A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 



John Lonsford, elected 1409," occurs 1419 M 



Thomas, occurs 1427 63 



John, occurs 1435 M 



John Whitton, died 1442" 



William Batayle, elected I442, 68 occurs 1458 w 



Thomas, occurs 1474-78** 



William, occurs 1483-6 69 



John Goodwin, elected I49I, 70 occurs 1511 n 



William, occurs 15 13," 1523 73 



Thomas Taylor, occurs 1529, last abbot 



The interesting thirteenth-century circular 

 seal shows the church, with tall central spire 

 and each gable topped with a cross : standing on 

 a bridge of three arches pointed and trefoiled, 

 and with round tower embattled at each end ; 

 over water. In the field the letters P. R. for 

 ' Pons Robert!.' Legend : 



HEC : PRESENS : CELLA : DOMVS : EST : DE : 

 MATRE : PVELLA 



Reverse : The Coronation of the Virgin, in a 



carved and canopied niche with tabernacle work 

 at the sides. In base, under an arcade of three 

 round-headed arches, the abbot, half-length, with 

 pastoral staff, to the right between two monks' 

 heads. 7 * Legend : 



S* COE : ABBATIS : ET : CONVENTVS : DE I PONTE : 

 ROB'TI 



The early thirteenth-century seal used by the 

 abbot was a pointed oval : the abbot, standing 

 on a corbel, holding up the right hand in bene- 

 diction, in the left hand a pastoral staff. 76 

 Legend : 



+ SIGNUM : ABBATIS : DE I PONTEROBERTI : 



This occurs among the Penshurst charters 

 with a counterseal 77 : a hand, cuffed at the 

 wrist, issuing from the left, holding between 

 finger and thumb an ornamental cross. Le- 

 gend : 



SIGNUM SECRETI. 



HOUSES OF AUGUSTINIAN CANONS 



9. THE PRIORY OF HARDHAM l 



The origin of the priory of St. Cross 2 of 

 Hardham, sometimes called Heringham, is un- 

 known, but it was clearly in existence by about 

 the middle of the thirteenth century, as in 1263 

 Milane ' la Recluse,' of Steyning, brought an 

 action against the prior to recover certain lands 

 given to the canons by Amfrid de Feringes, who 

 appears to have formerly made her an allowance 

 from the issues of the same. 3 Although de- 

 feated in this suit she again brought a similar 

 action, with equal lack of success, in 1278.* As 

 the church of St. George of Hardham, which 

 had been given to the priory of Lewes by Josce- 

 lin, nephew of the castellan of Arundel, 6 was 

 confirmed to the canons by William, prior of 

 Lewes, 6 it seems probable that the house was 

 founded after 1248, in which year William 

 Russhelin became prior of Lewes. The original 

 endowment is also unknown, but must have been 

 slight, as in 1291 the temporalities of the priory 

 amounted to only 6 1 8;. 6dJ 



61 Chich. Epis. Reg. Reade, fol. 134. 



68 Cal. Chart. Nos. 374-7. 



63 Ibid. 376. M Ibid. 379. 



65 Chich. Epis. Reg. Praty, fol. 67. M Ibid. 



67 Cal. Chart. No. 384 ; De Bane. R. 36 Hen. VI. 



68 Cal. Chart. Nos. 388, 392. 



69 Ibid. 391, 395. 



70 Chich. Epis. Reg. Story, fol. 91. 



71 Cal. Chart. No. 398. " Ibid. 398*. 



" L. and P. Hen. fill, xiv, 906 (7). " Ibid. 



In 1316 William Paynel granted to the canons 

 his manor of Cokeham in Sompting, 32 acres 

 of land in Lancing, and a ferry at New Shore- 

 ham, on condition that they should support four 

 secular chaplains to celebrate daily in their church 

 for the souls of himself and the king. 8 This 

 arrangement was found to work very badly, and 

 in 1332 Maud, daughter of John Paynel and 

 heiress of the said William, granted that instead of 

 seculars they might find four regular chaplains 

 of their own order, to avoid the strife occur- 

 ring daily between the canons and the secu- 

 lar chaplains on account of the difference 

 of their rules of life. 9 The grant of the 

 manor of Cokeham had carried with it the 

 patronage of the hospital of St. Anthony in 

 that place, and in 1352 the prior of Hardham 

 obtained leave to appropriate the hospital. 10 



The first reference that we have to the in- 

 ternal history of the priory is in 1299, when 

 the archbishop visited Hardham and deposed the 

 prior, Robert de Glottyngs, for misrule and for 



" B.M. Ixxii, 97, 98. 76 Eg. Ch. 380. 



77 Reproduced, SUM. Arch. Coll. viii, 171. 

 1 Dugdale, Man. vi, 307 ; Suit. Arch. Coll. xviii, 



54-9- 



1 Cott. MS. Vesp. F. xv, fol. 136. 



* Assize R. 912, m. I d. * Ibid. 921, m. 20 d. 



5 Cott. MS. Vesp. F. xv, fol. 135. 



6 Ibid. fol. 136. ' Taxatio (Rec. Com.), 139. 



8 Pat. 10 Edw. II, pt. i, m. 10. 



9 Pat. 6 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 21. 

 ** Pat. 25 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 15. 



74 



