RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



The college was visited in February, 1493, by 

 Archdeacon Goldwell, as commissary for his 

 brother the bishop. The visitation was attended 

 by Richard Edenham, bishop of Bangor (1465- 

 1496), who held the deanery, and six canons, 

 together with three vicars, two ' conducts,' six 

 clerks, a verger, and five choristers. There was 

 no reform needed. 1 



All the members of the college were summoned 

 to a visitation held by Bishop Nykke in the Lady 

 Chapel of Sudbury College in June, 1514. The 

 vicars-choral were first examined ; their testi- 

 mony was that everything was laudably conducted, 

 but that the number of the vicars had been re- 

 duced from eight to six for many years, owing 

 to insufficiency of income ; one of their number 

 complained that their statutory privilege of being 

 absent for eight weeks in the year without any 

 diminution of stipend was no longer observed. 

 Bishop Edenham, as dean, made a satisfactory 

 report. Thomas Whitehead, prebendary of the 

 second stall on the south side, and Thomas 

 Wardell, prebendary of the second stall on the 

 north side, stated that the book of the statutes 

 had been suspiciously erased and interlined, 

 particularly in the parts relative to the residence 

 of the canons and vicars. Another of the pre- 

 bendaries complained that the dean and Thomas 

 Whitehead had been illegally felling much 

 timber and applying it to the repairs pf a mill, 

 whereas the woods were only to be used for the 

 repairs of the college and its houses ; also that 

 Whitehead had carried off much pertaining to 

 the college for the repair of his benefice of Bird- 

 brook. The same prebendary, William Wiott, 

 also stated that Whitehead lived scandalously at 

 his benefice. A fourth prebendary said that the 

 erasures in the book of the statutes led to many 

 disputes ; and that although there were but six 

 vicars instead of eight, there were nevertheless 

 four clerks serving in quire, although the statutes 

 only provided for two. It was also alleged that 

 profits of the appropriated churches of Dunmow 

 and Bisley, formerly assigned for the augmenta- 

 tion of the vicars, were now divided among the 

 canons. The bishop was evidently not satisfied, 

 and prorogued his visitation to the next feast of 

 the Annunciation. 2 



The next recorded visitation was held in 

 June, 1520, when the suffragan Bishop of Chal- 

 cedon and two other commissaries were the 

 visitors. The vicars had been reduced from 

 eight to five, for whose support there was scarcely 

 sufficient ; nevertheless the ' conducts ' or clerks 

 had been increased in numbers. The fellows or 

 prebendaries repeated their complaints as to the 

 tampering with the book of the statutes, and 

 consequent disputes. The visitation was pro- 

 rogued until Michaelmas. 3 



In April, 1521, the master and fellows of 



1 Jessopp, Visit. 42-3. 

 'Ibid. 81-3. 



1 Ibid. 132-4. 



Stoke agreed to a revision of their statutes, in the 

 presence of the bishop's commissary, on account 

 of the erasures and interlineations in the original 

 copy ; they promised to abide by any decision at 

 which the bishop might arrive. 4 



Five years later, namely on 12 July, 1526, 

 the bishop in person visited the college. Of the 

 beginning of this visitation an unusually detailed 

 account is preserved in the register. It was held 

 in the chapter-house, or, as the bishop's scribe 

 explains it, ' in the vestry which they hold to 

 be a chapter-house in the collegiate church of 

 Stoke.' Thomas Whitehead, the senior canon, 

 who had held a prebend here for twenty-nine 

 years, in the presence and with the consent of 

 three other canons, asserted openly before the 

 diocesan, that Richard Griffith, receiver-general 

 and secretary of Queen Katharine, had at her 

 command forcibly taken away, in spite of their 

 protests, the statutes and muniments of the 

 college, namely the book of the statutes, the bull 

 of Pope John XXII as to the founding of the 

 college with bulla attached, the confirmation of 

 Henry V, the charter of Edmund earl of March, 

 and the charter of Richard duke of York, with 

 other muniments and evidences, and the common 

 seal with three other seals. The visitation notes 

 continue, Et dicit magistcr Whitehed, and then 

 suddenly break off. 



At this point in the visitation a startling in- 

 cident occurred. A letter from the cardinal was 

 handed to the bishop. Cardinal Wolsey was at 

 this time endeavouring to carry out his scheme 

 of suppressing various small religious houses that 

 seemed to be of little use, in favour of establishing 

 the two large collegiate foundations at Ipswich 

 and Oxford. The pope had granted him ample 

 powers, and he had cast his eyes on the wealthy 

 college of Stoke. Learning that the bishop of 

 Norwich was making a visitation tour, it became 

 a matter of some moment to check it. The 

 cardinal's commissioners were anxious to make 

 out a good case for the suppression of the college, 

 and probably had their brief prepared ; more- 

 over the non-resident master or dean of the 

 college, ' no estimable person,' had been already 

 gained over. But the college was now under 

 the patronage of the queens of England, and 

 when Queen Katharine learnt what was con- 

 templated she acted with prompt decision, sent 

 down her faithful servant Griffith and took 

 possession of the title deeds. Meanwhile, on 

 8 July, the cardinal wrote to the dean announ- 

 cing that he was about to visit the college on 

 I August, with powers of a legate a latere. 

 This important and ominous letter seems to have 

 been handed to the bishop just after he had 

 begun his visitation. Cardinal Wolsey had full 

 power as legate to inhibit the bishop visiting, but 

 the Bishop of Norwich was on safe ground in 

 considering that a letter addressed to the dean of 



4 Ibid. 195. 



