A HISTORY OF NORFOLK 



&c., at Feltwell, in order to sustain the lights and 

 ornaments of the abbey church, and for the dress 

 and shoes of the canons and lay brethren. By 

 other charters William de VVendling conveyed 

 to the canons all his possessions or rents in Lang- 

 ham, Yaxham, Reymcrston, Cranworth, Letton, 

 Shipdham, Rising Crethemere, Tilney, Wiggen- 

 hall. Saddlebow, Clenchwarton, North Lynn, 

 Walpole, Elmham, Oxborough, Brandon, Thet- 

 ford, Dunham, and Kempstone. 



Reyner de Gimmingham granted to Nicholas, 

 the first abbot, and his convent the advowson 

 of the church of All Saints, Burnham Ulph, 

 with two and a half acres of land, and the advow- 

 son of a moiety of Burnham St. Margaret with 

 three and a half acres of land. 



Robert de Stoteville granted to the same abbot, 

 in 1273, his lordship in VVendling and the ad- 

 vowson of the church, and all the church and 

 chapels of Weasenham, together with forty acres 

 at a place called Merledelond.' 



At the compiling of the Valor of 1 29 1, this 

 abbey had possessions in twenty-nine Norfolk 

 parishes, and its annual value was ;^39 19^. 7i(/. 

 This total was slightly augmented in succeeding 

 years by occasional gifts of lands and rents ; thus 

 in 1306, the abbot and convent were licensed to 

 accept the gift, by Nicholas de Stokesley, of a 

 messuage, a mill, three acres of land, three acres 

 of meadow, and 26s. Sd. rents in Yaxham." A 

 considerable number of deeds relating to grants 

 and leases made by or to the abbey in Scarning 

 and the neighbourhood are preserved at the 

 Record Office.' 



The abbey obtained the royal licence to appro- 

 priate the church of Langham ^ in 1329, and that 

 of Yaxham in 1363.' 



The clear annual value of the abbey was de- 

 clared to be £$S i8f. 4f(^. by the Valor of 1535, 

 when Thomas Ellington was abbot. 



In September, 1291, the abbot of Wendling 

 received the papal mandate to grant a dispensation 

 to John de Scippedaham, priest of his monastery, 

 of illegitimate birth, to minister in orders received, 

 and to be promoted to dignities of his order.* 



In September, 1327, the constable of Dover 

 Castle was ordered to permit the abbot of Wend- 

 ling to cross the fens from that part to attend the 

 general chapter at Premontr^, and to supply him 

 with twenty marks towards his expenses.' 



In 1330 Lady Margaret Foliot, as patroness 

 of the abbey, was buried before the high altar of 

 the conventual church on the north side. 



Pope John XXIII, in 1411, granted an in- 

 dulgence during ten years, of one hundred days 



' The whole of the above grants are cited in a royal 

 confirmation grant of 1332. Pat. 6 Edw. Ill pt. i, 

 m. 25. ' Pat. 34 Edw. I, m, 17. 



' Ca/. of And. D. vol. v. 



' Pat. 3 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 2. 



' Ibid. 37 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m. 17. 



• Cal. Papal Reg. i, 541. 



' Close, I, Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m. 12 a'. 



to penitents who, on certain specified feasts, should 

 visit and give alms for the repair of the monastic 

 church of Wendling, where were preserved cer- 

 tain pieces of the true cross, a foot of St. Lucy 

 the Virgin, and other relics.* 



On the death of Abbot John de Norwich ia 

 1339, the canons proceeded at once to the election 

 of a successor, without waiting for the necessary 

 formalities. Thereupon the abbot of Langdon,. 

 who was acting as visitor and commissary for the 

 abbot of Pr^montr^, wrote to the abbot of Dere- 

 ham, styling the late John of Norwich an unworthy 

 man who had assumed the position of abbot, and 

 pointing out the irregularities of the canons who 

 had proceeded to make another unworthy election. 

 He ordered the abbot of Dereham to cite before 

 him, as commissary, in the church of St. Rade- 

 gund, on Mondav after the Exaltation of the 

 Cross, the new abbot, (if he could be called so) 

 and two proctors to represent the convent, to 

 show cause why this uncanonical election should 

 not be annulled.' 



The result is not known, but John de Tytle- 

 shalle eventually succeeded as superior. 



At his first visitation tour as commissary of the 

 abbot of Pr^montr^, in 1475, Bishop Redman 

 tarried at Wendling from 28 to 30 June."' Three 

 years later he was again at Wendling, on 30 

 June, when the abbot was ordered to see to the 

 observance of the day and night hours, which 

 was imperilled through paucity of numbers, and 

 to rebuild the church, which had been destroyed 

 by fire, as soon as possible. The debt of £,bo 

 noted in 1475 had been reduced by the abbot's 

 care to ;^13. 



In addition to John Skerning, abbot, and John 

 Grey, sub-prior, there were only four other canons. 

 They had three churches in their charge, which 

 were served either by secular curates, or by canons 

 who could be recalled at will.'^ 



When Bishop Redman reached Wendling on 

 his visitation tour of 1482, he praised the general 

 condition of the house. Considerable progress 

 had been made with the new buildings, but he 

 urged greater speed with the church. He gave 

 some attention to the smaller details of worship 

 (»'« minut'ts obiervanciii) such as directing that the 

 antiphons of the canticles should be sung only 

 by the priests. Richard Fenwick, contumacious 

 and rebellious, was sentenced to forty days of 

 severe penance, and to banishment to Leicester 

 Abbey for three years. In addition to abbot 

 and prior, there were but four other canons, two 

 of whom were novices.'^ The numbers were the 

 same at the visitation made on the 27 June, 1488, 

 when two of the inmates were sentenced by the 

 bishop. In one case there had been rebellion 

 (disobedience) but the offender promised obedience 



*■ Cal. of Papal Reg. vi, 308. 



' SloaneMS. 4935, fol. 83. 

 '" Redman, Visit. (Bodl.) fol. 5. 

 " Ibid. fols. 13, 21. 

 " Ibid. fols. 33, 44. 



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