A HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND 



parish and the ministry were constituted then 

 as of old ; yet it would be to the greater glory 

 of God if the number of ministering clergy 

 was increased ; and that the revenues were 

 able to sustain a provost and five chaplains at 

 the parish church as well as the chaplains at 

 Watermillock and Threlkeld. 1 Notwith- 

 standing all these negotiations, nothing more 

 appears to have been done for two or three 

 years.* 



The bishop and the patron were not 

 turned from their purpose by the continued 

 opposition to the scheme, for the college was 

 formally founded in 1382. When all the 

 preliminaries were arranged Bishop Appleby 

 sent a mandate to the parochial chaplain of 

 Greystoke and to the chaplains of Threl- 

 keld and Watermillock, calling their atten- 

 tion to the great defects in the nave of the 

 parish church, its stone walls, wood work, 

 fittings, and glass windows, and to the 

 ruinous condition of the tower (campanile 

 eiusdem totaltter ruit ad terram), and setting 

 them a time for their repair. He had heard 

 also at his recent visitation that certain of the 

 parishioners were frequenting the chapels of 

 Threlkeld and Watermillock for divine 

 offices, and were refusing to pay their por- 

 tions to the maintenance of the mother 

 church. It was intimated to them that all 

 the inhabitants were obliged to contribute or 

 incur the usual penalty. 3 On the petition 

 of Ralf, Lord Greystoke, setting forth the 

 urgent need of the new foundation, Pope 

 Urban issued the necessary faculties in May 

 1382 for the erection of a college of seven 

 perpetual chaplains, and Archbishop Nevill of 

 York, his legate, completed the work. Gil- 

 bert Bowet was constituted the first master 

 or keeper of the perpetual college of Grey- 

 stoke, and to the six chantries other appoint- 

 ments were made : John Lake, of the diocese 

 of Lichfield, to the chantry of, the altar of St. 

 Andrew ; Thomas Chambirleyne, of the 

 diocese of Norwich, to the chantry of St. 

 Mary the Virgin ; John Alve, of the diocese 

 of York, to the chantry of St. John the 

 Baptist ; Richard Barwell, of the diocese of 



1 On 12 February 1379-80, the rector, John 

 de Claston, had leave to absent himself for two 

 years and to farm the cure during that period 

 (Carl. Epis. Reg., Appleby, f. 3 2 1 ). It seems that 

 William Eston acted as his substitute, for he was 

 returned as the rector of Greystoke for the clerical 

 subsidy granted to Richard II. in the second year 

 of his reign, the value of the benefice having been 

 returned at 40 and the tax at 1 (Clerical Sub- 

 sidies, $f-, dioc. of Carlisle). 



1 Carl. Epis. Reg., Appleby, f. 342. 



a Ibid. ff. 309-10. 



Lincoln, to the chantry of St. Katharine the 

 Virgin ; Robert de Newton, of the diocese of 

 Lichfield, to the chantry of St. Thomas the 

 Martyr ; and John de Hare, of the diocese of 

 York, to the chantry of the Apostles, St. Peter 

 and St. Paul. 4 The master and chantry 

 priests were bound in canonical obedience to 

 the Bishop of Carlisle. Not one of the first 

 collegiate staff was drawn from the diocese, 

 except Gilbert Bowet, the master, who had 

 been chaplain there from 1365 till the 

 foundation of the college. 8 The patronage 

 of the new establishment in head and 

 members was retained in the house of Grey- 

 stoke. 6 



The relationship of the college to the 

 chapelry of Threlkeld was the subject of an 

 ordination or award (laudum) made by 

 Bishop Lumley of Carlisle in 1431. As 

 discord had arisen between the rector or 

 master and chaplains, fellows (consocios) or 

 chantry priests (cantaristas) of the collegiate 

 or parochial church of Greystoke on the one 

 part and Sir Henry Threlkeld and the tenants 

 of the vill or lordship of Threlkeld on the 

 other, about the appointment of a chaplain 

 or chaplains successively in the church or 

 chapel of Threlkeld, which is dependent on 

 the said church of Greystoke, and about the 

 manner of tithing corn and hay and other 

 fruits within the vill of Threlkeld, the whole 

 dispute was placed in the bishop's hands at 

 his personal visitation of the diocese in the 

 collegiate church of Greystoke on 26 Sep- 

 tember 1431, and both parties undertook to 

 abide by his award. It was decided by the 

 bishop that Sir Henry Threlkeld and his 

 heirs after him, with the consent of their 

 tenants, should nominate the chaplain, 

 within one month after the time of vacation, 

 to the rector or master and chaplains of the 

 college, and if they found him fit and able to 

 celebrate divine offices and to minister the 

 sacraments and sacramentals, they should 

 admit him within six days to the chaplaincy ; 

 but if they considered him unfit or unable 

 they should send him to the bishop or his 

 official for fuller examination. If the bishop 

 found the nominee unfit, it should be lawful 

 for the master, with the consent of the 

 chaplains or chantry priests, for this one turn 

 to nominate a fit person to the bishop within 

 ten days from the rejection of the former can- 

 didate ; otherwise the nomination for that 



Ibid. f. 343. 



Ibid. ff. 145-6 ; Clerical Subsidies, f, dioc. of 

 Carlisle. 



Cat. of Inq. p.m. Hen. Vll. i. 109 ; Inq. 

 p.m. 9 Hen. VIII. Nos. 32-8. 



206 



