A HISTORY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE 



the bishops of Worcester l and of the prior of the 

 cathedral monastery during voidances. 2 



Bishop Carpenter (1444-76) was regarded as 

 a second founder of the college of Westbury, 

 which he dedicated to the Holy Trinity. 3 He 

 realized the importance of an episcopal seat near 

 the town of Bristol, as strongly as his predecessor 

 Giffard had done, and alone of all the bishops of 

 the see he is said to have adopted the style of 

 bishop of Worcester and Westbury. 4 In 1447 

 he began to rebuild the college on a much larger 

 scale, and revised its statutes and ordinances with 

 the object of increasing its sphere of usefulness.* 

 He founded and endowed a chapel in the church 

 to be served by six priests,* built almshouses for 

 six poor men 7 and six widows, 8 vesting the right 

 of nomination in the dean and chapter. In 1463 

 he appropriated the parish church of Clifton to 

 the college, with the proviso that the dean and 

 chapter should find a master to teach grammar to 

 those ministering in the church and any other 

 persons whomsoever who came to him, without 

 any charge, and should give him a residence in 

 the college. 9 In 1473 he appropriated the parish 

 church of Kempsey and its dependent chapels to 

 Westbury, on the petition of the dean and chap- 

 ter, showing that their revenues were insuffi- 

 cient. 10 Edward IV was a generous benefactor. 

 In 1464 he gave the manor of Elmstree in Tet- 

 bury, 11 and in 1465 he granted the custody of 

 the hospital of St. Lawrence, Bristol, in frank- 

 almoigne. 12 In 1468 he gave the manor and 

 church of Astley in Worcestershire. 13 From 1469 

 to 1474 William Canynges, the rich merchant 

 who five times held the office of mayor of 

 Bristol, was dean of Westbury. 14 In 1476 

 Bishop Carpenter was buried in the chancel. 15 



In 1534 the dean, one of the prebendaries, 



and the fellows of the college subscribed to the 



royal supremacy. 16 On 10 February, 1544, the 



college was surrendered into the king's hands. 17 



In 1535 18 the college consisted of a dean, five 



1 Wore. Epis. Reg. passim. 



' Wore. Reg. Side Vac. (Wore. Hist. Soc.), passim. 



3 Valor Eccles. (Rcc. Com.), ii, 432. 



4 Tanner, Notitia Monastica (ed. 1744), p. H 2 - 



5 Wore. Epis. Reg. Carpenter, i, fol. \%-}d. 



e Ibid, ii, fol. 25. Clifton Antiq. Club Proc. iv, 36. 



7 Wore. Epis. Reg. Carpenter, i, fol. 231, in 1466. 



8 Clifton Antiq. Club Proc. iv, 36. Valor Eccles. 

 (Rec. Com.), ii, 434. 



9 Wore. Epis. Reg. Carpenter, i, fol. 183 d. 

 10 Ibid, ii, fol. 25. 



" Cal. of Pat. 4 Edw. IV, pt. i, m. 20. 

 " Ibid. 5 Edw. IV, pt. i, m. 6. 



13 Chart. R. 8 Edw. IV, No. 4. 



14 Clifton Antiq. Club Proc. iv, 36. 

 "Ibid, iv, 35. 



16 Dep. Keeper's Rep. vii, App. ii, 304. 



17 Ibid, viii, App. ii, 48. 



18 Valor Ecclts. (Rec. Com.), ii, 434-5 ; cf. Clifton 

 Antiq. Club Proc. iv, 36. Cant. Archiepis. Reg. Morton, 

 fol. 170. 



prebendaries, a sub-dean, Bishop Carpenter's 

 chaplain, a schoolmaster, eight fellows, four clerks, 

 six aged priests, and twelve choristers. After the 

 disbursements of alms according to the ordinances, 

 the clear yearly value of the property amounted 

 to ^232 141. o^d. The possessions of the 

 college included the manors of Westbury, Clifton, 

 Goodringhill, Wormington, Turkdean, Foxcote, 

 Dowdeswell, and Elmstree in Gloucestershire ; 

 Astley, Shelve, Monehills, Greveley and Long- 

 borough in Worcestershire ; Bereford in War- 

 wickshire ; Aston Tirrold and North Morton in 

 Berkshire ; rents in Bristol, Worcester, and else- 

 where, the hospital of St. Lawrence, Bristol, and 

 the rectories of Westbury and Kempsey. 



DEANS OF WESTBURY-ON-TRIM u 



Stephen, occurs 128s, 20 ob. 1291 21 



Hugh de Carnaria, 1291 



Nicholas de Gore, occurs 1321 and 1323 2S 



Ralph de Lacu, 1323 



William Edington, occurs 1335 



Adam de Aylincton, 1335 



David Bracewell, 1395 



Stephen Basset, occurs 1413 



William Oxton, 1413 



John Arundel, 1414 



John Powle, occurs 1425 



John Lowsby, 1425 



Richard Ellis, 1425 



John Kemmes, ob. 1451 



William Okeborn, 1451 



John Blakman, resigned 1458 



Henry Sampson, 1458 



William Caninges, 1469 



Robert Slimbridge, 1474 



William Vaus, occurs 1479 



John Lyndsey, 1479, ob. 1488 



Adam Redshelf, 1488 



William Cretyng, occurs 1497 



John Barlow, 15 30-44 23 



A seal of the fifteenth century represents the 

 Trinity in a canopied niche with elegantly carved 

 side towers, each containing four small niches ; 

 on the carving on each side, a shield of arms ; 

 left, indistinct ; right, paly of six, a chevron for 

 John Carpenter, bishop of Worcester ; in base 

 under a depressed round-headed arch, between 

 walls of masonry, the bishop, with mitre and 

 pastoral staff, kneeling in prayer. The legend 

 is : 



SIGILLVM . COMMUNE . COLLEGII . DE . WESTBURI . 

 WIGORNIESIS DE 24 



19 The list is probably incomplete. With one or 

 two exceptions it is taken from Tanner, Notitia 

 Monastica (Ed. Nasmyth, 1744), App. 



50 Wore. Epis. Reg. Giffard (Wore. Hist. Soc), 263. 



11 Ibid. 349. " Ibid. Cobham, fol. 25. 



13 Ibid. De Ghinucci, fol. 43. 



84 Birch, Catalogue of Seals in British Museum, \, 



799- 



108 



