A HISTORY OF DORSET 



between G., abbot of Sherborne, and Richard Fitz 

 HilJebrand restoring to the abbey the towns of 

 Bradford and Corscombe on the death of the 

 said Richard, in accordance with a deed of Bishop 

 Roger of Sahsbury testifying that he had un- 

 justly taken them away from the church to give 

 to his brother Humphrey, and afterwards restored 

 them;*^ and by another charter, subsequently 

 confirmed by Edward I, bestowed the church of 

 Stalbridge on the office of the sacristan.^' The 

 abbey was in the king's hand in the first year of 

 Richard I, when Thomas de Husseburna ren- 

 dered account of ^^ 1 00 2s. ^d. for the fixed rent 

 of the house ;^' and again in 1213, John, on 

 15 July of that year, notifying the custodian of 

 the monastery that he had given instructions for 

 the prior and convent in the voidance of the 

 abbey to choose and send him suitable candidates 

 from whom an abbot could be selected, and de- 

 siring that their expenses should be provided.'" 

 In the month preceding his death in 12 16 John 

 gave instructions for the abbey of Shaftesbury to 

 be committed during voidance to the custody of 

 the abbot of Sherborne.'^'' Henry III, on 

 7 January, 1223, issued an order for John, 

 :almoner of Sherborne, to be allowed twenty 

 a-afters in aid of the almonry in course of build- 

 ing,*^ and by another grant in 1246 the monks 

 ■were allowed two cart-loads of dead wood weekly 

 from the forest of Pamber." Letters of pro- 

 tection were obtained in 1241 by Abbot Henry 

 going beyond seas, until he should return from 

 his pilgrimage,*' licence to elect being granted to 

 the convent the following year on his resigna- 

 tion.** Edward I, in 1290, granted the abbot 

 and convent licence to hold a market and fair at 

 Stalbridge, and to have right of free warren in 

 their demesne lands of Weston, Oborne, Stal- 

 bridge, Wyke, Bradford, Thornford, Corscombe, 

 and 'Stawel,' in Dorset, and their lands in Devon- 

 shire.** Edward II granted permission in 1 3 1 7 for 

 the abbot and convent to acquire lands and rents 

 to the yearly value of ^10, provided they should 

 find a monk or chaplain to celebrate daily in the 

 abbey for the soul of the late king, of Robert 

 Fitz Payne, and all Christians;*^ in part satis- 

 faction of this grant the convent obtained lands 

 in Beer and Seaton (Devonshire).*'' On payment 

 of a fine of 50 marks, Richard II granted a 



"^ By inspeximus of Edward I. Chart. R. 20 Edw. I, 

 No. 3. 



" Ibid. *' Madox, Hist, of the Exch. i, 311. 



" Close, 15 John, m. 7. 



'" Ibid. 18 John, m. 3. 



" Ibid. 7 Hen. Ill, m. 22. 



" Pat. 30 Hen. Ill, m. 6. 



" Ibid. 25 Hen. Ill, m. 8. 



■■' Ibid. 26 Hen. Ill, pt. 2, m. 2. 



" Chart. R. 18 Edw. I, No. 66. A grant was made 

 to the bishop of Salisbury of a four days' fair at Sher- 

 borne. Chart. R. 24 Hen. Ill, m. 2. 



'^ Pat. 1 1 Edw. II, pt. I, m. 34. 



" Ibid. 17 Edw. II, pt. I, m. 6. 



licence in 1392 for the alienation of lands in 

 Coringdon, and the reversion of lands and rent 

 in Stoke Abbott to the abbey." The episcopal 

 registers record an indulgence granted by Bishop 

 Mitford in 1397 for a chantry founded at the 

 altar of St. Nicholas within the conventual 

 church." Various other indulgences were ob- 

 tained by the community at the beginning of the 

 thirteenth century, no doubt with the object of 

 supplementing insufficient revenues with the alms 

 of the faithful. Pope Boniface IX, in 1 401, 

 granted an indulgence to those visiting the con- 

 ventual church of Sherborne on the Annuncia- 

 tion, the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel, and 

 the Sunday following the latter feast, from the 

 first to the second vespers and giving alms, to- 

 gether with an indult to the abbot and eight 

 priests chosen by him, secular or religious, to hear 

 confessions and grant absolution.^" The abbot 

 in 14 1 2 received an indult to dispense four of his 

 monks for promotion to holy orders.*' The 

 following year the pope published an indulgence 

 with relaxation of seven years and seven quaran- 

 tines of enjoined penance, to penitents who, on 

 the principal feasts of the year, and 100 days to 

 those who on other days, should visit and give 

 alms for the conservation of the altar of Holy 

 Trinity and All Saints, in the church of Sher- 

 borne. *- 



The election of superiors and their benediction 

 by the ordinary are recorded in the episcopal 

 registers, but the official records of the bishops of 

 Salisbury throw little light on the internal condi- 

 tion of the house, as they contain no visitation 

 reports for Sherborne. We may perhaps infer 

 from this omission that its management was on 

 the whole satisfactory. Up to the incident of 

 1436 existence seems to have flowed on peace- 

 fully and harmoniously, with but few interrup- 

 tions. A small break is reported among the last 

 entries of Bishop Mortival's register in 1329, in 

 connexion with the election of John de Comp- 

 ton ; the sacristan and a certain number of mojiks 

 appealing to the apostolic see and the Court of 

 Canterbury against his appointment on the 

 ground that at the time of his election he had 

 incurred sentence of excommunication for the 

 violent laying of hands on a clerk. The official 

 of the Court of Canterbury ordered the bishop to 

 cite the said John to appear before the court in 

 London, and to proceed no further till the case 

 had been decided.^' Nothing further is recorded, 

 and John de Compton remained in office till his 

 death in 1342. A dispute arose in 1 331 between 

 the convent and the rector of the church at Stal- 

 bridge of their advowson, respecting a yearly 

 pension of 10 marks claimed by the monks which 



** Ibid. 16 Ric. II, pt. I, m. 35. 



" Sarum Epis. Reg. Mitford, fol. 121 </. 



** Cal. of Pap. Letters, v, 406. 



" Ibid. vi. 282. '' Ibid, vi, 378. 



" Sarum Epis. Reg. Mortival, ii, fol. 364 <2'. 



66 



