A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 



priory was visited by Archbishop Winchelsey, 

 who found that the prior had been very wasteful in 

 the consumption of the woods belonging to it, 

 and issued an order that more care should be 

 observed in future. The next year, however, 

 saw the election as prior of Robert de Glottyngs, 

 a man of powerful connexions but of evil life, 

 who had recently been deposed from the priory 

 of Hardham by the archbishop for adultery and 

 other grievous offences. 166 



A certain Reynold of St. Albans was sent by 

 the king to be quartered upon the priory in 1317, 

 but with the exception of this incident and the 

 fact that in 1380 there were six canons besides 

 the prior there is nothing to record until 1404, 

 when, upon the resignation of William Hare- 

 thorn, John Coldell, sub-prior, was elected by 

 the convent then consisting of himself, the late 

 prior, and four canons, two other canons having 

 been absent in apostasy for some years. When 

 visited in 1441 by Bishop Praty's commissary, 

 nothing was found to need correction ; there 

 were considerable debts of long standing, but 

 there was every prospect of their soon being 

 cleared off. Nor did the visitation of Bishop 

 Story in 1478 show more than minor irregulari- 

 ties, the only injunctions issued being for the 

 keeping of silence and the avoidance of taverns, 

 and that the common seal should be kept under 

 two keys, of which the prior should have one 

 and the senior canon the other. General in- 

 junctions similar to those sent to the priory of 

 Boxgrove (q.v.) were issued to this priory in 

 1518, and indicate a certain laxity of rule. 



In 1^19 this obscure house was honoured by 

 the appointment as prior of John Young, suffra- 

 gan of London, under the title of bishop of 

 Gallipoli, and dean of Chichester. That so 

 eminent a man should have paid more than 

 occasional visits to Shulbred is improbable, and he 

 only retained even the nominal headship of the 

 priory for a short time, resigning in the spring of 

 1521 to become warden of New College, 

 Oxford. 167 



At a visitation held in 1524 the prior and 

 three canons were present, three others being 

 absent, possibly officiating as parochial clergy, 

 and no irregularities were found ; and the same 

 was the case in 1527, except that the prior 

 stinted his brethren in food and stipends. Yet 

 we learn from a letter of Layton's written in 

 1535 that about this time the bishop of Chiches- 

 ter endeavoured to suppress this monastery, but 

 was prevented by the patron, the earl of 

 Northumberland ; there seems no reason to 

 doubt the truth of this statement, though little 

 charity is required to disbelieve the foul accusa- 

 tions brought against the canons in the same letter. 



1M Cant. Archiepis. Reg. Winchelsey, fol. 1 3 %b. 



167 His history is most carefully traced by Mr. 

 Calverley, and his monumental effigy is reproduced in 

 Druitt, Costume from Brasses. 



When the house was finally dissolved in 1536 

 the prior received an annuity of 10, while 

 the larger pension of 12 was awarded to 

 William Surrey, a former prior, then resident 

 at Tortington. 



PRIORS OF SHULBRED 168 

 John, occurs 12429 

 Henry, occurs 1256 

 Thomas de Heriton, occurs 1299 

 Robert de Glottyngs, elected I3OO 169 

 Roger, occurs I32O 17 * 

 John, occurs 1373 ln 



William Harethorn, occurs 13 8o,resigned 1404 

 John Coldell, elected 1404 

 Thomas Clune, occurs 1478 

 Nicholas Feversham, resigned 1519 

 John Yonge, elected 1519, resigned 1521 

 William Burrey, elected 1521, occurs 1524 

 George Walden, occurs 1529, last prior 



14. THE PRIORY OF TORTINGTON 172 



This house of Austin canons was founded in 

 honour of St. Mary Magdalene before I2OO 173 by 

 a certain Hadwissa Corbet, 174 for whose soul the 

 canons caused an obit to be celebrated every 

 month in the cathedral of Chichester, paying 

 therefor to the dean and chapter loo*, yearly. 178 

 Besides the church of Tortington, obtained from 

 the abbey of Seez, the canons held those of 

 Tyneham in Dorset, apparently by gift of the 

 founder ; North Stoke, given by the earl of 

 Arundel, 176 who had succeeded to the patronage 

 of the priory in 1 337, and appropriated the same 

 year 177 ; ' Medlers,' or Madehurst, obtained from 

 the priory of Lewes 178 ; and Islesham (now part 

 of Climping) 179 and St. Swithun's, Candlewick 

 Street, London, both granted by Sir Robert 

 Aguillon, the latter church being temporarily 

 seized into the king's hands and re-granted to 

 them through the earl of Arundel in I379- 180 

 The total value of their property in 1291 was 

 just under j^o, 181 a sum which was trebled before 

 the dissolution came. 



In 1331 Henry Tregoze complained that the 

 prior and two of his canons, with certain others, 

 had broken his park of Wiggonholt. 182 Irregu- 

 larities of an even more serious nature were 

 alleged against the prior of Tortington in 1376, 



163 From Suss. Arch. Coll. xlvii, 34. 



169 Cant. Archiepis. Reg. Winchelsey, fol. 138*. 



170 Assize R. 938, m. 22. 



171 Cal. Papal Let. iv, 186. 

 171 Dugdale, Mon. vi, 597. 



171 Gervase of Cant. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 419. 

 "* For discussion of her identity, see Suss. Arch. Coll. 

 xxiii, 203-7. 



175 Rentals (P.R.O.), No. 659. 



176 Pat. 1 1 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 10. 



177 Chich. Epis. Reg. Sherborn, fol. 73. 



178 Ibid. "' Ibid. fol. 72*. 



190 Pat. 2 Ric. II, m. 8 ; 8 Ric. II, pt. ii, m. 4. 



181 Taxatio (Rolls Ser.), 137. 



18> Pat. 5 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 37 d. 



82 



