A HISTORY OF NORFOLK 



35. THE PRIORY OF WEST ACRE 



Ralph de Toni, the great Norman baron, to 

 whom were granted by the Conqueror twenty- 

 two manors in Norfolk, in conjunction with his 

 wife Alice and their sons Roger and Ralph, 

 founded a priory at West Acre in the time of 

 William Rufus, under Oliver the parish priest 

 and his son Walter.' 



Blomefield, Dugdale, Taylor, and others have 

 stated that this priory was originally assigned to 

 the order of Cluni, but this is an error which 

 probably arose from both Castle Acre and West 

 Acre being known as Acre at an early date. 

 The priory, dedicated to the honour of St. Mary 

 and All Saints, was held by Austin canons. 

 The founder gave them the manor and church 

 of West Acre and the manor and church of God- 

 wick. 



Richard the prior of West Acre," in 11 98, 

 obtained the church of Runhall.' Gifts to this 

 priory multiplied at a rapid rate in the thirteenth 

 century. When the taxation roll of 1 29 1 was 

 drawn up, it was found that the canons of 

 West Acre had property in seventy-four parishes, 

 and that their annual income was ;^I40 ^s. "j^d. 



In 1305 Alexander de WallpoU of Wiggen- 

 hall gave to the priory a toft, 35 acres of land, 

 and 10 acres of pasture in WiggenhallandTilney.^ 

 In 1313 Constantine, son of Geoffrey de Sutton, 

 made a benefaction of a messuage, 60 acres of 

 land, 12 acres of meadow, 40 acres of pasture, 

 7 acres of heath, and 5^. of rent in West Acre, 

 Walton, Tilney, &c., paying a fine of 5 marks 

 for the licence.^ 



In 1315 the priory paid a fine of 10 marks 

 for having appropriated the church of Rougham, 

 in their patronage, without licence.* 



Licence was granted in 1320 for the aliena- 

 tion to the priory by Maud de Tony of 3 mes- 

 suages, 100 acres of land, 100 acres of pasture, 

 and lOJ. of rent in Grimston, Congham, Roydon, 

 Weavling, Appleton, Marham, and West Acre, 

 to find a chaplain to celebrate daily for the souls 

 of Maud and Robert de Tony, her husband, and 

 of all the faithful, in the chapel of St. Katharine, 

 built by her in the churchyard of Appleton.' 



In 1339 the priory of West Acre obtained 

 licence to appropriate the church of Bodney of 

 their advowson.* 



Licence was granted in 1343, after inquest, 

 for the prior to enclose for the enlargement of 

 the priory buildings 2 acres of his own pasture, 

 wherein the men of the town had common, 



' The charter is given by Dugdale ; it was then 

 (1638) 'penes H. Spelman.' 

 " Anct. D. A 2907. 

 'Fin. Rot. Norf. 10 Ric. I, 183. 

 *Cal. of Pat. 34 Edw. I, m. 40. 

 'Ibid. 6 Edw. II, pt. ii, m. 15. 

 *Pat. 9 Edw. II, pt. i, m. 31. 

 'Ibid. 13 Edw. II, m. 8. 

 ^Cal. of Pat. 12 Edw. Ill, pt. iii, m. 3. 



provided he find common in two other acres 

 of his land.' During the time that John de 

 Westacre was prior (1417-50) the temporalities 

 of the house were valued at ^^140 5s. "J^d. per 

 annum, and the spiritualities at ;^II5 5^. Sk'^-> 

 giving a total annual income of £,2^6 iis.o^d}" 



Edward IV, on 7 July, 1479, granted the 

 priory an annual fair at West Acre and Custhorp, 

 on the day of the translation of St. Thomas the 

 Martyr (7 July).'' Amongst the Cambridge 

 University MSS. is a small paper book of forty- 

 four pages containing an account of the property 

 of West Acre Priory, taken in the reign of 

 Henry VII.'- The Valor of 1535 estimated 

 the annual clear income of the priory at 

 ^260 lis. -j^d. 



A great disaster befell the priory in Septem- 

 ber, 1286, when the church and the adjacent 

 conventual buildings were destroyed by fire.'^ 



Edward II, in 13 10, sent Benedict de Walford, 

 who had served the late and present kings, to 

 this priory to receive in their house, for life, the 

 necessary sustenance of food and clothing.'* 



Bishop Goldwell visited the priory on 1 1 August, 

 1 494, when the prior, Richard Palle, then advanced 

 in years, and nineteen canons were present. 

 The report was to the effect that the commands 

 are not observed or they are contradicted by 

 Edmund Lichfield, the sub -prior, and by 

 William Massingham, and that these two canons 

 administered the temporalities of the house ; that 

 Robert Patrick and Geoffrey Blake take their 

 ease, do not apply to any study, and are a cause 

 of strife among their brethren ; that Henry ToUe 

 could not with a clear conscience live in peace 

 with Geoffrey, though he could get on excel- 

 lently with Patrick ; that the sons of gentlemen 

 (at school) in the house do not pay their ex- 

 penses ; that the sub-prior is not only insolent 

 to his superior but is so given to temporal things 

 that he forgets he is a religious, and gives his 

 chief attention to farming a rabbit warren near 

 the chapel of St. Thomas and to rearing swans 

 on the water near the priory, which he sends as 

 presents to gentlemen, and are therefore no profit 

 to the priory. The bishop made several adjourn- 

 ments of this visitation, and the eventual result 

 is not on record. Judging from the future of the 

 sub-prior, Edmund Lichfield, who here seems 

 so much to blame, it is probable that the prior 

 was worn out and that his subordinate allowed 

 his business capacities to run away with him. 

 Lichfield became prior of Flitcham in 1498, and 

 two years later he was consecrated titular bishop 

 of Chalcedon to enable him to act as suffragan 

 bishop in Norwich diocese.'* 



'Pat. 17 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 5. 

 '"Blomefield, ix, 160. 

 "Pat. 19 Edw. IV, m. 23. 

 "Cam. Univ. Lib. Dd. viii, 42. 

 "Cott. MS. Nero D. ii, fol. 232. 

 " Cal. of Close, 4 Edw. II, m. i^d. 

 "Jessopp, Norw. Visit. (Camd. Soc), 49-51. 



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