A HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND 



George Kyrkebryde, deceased. 1 He estab- 

 lished an alms in the abbey church for priests 

 singing yearly masses at the altar of our 

 Holy Saviour Jesus for the souls of Henry II. 

 and Henry VIII. and for his own soul. z 

 Robert Chamber is said to have ' rygned ' as 

 abbot of Holmcultram for thirty years. 



As soon as the destruction of the religious 

 houses became a subject of agitation in the 

 country, it was almost impossible to preserve 

 discipline in large communities. In Holm- 

 cultram a discreditable state of anarchy was 

 disclosed. During the seven years before the 

 surrender no fewer than four abbots ruled 

 the monastery. Dan Matthew Dyves or 

 Deveys, a monk of the house, became abbot 

 in 1531 through the instrumentality of Robert 

 Cokett of Bolton Percy in Yorkshire, an 

 honour which cost the new abbot ^100 in 

 fine to the Crown. His death took place in 

 the following year under suspicious circum- 

 stances. Sir John Lamplugh, in a letter 

 bearing date 16 September 1532, told Crom- 

 well that Gawyn Borradale, one of the 

 brethren, was suspected of being implicated 

 in the death of the abbot of Holme. The 

 monk was arrested and imprisoned in the 

 abbey ofFurness, where he remained for about 

 half a year. The depositions of the religious 

 and temporal men connected with the abbey 

 of Holmcultram have been preserved, from 

 which it may be gathered that Borradale was 

 suspected of poisoning Abbot Deveys in a fit 

 of jealousy or disappointment after the elec- 

 tion. Borradale had powerful friends and 

 eventually attained the object of his desires. 

 It was he who afterwards surrendered the 

 house to the king's commissioners. 3 



The surname of the next abbot of Holm- 

 cultram was variously written as Yerbye, 

 Jerbye and Irebye, but he probably belonged 

 to the Cumberland family of Ireby or origin- 

 ated from the parish of that name. Thomas 



1 Pat. 3 Hen. VIII. pt. ii. m. I4d ; L. and P. 

 Hen. 7111. i. 3075. 



* Valor Ecc. (Rec. Com.), v. 282. 



a L. and P. Hen. 7111. v. 277, 657, 1317. 

 The following documents have been copied 

 by the writer from the originals at the Record 

 Office and printed by the Carlisle Scientific and 

 Literary Society : Dr. Legh's defence of the ac- 

 cused monk (ibid. vi. 985); petition from Fur- 

 ness protesting his innocence and claiming a fair 

 trial (ibid. vi. 986) ; John, abbot of Byland's letter 

 of intercession to Cromwell on behalf of the monk 

 (ibid. vi. 987) ; depositions of monks and others 

 before Abbot Ireby concerning the death of the 

 late abbot (ibid. vi. 988) ; letter of Roger, abbot 

 of Furness, on the character of Borradale and his 

 abettors (ibid. vi. 1557). 



Ireby succeeded soon after the death of Abbot 

 Deveys and gave promise of ruling the house 

 'according to right and conscience,' as John 

 Lord Husey expressed it to Cromwell on 

 19 November 1532. The new abbot had 

 restitution of the temporalities on 1 1 March 

 1533, for which he paid a fine of ^50. The 

 discipline of the monks was a great concern 

 to him, and something was done during his 

 term of office to restore confidence and pro- 

 mote charity after the disaster to his predeces- 

 sor. Thomas Graham, a refractory brother, 

 who held a proctorship in the church of 

 Wigton, was called to account for neglect of 

 his duty and his seal was revoked. Some of 

 his letters are preserved at the Record Office, 

 and his signature may still be read with that 

 of Christopher Slee, prior of Carlisle, in attes- 

 tation of an inventory of the ' moveables ' of 

 Lord William Dacre, seized in 1534 by the 

 Earls of Westmorland and Cumberland and 

 Sir Thomas Clifford, the king's commissioners. 

 It ' pleased Gode almyghtt to call unto his 

 mercy Thomas Irebye, our discreitt father 

 and laitt abbot of our monasterye, whiche 

 dyde depart from this present lyffe the x' day 

 of August (1536), whosse sowlle Gode par- 

 don, leivyng ' the monks of Holmcultram a 

 ' powre floke without heide or governore.' * 



On ii August 1536, the day following 

 the death of Abbot Ireby, the whole monas- 

 tery consisting of the sub-prior and twenty- 

 one monks signed a petition to Cromwell ' to 

 suffer us to have our free and liberall election 

 accordyng to the statutes and rewlles of our 

 holly religion to elect one of the brethern of 

 owre monastery to be heide and governore of 

 the same," alleging as an excuse for haste 

 their nearness to the Scottish border and the 

 fear ' leist the ravyschyng wolffe doo enter 

 into the floke ' in the event of any delay in 

 the appointment of their head. 8 Intrigues 

 were on foot. Sir Thomas Wharton recom- 

 mended Graham, the monk already referred 

 to, who offered to give 400 marks to the 

 king's highness for the office besides his first 

 fruits, but other arrangements were made. 

 Thomas Carter, who was apparently not a 

 member of the chapter of Holmcultram, was 

 placed over the house. 6 His name appears 

 loaded with infamy, a few months after his 

 appointment, in that ' cleane ' but unreliable 

 ' booke of compertes ' which the royal visitors 

 presented to Parliament. In the insurrections 

 of 1537 Abbot Carter was a prominent figure, 

 urging his tenants to join the commons, 



Ibid. v. 1556 ; vi. 228 (i.), 781, 988, 1205 ; 

 vii. 676 ; xi. 276. 



Ibid. xi. 276. a Ibid. xi. 319. 



170 



