RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



London, to draw up certain ordinances for its 

 rule. The bishop assented, and from his 

 ordinance, dated i May, 1372, we learn that 

 the bishop's parents, Nigel and Sara Theobald, 

 were also concerned in this charitable foundation. 

 It was laid down that there were to be for ever 

 three lepers, and after the death of John Colneys 

 one to be chosen governor whom the other two 

 were to obey ; that when a leper died or resigned 

 or was expelled, a third was to be chosen by the 

 survivor-; within six months, but if any difficulty 

 arose they were to inform the mayor of Sud- 

 bury, and the spiritual father of the church of 

 St. Gregory was to put in another ; that the 

 profits of the hospital of St. Leonard were to be 

 divided into five parts, whereof the governor 

 was to have two parts, his two leper brethren 

 other two parts, and the fifth part to be used 

 in the repair of the premises ; that there was 

 to be a common chest in some church or safe 

 place in Sudbury wherein the fifth part and the 

 writings of the house were to be kept ; and that 

 the governor was to have one key of the chest, 

 and the other was to be in the hands of some 

 person deputed by the mayor of Sudbury. It 

 was also provided that if the statutes should not 

 be duly kept after the founder's decease, the 

 hospital revenues should be divided between the 

 church of St. Gregory and the chapel of 

 St. Anne annexed to the same in equal pro- 

 portions, for the souls of Colneys the founder, 

 and of Nigel and Sara Theobald, and all the 

 faithful departed. 1 



The estates of the hospital were vested in 

 feoffees by deed of 16 January, 1445-6. In the 

 later corporation books of Sudbury there are 

 several references to the ' hospital called Colnes ' 



and lands adjoining. In 1619-20 'the little 

 house at the Colnes' was rebuilt. In 1657 

 John Rider was appointed governor of the 

 hospital in the place of Edward Stafford; he 

 had to find 40*. to be of good behaviour. The 

 last person who bore the name of governor or 

 master was a man called Loveday ; he died in 

 1813. 



The following was the form of oath taken by 

 members of the hospital, on admittance : 



You shall swear that you will well and truly 

 observe all the ancient rules and orders of this house 

 (as governor or fellow of the same) so long as you 

 shall continue therein, according to the utmost of 

 your skill and knowledge ; you shall be obedient to 

 the members thereof as your state does require in 

 all things lawfull ; you shall quietly submit to all 

 such deprivation and expulsion as by competent 

 authority shall be inflicted on you, for such crimes 

 and misdemeanours as they shall judge worthy of the 

 same ; and all other rules and orders which shall 

 hereafter be made by sufficient authority for the due 

 governance and regulation of the said hospital you 

 peaceably acquiesce in So help you God. 



The oath, doubtless adapted from the original 

 one, was thus used in 1770, when Edmund 

 Andrews was governor, and Joseph Andrews 

 and George Gilbert fellows. 3 



By a scheme of the Charity Commissioners 

 of 1867 the net income of Colneys' charity 

 is applied towards the support of St. Leonard's 

 Cottage Hospital. This is one of the extra- 

 ordinarily rare instances of a medical hospital 

 escaping confiscation under Henry VIII and 

 Edward VI. It was probably spared as there 

 was no ground for supposing that any of the 

 slender income was used for ' chantry ' purposes. 3 



COLLEGES 



64. THE COLLEGE OF JESUS, BURY 

 ST. EDMUNDS 



A college was founded at Bury in 1480 by 

 John Smyth, esquire, a wealthy burgess, as a 

 residence for certain chantry priests presided 

 over by a warden or master ; they were to say 

 divine service in the church of St. Mary and to 

 pray for the souls of the founder, of his wife 

 Anne, his parents John and Avice, and his 

 daughter Rose. 



By his will dated 12 September, 1480, John 

 Smyth left 2od. to every priest of the college 

 present 'at mynedirige,' and he further provided 

 that whensoever the college of priests became 

 incorporate and had royal licence to purchase or 

 hold property, then he desired his feoffees of the 

 manor of Hepworth, upon due request to them 

 by the master or president and fellowship 

 (phelaschep] of the same, to deliver the said manor 



'Add. MS. 19078, fol. 376. 



with its appurtenances to them for the sustenta- 

 tion of the said chantry priests ; he also made 

 a like provision with regard to his manor of 

 ' Swyftys.' 4 



Six days after drafting his will, the founder 

 executed a deed conveying the manor of Swifts 

 to trustees, who were to assign all the profits to 

 the master or president of the college of priests 

 ' newe builded within the town of Bury, to be 

 wholly applied to the building and sustention 

 and repair of the college,' reserving, however, to 

 himself for his life a yearly sum of 10 marks. 5 



The royal licence was obtained in the follow- 

 ing year, founding a chantry and perpetual gild 

 of 'the sweet name of Jesus,' consisting of a 

 warden and society of six chaplains or priests, 

 who were to live together in a common man- 



1 Add. MS. 19078, fol. 377. 



* Proc. Suf. Arch. Init. vii, 268-74. 



4 Tymms, Buiy Wills, 56, 58. 



6 Ibid. 64-8. 



141 



