RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



within the boundaries of the monastery and on 

 the manors, which were terribly decayed. When 

 Prior Nelond died in 1429 an agreement was 

 made for the daily performance of mass for his 

 soul and those of his brother John Nelond and 

 Margaret his wife, for which the sub-prior was to 

 receive 10 marks issuing from the churches of 

 Walton and St. Olave of Southwark. Two other 

 priors are recorded in 1480 as commemorated by 

 anniversary feasts with ringing of the great bell, 58 

 these being Hugh de Chyntriaco and John de 

 Caroloco, and with them were classed William 

 Laxman, ' special benefactor,' and Peter Tonell. 



In 1445 the patronage of the priory was vested 

 in Edmund Lenthale as son of one of the sisters 

 and co-heirs of Thomas, earl of Arundel and 

 Surrey, and successor to the Warenne title. He 

 therefore wrote to the abbot mentioning the 

 death of prior Robert Amicellis and requesting 

 the appointment of John Danyel, chamberer of 

 St. Pancras, in whose praise he spoke most highly ; 

 the convent at the same time sent a similar letter 

 in favour of their chamberer ; but the abbot saw 

 fit to ignore these requests and to appoint Nicholas 

 Benet, prior of Castle Acre, to the post. Benet, 

 however, declined to accept the appointment, 

 which was then conferred upon John Danyel. 69 

 When the latter died in 1464 the priory was 

 given to Thomas Attewelle, chamberer of Lewes, 

 at the desire of the convent and of the duke of 

 Norfolk and lord Abergavenny, joint patrons. 60 



When Cardinal Wolsey obtained papal autho- 

 rity to suppress certain small monasteries and 

 unite them with his newly founded college at 

 Oxford, one of the houses thus suppressed was 

 Stanesgate, a cell of Lewes, which was therefore 

 surrendered by the prior and convent of St. Pan- 

 cras in 1 52&. 61 Three years later one of the items 

 of the indictment against Wolsey was that he had 

 obtained bulls appointing him legate, by virtue of 

 which he had appointed a vicar to the church of 

 Stoke Guildford, in Surrey, although the prior of 

 Lewes was the rightful patron. 62 



The first steps towards the suppression of the 

 priory were taken in the autumn of 1535 when 

 the king's faithful dog, Richard Layton, was sent 

 forth to nose out corruption in all the monasteries 

 of the realm. In August he was at Farley, 

 where, according to his own account, he found 

 unspeakable abominations, which, 'as appears by 

 the confession of a fair young monk, a priest late 

 sent from Lewes,' were also prevalent at the 

 mother-house of Lewes. He adds, ' I have mat- 

 ter sufficient to bring the prior of Lewes into 

 great danger, " si vera sint quae narrantur." ' w 

 Layton 's account of his proceedings at Lewes in 

 October is well known as a typical instance of the 



M Mins. Accts. 1023, No. 30. 



a Rec. ofCluni, ii, 61-5. 



80 Ibid. 87. 



" L. and P. Hen. nil, iv, 234.0. 



* Ibid. 6035. " Ibid, ix, 42. 



6 9 



royal visitor's high-handed action ; he reports to 

 Cromwell : 



At Lewes I found corruption of both sorts, and what 

 is worse, treason, for the subprior hath confessed to me 

 treason in his preaching. I have caused him to sub- 

 scribe his name to it and to submit himself to the 

 king's mercy. I made him confess that the prior 

 knew of it, and I have declared the prior to be per- 

 jured. That done, I laid unto him concealment of 

 treason, called him heinous traitor in the worst names 

 I could devise, he all the time kneeling and making 

 intercession unto me not to utter to you the premises 

 for his undoing ; whose words I smally regarded, and 

 commanded him to appear before you at the court on 

 All Hallows Day, wherever the king should happen to 

 be, and bring with him his subprior. When I come 

 to you I will declare this tragedy to you at large, so 

 that it shall be in your power to do with him what 

 you list." 



But the end was not yet, and for two years 

 the priory dragged on a harassed existence. To- 

 wards the end of 1536 the prior had to endeavour 

 to stave off Cromwell's imperious demand for the 

 manor of Swan borough, 65 and he was also required 

 to find forty men to aid in suppressing the re- 

 bellion in the North. 66 At last, on 16 November, 

 X 537> th 6 priory of St. Pancras was surrendered 67 

 by the prior, Robert Crowham, who received a 

 prebend of Lincoln Cathedral and a promise of a 

 share in the goods of the priory. 68 The twenty- 

 three monks and eighty servants received small 

 pensions and gratuities, and the priory and all its 

 lands were granted to Thomas Cromwell, earl of 

 Essex. 69 



PRIORS OF LEWES 



Lanzo, 1077-1107 70 

 Hugh, 1107-23 71 

 Anker 72 or Aucher, n 23-30 7 * 

 ? Arnald, died 1139 

 William, c. 1 150 to c. H 64 75 

 Osbert, c. n8o 76 



64 Ibid. 632. " Ibid, xi, 214, 373, 448. 



M Ibid. 580. 67 Ibid, xii (2), 1 10 1. 



68 Suit. Arch. Coll. iii, 205. 



69 L. and P. Hen. nil, xiii (i), 384. 



70 See above. 7I Rec. ofCluni, {,58. 



71 Bracton, Note Book (ed. Maitland), 248. 

 71 Rec. ofClunt,\, 58. 



74 The Annales record the death of ' Prior Arnald ' 

 this year, but it is not certain that he was prior of 

 Lewes; Suss. Arch. Coll. ii, 24 ; iii, 195. 



74 Witnessed Reg. of Warenne's charter granting 

 merchant guild to Lewes (Cott. MS. Nero, C. iii, 

 fol. 190) ; occurs in charter of 1 1 54 and other deeds ; 

 Suss. Arch. Coll. iii, 195. 



76 Was prior while Richard was archbishop of Can- 

 terbury (117484), and Alexander III pope (died 

 1 181) ; Cott. MS. Vesp. F. xv, fol. 71. Prior <O.' 

 was party to a deed witnessed by Countess Isabel 

 (de Warenne) and Philip her brother ; Anct. D., 

 A 2389. 



