A HISTORY OF NORFOLK 



returned the annual value at £j^b y. 6f<3'., with 

 debts owing to the amount of £20. The lead 

 and bells were valued at £bo, and the house was 

 in good repair. The religious only numbered 

 three, and were of ' goode name ' ; but there were 

 in addition seven servants and six children living 

 in the house. ' One scholler of Oxonforde hath 

 xb. yearly for his exibicione.' * 



On its suppression in June, 1 539, Prior Hudson 

 was assigned a pension of ^5, and the canons 

 smaller sums.^ The ex-prior was in receipt of 

 the pension in 1553 ; he was at that time rector 

 of Newton Flotman. 



The crown granted a lease of the site of the 

 priory and its possessions to John Travers in 

 1 540 ; ' and in 1545 the site, lordships, lands, and 

 tenements were granted jointly to Sir Edmund 

 Wyndham and Giles Seafoule. 



Priors of Beeston 



Roger, occurs 1267 * 



Thomas, occurs 1297 ' 



William de Beston, elected 13 14* 



Geoflfrey de Hoton, elected 1325' 



Simon de Calthorpe, elected 1390' 



Laurence de Beeston, elected 1409' 



Geoffrey de Run ton, elected 1416,*" occurs 



1435 

 John Catteson, occurs 1461 

 John Wylcmer, 1468" 

 John Poty, 1444 '^ 

 Simon Robyns, 1 53 1 

 Richard Hudson, 1532 



23. THE PRIORY OF BROMEHILL'^ 



Bromehill Priory, in the parish of Weeting and 

 about a mile south-east of the village, was founded 

 by Sir Hugh de Plaiz about the beginning of the 

 thirteenth century. It was clearly well esta- 

 blished by 1224, for in April of that year the 

 king granted a two days' fair on the vigil and day 

 of St. Thomas the Martyr, to the prior of Brome- 

 hill.'* This Austin house was under the joint 

 invocation of the Blessed Virgin and St. Thomas 

 the Martyr. The priory was endowed by the 

 founder with a moiety of the manor of Weeting, 

 termed Bromehill Priory Manor. The hundred 



' Chant. Cert. Norf. No. 90. 



' Aug. Off. Books, ccxxxii, fol. ^^b. 



' L. and. P. Hen. Fill, xv, 250. 



* Fin. R. Norf. 52 Hen. Ill, 106. 



' Anct. D., A. 5577. 



' Norw. Epis. Reg. i, 56. 



' Ibid, ii, 5. * Ibid, vi, 15. 



' Ibid, vii, 18. '» Ibid, viii, 8. 



" Ibid, xi, 170. 



" Jessopp, Norw. Fislt. (Camd. See), 55. 



" In Blomefield (vi, 163-7) 's a list of priors and 

 numerous documents are cited. Where no other re- 

 ference is given the information in this sketch is taken 

 from that source. 



" Close, 8 Hen. Ill, m. 8. 



jury of 1275 returned the prior as lord of a 

 moiety of Croxton as well as of the Weeting sub- 

 manor, both being of the gift of Hugh de Plaiz 

 in free alms." 



The taxation of 1 29 1 shows that the priory 

 then held lands or rents in ten Norfolk parishes 

 of an annual value of ^^23 8j. 2d.., in addition to 

 the land in the two Suffolk parishes just named, 

 which was valued at £2 2s. "jd.^^ 



In 1349 the priory obtained the royal licence 

 for the appropriation of the church of Croxton. '' 

 In this year Prior Thomas de Saham died, in all 

 probability of the plague, and was followed by 

 Peter de Burnham. 



In 1 37 1 the priory obtained licence of aliena- 

 tion in mortmain to hold a messuage, 46 acres 

 of land, 2 of meadow, and a fishery at Bernham, 

 Suffolk, and lands and rents in Threxton, the 

 gifts of William Smith and William Attemore.'* 

 Three years later they obtained the handsome 

 grant of ;r20 in rents at Weeting from Sir John 

 de Plaiz.'' The manor of Mundford and the 

 advowson of the church there were granted to 

 the priory, in 1 391, by William Beauchamp,^* 

 and in 1395 Boniface IX sanctioned the appro- 

 priation of the church of Croxton, value 25 marks, 

 to this monastery, which was declared of the value 

 of 80 marks. The advowson had recently been 

 given to the priory by its lay patrons with a view 

 to appropriation.^' 



Frequent discord arose between the priory and 

 the neighbouring town of Thetford as to the toll, 

 stallage, and pickage of Bromehill fair. It seems 

 to have originated through the mayor's right to 

 hold a court at the fair clashing with the original 

 grant of the fair to the prior and canons by 

 Henry III. At last, in 133 i, an agreement was 

 drawn up on the fair day between the mayor of 

 Thetford and the prior of Bromehill, whereby the 

 latter resigned all control of the fair to the town 

 authorities for an annual payment of lid. out of 

 the fair profits, with a proviso that in case of 

 neglect the prior had power to indemnify him- 

 self.22 



Philip Martin, vicar of Croxton, in 1452 left 

 to the prior 3^. ^d., and to each of the three 

 canons 20(3'., showing that there were then only 

 three canons besides the prior. On 20 June, 

 15 14, however, when the house was visited by 

 Bishop Nicke, there were four canons in addition 

 to the prior, all of whom were severally examined 

 in the chapter-house. Prior Martin made a 

 favourable report, and said that they had more 



" Hund. R. (Rec. Com.), i, 439. 



^^ Pope NkA. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 95^, ioo<5, loi, 

 101(5, 1 1 3^, I 30, 131^. 



" Pat. 23 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m. 18. 



" Ibid. 45 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 11. 



"Ibid. 48 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m. 20. 



" Escaet Norf. 1 3 Ric. II, m. 1 30, cited by Tanner. 



" Ca/. Papal Reg. iv, 519. 



" This agreement is given in fiill in Martin's Hist. 0/ 

 Thetford {\7Jt)), A^^. 27. 



374 



