A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 



Rather earlier than this a return of alien religious 

 mentions that the prior of Withyham was an 

 Englishman and had no fellow monk. 101 The 

 grant made by Edward III in 1372 to John of 

 Gaunt of those possessions in Sussex which after- 

 wards became part of the Duchy of Lancaster 

 included the advowson of this alien cell, 10 * which 

 only existed for another forty years, being sup- 

 pressed with the other alien houses in 1413, and 

 given first to the New Priory of Hastings, 103 and 

 afterwards to King's College, Cambridge. 10 * 



67. THE BALLIVATE OF WARMING- 

 HURST 



Edward the Confessor gave to the abbey of 

 Fecamp the extensive manor of Steyning, which 

 included the chapelry of Warminghurst, and 

 William the Conqueror added the manor of Bury 

 in 1085. 105 To manage this important property 

 the abbots were accustomed from an early period 

 to send one of their monks to act as their proctor 

 or bailiff, his residence being at Warminghurst. 

 Although usually, and correctly, referred to as 

 the ' ballivatus ' of Warminghurst, this grange 

 and chapel were occasionally dignified with the 

 title of 'priory,' as in 1380, when the king pre- 

 sented to the living of West Angmering ' by 

 reason of the alien priory of Warminghurst being 



101 Chan. Misc. bdle. 1 8, file i, No. 6. 

 101 Def>. Keeper's Rep. xxxi, 37. 



105 Pat. 14 Hen. IV, m. 19. 



104 Pat. i Edw. IV, pt. iii, m. 23. 



106 Cal. Doc. France, 38. 



in his hands,' 106 and again about 1414, when the 

 prior or farmer of the priory of Warminghurst 

 was ordered to give the earl of Arundel i oo oaks 

 from the priory woods for the munition of 

 Calais. 107 



Under the bailiff's control were the churches 

 of Steyning, East and West Angmering, Burp- 

 ham and Clapham, worth in all ^73 131. 4^., 

 and temporalities to the value of ^145 ; whether 

 he was also responsible for the abbey's valuable 

 estates at Brede in the extreme east of the county 

 is not quite clear. Being aliens the abbey's 

 estates were constantly seized into the king's 

 hands, but were usually farmed to the bailiff at a 

 heavy rent 250 marks, besides an additional 

 50 marks for the privilege of custody, being 

 exacted in I337, 108 and as much as 500 marks in 

 I34I. 109 The bailiff was ordered in 1377 not to 

 send any ' ap-rt ' or contribution to Fecamp 

 without leave, 110 and in 1400, when it was found 

 that the bailiff had taken timber from the woods 

 of Warminghurst and was building a ship of 

 80 tons at Shoreham, the ship was seized while 

 still on the stocks and given to one John 

 Marsh. 111 



When the lands of the alien houses were 

 finally seized by the crown in 1414, the pro- 

 perty of Fe'camp was granted to the great 

 nunnery of Syon. 



106 Pat. 4 Ric. II, pt. i, m. n. 



107 Acts of P.O. ii, 337. 



108 Close, II Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m. 36. 



109 Close, 15 Edw. Ill, pt. ii, m. 22. 



110 Close, 10 Edw. Ill, m. 2. 



111 Pat. 2 Hen. IV, pt. i, m. 9 ; Memoranda 

 R., K.R. East. 3 Hen. IV, m. 1 6. 



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