A HISTORY OF NORFOLK 



During the long rule of Nicholas de Kettle- 

 ston (1339-86), Sir John Bardolf, of Maple- 

 durham, was patron of the priory ; he held the 

 great manor of Hempton, in succession to the 

 family of St. Martin. 



The Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535 gave the 

 clear annual value at ^^32 14J. 8d. 



In November, 1297, a commission of oyer 

 and terminer was issued on the complaint of 

 Guv Ferre, to whom the king had granted for 

 life the manor of Fakenham, that the prior of 

 St. Stephen's, Hempton, had depastured his 

 beasts on the pastures of the said Guy and of 

 the king's villeins in the hamlet of Pudding 

 Norton, a member of the manor of Fakenham.^ 

 In the following February, Guy Ferre further 

 complained that Giles, prior of Hempton, with 

 a multitude of malefactors, arrested in the high 

 road at Waterdene the villeins of Fakenham 

 Manor as they were taking the goods of the said 

 Guy to the fair of Creake, imprisoned them, 

 carried away the goods, and depastured not only 

 the several pastures of the manor, but even the 

 growing corn." 



These were troublous times for the priory. 

 There seems to have been much difficulty in 

 securing their manorial rights. In February, 

 1299, William de Bedingham, the king's minis- 

 ter for the execution of the sheriff's writs, com- 

 plained that, being ordered by the late sheriff in 

 pursuance of a writ to aid the prior of St. Stephen's 

 to distrain the prior's villeins of Worstead to 

 perform their due and accustomed services, he 

 was attacked by a mob of over sixty men and 

 women, all of whose names are duly set forth.' 



The priory of Hempton held of the priory of 

 Castle Acre a water-mill called ' Bryggemylle,' in 

 Hempton, by Fakenham, at the yearly rent of 

 4.2s. Close to the mill was a high road, over 

 the millpool causey, leading to Walsingham, 

 which causey needed yearly repair. Certain 

 men of Fakenham, scheming to destroy mill and 

 high road, so as to make the high road go 

 through Fakenham and not over the causey, got 

 the prior and convent fined, from year to year, 

 in the court of the lords of Fakenham, by pre- 

 senting them for raising the causey beyond 

 customary bounds, and keeping the water higher 

 than usual. On the other hand, if Hempton 

 Priory neglected to repair the causey, they would 

 be fined no small sum at the sheriff's turn, to 

 their own great impoverishment, the disinherit- 

 ance of their churches, and the peril of travellers 

 to Walsingham and others using the road. A 

 commission of oyer and terminer was appointed, 

 1385, to adjudicate on the complaint of the two 

 priories.^ By an indenture made in 1 461 be- 

 tween Nicholas, prior of Castle Acre, and Stephen, 



' Ca/. of Pat. 26 Edw. I, m. 32 </. 



• Ibid. m. z%d. 



' Ihid. 27 Edw. I, m. ^6 J. 



* Pat. 9 Rich. II, pt. i, m. 29 J. ; pt. ii, m. 37 J. 



prior of the church of St. Stephen de Dammy- 

 sende of Fakenham, the yearly rent of 42^. 

 paid by the canons of Hempton to Castle Acre 

 Priory for the water-mill, termed BridgemiU, was 

 lowered to 20s. 



Accounts of the receipts and expenses of 

 Hempton Priory from Michaelmas, 1 500, to 

 Michaelmas, I 501, as entered by Canon Richard 

 Marham, are extant." The rents of the tenants, 

 the farms of the mills, and the receipts of grain 

 and pease, and the sales of skins and underwood, 

 &c., are all set forth. From the expenses it 

 appears that considerable repairs were in progress 

 in the cloister. There were at that time in the 

 house three canons (including the prior), thirteen 

 servants, and two boarders. 



William Fakenham was the next prior. He 

 was in office in 15 14, when the house was 

 visited, on 13 July, 15 14, by Bishop Nicke. 

 The prior and Canon Creke bore testimony that 

 all was well. Brother Henry Beteele, subdeacon, 

 and brother Henry Milham said that they had 

 usually nothing to eat before high mass was 

 finished, except on days when they laboured, but 

 had no other complaints. The bishop enjoined 

 the prior that the brethren should have some- 

 thing to eat daily at eight o'clock, save on fast 

 days, and that silence should be observed in the 

 cloister throughout one whole day each week.* 



John Sambrook occurs as prior in 1529, and 

 Henry Salter, alias Salt, in 1534. On 22 No- 

 vember, 1534, Prior Henry and three other 

 canons signed their acknowledgement of the 

 king's supremacy. 



This small priory is included in the list of 

 lesser monasteries of Norfolk drawn up in 1536 

 for immediate suppression.' On 1 1 August, 

 1536, the priory was visited by Sir Roger Town- 

 send, Sir William Paston, Richard Southwell, 

 and Thomas Mildemay, as commissioners. They 

 drew up an inventory of articles that were to be 

 kept by the prior for the king's use until further 

 orders. 



In tie fuyer at the kygh alter. 



Fyrst ij olde alter clothys not worne ; iiij lytle 

 candyll stykes ofFlatyne ; an olde crosse with ye foote 

 of copper ; iij Htyle olde cruettes off pewter ; an olde 

 hangynge off Rede and grene sylke hangynge before 

 y° alter not worne ; ij olde corporasse casys nothynge 

 worthe ; ij olde syngle vestmentes worne and lytyll 

 worthe ; vj olde bokes off there servys nothynge 

 worthe ; a lytyll sacrynge belle. 



Jt our Ladys alter. 



An olde table of alabaster ; ij olde aulter clothys 

 off lynyn roome ; an old vestment ; an old payntyd 

 clothe before y' ault.-r worne and nothynge worthe. 



'.Add. MS. 1062I. It is a small quarto, of 

 twentv-nine paper folios, and would be well worth 

 printing in extenso. 



' Jessopp, 'Norvi. Visit. (Camd. Soc), 1 1 2-1 3. 



'L. and P. Hen. Fill, x, 516. 



382 



