A HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND 



Bishop Silvester of Carlisle and Robert, prior 

 of the same, gave a bond to the prior and 

 convent of Durham that they should be held 

 free of cost and expense if they would con- 

 firm the appropriation of the churches of 

 Newcastle, Newburn, Warkworth, Cor- 

 bridge and a moiety of Whittingham, which 

 Bishop Nicholas of Durham had made to the 

 church of Carlisle on the ordination of Masters 

 William de Kilkenny, Archdeacon of Coven- 

 try ; Thomas de Wymundeham, precentor of 

 Lichfield ; Odo de Kilkenny and Walter de 

 Merton, clerks. 1 Robert was prior on 2 Sep- 

 tember 1249, when the ordination already re- 

 ferred to was made between Bishop Silvester 

 and the priory about the final redistribution 

 of the property of the church of Carlisle. 



Robert had ceased to be prior about 1258. 

 On 17 December 1258 Pope Alexander IV. 

 issued a mandate to the priors of Hexham, 

 Lanercost and Wetheral, on the petition of 

 the prior and convent of Carlisle, to inquire 

 about the conduct of Robert, a canon, then 

 prior, who, submitting to the bishop's visita- 

 tion, and thinking that on account of his 

 excesses he was about to be removed, re- 

 signed ; on which the bishop ordered him to 

 reside in the church of Corbridge in North- 

 umberland with one canon at least, and to 

 pay from its proceeds 40 marks a year to the 

 prior and chapter, keeping the rest, which 

 was estimated to amount to 90 marks, for 

 their sustentation. The Bishop of Durham 

 admitted Robert to the said church by order 

 of the Bishop of Carlisle on the petition of 

 the convent whose church it was. But the 

 new vicar of Corbridge broke out into disso- 

 lute living, and was likely to perish, placed as 

 he was outside all discipline. The pope 

 ordered the priors, if the facts were found as 

 stated, to cause Robert to return to his clois- 

 ter and to remain there under his prior's 

 obedience. 1 



The names of Adam de Felton and Alan 

 are usually introduced after Robert de Morville 

 in lists of the priors of Carlisle, but no reasons 



1 By the kindness of Canon Greenwell this deed, 

 now in possession of the dean and chapter of Dur- 

 ham, has been perused by the writer. The seals of 

 the bishop and priory are in a fair state of preserva- 

 tion. The legend on the bishop's seal : + SILVES- 

 TER DEI GRA KA . . . LEOLENSIS EPISCOPVS. The 



counterseal : +TE ROGO VIRGO REGI sis VIGIL ERGO 

 GREGI. The legend on the seal of the priory is 

 very much mutilated : + . . . LESIE SANCTE 

 MARI . . . EOLI. The deed is endorsed : ' Obli- 

 gacio Episcopi et Prioris Karln' de indempnitate 

 confirmacionis ecclesiarum eorundem in proprios 

 usus.' 



* Cal. of Papal Letters, i. 361-2. 



have been given for their adoption. As 

 Nicolson and Burn 3 have apparently followed 

 the list of Hugh Todd, 4 these priors should 

 be received with the greatest suspicion till 

 some evidence is put forward to establish 

 their titles. 



John, prior, and the convent of Carlisle, 

 confirmed, on 15 May 1263, an ordination 

 made by Bishop Robert de Chause between 

 Isabel, prioress of Marrick, and Ralf de 

 Kirkandres, chaplain, with respect to the 

 church of Kirkandrews on Eden. 5 



Robert was prior of Carlisle on 27 Decem- 

 ber 1278, when the convent elected Ralf, 

 prior of Gisburne, to be Bishop of Carlisle. 8 

 On 16 July 1282 Bishop Ralf de Ireton con- 

 firmed the appropriation of the church of 

 Addingham with its chapel of Salkeld to him 

 and the convent, the advowson of which had 

 been granted by Christiane, widow of Robert 

 de Brus. The prior and canons had peti- 

 tioned for the licence on the ground of the 

 extraordinary burdens the cathedral church 

 had to bear by reason of its geographical posi- 

 tion and the frequent concourse of clergy and 

 people in confinio duarum regionum? On 

 24 April 1283 Prior Robert confirmed a pen- 

 sion to Adam de Coupland, clerk, by grant 

 of the same bishop. At a subsequent period 

 it was stated that Robert had vacated the 

 priory by resignation at a time when the 

 house was in a good financial condition. 8 



The next prior was named Adam, against 

 whom Edward I. in 1285 issued a writ of quo 

 warranto touching certain liberties which the 

 priory claimed in Inglewood Forest. 9 The 

 full name of the prior afterwards appears as 

 Adam de Warthwyk. In 1287 this prior 

 confirmed the taxation of Walton vicarage 

 ordained by Bishop Ralf de Ireton for the 



Hist. ofCumb. ii. 301. 



Nofiiia Eccl. Cathed. Carl. (ed. R. S. Fer- 

 guson), 4. 



6 Coll. Topog. et Gen. v. 235-6, where four most 

 interesting deeds are set out at length. In Todd's 

 list the names of John de Halton, afterwards 

 Bishop of Carlisle, and John de Kendal are men- 

 tioned among the priors about this date (Notitia 

 Eccl. Cathed. Carl. 4) ; but Todd's list is intoler- 

 able. 



8 Chan. Eccl. Pet. for Elections, 24 June 1278, 

 file 6 ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. vi. App. p. 94. 



i Carl. Epis. Reg., Halton, ff. 181-2 ; Letters 

 from the Northern Reg. (Rolls Ser.), 251-2. 



s Carl. Epis. Reg., Halton, ff. 14, 43. With 

 Nicholas de Lewelin, Archdeacon of Carlisle, he 

 witnessed a grant of Maud de Vaux in her 

 widowhood to the priory of Lanercost (Reg. of 

 Lanercost, MS. x. 7). 



Cal. of Pat. 1330-4, pp. 1 1 1-2. 



