A HISTORY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE 



later Thomas Charlton, bishop of Hereford, 

 appropriated the church of Kington with its 

 three dependent chapels to their needs. 1 In 

 1342 the priory was still in serious straits, and 

 on that account Edward III took the house 

 under his special protection, with all its lands 

 and rents in Ireland. 2 As the financial con- 

 dition of the monastery was unstable, the 

 economic effects of the Black Death were very 

 severe. The mortality in the house was great, 

 out of thirty canons nineteen died. 3 On 

 20 September, 1351, Thomas of Berkeley gave 

 the advowson of the church of Aure to Lanthony 

 in exchange for the manor of Coaley. 4 The 

 prior and convent at once took steps to secure 

 the appropriation of the church, pleading amongst 

 other reasons that owing to the pestilence the 

 rents and services of their tenants were irre- 

 coverably withdrawn. On 3 October John 

 Trelleck, bishop of Hereford, granted the 

 appropriation. 6 



On the installation of Prior William de 

 Cheriton in 1377 the debts of the house 

 amounted to ^128 8s. 4^., but during the 

 twenty-four years of his rule the monastery 

 regained some measure of prosperity. The 

 prior engaged in several lawsuits, and recovered 

 some houses and $o in money from the 

 commonalty of Gloucester. In spite of the 

 statute of 3 Ric. II concerning the lands of 

 absentees from Ireland he secured the possession 

 of the Irish estates for his house. The chapel 

 of the Trinity, the cloister, and granary of the 

 priory were rebuilt, and new halls, granges, and 

 mills were built on several of the manors. In 

 the fifteenth century the monastery was uniformly 

 prosperous, the priors were able administrators, 

 and discipline was well maintained. Under 

 John Garland (1436-57) several registers were 

 compiled, and the muniments were set in order. 7 

 There were not as many canons as before the 

 Black Death : in 1409 there were seventeen 

 canons besides two in minor orders, 8 in 1436 

 the numbers had risen to twenty-six, and there 

 were again two in minor orders, 8 in 1457 

 twenty-two canons were present at the election 

 of John Heyward. 10 Henry Deane was then a 

 scholar at Oxford, ten years later he succeeded 

 to the office of prior. He was in high favour 

 with Edward IV, and in 1477 was one of his 

 chaplains. 11 The priory of Lanthony Prima 

 had fallen on evil days ; it was said that the 



1 MS. Top. Glouc. C. ;, fol. 648. 



* Cal. of Pat. 16 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m. 2. 



I MS. Top. Glouc. C. 5, fol. 648. 



4 Ibid. 648 ; Smyth, Lives of the Berkeley: (ed. 

 Maclean), i, 146. 



6 Heref. Epis. Reg. Trelleck, fol. 102. 



6 MS. Top. Glouc. C. 5, fols. 650-2. 



7 Ibid. 656. " Ibid. 653. 



* Wore. Epis. Reg. Bourchier, fols. 1 7-2 1 . 

 10 MS. Top. Glouc. C. 5, fol. 657. 



II Cal. of Pat. 17 Edw. IV, pt. i, m. 5. 



services were neglected, and that hospitality and 

 almsgiving had ceased. 12 The convent consisted 

 only of four canons besides the prior, who 

 was charged with waste and destruction, and 

 accordingly on 10 May, 1481, Edward IV 

 granted it and all its possessions to Henry Deane 

 and the convent of Lanthony by Gloucester for 

 a fine of three hundred marks. 13 Thus Lanthony 

 Prima became a cell to Lanthony Secunda, and 

 was served by a prior and four canons from that 

 house. In 1496 Henry Deane became bishop 

 of Bangor ; in 1500 he was transferred to 

 Salisbury, but he retained the office of prior of 

 Lanthony 14 by Gloucester until his promotion to 

 the see of Canterbury in 1501. In spite of 

 considerable revenues, the monastery was again 

 embarrassed in 1518, and the vicar-general of 

 Bishop Silvester de Giglis pleaded to the 

 treasurer and barons of the Exchequer that it 

 might be exonerated from payment of the tenth. 15 

 As a reason he urged the ruin of the conventual 

 church and the great expense of rebuilding. 



In 1534 the acknowledgement of the royal 

 supremacy was signed by the prior and twenty- 

 two canons of Lanthony Secunda and the prior 

 and four canons of Lanthony Prima. 16 In 1536 

 when, under the Act of 3 Ric. II, Henry VIII 

 seized the possessions of English monasteries in 

 Ireland, Lanthony was deprived of about a third 

 of its revenues. 17 On 4 March, 1537, the 

 prior wrote to Cromwell asking, on account of 

 his great loss in Ireland, for leave to recall the 

 prior and canons from Lanthony Prima, that 

 the profits of the cell might be used for the 

 maintenance of his house. 18 It is not clear if 

 Cromwell consented. On 10 March, 1539, 

 the royal commissioners arrived to receive the 

 surrender of Lanthony Secunda, and the deed 

 was signed by the prior and twenty-four canons, 

 including the prior of Lanthony Prima. 19 Richard 

 Hempstead secured a pension of jioo a year, 

 the rest of the canons were awarded pensions 

 varying from 8 to ^4- 20 



I n J 535 the clear yearly revenues of the 

 monastery amounted to ^648 19*. iof^/. 21 The 

 possessions included the manors of Barrington 

 Magna, Quedgeley, and Elmore, Hempstead, 

 Brockworth, Painswick, Haresfield, Prestbury, 

 Colesborne, Aylberton, Ocle, Westbury, Frome 

 Canonicorum, Monkton and Lanwarne, Falley, 

 Alvington, Boroughhill, Tytherington, Turkdean 

 and Northleach, Eyleworth, Caldicote, South 



" Dugdale, op. cit. vi, 139. IS Ibid. 139. 



14 MS. Top. Glouc. C. 5, fol. 658. 



" Ibid. 66 1. 



16 Def. Keeper's Rep. vii, App. ii, 290 (74, 75). 



" L. and P. Hen. fill, xii, pt. ii, No. 1310 (i), 

 21 (ii). The clear revenues of the Irish possessions 

 for a year and a half amounted to 514 9-f. 6d. 



18 Ibid, i, No. 569. 



19 Def. Keeper's Rep. viii, App. ii, p. 22. 

 M MS. Top. Glouc. C. 5, fol. 662. 



11 Valor Eccles. (Rec. Com.), ii, 430. 



9 



