A HISTORY OF NORFOLK 



In 1446 a remarkable and ambitious man, 

 Stephen London, D.D., was appointed prior of 

 Wymondham by Abbot John VII. Stephen had 

 been acting for some time as archdeacon of St. 

 Albans, and had incurred the active dislike of 

 Abbot John Stoke in consequence, it is said, of 

 his plainness of speech in pointing out his 

 superior's faults. In order to procure his removal 

 from St. Albans the abbot caused Prior Waleys 

 to resign Wymondham on the ground of old 

 age and put Stephen in his place. The new 

 prior speedily won the affections of his house, 

 and more especially of Sir Andrew Ogard, the 

 patron. Within a year of his appointment the 

 abbot visited Wymondham, and apparently 

 through jealousy ordered Stephen to resign the 

 priory. This was not only distasteful to the 

 prior but still more so to Sir Andrew Ogard, 

 and in 1447 they jointly petitioned the king to 

 sanction their application to the apostolic see to 

 convert Wymondham into an abbey. Their 

 case was an exceedingly strong one, for the 

 action of the abbots of St. Albans, for more 

 than two centuries, in the nomination and re- 

 moval of priors was in absolute contradiction to 

 the foundation charter ; and it will be remem- 

 bered that that charter expressly reserved to the 

 crown or to the founder's successors power to 

 tranform the house into an abbey. The king 

 gave his consent, and in 1448 Pope Nicholas V 

 granted a bull in compliance with the letters 

 supplicatory.^ 



On 26 November, 1449, Prior Stephen was 

 formally elevated to the dignity of an abbot. 

 Robert, bishop of Grado, suffragan of Norwich, 

 with the various diocesan officials, and a great 

 concourse of folk of all classes, both of the district 

 and from a distance, assembled at Wymondham. 

 Pontifical mass was sung with all solemnity 

 at ten o'clock. After the reading of the gospel, 

 Thomas Mikkelfelde, sub-prior, and William 

 Westegate, clad in copes, conducted the prior to 

 the steps of the high altar, whereupon Master 

 Symon, the registrar, read in a loud voice the 

 Latin charter of the king, followed by the papal 

 bull. He was followed by Master John Wig- 

 genhall, as vicar-general, who briefly and clearly 

 explained all the circumstances in the vulgar 

 tongue. Then the bishop gave the prior his 

 blessing, and by virtue of the bull declared him 

 abbot. At the conclusion of the mass the 

 bishop conducted the abbot to the quire and 

 there installed him. The convent at once re- 

 assembled in the chapter-house, where a record 

 of the proceedings, duly witnessed, was inscribed 

 by Master Godfrey Joye, notary public, and all 

 the members of the chapter promised due 



'Regis/rum, If^hethamstede (Rolls Ser.), 148-52. 

 Prior London had fourteen claustral monks in his 

 charge who united with him in desire for complete 

 separation from St. Albans. Ibid. 147. Weever, 

 MoBumcnts, 809-10. 



obedience to their abbot. The company there- 

 upon adjourned to the frater.* 



Henceforth till the dissolution, Wymondham 

 was an independent abbey ; the abbots were 

 elected out of the monks of the convent unless 

 all consented to a contrary course ; they were 

 admitted by the bishop and presented to the 

 patron, who could refuse none unless for 

 notorious offences. It is anything but credit- 

 able to their first abbot, Stephen London, that, 

 in the moment of his triumph, he addressed to 

 the abbot of St. Albans a monstrous letter, which 

 for bitter insults could not well be surpassed. 

 Scriptural allusions to the stories of Doeg, 

 Dathan, and Abiram, Susanna, and Pilate, are 

 all pressed into his service to give point to his 

 boundless abuse ; the epistle thus ends : — ' Vale 

 et mores in meliores stude convertere.' ^ 



At the time that he granted the bull of trans- 

 ference of the priory into an abbey. Pope 

 Nicholas V took the very unusual step of issuing 

 another bull to four monks of St. Albans 

 authorizing them to leave that abbey without the 

 assent of their abbot and to move to Wymondham. 

 When William Albon, abbot of St. Albans, 

 was visiting his Norfolk cell of Binham on 

 28 February, 1467, the prior showed him a 

 copy of this bull whereby Richard Langley, 

 Edmund Shenley, William Godered, and Wil- 

 liam Wysebeche, were permitted to leave St. 

 Albans for Wymondham. The register of 

 Abbot Albon states that Langley and Shenley 

 dragged out their conventual life in the new 

 abbey in the greatest misery, and that Langley 

 died in a state of destitution. Godered declined 

 to act on the apostolic letter and remained at St. 

 Albans, while Wysebeche speedily repented and 

 desired to return to St. Albans, and earnestly 

 sought the abbot's leave. This was granted on 

 I March, 1467, when Abbot Albon wrote to 

 Abbot Bokenham giving the necessary sanction.* 



Bishop Goldwell visited the abbey on Satur- 

 day, 13 October, 1492. The report thus 

 enumerates the numerous sad irregularities 

 discovered — that the divine offices are celebrated 

 grudgingly [morose) ; that the monks buy and 

 sell like merchants, contrary to religion ; that 

 the precinct walls are not well repaired ; that 

 the monks lawlessly hunt with dogs and nets ; 

 that after prime, the brothers mix with the 

 seculars in the south part of the church ; that 

 the brothers are not in cloister at the customary 

 hours ; that they do not receive clothes but 

 money from the chamberlain ; that the frater is 

 not properly guarded ; that the buildings of the 

 dorter and farmery are not repaired ; that certain 

 brothers leave the cloister for recreation without 

 the abbot's leave ; that they do not exercise 



' Regisfrum, IVhetkamstede (Rolls Ser.), 152-3. 

 ' Harl. MS. 602, fol. 61, printed in Amundesham, 

 jinn. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 366-9. 



* Registrum Albon (Rolls Ser.), 61-5. 



340 



