RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



Richard Marleburgh was the first prior, and 

 John de Pevesey the first sacrist. The sacrist 

 had charge of the parish part of the manor and 

 of the parishioners, and lived in the two-storied 

 parvise over the south porch. His office was a 

 benefice, and there are two instances of sacrists 

 being instituted in the diocesan registers, namely, 

 in 1387 and 1426. On 2 July, 1360, the 

 bishop licensed the appropriation of the church 

 of Ingham to the priory ; at that date there were 

 only a prior and two brethren or chaplains.^ In 

 1362 the priory was beginning to flourish, for in 

 that year they obtained letters patent for the 

 enlargement of their house, and three years later 

 leave to divert a road for the same object." 



In July, 1379, Roger de Boys, John de Boys, 

 and Reginald de Eccles granted to the priory 

 property in Worstead and Scottow.' In 1384 

 the priory received from John de Saxham the 

 advowson of the church of All Saints, Cley, and 

 lands and tenements in ' Treston ' and Little 

 Soxham ; in 1389 the manor of Thorney ; and 

 in 1392 the manor of Cockley Cley, and eight 

 messuages, 211 acres of land, 22 of meadow, 

 4 of moor, and lis. lid. rents in Ingham, Hick- 

 ling, Worstead, and divers other townships, to- 

 gether with the advowson of the church of 

 Walcott.* 



In 1 40 1 Boniface IX sanctioned the appro- 

 priation to this priory of the churches of Walcott 

 and Cockley Cley, value not exceeding 90 marks; 

 each church might be served by one of their 

 canons, or by a secular priest removable at the 

 prior's wish.* 



The Valor of 1535 gave the clear annual 

 value of the priory at £6 1 <)s. "j^d. ; their most 

 valuable possessions were the appropriations of 

 the churches of Ingham and Walcott, which 

 brought in an income of j^20 ijs. 



Thomas Catfield alias Godrede occurs as prior 

 in 1492. In that year, on 23 October, Arch- 

 deacon Goldwell, acting as commissary of the 

 bishop, visited the house. The prior and his 

 brethren were severally and privately examined, 

 with the result that nothing was found that 

 required reformation. There were four professed 

 brethren, John Ludham, sacrist ; William Nor- 

 wich, Robert Fryston, and John Ingham ; and 

 two who were not professed. 



Prior Catfield was still in office when the 

 house was again visited by commission on 1 8 July, 

 1520. The prior and four brethren testified 

 o>nnia bene, but Brother John Saye complained 

 that the prior did not present an annual state- 

 ment of accounts. As a result of the visitation 



' Blomefield, Hist. ofNorf. ix, 326-7 ; Pat. 3 3 Edw. 

 Ill, pt. i, m. 30 ; 34 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, ni. 26. 



' Pat. 36 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 30 ; 39 Edw. Ill, 

 pt. ii. m. 29. 



» Cal. of Pat. 3 Ric. II, pt. i. m. 37. 



* Tanner, Notitia, xxxvi ; Pat. 16 Ric. II, pt. i, 

 m. 16. * Ca/. Papal Reg. v, 416. 



the prior was required to exhibit, at the next 

 Michaelmas synod, an inventory of all valuables 

 and movables, and to render an annual account 

 before the senior brethren. 



The same prior also received a visitation, by 

 commission, on 18 June, 1526. Prior Catfield 

 gave a good report, save that the house was in 

 debt 26;. ^d. John Saye, licensed by the bishop 

 to the cure of the parish church of Walcott, 

 Richard Fox, serving in a similar way the church 

 of Ingham, three other brethren, and two novices, 

 all agreed that omnia bene. 



John Saye was prior on 12 June, 1532, when 

 Bishop Nicke visited Ingham in person. The 

 prior and four brethren united in testifying that 

 there was nothing worthy of reformation, and 

 the bishop took a like view.° 



On 5 August, 1534, Prior Saye, with six of 

 his brethren, signed their acknowledgement of 

 the king's supremacy.' 



The visitors of 1535 alleged in their secret 

 comperta that the prior and one of the brethren 

 were guilty of incontinence. 



On 7 November, 1535, Cromwell received 

 information from Richard Wharton that the 

 prior and convent of Ingham had sold their 

 house and lands to one William Woodhouse 

 without the knowledge of their founder (patron) 

 Sir Francis Calthrope, and contrary to their pro- 

 mise to Edward Calthrope, nephew and heir to 

 Sir Francis, who had married a near kinswoman 

 of the writer, to give him the first offer of it. 

 The letter curtly offered Cromwell ;^ioo for 

 his favour. But on 19 November Dr. Legh 

 wrote to Cromwell from Norwich, saying that 

 the prior of Ingham had made no sale to Wood- 

 house as reported, but only conditionally in the 

 event of his procuring the king's licence. How- 

 ever, another correspondent, on 15 December, 

 reaffirmed what Wharton had stated.* 



The four county commissioners for the Nor- 

 folk suppression wrote to Cromwell on 10 August, 

 1536, saying that during their survey they sent 

 to the house of Ingham to put their books and 

 necessaries in due order before their coming ; 

 but on their arrival they found no religious 

 person there, because of their bargain, dated 

 24 December, 1534, with William Wood- 

 house. Woodhouse had appeared before the 

 commissioners at Coxford, and alleged that Ing- 

 ham was outside the statute, for it was a house 

 of Crossed Friars and not of monks or canons. 

 The commissioners had perused the statute and 

 thought that it was so.' 



^ Jessopp, A^ara'. ^/V;V. (Camd. Soc), 27, 173, 210, 

 276. ' Dep. Keeper's Rep. vii, App. 2, 6j. 



» L. and P. Hen. Fill, ix, 264, 284, 328. 



' Ibid, xi, 1 10. Woodhouse had evidently fallen 

 into a not uncommon mistake of confusing the Trini- 

 tarians (who followed the Austin rule, with certain 

 special statutes) and the Crossed or Crutched Friars, 

 who were a distinct order founded in 1 1 69; their 

 first English house was at Colchester. 



411 



