A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 



century and of the alien houses early in the same century ; and it must be 

 remembered that the parochial worship of the people was still untouched ; 

 if on the one hand Dr. Richard Boorde had to flee from Sussex for having 

 said he ' wuld rather be toren with wyeld horsses than to assent or consent 

 to the diminisshinge of any one iote of the bishopp of Rome his aucthorite, 

 of old tyme and all wayes holden and kept in this realme,' 134 on the other 

 hand Nicholas White of Winchelsea and eight men of Rye were arrested for 

 holding heretical opinions 186 in the denying of purgatory and on other points 

 which were destined by the end of Henry's reign to become the accepted 

 orthodox views. 



It was a period of great and rapid change and one of great difficulty 

 for those in authority. The abolition of the pope's authority had been 

 acquiesced in with comparatively little opposition, but a large mass of the 

 people still held with the old form of worship, while a few, out of honest 

 opinion or for their own convenience, outstripped the royal authorities in the 

 simplification of ceremony and ritual. Thus, as early as February, 1536, 

 the rector of Graffham gave up the making of holy bread and holy water on 

 Sundays, and allowed his hair to grow so that there was no trace of his ton- 

 sure, which provoked much murmuring amongst his parishioners. 138 A storm- 

 centre at this period was Rye, where William Inold, priest and curate of the 

 absentee vicar, was the head of what we may term the reactionary party. 

 He had been imprisoned in 1536 as 'a very unthrift priest and a great 

 reveller ' and a causer of riot, 137 but returning to his cure next year was 

 informed against for railing upon many honest men, calling them heretics, 

 boasting that the old fashions should survive, keeping certain ' idle holy days 

 late abrogated,' such as the feast of the Name of Jesus, with solemn ringing, 

 singing, procession, and decking of the church. He had further said that 

 they that have the New Testament in their hands have a sword and are clean 

 gone out of the way. 138 However, he had the support of the mayor and 

 jurats and at least seventy-five honest men of Rye who wrote a letter to 

 Cromwell in his favour, 139 but apparently unavailingly, as he seems to have been 

 arrested, the mayor in June, 1538, sending up a list of all books and bills 

 found in his house ; at the same time the parishioners set out that he 

 had not preached against the bishop of Rome, nor read the Gospel or Epistle 

 in English, and when he reads the Bishops' Book he ' readeth scant a piece of 

 tytle, and even that may not be understood, for he cannot rede the rethoryck 

 wordes.' He also, ' as a witch,' gave a child drink three times of the chalice 

 for the ' chyne cough ' (i.e. whooping cough). 140 The bishop, Richard Samp- 

 son, appears to have put one Mr. Welles in charge of Rye, as he writes to 

 him in August, 1538 : 



I am glad you did not enterprise to sing any service openly in English, and pray you 

 for the common quietness to forbear such novelties till it shall please the king to declare his 

 pleasure. . . . The king is content that the book lately put out by the prelates should be 

 obeyed and taught till he shall otherwise order after more mature counsel. Meantime no 

 person ought to reprove the book, for in things concerning religion I suppose the doctrine is 

 true. In other ceremonies when it shall please the king to order them otherwise the people 

 shall be taught accordingly. 141 



114 L. and?. Hen. Vlll, be, No. 1066. 13S Ibid, xi, No. 1424. " Ibid, x, No. 277. 



" Ibid. No. 365. 1M Ibid, xii (2), No. 505. I3 Ibid. 



40 Ibid, xiii (i), No. 1 1 50 ' Ibid. (2), No. 147. 



18 



