A HISTORY OF SUFFOLK 



13. THE PRIORY OF WANGFORD 



A small priory of Cluniac monks was founded 

 at Wangford, as a cell of the important priory of 

 Thetford, before the year 1160. There is some 

 confusion as to the founder and the precise date ; 

 but from early deeds cited by Gardner it would 

 appear that Weever's statement as to the founder 

 being ' one Ansered of France ' is correct. Sir 

 Geraline de Vernuns gave to God and the church 

 of St. Peter, Wangford, and the monks there 

 serving God, whatever his father Anteredus had 

 granted them, namely the church of Reydon with 

 the chapel of Rissemere (afterwards Southwold), 

 the water-mill and dam at Reydon, and an acre 

 of land near the dam for its repair. The wit- 

 nesses show that this deed was circa 1200. 

 Another somewhat conflicting early charter by 

 Richard FitzWilliam confirms to God and St. 

 Mary and the monks of Thetford the gifts of his 

 grandfather Dodo and his father William, of the 

 church of St. Peter, Wangford, and the chapel 

 of St. Mary, Rissemere. 1 



The taxation of 1291 shows that the bene- 

 factions to the priory had been fairly numerous. 

 The prior held lands and rents in Wangford 

 and adjacent parishes of the annual value of 

 12 is. n|(/., and also a mill at ' Surgueland,' 

 worth 2Os. a year. The spiritualities included 

 Reydon with its chapel, and Stoven, and these 

 appropriations were worth 22 a year. The 

 total income of the priory, exclusive of the 

 tithes of Wangford itself, was thus 35 is. I i\d? 

 An extent of the lands, tenements, churches, 

 rents, and other temporalities pertaining to the 

 priory of Wangford, taken by order of the crown 

 in 1370,' shows a slight increase of about 8, 

 hut the Valor of 1535 showed a considerable drop 

 in the value of the temporalities, which only 

 brought in a clear annual sum of 5 5*. id. ; the 

 spiritualities, however, brought the total clear in- 

 come up to 30 gs. ^d. The prior then held the 

 rectories of Wangford, Reydon cum Southwold, 

 Covehithe (North Hales), and Stoven, with portions 

 from the churches of Stoven and Easton Bavents. 4 

 The prior of Wangford was appointed by the 

 pope in 1226, to be a joint papal commissioner 

 with the great abbot of Westminster and the 

 archdeacon of Sudbury in an important dispute 

 as to the tithes of the church of Walpole. 6 



The hundred jury of 1275 declared that 

 William Giffard, the sheriff, had taken Reginald, 

 prior of Wangford, by violence from the court of 

 Master Philip of Wangford, contrary to peace, 

 had imprisoned him for a week in the castle of 



'Gardner, Hut. of Dunwlch, &c., 254; Weever, 

 Funeral Monuments, 762 ; Leland, Coll. i, 162 ; 

 Tanner, Notitia, Suff. xliv. 



1 Pope Niffr. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 104*, 114^, 119, 

 126, 126^, 127. 



Add. MS. 6164, fol. 422. 



4 Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iii, 438. 



* Cat. Pap. Reg. \, 113-14- 



Norwich, and did not release him until he had 

 paid an unjust fine of seven marks. 6 



The Cluniac houses were all reckoned as alien 

 during the wars with France, and were taken 

 into the hands of the crown. In October, 1307, 

 Edward II appointed John de Benstede and 

 William Inge to the custody of the lands and 

 possessions of the priory of Thetford, with its 

 cells of Wangford and Horkesley, to apply the 

 rents and issues to the discharge of the debts of 

 the house, reserving a reasonable sustenance for 

 the religious of the mother house and its cells. 7 

 In the December of the following year protec- 

 tion was granted for one year to Martin, prior of 

 Wangford, who was going beyond the seas on 

 the king's service, 8 and in 1310, Prior Martin 

 had renewed protection granted him, as he was 

 staying beyond the seas on the king's service. 9 



Edward III in 1327 granted to the prior of 

 Wangford, amongst a large number of priors of 

 alien houses, the right to resume control over his 

 possessions, which had been taken from him by 

 the late king during the wars with France, saving 

 the advowsons of benefices, and saving also the 

 apport or tribute to the parent house of Cluni. 10 



Edward III took the priory of Wangford again 

 into his hands by reason of the war with France, 

 and committed the custody of it to William de 

 Cusance, king's clerk and treasurer, to whom, in 

 February, 1342, the 30 rents of this priory were 

 assigned, in recompense for the losses he had 

 sustained during the war. 11 



In November, 1393, the prior of Wangford 

 paid 100 marks to the crown, and obtained from 

 Richard II a full grant of denization, in considera- 

 tion of the poverty of the priory lately committed 

 to his (the prior's) custody at the yearly rent of 

 10, and of its being ruled henceforth by true- 

 born Englishmen, and that the prior had paid no 

 yearly pension to the king's enemies as other 

 alien priors had. 11 



Walter, prior of Wangford, about 1402, sued 

 the pope for the appropriation of the vicarage of 

 North Hales (Covehithe) to that priory, without 

 the knowledge or consent of the prior and con- 

 vent of Thetford, in whose name the suit ought 

 to have been made, and the pope ' so far as was 

 in him,' appropriated the vicarage to Wangford. 

 The vicarage was at that time void by the resigna- 

 tion of one Peter Braunche, and after that resigna- 

 tion Henry IV presented a clerk because the priory 

 of Wangford had no royal licence for the appro- 

 priation, but on 1 8 June, 1402, the king granted 

 that the clerk presented was to hold the vicarage 

 of North Hales for this turn, but that afterwards 



' Hund. R. (Rec. Com.), ii, 149. 



7 Pat. I Edw. II.pt. i, m. 18. 



8 Ibid. 2 Edw. II, pt. i, m. 17. 

 s Ibid. 3 Edw. II, m. 5. 



10 Close, i Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 22. 



11 Pat. 1 6 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 38. 

 " Ibid. 1 7 Ric. II, pt. i, m. i 3. 



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