RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



It may be mentioned that the sacrist had six 

 regular assistants under him for the charge of 

 the great church and keeping it clean, namely, 

 the sub-sacrist, the master of the high altar, and 

 four servants. The first two of these were 

 always monks ; the last four were probably 

 originally lay brothers and so continued for some 

 time, but later they were paid servants, receiving 

 a wage of nearly £z each, in addition to a 

 certain amount of board. 



Though somewhat fewer in number and a 

 good deal shorter than those of the sacrist, the 

 rolls of the precentor come next in general 

 interest as affecting the story of the church. 

 The earliest is for the year 1283, the next is 

 for 1314. There are twenty-seven more of the 

 fourteenth century, upwards of fifty of the next 

 century, and seven of the sixteenth. 



A most interesting item of the precentor's 

 receipts, which begins to occur on the rolls 

 towards the end of the fourteenth century, is 

 that for sealing. In 1385 the using the common 

 seal brought in 36;. 8^.; in 1395, i8f. i^d. ; in 

 1407, 56/. Zd. ; in 1427, \qqs. ; in 1437, 

 6i. 8^. ; and in 147 1 the seal 'ad causas ' 20a'., 

 and the common seal 3^. Zd. 



The charges for sealing were paid to the pre- 

 centor by the parties in whose favour the seal 

 was used. The roll of 1477 shows to what 

 documents the common seal was appended for that 

 year, the charge on each occasion being 6j. 8(3'., 

 viz. the presentations to the three vicarages of 

 Catton, Bamburgh, and Hindringham, the con- 

 firmation of the priors of Birsett and ' Kyrle,' 

 and a document relative to King's College, 

 Cambridge. 



It was the precentor's duty to see that due 

 care was taken of the actual seals; in 1386 

 mending the matrix of the common seal cost 

 is. ; in 1425 silk cases were made for the seals 

 at a charge of td. Special wax was bought by 

 the precentor for making the seals, such as 4 lb. 

 in 1354 at 2J. Occasionally red lead was bought 

 for mixing with the wax, at other times it was 

 bought ready prepared as red wax. Again, 

 green wax was sometimes bought, but oftener 

 verdigris for mixing in the wax to produce the 

 green. This green wax was used for spreading 

 over the tabulae or tables suspended in the church 

 or cloister whereon were inscribed the names of 

 the different brethren on the rota of the masses, 

 or other instructions as to the services. Thus in 

 1447 wax 'vertegrees' was bought ' pro tabula ' at 

 4^., and the same in 1457 for the great tables 

 at %d. The precentor was similarly responsible 

 for the supply of ink for the convent ; at one 

 time he bought galls, gum, and vitriol for its 

 manufacture ; at another prepared ink, as in 

 131 5, when it cost 6j. dd. 



One of his chief duties, abundantly illustrated 

 in these rolls, was the care of the quire and ser- 

 vice books, as well as the books of the general 

 library. The entries are almost continuous for 



general binding and repair and the purchase of 

 chains with staples and locks, and so forth. But 

 the chief duty of the precentor was to regulate 

 the singing and music of the quire. There are 

 many entries of small sums for the recreation or 

 refreshment of chanters or choristers at the three 

 great feasts of Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost. 

 The boys of the Blessed Mary had breakfasts 

 given them on various occasions, and at other 

 times small gifts of money. Now and again a 

 special singer was hired ; thus, in 148 1, 2j. was 

 given to William Glover at Christmas for singing 

 in the quire and at the Lady Mass. There are 

 many references to both great organs and quire 

 organs and their repair. The usual annual fee 

 to a servant for organ-blowing was \zd. (once 

 C)d. and latterly i6(^.), but his services were only 

 required at the three great festivals, at other 

 times one of the monks or lay brothers must 

 have officiated in that capacity. In 1381, at 

 some special function, both great and small 

 organs were placed in the Lady Chapel at an 

 expense of 20j., and at the same time 3;. \d. 

 was paid to two organ-blowers for five days. 

 Payment was also made to one of the brethren 

 in 1530 for making the bellows of the organs 

 with six calf-skins. 



In 1383, when Richard II and his queen 

 visited Norwich, a gratuity of shoes, costing 8j., 

 was given to those who cleaned the quire against 

 their coming. No doubt there was extra music, 

 as the precentor took Zs. bd. out of his own fund 

 for his labour in the quire. There was a 

 contribution of 40J. from the precentor's fund 

 towards the entertaining of royalty. 



The earliest infirmarer's roll is that of 1313 ; 

 the next is for 1345, and then consecutively to 

 1350, and there is also one for 1394 ; there are 

 twenty-one to 1530, and there is also one for 

 1394 ; there are twenty-one rolls of the fifteenth 

 century and five of the sixteenth. The receipts 

 for 1313 were j/^37 14J. 2d., and the expenses 

 ^27 14^ 4^. The receipts during that century 

 kept up well, on two occasions reaching j^43 ; 

 and the expenses were always less than the 

 receipts. 



The infirmary had its own garden, the use of 

 which seems to have been chiefly confined to the 

 growing of herbs and medicinal plants, such as 

 rhubarb, peonies (the roots, flowers, and seeds 

 were all used in the mediaeval pharmacy), fennel, 

 and squills. Seeds for the garden are often 

 entered among the expenses, without specifying 

 the kinds bought ; but on one occasion they 

 were the seeds of the white (opium) poppy. In 

 1400, lo\d. was paid for ' weding ' in the garden 

 and for ' wedingyrnis.' In 1461, 2od. was paid 

 for planting saffron (croci). Fruit was also grown 

 in the infirmary garden, probably apples and 

 pears, which would as a rule be used by the 

 inmates; but one year (1496) there must have 

 been a surplus of fruit, for $s. 8^d. is entered 

 among the receipts for fruit growing in the 



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