A HISTORY OF NORFOLK 



and two brethren, who would all worship in 

 their own chapel.' 



The preceptories of this order were occasion- 

 ally called Hospitals, in cases where the inmates 

 had no other hospitality to discharge than that of 

 relieving wayfarers or cases of special distress ; 

 but the foundation of Carbrooke specially entitled 

 them to the name hospital, as they had the 

 charge of twelve poor persons. 



Blomefield states that Sir Alexander de Mit- 

 cham was master or preceptor from 1307 to 

 13 1 5, and he occurs in 1308 as witness to a grant 

 by Richard de Carbrook.^ The only other pre- 

 ceptors he names are Elias, 1256 ; Robert de 

 Heugham, 1 285 ; and John Halligate, 1424. 



The general return of the Knights Hospital- 

 lers in England made by Philip de Thame, the 

 English prior, in 1338, gives ;£i92 2s. 4^^. as 

 the annual value of Carbrooke Preceptory. In 

 addition to many acres of land and pasture at 

 Carbrooke, Costessy, and Bamburgh, which they 

 farmed themselves, the preceptory had large rents 

 both in money and kind, the latter being paid in 

 barley, oats, or poultry, as well as autumn ser- 

 vices from villeins. The court fees and perqui- 

 sites averaged ^^4. ; two windmills brought in 

 40;., and the dovecote 65. 8d. The rectories of 

 the churches of Great and Little Carbrooke pro- 

 duced an annual income of £4.0, whilst the free- 

 will offering collected in the neighbourhood, 

 possibly throughout the whole county, averaged 

 130 marks. 



The list of expenses (which amounted to 

 £ji I2J. 7 1(/.) shows that those who had their 

 daily board in the house were the preceptor, two 

 brethren, the vicar of Great Carbrooke and his 

 servant, two secular chaplains, who celebrated 

 for the soul of the founder, four clerks who col- 

 lected the offerings of the district, twelve poor 

 persons, one of whom had a loaf of bread weigh- 

 ing sixty ounces, eight servants of the houses, 

 and also those who were occasionally hospitably 

 entertained. The stipends of the two chaplains 

 celebrating in the chapel were 4.0s. A robe for 

 the steward of their courts and his fee amounted 

 to 4.6s. Sd., the robe and stipend of the precep- 

 tor's squire 20s., and those of the chamberlain, 

 bailiff, cook, baker, porter, warrener, carpenter, 

 and gardener, 6s. Sd. each. Two boys of the 

 preceptor had 35. ^d. each, and the stable boy 

 and kitchen boy 5;. each. The washerwoman 

 was paid 4.5. a year, and the prior's three davs' 

 visitation cost them 6o5. The handsome balance 

 of about ^120, after paying all expenses, went 

 to the English Prior-General at Clerkenwell. 

 Sir Alan Macy was at this time preceptor ; the 

 two brethren were Thomas de Hinton (chaplain) 

 and William de Boyton.' 



' Blomefield, Hist. ofNorf. ii, 335. 

 ' Anct. D. (P.R.O.), A. 2964. 

 ' The Knights Hospitallers in Engl. (Camd. Soc. 

 18S7). 



The most distinguishing feature of the accounts 

 of Carbrooke is the large sum of ;^86 13;. jfd. 

 entered under fraria ad voluntatem contrihuen- 

 tium. The confrarioy fraria, or collecta, as it 

 was diversely termed, was a highly important 

 item of the accounts of the commanderies or 

 preceptories of the Knights Hospitallers. Volun- 

 tary collections were made by clerks specially 

 deputed for the purpose from churches and. 

 the faithful in general. The total collected in 

 England and Wales in this way, in the year 

 1338, was ;^888 41. T^d. Carbrooke Preceptory 

 actually contributed nearly a tenth of the whole 

 amount. There can be little doubt that they 

 gathered from the whole county of Norfolk, as 

 theirs was the only preceptory within its bounds ; 

 and this would account for their keeping the ex- 

 ceptional number of four clerks for the purpose. 



Innocent VI issued his mandate in 1353 to 

 the prior and archdeacon of Norwich and to the 

 precentor of Hereford to carry out the ordinances 

 touching apostates in regard to William de 

 Boyton, Hospitaller, who left the hospital of 

 Carbrooke, in the diocese of Norwich, and then 

 desired to be reconciled to it.'' 



At some time before the Valor of 1535 was 

 taken this preceptory had become amalgamated 

 with that of Chippenham, Cambridge ; they were 

 both under the same preceptor. Sir Thomas 

 Copledyke. The rectory of Carbrooke then pro- 

 duced j^6 \os. The vicar had a pension of ^^4, 

 which was probably in addition to his board at 

 the preceptory. Two prie^ts had ^^5 each for 

 celebrating. The temporalities of Carbrooke 

 (without Chippenham) realized ;^36 \s. \\d. 

 Six boys are entered as maintained according to 

 the foundation charter at a cost of ^^12, but 

 this apparently refers to Chippenham : there is 

 no reference to the twelve poor persons sustained 

 at Carbrooke in the fourteenth century. 



An inventory was made of the goods and 

 chattels of the late commandery of Carbrooke on 

 21 November, i54i,bySir Richard Southwell 

 and Thomas Mildmay, as King's commissioners. 

 The contents of the chapel were poor, namely, 

 a chalice, a mass-book, two cruets, a sacring 

 bell, an old surplice, two corporas-cases, two old 

 rent altar-cloths, a covering on the altar of black 

 buckram, ' a cloth before the altar with the 

 pycture of seynt Ihu olde,' an old psalter, two 

 latten candlesticks, and a bell weighing 20 lb. 



The total value of the goods and chattels, in- 

 cluding corn in the barn, corn and hay in stacks, 

 and ten acres of sown wheat, was estimated at 

 £^\i) igj. 4/^., exclusive of the silver chalice. 

 There was allowed to Sir Thomas Copledyke, as 

 preceptor, ' accordynge to the statut ' a sixth 

 part of this value. The annual value of the 

 vicarage of Carbrooke is stated to be j^S,' but a 

 much corrected Valor of the possessions of this 



* Cal. Papal Reg. iii, 5 i 5. 

 » Ch. Gds. L.R. Norf. ^. 



424 



