RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



The expenses enable us at once to see that 

 the chief local charges on the income were those 

 of maintenance and hospitality. Following the 

 general rule, it is found that there was (i) a 

 preceptor or master of the house, Richard de 

 Bachesworth, who acted as receiver and who 

 was himself a knight ; (2) a confrater or brother, 

 William de Conesgrave, also a knight ; (3) a 

 salaried chaplain at 2Os. ; and (4) a corrodian, 

 one Simon Paviner, who in return for certain 

 benefactions had board and lodging at the house. 

 In addition to these there were of the house- 

 hold a chamberlain, a steward, a cook, a baker, 

 each receiving 6s. 8d. a year, two youths at 5*. 

 each, and a page at 3;. 



The board for all these, in addition to the hos- 

 pitality they were bound to extend to visitors, 

 particularly the poor, caused an expenditure of 

 j7 4*. in wheat and oats for bread ; 3 4.5. for 

 barley for brewing; and jCj 161. at the rate of 

 3*. a week, for fish, flesh, and other necessaries 

 for the kitchen. The robes, mantles, and other 

 necessaries for preceptor and brother cost 

 3 gs. i^d. The three days' visit of the prior of 

 Clerkenwell, the mother-house of the order in 

 England, caused an expenditure of 6os. The 

 total outlay for the year was 33 3$. iod. y 



leaving the handsome balance of 60 OS. 

 to be handed over to the general treasury. 

 There were two other small sources of income 

 for the Hospitallers from this county, in 1338, 

 which were paid direct to Clerkenwell, namely 

 10 marks from Dunwich, of which the particu- 

 lars are given elsewhere, and 51. from Gisling- 

 ham, being the yearly rent of a life lease of much 

 waste property in that parish. In both cases 

 these estates had originally pertained to the 

 Templars.* The value of the property of this 

 bailiwick deteriorated after the Black Death. 

 The Valor of 1538 gave its clear income as 

 52 161. 2d. 4 



After the dissolution of the order, Henry VIII 

 granted this preceptory in July, I 543, to Andrew 

 Judde, alderman of London. 5 In the following 

 September he obtained licence to alienate it, 6 

 and on 18 April, 1544, it was granted to Sir 

 Richard Gresham. 7 



PRECEPTORS OF BATTTSFORD 



John de Accoumbe, 8 occurs 1321 

 Richard de Bachesworth, 9 occurs 1328 

 Henry Haler, 10 died 1480 

 Giles Russel, 11 <:. 1530 



FRIARIES 



34. THE DOMINICAN FRIARS OF 

 DUNWICH 



The Dominican priory of Dunwich was 

 founded about the middle of the thirteenth 

 century by Sir Roger de Holish. It was situated 

 in the old parish of St. John, and was but I2O 

 rods distant from the house of the Franciscans. 1 

 The exact time of their settlement cannot now 

 be determined, but at all events considerable 

 progress was being made with substantial build- 

 ing prior to 1256. On g April that year 

 Henry III gave these friars of Dunwich seven 

 oaks for timber out of any of the royal forests of 

 Essex. 2 



After the house had been founded, difficulties 

 arose between the Black Friars of Norwich and 

 those of Dunwich as to the bounds which the 

 two houses were to traverse for spiritual and 

 eleemosynary purposes. Two friars of each 

 convent were elected to confer. Those chosen 

 for Dunwich were brothers, Geoffey de Walsing- 

 ham and William of St. Martin. The four met 

 at the Austin house of St. Olave, Herringfleet, 

 on 10 January, 1259, when they chose a fifth 

 friar to act as arbitrator. The decision was to 

 the effect that the river which divides Norfolk 

 from Suffolk was to be the bound between the 

 two houses, save that two parishes, Rushmere 



1 Gardner, Hist, of Dunwich (1754). 

 ' Close, 40 Hen. Ill, m. 1 2. 



and Mendham, that were in both counties, were 

 to be assigned in their entirety to Dunwich. 12 



When Edward I visited Ipswich in 1227 he 

 sent i6s. to the Friars Preachers of Dunwich for 

 two days' food. This house benefited to the 

 extent of 100*. in 1291, under the will of 

 Eleanor of Castile. 13 



In 1349 a considerable addition was made to 

 the homestead of these friars ; on 1 2 October 

 the king licensed John de Wengefeld to assign 

 5 acres to them for the enlargement of their 

 site. 1 ' 



. 14 



3 Larking, Knights Hospitallers, 167. 



4 Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iii, 403 ; the return is 

 not quite perfect. Speed gives the value as 53 IDS. 



:> Pat. 35 Hen. VIII, pt. iii, m. 4. 



6 Ibid. pt. vi, m. 27. ' Ibid. pt. xv, m. 24. 



8 Pat. 14 Edw. II, pt. ii, m. 16. 



9 Larking, Knights Hospitallers, 85. 



10 Killed at the siege of Rhodes, 1480. Porter, 

 Knights of Malta, ii, 321. 



" Porter, Knights of Malta, ii, 291. Giles Russel, 

 joint preceptor of Battisford and Dinghley (Northants), 

 was nominated lieutenant-turcopolier about 1535, 

 and turcopolier in 1543. 



Turcopolier was the title peculiar to the chief 

 knight of the English language. He was commander 

 of the turcopoles or light cavalry, and had also the 

 care of the coast defences of Rhodes and afterwards 

 of Malta. 



" Palmer, Refijuary, xxvi, 209. " Ibid. 



14 Pat. 23 Edw. Ill, pt. iii, m. 20. 



121 



16 



