A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 



The only known seal is attached to a deed by 

 Prior John Leem in 1376, and is imperfect. It 

 shows Christ seated, right hand raised in blessing, 

 in the left hand a book, in the field A and O ; 

 legend destroyed. Counterseal, an angel facing 

 towards the left. Legend : 



-f- M'SI'VIS'AMARI'AMA. 



12. THE PRIORY OF PYNHAM 120 



Adeliza, queen of Henry I and subsequently 

 wife of William d'Albigny and countess of 

 Arundel, sometime before 1151 gave a small 

 parcel of land on the east bank of the River Arun 

 for the support of two or three chaplains who 

 were to live under monastic rules, to celebrate 

 daily in the chapel of St. Bartholomew which 

 was to be built there ; and were further to keep 

 in repair the causeway and wooden bridge across 

 the river, for which purpose the earl of Arundel 

 granted them leave to take wood in his forest 

 the stone for the causeway being obtained close 

 at hand ; and to maintain a hospital or hostelry 

 for poor travellers. 121 A number of small grants 

 of land were made by various persons, William 

 Hareng giving the tithe of bread and drink in his 

 household, but afterwards changing this incon- 

 venient grant for a piece of meadow land. The 

 land on which the hospital, or Augustinian 

 priory, was built, was called Pynham, but the 

 priory was more usually known as ' the Cause- 

 way ' (de Caketo, la Cbaude}. It was originally 

 under the patronage of St. Bartholomew, but an 

 attempt was apparently made to add St. Thomas 

 of Canterbury's title, though this latter did not 

 long continue patron. 122 Although it held land in 

 about ten parishes it was never anything but a 

 small house and a poor one. The priory would 

 seem to have got deeply into debt in 1309 if 

 one accepts the evidence of the Close Roll for 

 that year, which records the prior's acknowledge- 

 ment of a debt of 400 to Thomas de Burne ; 123 

 the very magnitude of the sum, however, makes 

 it probable that this was a formal bond of some 

 kind. In 1340 orders were given not to levy 

 the ninth of sheaves, fleeces, and lambs from the 

 canons of this house, as they were so slenderly 

 endowed that their lands did not suffice for their 

 maintenance without the alms of the faithful l24 

 and five years later they were exempted from 

 taxation for the same reason. 126 In each of these 



120 Dugdale, Man. v\, 259 ; Suss. 4rcb. Coll. xi, 

 89-108. 



| Dugdale, Man. vi, 259 ; Anct. D., A 11537. 



"The double invocation is only found apparently 

 in Bp. Seffrid's Confirmation Chart. ; Anct D 

 A H537. 



113 Close 2 Edw. II, m. I d. 



" 4 Close 14 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m. 24. 



"Pat. 19 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m. 2. 



80 



grants the canons are called keepers of the 

 bridge of Arundel.' 



For reasons not stated Robert Coitere was 

 deposed from the office of prior in, or before, 

 I 5>55> ar d sent to do penance at Shulbred, the 

 prior of which house reported that he was 

 behaving well and obediently ; the earl of 

 Arundel, however, informed the archbishop that 

 the deposed prior was wandering about the 

 neighbourhood bringing scandal upon the order, 

 whereupon the archbishop commanded that he 

 should be kept within the precincts of Shulbred, 

 and imprisoned if disobedient." 6 In 1380 there 

 was only one canon besides the prior, 127 and 

 the same was the case in 1439 "* and I44I, 129 

 at which latter date the property of the house 

 was in the hands of trustees until it could be 

 cleared of debt. At a visitation held in 1478 13 

 the prior said that there used sometimes to be 

 three canons, but usually only a prior and his 

 chaplain ; there were at this time two canons 

 besides the prior, but they had both been non- 

 resident for the last six years, by licence of the 

 late prior. The priory was burdened with a 

 number of small corrodies, and the rents had 

 fallen from 40 1040 marks. The buildings 

 were in bad repair, vestments few and books still 

 fewer, but there were two chalices (one gilt), a 

 silver salt cellar, and a silver cup and two spoons, 

 as well as twenty-four cattle, and the debts were 

 not more than 4 marks. When the priory was 

 visited in 1521 the prior and his two canons 

 reported that all was well, 131 but when this prior, 

 William Aylyng, died in December, 1524, only 

 one canon remained, and the place became 

 ' desolate and prophane.' 132 Three months before 

 Prior Aylyng's death the fate of Pynham was 

 decided, Cardinal Wolsey having obtained licence 

 from the pope m and from the king 134 to suppress 

 it and grant its revenues to the great college that 

 he was founding at Oxford. Accordingly, in 

 1525, the priory was suppressed, 136 and in the 

 following year the bishop, dean, and chapter of 

 Chichester quitclaimed the site of the monastery 

 to the authorities of Cardinal's College, Oxford. 188 



PRIORS OF PYNHAM 



Ivo, occurs 1230 1B7 

 Stephen, occurs I252 138 



'"Cant. Archiepis. Reg. Islip, fol. 102. 



127 Cler. Subs. JgL. 



'* Chich. Epis. Reg. Praty, fol. 62^. 



119 Ibid. fol. 82. IM Ibid. Story, fol. 20 



'"Ibid. Sherborn, fol. 1 06. 



'" Card, bdles. 76, No. 49. 



185 L. and P. Hen. rill, iv, 650. 



'"Ibid. 697. 



'*> Ibid. 1137. ibid. 2340. 



117 feet o/F. (Suss. Rec. Soc.), No. 232. 



'"Feet of F. Suss, file 18, No. 19. 



