ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 



In spite, however, of the undercurrent of heresy and the low 

 standard of life and duty amongst the clergy in the county, there is 

 evidence enough that the shrines of the saints and other centres of 

 popular devotion were still frequented by worshippers. It was one 

 of the special objects of the gild at Buckingham to do honour to the 

 relics of St. Rumwald, 1 whose shrine stood in the parish church, with 

 a lamp burning before it night and day 2 : and another favourite place 

 of pilgrimage was the monastery of Ashridge, where a phial was trea- 

 sured, containing a few drops of what was believed to be the Precious 

 31 oo d obtained at the same time and from the same source as the more 

 famous relic at Hailes. 3 We hear of the rood of Wendover,* and of 

 images of Our Lady at Missenden, 8 at Bradwell," at High Wycombe, 7 to 

 which frequent resort was made. The little chapel of Blessed Mary at 

 Caversham, just over the border in Oxfordshire, but served by canons 

 of Nutley Abbey in this county, was quite a storehouse of relics, for 

 there might be seen the holy halter wherewith Judas was hanged 

 (perhaps we may be permitted to wonder how it could ever convey a 

 blessing to any one), the dagger that killed King Henry VI., the knife 

 that slew King Edward the Martyr so many centuries before, and the 

 image of ' an aungell with oon wyng that browght to Caversham the 

 spere hedde that percyd our Saviour is syde upon the crosse ' ; besides 

 an image of our Lady plated with silver, draped, after the manner of 

 the time, with costly robes. Dr. London, who may in this respect be 

 looked upon as an unprejudiced witness, testifies that there was great 

 pilgrimage to this chapel, and that even during the few hours of his 

 stay there came in more than a dozen people bringing offerings. From 

 the same source we hear of the pilgrimage made to the image of Sir 

 John Schorne in North Marston church, where he stood ' blessing a 

 bote, whereunto they do say he conveyd the devill.' Lights, shrouds, 

 crutches and images of wax hung about these shrines, just as they may 

 be seen in continental churches of to-day. 8 



It is probable that only the more celebrated (and more valuable) 

 of the images were removed by London ; he only spoke of removing 

 the ' botyd ymage ' from North Marston and of having ' thoroughly 



in it. It is not necessary to suppose that he compiled them merely on hearsay evidence, and added the 

 page-references to give them a greater air of accuracy. It is far more probable that he used the word 

 ' register ' in a looser sense than we do, and may have been referring to an Administration Act Book of 

 Longland's for the year 1521. There is such a book extant, for the year 1544, to which allusion will be 

 made later ; and in it delinquents are named successively, with their places of residence, their pleas, and 

 their penances in very similar form to the accounts of the heresy trials in Ac ts and Monuments, iv. 220-240. 

 There are also in existence some visitation reports of Bishop Longland's of great importance, to which 

 no allusion is made in the Memoranda : so that the fact that the latter book^contains no account of heresy 

 trials in 1521 is no proof that such trials did not take place. 



Browne Willis, History of Buckingham, 63 (from the Patent Roll of 28 Henry VI.). 



Ibid. 84. John Barton, who founded the chantry called by his name in 1431, left money in his 

 will or a lamp to burn before St. Rumwald night and day. 



See account of the monastery of Ashridge. 



Foxe, Acts and Monuments, iv. 580. Ibid. iv. 225. 



L. and P. Henry Fill. iv. 2217. 



i For the chapel and image of Blessed Mary at Wycombe see a paper by W. H. St. John Hope in 

 Records of Bucks, viii. 104-145. 8 Wright, Dissolution of Monasteries, 221, 223, 225. 



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