 



9 Ancient Deeds, P.R.O., D. 630. 



10 Winton. Epis. Reg., Wykeham, iii. 38. 



11 Cole's MSS. 



18 Dugdale's Monasticon, v. 695. 

 is Ibid. 



14 Pat. 7 Edw. IV. pt. i, m. 22. 

 ' 5 Ibid. 15 Edw. IV. pt. I, m. 26. 

 i 6 Ancient Deeds, P.R.O., B. 2724. 

 " Ibid. D. 815. 



18 Ibid. D. 1216. 



19 Letters and Papers, Hen. Vlll. iv. 6047. 



20 This obituary was printed, though with many 

 mistakes, by Thomas Hearne in 1729, among the 

 notes to Trokelowe's AnnalesEdwardill. pp. 384- 



93- 



149 



