RELIGIOUS HOUSES 





the count adding a house in the castle. The 

 prebend of Auscher, or Anscher, possessed the 

 church of West Thurrock 85 in Essex with land 

 there and at ' Sistaleberga,' 86 a house in 'Este- 

 ham ' and another in the castle. To that of 

 Theobald belonged the churches of Peasmarsh, 

 Beckley, Iham, and Iden and the chapel of 

 Playden, with various tithes and a parcel of 

 moor at Rye ; to that of Geoffrey de Blangii 

 the chapel of ' Weklintun,' land at ' Cyletona ' 

 and ' Horna,' tithes at ' Tyntuna ' and other 

 places and a house in the bailey. The prebend 

 of Ralph Taiard was endowed with the church 

 of Ewhurst, the chapels of Wilting, ' Vilesent,' 

 Hollington and Bodiam, and the burial fees of 

 parishioners of Bodiam chapel due to Ewhurst 

 church, various tithes, a house in the castle and 

 a garden outside the bailey. The prebend of 

 Roger Daniel possessed the church of Brightling, 

 the monastery of ' Bochehordea ' 87 and certain 

 lands and tithes. The control of the grammar 

 school was assigned to the prebend of Thurrock 

 and that of the choir school to the prebend of 

 Warding. 



To the common fund of the church for food 

 and clothing were given the church of St. 

 Andrew at Hastings and a yearly rent of four 

 ambers of salt from Rye, as well as certain rights 

 of pasture. For the support of the fabric, lights 

 and ornaments of the church, the count gave the 

 tithes of his rents in the rape of Hastings, and 

 other grants were made by various persons, 

 Godfrey the priest giving the church of 

 St. Sepulchre subject to the confirmation of Boni- 

 face, on whose land it was built and to whom the 

 canons agreed to pay an annual rent of two 

 shillings. 



From about the beginning of the thirteenth 

 century the prebends seem to have been as 

 follows : Bulverhythe, Brightling, Crowhurst 

 (sometimes with Ticehurst), Hollington (with 

 Ewhurst and Bodiam), Marlepast, Peasmarsh, 

 Stone, Thurrock, and the combined prebend of 

 Wartling, Hooe, and Ninfield which was divided 

 into three separate prebends 88 ; finally, there was 

 the prebend of Salehurst, which from 1333 

 onward was held by the abbot of Robertsbridge. 

 After the free chapel had been granted away 

 from the crown these prebends seem to have 

 gradually diminished in number, and in 1535 

 the Valor only records those of Hollington, 

 Peasmarsh, Hooe, Wartling, Ninfield, Brightling, 

 and Thurrock. 89 



John, count of Eu, son of that Henry whose 



95 The only manor held by the count of Eu in 

 Essex, V.C.H. Essex, i, 5 1 30. 



86 ? Tilbury. 



" This was evidently the church of Duckworth in 

 Hunts, which belonged to a prebend of Hastings in 

 1246 ; Pat. 31 Hen. Ill, m. 8. 



88 Chan. Misc. R. ,&. 



89 Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), i, 344. 



charter of confirmation has already been noticed, 

 in 1151 granted the church of St. Mary in the 

 castle to the abbey of Tr^port, so that as the 

 canons died, resigned, or assumed the monastic 

 habit, monks of Tre'port should be intro- 

 duced in their stead. 90 This grant, however, 

 possibly owing to the confused state of England 

 at this time and the death of Stephen in 1154, 

 was either revoked or at least not taken advantage 

 of if indeed it was ever really made. 91 No 

 trace of any claim by the abbey of Trdport is to 

 be found until, in I47O, 92 apparently taking 

 advantage of the brief restoration to power of 

 Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou, the abbey 

 petitioned the latter queen, who was then in 

 France, to restore to them the church of 

 St. Mary given, as they asserted, by Count John 

 in 1 15 1. 93 It would seem that she granted the 

 request, as they appointed five of their number 

 to act as their proctors ' in ruling and governing 

 our church or priory of Hastings dependent upon 

 our said monastery,' with power to receive the 

 vows of those admitted into the priory according 

 to the Benedictine rule, especially the vow of 

 obedience, to correct all faults in the members 

 of the priory and to call back to the cloister any 

 who had left it if such there were. 94 Edward IV 

 recovering his throne, this attempt of the abbey 

 to plant a cell at Hastings came to nothing. 



The college remained in the patronage of the 

 founder's descendants until 1267, when, on the 

 death of Alice, countess of Eu, it escheated with 

 the castle and rape of Hastings to the crown. 96 

 It then became a royal chapel, and so remained 

 until its grant to Sir Thomas Hoo in 1446. It 

 was therefore free and exempt from the jurisdic- 

 tion of ordinaries, and although the bishops of 

 Chichester on several occasions endeavoured to 

 enforce their rights of visitation, &c. there, they 

 were always unsuccessful. 



Although the charter of Henry, count of Eu, 

 was witnessed by ' Hugh the Dean,' it appears 

 doubtful whether there was a dean constantly at 

 the head of the college before the thirteenth 

 century. In the agreement made by Walter 

 fitzLambert for the election of future canons 

 to the prebend of Guestling, the ' common 

 consent of the chapter ' only is mentioned, and 

 in a deed of about ngo 96 one Branching, a 

 canon, makes a grant ' by the common coun- 

 sel and consent of the chapter.' Lyttleton's 



90 Cal. Doc. Trance, 81. 



91 It is only known from the copy annexed to the 

 fifteenth-century petition. 



91 The petition is undated, but of the fifteenth 

 century, and judging from the appointment of 

 brethren to take control of the church in 1470 as 

 related below was probably of that date. 



98 Exch. Transcripts, vol. 1401;, p. 359. 



M Ibid. 379. 



95 Rot. Par/. (Rec. Com.), i, 23. 



98 Campb. ch. xvi, 17. 



