A HISTORY OF SUFFOLK 



portant Austin house of St. Osyth, Essex. 

 Henry I bestowed on that abbey the tithes of 

 the widespread parish of Blythburgh, and here, 

 aided by the support of the Claverings, the lords 

 of the manor, a priory or dependent cell of St. 

 Osyth was established at an early date. 1 



Blythburgh is an instance of one of those 

 important cells which had a double life, being 

 partly independent of the mother house, but in 

 the main, dependent. The priory presented 

 to several neighbouring benefices and to one in 

 Norfolk, and it also possessed a good deal of 

 property both in spiritualities and temporalities 



to the abbot and convent of St. Osyth the right of 

 placing a prior in the church of Blythburgh, granted 

 to them by King Henry, his grandfather, (fbl. 9^.) 



Bull of Innocent III (1198-1216) to Ralph abbot 

 of St. Osyth, confirming to him and his canons the 

 church of Blythburgh. (fbl. 9^.) 



Confirmation by William de Kerdiston of the 

 church of Claxton, &c. (fol. 12.) 



Grants by Richard, son of William son of Duet, 

 of the church of Blythburgh. Confirmation of the 

 same by Ralph de Criketot and by Hubert de 

 Criketot, Ralph's son. Grant by William bishop of 

 Norwich (i 146-75) of the church of Blythburgh to 

 the canons of Blythburgh on petition of Ralph de 

 Criketot, lord of that place ; and certificate of the 

 archdeacon of Suffolk that he was present when the 

 bishop instituted the canons to the church of Blyth- 

 burgh. (fols. 1 6, \6b.) 



Grant to Blythburgh by Eudo son of Ogar of the 

 church of Bramfield, with confirmation by William 

 bishop of Norwich, and by John and Thomas, arch- 

 bishops of Canterbury, (fols. 19, K)t.) 



Grant by Richard de Clippesby of the church of 

 Clippesby, and by Roger de Claxton, with confirma- 

 tion by John bishop of Norwich and his archdeacons 

 (1175-1206). (fols. 2$b, 26.) 



Confirmation by Archbishop Peckham of the rights 

 of the priory in the churches of St. Mary and the 

 Holy Trinity at Blythburgh with the chapels of Wal- 

 berswick, Bramfield, Clopton, Blyford, and a 

 moiety of Wenhaston (1281). (fol. 25.) 



Grant by Geoffrey de Beletone, rector of the 

 church of St. John's, Dunwich, of the advowson of 

 the church of Thorington, with a piece of land, 

 (fol. 54*0 



Agreement in 1278 between Robert FitzRoger, 

 knt., and the prior and convent of Blythburgh, by 

 which the former releases the latter from the old 

 custom of providing a feast at Christmas for his men 

 and serfs at Walberswick, on condition of providing a 

 resident chaplain to celebrate mass in Walberswick 

 chapel daily, instead of thrice a week, four of the 

 weekly masses being for the benefit of the said Robert 

 and Margery his wife. (fol. 626.) 



A report as to this volume, with an analysis of its 

 chief contents, appeared in the Hist. A/SS. Com. Rep. 

 x, 451-7. It was at that time in the hands of the 

 Rev. F. S. Hill, rector of Thorington ; but is now 

 owned by Mr. F. A. Crisp, F.S.A., who has kindly 

 allowed it to be inspected by the writer. 



' Gardner, Hist. ofDumcich, Blythburgh and Soutb- 

 tooU, 128 ; Suckling, Hist, of Stiff, ii, 143 ; V. C. H. 

 Essex, ii. 



uncontrolled by St. Osyth's ; moreover it was 

 subject to the visitation of the diocesan, the 

 Bishop of Norwich. But, although it was thus to 

 a certain extent conventual, the most important 

 function of a chapter or conventual gathering 

 was the choice of a superior on the occurrence 

 of a vacancy, and in this respect Blythburgh 

 was voiceless. The appointment of the prior 

 always rested with the abbot and convent of St. 

 Osyth's, though in the formal presentation to the 

 bishop, the lord of Blythburgh, as lay patron of 

 the priory, was always associated with the abbot.* 

 Moreover the prior and his two canons were 

 always expected to attend the visitations of 

 St. Osyth whenever they were held by the Bishops 

 of London or their commissaries; they also took 

 part in the election of an abbot over the mother 

 house. 



The elaborate charter of confirmation granted 

 to the priory by Richard I recites all their bene- 

 factions up to that date. It makes no reference 

 to the mother house of St. Osyth's. 3 



The Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas (1291), 

 about a century later, shows that the priory had 

 gained several small benefactions during that 

 period. The house held lands or rents in about 

 forty Suffolk parishes, as well as in Great Yar- 

 mouth, yielding an annual total of ^36 3*. \\d. 

 Of this sum 20 igs. 6^d. came from Blyth- 

 burgh and Walberswick. 'In addition to this 

 there were the then appropriated churches of 

 Bramfield, Wenhaston, and Blyford, which 

 yielded collectively ^23 6s. 4^.* Moreover the 

 appropriate tithes of Blythburgh-cum- Walbers- 

 wick were omitted in that list, but shortly 

 afterwards taxed as of the annual worth of 

 28 6i. 8d. ; B so that by the end of the thir- 

 teenth century the priory was worth the fairly 

 large annual sum of ^88 6s. i^d., though the 

 total would be considerably reduced by a variety 

 of outgoings. 



John Fovas, vicar of Claxton, and Henry 

 Brid of Halesworth had licence in 1345 to 

 alienate to the priory 6 1 acres of land and 

 3 acres of pasture in Spexhall, Westhall, Thornton, 

 and Blythburgh, towards the support of a chap- 

 lain to celebrate weekly in the priory church for 

 the souls of Henry de Harnhull, and his father, 

 mother, and ancestors. 6 The priory obtained 

 licence in 1347 to appropriate the church of 

 Thorington, which was of its advowson. 7 



1 Thus the Norwich visitation books show that the 

 Claverings, Audleys, Uffords, and Lords Dacres were 

 successively patrons. 



* This charter is cited in full by Dugdale (Man. vi, 

 588-9), and by Suckling (Hist, of Stiff, ii, 145-6). 



4 Pope Nich. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 97^, 113, 118^, 

 126, 126^, 127, 127^, 1286, 132. 



4 Chartul. fol. ib. In this place two small por- 

 tions or pensions are also named from the rectories of 

 Stoven and Walpole, amounting to I is. $d. 



6 Pat. 19 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m. 9. 



1 Ibid. 21 Edw. Ill, pt. iv, m. 6. 



9 2 



