A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 



statement that Becket was dean of this college 

 appears to have arisen from his misunderstanding 

 the fact that the count of Eu gave the patronage 

 of the prebends of Hastings to Becket. 87 Henry 

 de Ow occurs as dean of St. Mary's in ngs. 88 



In 1275 the king ordered William of Faver- 

 sham to visit the chapel and put over it some 

 prudent member of the community in place of 

 the dean. 89 That this was done is evident from 

 the direction of a royal mandate next year 

 to the vice-dean and chapter ordering them to 

 convert to the support of the chapel and its 

 ornaments the issues of vacant prebends and 

 other things formerly set aside for that purpose. 100 

 A letter of 1280 addressed to the constable of 

 Hastings Castle directs him to deliver the houses 

 in the castle to Master Luke de Neuport, canon 

 of the free chapel, to dwell in; 101 and a royal 

 charter 102 was issued the following year confirming 

 an undated grant of land made by Vincent the 

 dean and the chapter of the free chapel. 



The earliest constitutions of the college give 

 full directions for the performance of divine ser- 

 vice. 103 During the winter, from Michaelmas to 

 Easter, the sacrist should ring for mattins at day- 

 break the first bell being rung for the time 

 it takes to go from St. Michael's church to 

 St. Mary's ; after a reasonable interval the second 

 bell should ring for half the time of the first, 

 and the third for half that of the second. The 

 full peal (c/assicum) should be rung according to 

 the dignity of the various festivals, and when it 

 rang all should assemble, the lights should be lit 

 in the church and the priest should begin mattins, 

 all facing the east, as they should do at the 

 beginning of all the hours until the 'Alleluia' 

 after the doxology, when they turn and face one 

 another across the choir. Anyone arriving after 

 the end of the first psalm should lose his 

 commons for that day, and if constantly so 

 offending should be removed from the church. 

 Immediately after mattins a bell shall ring three 

 times for the mass of the Blessed Virgin ; the 

 priest shall robe and commence the office, and 

 after the offertory any priests who wish to cele- 

 brate private masses may do so provided the 

 priest whose duty it is to say high mass shall 

 remain behind, and on anniversaries another 

 priest to celebrate the mass for the departed. 

 At a suitable hour the prime bell shall ring the 

 time it takes to go a league, then after a short 

 interval the ' little prime ' shall ring and all shall 

 come to the service and remain to the end, when 

 they assemble in chapter and any faults shall be 

 corrected. After chapter, mass for the departed 

 shall be said, and then terce, during which the 



" Mat. for Hist, of Thomas Becket (Rolls Ser.), iii, 20. 



86 Cal. RobertibriJge Chart. No. 24. 



99 Pat. 3 Edw. I, m. 25. 10 Pat. 4 Edw.I, m. c. 

 101 Close, 8 Edw. I, m. 3. 

 101 Chart. R. 9 Edw. I, m. 7. 

 101 Chan. Misc. R. . 



priest and his assistants shall robe for high mass. 

 If any vicars are not in residence their stipends 

 shall be divided amongst the canons and vicars 

 who are. Two of the vicars shall note any 

 vicars absent and read out the list in chapter, 

 and distribute the commons according to the 

 residence kept by the several recipients. Finally 

 the ' proctor or dean ' of the church with the 

 advice of his brethren, and especially of those 

 resident, shall order all things in the church to 

 the glory of God and the good of the church. 



Additions were made to these rules in 1286, 

 when it was ordained that any minister absent 

 for a fortnight without leave should lose his per- 

 quisites for a month, and any in residence absent 

 from morning mass should lose his perquisites 

 for a week. All taking part in any service should 

 wear the customary dress and especially their 

 hoods. Anyone causing strife or contention 

 should be punished by the dean by the with- 

 drawal of his commons. Finally all are strictly 

 forbidden to submit to the jurisdiction of ordi- 

 naries to the prejudice of the chapel. 



The last of these rules was doubtless due to 

 the determined efforts of the bishops of Chiches- 

 ter about this period to subject the college to 

 their jurisdiction. Some of the canons had had 

 to appeal to the king against the bishop in 1279; 

 and in 1299 orders were given to Robert de 

 Burghersh to ascertain whether the bishop should 

 have the institution and admission of the pre- 

 bends, 104 which privilege he again claimed, but 

 unsuccessfully, in 1307. m During the vacancy 

 of the see of Chichester in 1305 the archbishop of 

 Canterbury attempted to hold a visitation in the 

 chapel but was refused admission by the keeper 

 of the castle, whom, with certain of the canons, 

 he excommunicated.' Afterwards, while the 

 castle was without a keeper, he sent officials 

 who held a visitation, made divers statutes, and 

 appointed William of Lewes dean, an appoint- 

 ment which the king at once annulled. 106 



Being exempt from episcopal control the free 

 chapel of Hastings was visited periodically by 

 royal commissioners, and a detailed report of their 

 proceedings in September, 1319, is still extant. 107 

 Master Edmund of London, the dean, and five 

 canons were present in person and three canons 

 by proctors. It was then ordained that all re- 

 pairs to the fabric of the church and the pro- 

 vision of vestments, books, and ornaments should 

 be defrayed from the offerings made in the 

 chapel. Also that the vicars should be fit persons 

 sufficiently skilled in reading and singing, that 

 they should be constant at their duties, not 

 wander about the country, and that they should 

 be of good report ; if any of them were thrice 

 found guilty of infringing these rules he should 



IM Pat. 27 Edw. I, m. 26 d. 



106 Coram Rege R. Trin. 35 Edw. I, m. 41. 

 06 Pat. 33 Edw. I, pt. ii, m. 2. 



107 Chan. Misc. R. A. 



