A HISTORY OF NORFOLK 



In the year 1 400 a considerable impetus was 

 given to the devotional offerings ovvfing to a bull 

 of papal indulgence (to last for seven years) to 

 penitents visiting the three chief altars of the 

 priory during the feast of the Holy Trinity. 

 This produced in 1 40 1 the sum of £4.^ 16s. lod. 

 at those altars during the dedication feast, and 

 the offerings at the high altar during the rest of 

 the year rose to £b2. The effect of the bull 

 of indulgence was perceptible throughout the 

 time it was in operation ; the high altar oblations 

 in 1403 were £■]■]. 



The first year that this indulgence at the 

 Trinity dedication festival came into operation 

 (1401) a special feature was introduced into the 

 services, probably at the time of high mass. The 

 figure of an angel in the roof of the body of the 

 church descended with a great censer, censing 

 the doubtless vast congregation in the nave. 

 The charge for preparing the figure this year 

 was 9^. id. The angel was generally brightened 

 with silver foil year by year, a charge for which 

 constantly occurs. After a time the like solem- 

 nity was also enacted at the feast of Corpus 

 Christi, and an entry constantly occurs of 2s. for 

 the man in charge of the apparatus for lowering 

 and raising the censing angel at those two feasts. 

 At Easter, 1487, Henry VII was present at 

 Norwich, and in his honour the pageant occurred 

 a third time that year. This solemnity was 

 interrupted by the great fire of 1463, when the 

 roofs of the cathedral were destroyed, and was 

 not resumed until 1474. 



The offerings steadily decreased ; those of the 

 high altar, in round numbers, were ^54 in 1442, 

 ^^33 in 1452, ;^26 in 1462,^^20 in 1482, ^^18 in 

 I49i,^i3ini504,andin 1536 only ^4 155. 3^. 



The second source of the sacrist's income was 

 from the appropriated churches of Scrouteby 

 (Ormesby) ^^'37 I J. Z^d., Hemsby, ;^i8 105., 

 Banburgh ^^17 8;. 2d., and Eaton j^ii 13/. 5^;/. 

 The figures given are those from the roll of 

 1 30 1, when these four churches brought in an 

 income of ^^84 125. ioJ^j'., but tithes were ex- 

 ceptionally high that year; in 1328 the four 

 churches only produced ;^47, in 1403 ;^43. 



A third source of income was from tithes and 

 rents. Latterly, a variety of pensions granted to 

 the mother church of the diocese by religious 

 houses at the time of the appropriation of rec- 

 tories were assigned to the sacrist. A fourth 

 small source of income, of a fluctuating charac- 

 ter, arose from legacies of usually quite small 

 sums. Bequests in wills to the cathedral church 

 all went to the sacrist. 



With regard to the sacrist's expenditure, as 

 there was no separate master of the fabric at 

 Norwich, the most important items are those 

 concerned with the upkeep of the church and 

 the conventual buildings.^ The ornaments of 



' These will be dealt with in the Topographical 

 section. 



the church naturally came under the charge of 

 the sacrist. A few items are here given from the 

 expenditure side of the rolls under this head. 



The shrine of St. William was beautified in 

 1305, the sum of bs. 8d. being spent on 

 140 leaves of gold and iid. for 150 leaves of 

 silver. White lead, vermilion, and orpiment 

 (yellow arsenic) cost 2s. 2d., and oil for painting 

 lod., while Simon the painter and his boy 

 received 251. 6d. in wage and victuals for nine 

 weeks. In 1369, fixing three basins with cords 

 and pulleys, each carrying a wax taper to burn 

 continually before the high altar (Holy Trinity), 

 26s. 6^d. ; 1386, for a beautiful lantern hanging 

 in the choir, nothing, because Alice de Reppis 

 gave it ; 1 400, for making two chalices, 26s. 8d.; 

 1404, for a jewel bought for the body of Christ 

 at the feasts of the Holy Trinity and Corpus 

 Christi, ;^I2 ; 1406, for chains for the great 

 thurible that serves from the roof of the church 

 on the feast of the Holy Trinity, and mending 

 the same, 2s. ^d. ; 1494, for the repair of the 

 pix in which was kept the milk of the Blessed 

 Virgin, 35. ^d., and for cleaning the crowns of 

 the Holy Trinity, 5^. ; 1505, Thomas Wor- 

 cester, goldsmith, for making the shoes of the 

 Holy Trinity, 22s. lod. ; 1510, for a ladder 

 with a carrying stand made with iron-work to 

 put the tunics and crown upon the second person 

 of the Holy Trinity at fit times, 2s. 



The repair and renewal of the church vest- 

 ments, as well as of the church napery, also 

 came under this department, the entries being of 

 a kind common in such accounts and presenting 

 no particular features of interest. The clock en- 

 tries are numerous and interesting right through 

 the accounts ; mending the clock cost 6s. ^d. in 

 1290 ; and in 1325, when a large sum was ex- 

 pended on an elaborate new clock and chimes, 

 with two dials and beautifully decorated, a regular 

 clock warden was appointed, Robert Orologiarius, 

 who received, in addition to money payment, a 

 furred robe valued at 1 6s. Organ repairs are 

 also of constant occurrence : Adam the organist 

 in 1333 received a robe worth 131. 4</., and a new 

 pair of organs for the quire in 15 10 cost £i(). 



Each of the obedientiaries, in addition to what 

 was done by the almoner proper, made certain 

 payments of an eleemosynary character. Thus, 

 in 1301, the sacrist, besides contributing 401. to 

 the scholars from the priory at Oxford, gave 6s. 

 to poor scholars. In the same year over ^4 

 was given to the poor of the appropriated parishes. 

 There was an invariable contribution to the lepers 

 of St. Mary Magdalen Hospital, and frequently 

 gifts of cloth and shoes to the poor of Norwich. 

 Among other payments of usual occurrence may 

 be mentioned strewing rushes three times a year 

 in church, cloister, and dormitory ; strewing 

 herbs round the high altar ; providing mats for 

 church, cloister, and refectory ; painting and 

 gilding the paschal candle, and providing grave- 

 stones for the deceased monks. 



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