A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



chase in 1 447 of a manor called Butts, afterwards exchanged for that of 

 Holland or Hulland at Tilehurst in Berkshire. This was one of a series 

 of obits which brought considerable accessions of territory to the college, 

 the value of whic4i for maintenance purposes was considerably increased 

 when obits were abolished by the Chantries Act of Edward VI. While 

 they lasted they were not unpleasing extensions of the * dead hand,' as 

 all the members of the college who were present at the service for the 

 dead in the college chapel in commemoration of the donor received 

 small sums of money. The usual tariff was 



Warden 2s. Hostiarius 6d. 



Fellows and chaplains . . . . is. Lay clerks 4^. 



Headmaster, if a priest . . . is. Scholars 2d. 



Headmaster, if not a priest . . %d. Choristers id. 



It is noteworthy that the obit foundations of Cardinal Beaufort, 

 Warden Chandler, Ede and others contained a clause differentiating the 

 payment to the headmaster, according as he was or was not a priest, in 

 which latter case his prayers were more valuable. This shows that the 

 necessity of the sacerdotal headmaster was by no means recognized 

 during those ages of faith. Sometimes the later gifts took the form of 

 a noble (3^. 4^.) for a ' pittance ' or extra dish at dinner for the scholars, 

 or 6d. to each of the six chambers (scholars) and ^d. to the seventh 

 chamber (choristers). At Ede's and Rede's obits money was given for 

 candles for the scholars in chambers. The last foundation of an obit 

 was in 1557, after the abolition by Edward VI., by John Pullie, keeper 

 of Wolvesey Castle, but it was not perpetual, being only for fifteen 

 years, and contained no gifts to the masters or boys. Excluding this, 

 which probably never came into operation, but including Wykeham's, 

 there were twenty-one obits in all. They were those of Wykeham, 

 Beaufort and Beckington, bishops ; Morys, Thurburn, Chandler, Baker, 

 Clyff, wardens ; Farlington, headmaster ; Laws and Gynner (or 

 Chynnore), H. Keswyk, T. Aschebourne and J. Whyte, fellows ; Hugh 

 Sugar, chancellor of Wells, Robert Colpays, William Tystede, formerly 

 scholars ; J. Fromond and J. Bedyll, stewards, the latter a scholar and 

 mayor of Winchester ; Richard Rede, porter of Wolvesey, and Stephen 

 Ede, fathers of scholars ; and Sir W. Danvers, Earl of Oxford, probably 

 a commoner. Kesewyke's obit founded in 1419 was one of the earliest. 

 He gave property in Southampton. Fromond's lands were mostly in 

 or near Winchester. Thurburn's were at Romsey ; Colpays' at Otter- 

 burne. The chief accretions of land came through purchases, largely 

 made by Warden Baker (145482), but whether out of accumulations 

 of income or gifts of money does not seem to be clear and could only 

 be determined by an exhaustive analysis of the deeds and account rolls. 



In 1 544 a great, and as things have turned out, a most unfortunate 

 change in the college endowment was caused by an exchange made with 

 King Henry VIII. He took from the college Harmondsworth and 

 the four Thames-side rectories, and the manors of Shaw and Calthrop 



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