A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 



and the Blessed Virgin in the chapel newly 

 founded at the north gate of the town, 6 which 

 was presumably the same as the oratory above 

 mentioned. 



Practically nothing is known of the inner 

 history of this small monastery, the most interest- 

 ing fact being an arrangement made in 1269, by 

 which the priory granted Master William de 

 Wedon, in return for various gifts, board and 

 lodging, and a room in the priory in which he 

 might conduct a school. 7 



As an alien house Arundel Priory was fre- 

 quently seized into the king's hands during the 

 wars with France, the prior, as a rule, being 

 allowed to farm it of the king. When Edward I 

 took it into his hands it was valued at ^54 3*. I i^d. 

 and was committed to the prior, Denis, for an 

 annual payment of ^35, but as this only left 

 ji9 3*. ii^d. for the support of the prior and 

 five monks he obtained a deduction of j8. 

 When, however, Edward III seized the priory 

 in 1337 he again raised the farm to 35, and it 

 was not until 1340 that, out of favour to the 

 earl of Arundel, he lowered it again to 27, and 

 also ordered the prior to be credited with the 

 ^24 extra farm which he had paid during the 

 last three years. 8 



The farm exacted at the beginning of 

 Richard II 's reign was 2O marks, and at this 

 time the patronage of the priory was in the 

 king's hands, by descent from his father, 9 who 

 had no doubt obtained it through Queen Isabella, 

 to whom it was granted by Robert de Morley, 

 heir of Robert de Montalt, in I335- 10 



When Richard earl of Arundel died in 1376 

 he left 1,000 marks for the founding of a 

 chantry within the castle of Arundel ; but his 

 son, considering the vicissitudes to which a castle 

 is exposed, and that a chantry in a castle was 

 likely not to be permanent, and seeing also that 

 owing to the long war with France the alien 

 monks had all, with the exception of the prior, 

 abandoned the priory of St. Nicholas, so that 

 service was no longer performed there, decided to 

 found the chantry in the church. He accord- 

 ingly obtained the king's leave in 1379 for mes- 

 sengers to go to Seez and treat with the abbot 

 for the suppression of their cell of Arundel. 11 

 The sanction of the abbot, the pope, 12 and King 

 Richard having been obtained, and the earl 

 having undertaken to pay the 20 marks farm due 

 to the crown so long as the war with France should 

 last, the priory was dissolved in 1380 and re- 

 placed by the college of the Holy Trinity, 13 

 whose history has been traced above. 



* Pat. 17 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m. 26. 



7 Add. MSS. 570i,fol. 18. 



8 Close, 14 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m. 38. 



9 Pat. 3 Ric. II, pt. iii, m. 1 2. 



10 Pat. 9 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 3. 



11 Pat. 3 Ric. II, pt. i, m. 12. 

 " Cal. Papal Let. iv, 239. 



18 Pat. 3 Ric. II, pt. iii, m. 1 2. 



PRIORS OF ARUNDEL 



Gratian, appointed 1 1 02 14 



Walter, occurs 1200 16 



Warner, occurs 1241 16 



Gervase, occurs c. 1255" 



Denis, occurs 1269 "-1303 19 



Michael de Nauchal, occurs 1351, M 1354" 



John Messier, occurs I3&4 22 



John Mercer, occurs 1377 23 



61. THE BALLIVATE OF ATHERING- 

 TON 



Besides their priory at Arundel the abbey of 

 Sdez had certain estates in the neighbourhood of 

 Littlehampton which were under the charge of 

 one of their monks settled at Atherington, where 

 there was a grange with a chapel of which there 

 are still considerable remains. This monk was 

 usually called the bailiff of Atherington, though 

 he appears in 1332 on an application for an aid 

 towards the marriage of the king's sister as prior 

 of Atherington. 24 In 1349 Edward St. John had 

 licence to alienate to the abbey of Seez, namely 

 to their cell or house of Atherington, property 

 up to the value of jio. 25 Upon the suppression 

 of the alien houses by Henry V the estates of 

 the bailiff of Atherington passed to the abbess of 

 Syon. 



BAILIFFS OF ATHERINGTON 



William Olyver, occurs c. I3O4 26 

 Peter de OrgericUs, occurs 1325 27 

 Emerick, occurs 1337 28 

 Michael, occurs I345 29 -9 SO 

 Michael Nauchal, occurs 1353" 

 Richard, occurs I37& 32 

 Oliver Miche (?), occurs 1403 33 



" See above. 



14 Feet of F. (Suss. Rec. Soc.), No. 48. 

 "Ibid. No. 379. 



17 Dugdale, Man. viii, 1171. 



18 Add MSS. 5901, fol. 1 8. 



19 Assize R. 1330, m. 18. 



* Pipe R. 25 Edw. III. Apparently elected in 

 1349; Susi. Arch. Coll. xxxv, 118. 

 81 Pat. 27 Edw. Ill, m. 3 d. 

 'Cal. Papal Let. iv, 46. 

 n Trevelyan, The Peasants' Rising, 67. 

 " Close, 6 Edw. Ill, m. 163. 

 18 Pat. 23, Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 10. 

 86 Anct. D., B. 3485. 

 17 Pat. 19 Edw. II, pt. i, m. 14. 

 88 Pat. 1 1 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m. 13. 



15 Cal. Papal Pet. i, 102. 



30 Pat. 23 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 28 d. 



31 Anct. D., B. 3753. 

 M Ibid. 173. 



** ActsofP.C. i, 195; he is called ' occupator pos- 

 sessicmum abbatis de Sagio,' and was probably bailiff 

 of Atherington. 



1 2O 



