RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



the bishop's soul : one at the cathedral church, 

 another at the collegiate church of St. Mary in 

 the Fields, and a third at the hospital church. 

 The hospital assigned salaries of lo marks a year 

 to each of these three priests, and applied the 

 remainder to the poor in the hospital.^ 



On II June, 1526, Bishop Nicke visited 

 the hospital and examined severally the staff, 

 which then consisted of a master, three 

 fellows, three stipendiary chaplains, and two 

 chaplains who served for their board and lodging. 



John Hekker, the master, presented the in- 

 ventory of goods and the annual account, and 

 said that the number of fellows was deficient, 

 for according to the foundation there should be 

 six, and there were only three. The house was 

 in debt to a small extent. One of the chaplains 

 complained that divine service was sometimes 

 badly observed in quire, on account of the loud 

 wrangling of two of the fellows.^ 



At the visitation of 1532 there were four 

 fellows present. One of them, William Hekker, 

 said that he knew nothing, as he was so often 

 absent. The three other fellows, Robert 

 Church, John Fisher, and Edward Osborne, 

 all bore witness to the ruinous condition of the 

 bakehouse, and of a guest chamber over the 

 parlour. Osborne also stated that two of the 

 servants of the house, the butler and baker, 

 were married, which was not seemly, and they 

 ought to be removed. He also complained 

 that the master (John Hekker) had received 

 26s. 8^^. for the obit of Master John Sayle at 

 the feast of Purification, and it was not paid in 

 at the feast of Barnabas.' 



The master, Thomas Cappe, and six chaplains 

 or brethren, Robert Church, Edward Osborne, 

 John Blomeville, Robert Dowe, John Browne, 

 and Edmund Frewyll, signed their acceptance of 

 the royal supremacy on 30 August, 1534.* 

 The last two signatures were probably those of 

 two chaplains appointed under some of the 

 chantry bequests, and not under the original 

 foundation. 



The Valor of 1535 gives full details of the 

 financial standing of the hospital. The rectories 

 of Costessy, Calthorpe, Hardley, Seething, Mund- 

 ham St. Peter, Mundham St. Ethelbert, Cringle- 

 ford, and Repps with Bastwick, yielded an 

 annual income of ;r54 185. loa'., and the altarage 

 of the altar of St. Helen within the hospital, 

 j^i 6j. Sd. The gross income from several 

 manors and other temporalities was ;^ii6 1 31. id. 

 From the outgoings we find that four brethren 

 €ach received 36s. 8d. for their food, and the 

 sisters 52J. each for their food and labour in 

 attending on the poor who came to the hos- 

 pital. The dinner for the seven grammar- 



' Blomefield, Hist. 0/ Nor/, iii, 541 ; iv, 178. 

 ' Jessopp, Noriv. Fisit. (Camden Soc), 206. 

 ' Ibid. 271. 

 ' Def. Keeper's Rep. vii, App. 2, 94. 



school boys, at So', each per week, came to 

 ;^I2 2s. 8d. The thirteen poor persons having 

 a daily meal and the six poor persons who had 

 board and lodging at the hospital cost ^^19 15^. 3a'. 

 The 180 poor persons who received a loaf, 

 three eggs, and a piece of cheese on the Annun- 

 ciation, and the 100 who were similarly fed 

 on St. Dunstan's day, cost 20s. The twenty- 

 four persons who prayed daily for Bishop Gold- 

 well at id. a day cost ^^4 6s. 8d. 



The master, Thomas Cappe, for his board 

 and stipend, and for the board of a servant, re- 

 ceived j^i2 IS. 4.d. Robert Church, Edward 

 Osborne, John Blomeville, and Robert Dowe, 

 received amongst them ^^20 8;. There re- 

 mained of clear annual value, after the payment 

 of all dues, pensions, alms, and salaries, the sum 

 of^58 3^oK 



When the exchange of the bishopric lands 

 and revenues took place in 1535 the advowson 

 of the hospital passed to the king, who, in 1537, 

 granted the mastership to Robert Codde. 



In 1546 Nicholas Shaxton, D.D., ex-bishop 

 of Salisbury, was appointed master, but ap- 

 parently only for the purpose of securing its 

 surrender, for on 6 March, 1547, the bishop of 

 Norwich, as patron of the hospital, Nicholas 

 Shaxton as warden, and John Fisher and Robert 

 Dowe, two of the chaplains or fellows, in the 

 chapter house of the hospital, surrendered the 

 buildings into the young king's hands, in accord- 

 ance with the intention of his father, Henry 

 VIII.^ 



The crown transferred the dissolved hospital 

 of St. Giles and its possessions to the mayor, 

 sheriffs, and commonalty of Norwich, for the 

 relief of poor people, to be called 'God's House,' 

 or the ' House of the Poor in Holm Street,' and 

 the office of master now came to an end. The 

 further history of this foundation, the Great 

 Hospital, is to be found in the Charity Com- 

 missioners' reports. 



Masters of St. Giles' Hospital, Norwich 



Hamon de Calthorpe,' f. 1276 

 Robert,' occurs 1 2 79 

 Robert Godwin,* 1288 

 Martin de Brunsted,^ 1289 

 Thomas de Hemmersby,'" occurs 1296, 13 11" 

 Peter Herringflet,'" occurs 1313 

 Roger de Metyngham,'^ elected 1360 

 John de Derbyngton,^* elected 1372 

 Roger de Erpingham," elected 1375 

 John son of Robert de Thornham, master of 

 Sparham,** elected 1394 



' Ibid, vii, App. 2, 35 ; Liber Albus (City Rec), 

 20, 21. ' Found. Chart. (City Rec), 69. 



' Add. Ch. 14784. 



' Blomefield, Hist. o/Nor/. iv, 400. 



' Ibid. '» Add. Ch. 14785. 



" Blomefield, loc. cit. " City Rec. 69. 



" Norw. Epis. Reg. v, 43. " Ibid, vi, i6. 



'^ Ibid, vi, 42. '" Ibid, vi, 197. 



445 



