A HISTORY OF SUFFOLK 



PRIORS OF KERSEY 

 Richard Waleys, died 1331 1 

 Robert de Akenham, elected 1331 * 

 John Calle, resigned i^8j 3 

 John de Polstede, elected 1387* 

 John Buche, elected 1394" 

 John Dewche, elected 1411 6 

 Nicholas Bungaye, resigned 1422* 

 Richard Fyn, elected 1422* 

 John Duch, elected 1431 9 

 William Woodbridge, elected 1432 10 



The twelfth-century seal is a pointed oval, 

 bearing a bust of the Blessed Virgin, crowned, 

 in clouds ; below is the head of St. Anthony ; 

 between them is a sun and crescent moon. 

 Legend : 



SIGILL' SCE MARIE ET sci ANTONII DE KERSEIA 



26. THE PRIORY OF LETHER- 

 INGHAM 



There is not much to be learnt about the 

 small priory of Austin canons at Letheringham, 

 dedicated to the honour of the Blessed Virgin. 

 It was a cell of the priory of St. Peter's, Ipswich, 

 served by three or four canons, over whom was a 

 prior who was appointed from time to time by the 

 mother house ; but the prior held the office for life, 

 the appointment being confirmed by the bishop. 



William de Bovile, apparently towards the 

 close of the twelfth century, gave his tithes at 

 Letheringham to the monastery of St. Peter's, 

 Ipswich, whereupon they established here a 

 priory. The Boviles held the manor of Lether- 

 ingham with the advowson of the priory for 

 many generations until 1348, when the lordship 

 and advowson passed to Sir John de Ufford, in 

 trust, for the use of Margery, daughter and 

 heiress of Sir John Bovile. Margery married for 

 her second husband Thomas Wingfield, and 

 hence the Wingfields held this property until 

 long after the dissolution. 11 



The taxation roll of 1291 shows that the total 

 income of this priory was then ji2 us. o^d., 

 8 being the value of the appropriated church of 

 Charsfield, and the greater part of the remaining 

 income from temporalities coming from lands at 

 Letheringham. 12 



A two-days' fair on the vigil and Assumption 

 of the Blessed Virgin was granted to the priory 

 in 1297 to be held at Letheringham. 13 



1 Ibid. 



5 Ibid, vi, 307. 



1 Norw. Epis. Reg. ii, 45. 



I Ibid, vi, 1 26. Ibid. 



6 Ibid, vii, 46. 7 Ibid, viii, 76. " Ibid'. 

 9 Ibid, ix, 49. ' Ibid. 60. 



II Tanner, Notitia, Suff. xxxi ; Page, Hist, of Stiff, i, 

 116-17. Leland says the founder was Sir John de 

 Bovile (Coll. i, 62). 



11 Pope Nicb. Tax (Rec. Com.), 27^, 117, 124, 124/5, 

 125^, 126, 128, 1286. 

 "Chart. 25 Edw. I, No. 19. 



John, duke of Norfolk, and Katharine his wife, 

 gave the advowson of the church of Hoo to this 

 priory in 1475, and in 1482 the canons obtained 

 licence to appropriate it. 14 



The Valor of 1535 gives the total clear annual 

 value of this priory as 26 l8s. $d. ; the tem- 

 poralities amounted to j i6s. yd., and the 

 spiritualities (including the rectories of Lether- 

 ingham, Charsfield, and Hoo) to 19 is. 8d. li 



The Suffolk commissioners for appraising the 

 value of the goods and chattels of the condemned 

 smaller monasteries visited Letheringham on 

 24 August, 1536. The whole was valued at 

 7 2s. iod. 



The actual date of the suppression of the house 

 was 7 February, 1536-7." 



William Basse, the prior, was assigned a pen- 

 sion of js. 18 



On 20 October, 1539, a grant was made to 

 Sir Anthony Wingfield of the site and possessions 

 of the priory, with the rectories of Letheringham, 

 Charsfield, and certain tithes in Asketon. 19 



PRIORS OF LETHERINGHAM 



Richard de Hecham, 20 1307 

 Richard de Sancto Edmundo, 21 1316 

 William de Bhi Thornham (V), M 1357 

 Stephen Capel, 23 resigned 1399 

 John Bresete, 24 1399 

 Thomas de Hadley, 25 1407 

 William Woodbridge, 26 1420 

 William Keche, 27 resigned, 1443 

 William Noel, 28 1443 

 Robert Kenynghall, 28 1462 

 John May, 30 1473 

 Henry Wortham, 31 died 1497 

 Robert Hadley, 32 1497 

 William Basse, 33 1506 

 William Clopton, 31 1510 

 William Basse, 35 occurs 1535 



There is a fine fragment of the oval seal of 

 this house attached to a charter of 1495 ; it bears 

 the Blessed Virgin seated in a carved niche. 

 Legend : 



. . . LL : COE : PORIS : ET : CON . . . , 36 



14 Tanner, Notitia, Suff. xxxi, citing Norw. Epis. 

 Reg. xii. 



15 Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iii, 423-4. 



16 Proc. Suff. Arch. Inst. viii, 101. 



17 Gairdner, Hist, of Chunk ofEngl. In i bth Cent. 421. 

 19 Misc. Bks. (Aug. Off.), ccxxxii, fol. 58. 



19 Ibid, ccxi, fol. 5*. 



80 Norw. Epis. Reg. i, 26. Dates of election. 



11 Ibid, i, 65. " Ibid, v, 19. !3 Ibid, vi, 245. 



" Ibid. " Ibid, vii, 4. * Ibid, viii, 55. 



87 Ibid, x, 48. " Ibid, x, 48. 



89 Ibid, xi, 133. so Ibid, xii, i " Ibid, xii, 198. 



"Ibid. M Ibid. xiv, 13. 



M Tanner, Norw. MSS. 



35 Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iii. 



:6 Add. Chart. 15755. 



1 08 



