RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



PRIORS OF FINCHALE** 



Thomas, sacrist of Durham, app. 1196 



John, contemp. with Henry Pudsey 



Ralph, occ. 1242 ** 



Robert Stichill, elected bishop of Durham, 

 30 September, 1260 



M. . . .* 7 



Geoffrey, occ. 1265 M 



Robert of Holy Island, elected bishop of Dur- 

 ham, 12 Sept. 1274 



Richard de Escrick, occ. Whitsuntide, 1284 



Henry de Teesdale, occ. 1 295 



Walter de Swinburne 



Geoffrey de Burdon, occ. 1303, 1307 ; prior 

 of Durham, 1313-22 



Richard 



Adam de Boyvill 



Henry de Stamford, occ. 1312 ; elected 

 bishop of Durham, 1316 



Walter de Scaresbreck, prior of Coldingham 

 in 1341 



John de Laton, 1317, prior of Holy Island 

 in 1324 



Henry de Newcastle, occ. 1318 



Richard de Aslakby, admitted prior, 1324; 

 occ. 1331 



Thomas de Lund, D.T., 1333 



Emeric de Lumley, occ. 1341, 1342 ; prior 

 of Lytham in 1333 



John de Beverley, before 1345 ; removed to 

 Holy Island 



John Barneby, occ. 1345 



Nicholas de Luceby, occ. 1346-9 



John Wawaync 



John de Norton 



Thomas Graystanes, occ. 1354 



William de Goldisburgh, 1354-60; prior of 

 Holy Island in 1367 



John dc Newton, 13603 



John de Tykhill, occ. 1363 



Uthred de Boldon, S.T.P., 25 Aug. 1367 



Richard de Birtley, 1372; master of Fame 

 in 1380 



" The following list of priors it taken from 

 Mr. Raine's preface to the Priory of Finchale (Suit. 

 Soc.), where references are given to a good many of 

 the names, chiefly from the Finchale charters and 

 account rolls. The fifth and sixth names, though not 

 mentioned by Mr. Raine, occur in the charters which 

 are printed in the same book. 



* MS Treas. Dur. i, 3-, 5. 



" In a charter apparently of about this date there 

 u mention of ' M. Prior of Finchale ' ; Priory of 

 Finchale (Surt. Soc.), 88. " Ibid. 143. 



** One of three monks who ran away from Durham 

 Priory in 1303, and were brought back by command 

 of the pope. The others were Henry of Luceby and 

 Henry of Stamford. It is remarkable that all three 

 subsequently became priors, and one was elected 

 bishop, though not confirmed. MS. Treas. Dur. 

 Cart, iii, 



John de Normanby, 1373 ; prior of Holy 

 Island in 1379 



Uthred de Boldon (again), 1375 



John de Beryngton, occ. 18 May, 1384 



Uthred de Boldon (again), occ. 1390 



Roger Mainsforth 



Robert Rypon, occ. 1397 



Thomas D'Autre, 1405 to Christmas, 1411 . 



William de Pocklington, 1411-23 



William Barry, 1423 ; d. 1439 



Henry Feriby, app. 13 Feb. 1439-40; held 

 office till Sept. 1450 



John Oil,* app. 1 6 Sept. 1450 ; d. before 

 1452 



Thomas Ayer, 1451-7 



Richard Bell, S.T.B., 1457-65 ; bishop of 

 Carlisle, 1478 



Thomas Ayre, occ. 26 Nov. 1464 (tic) 



Thomas de Hexham, occ. II Sept. 1465 



William Burdon, 1466-79 



Robert Weardale, or Wardell, 1479-91 



John Swan, app. I Aug. 1491, with clause 

 of removal 



Richard Caley, app. 29 Sept. 1502 



William Cawthorne, app. 1506; occ. 1514, 

 1520 



Richard Cayley, occ. 1525-7 



John Haley well, occ. 1528 



William Bennett, occ. 12 Sept. 1536" 



No perfect example has yet been found of the 

 seal of Finchale Priory. In the time of Prior 

 John, who was contemporary with Henry 

 Pudsey, the prior's seal was (apparently) oval in 

 shape, and bore the three-quarter length figure 

 of a man in a long robe, with a book in his hand.'* 

 The seal appended to a charter of Prior Ralph 

 (c. 1242) bears the winged figure of an angel, 

 presumably St. Michael, with a long spear, in 

 the act of killing the dragon. Legend (defaced) 



iff ANGELICO CARMINA . SIGNO. 6 * 



* He was a native of Brancepeth parish, and when 

 there was a charge against him that he was born in a 

 servile condition, and therefore unable by law to hold 

 office in the church, it was proved in his favour that 

 his father was a freeman and had a silver knife ; see 

 Raine, North Durham. 



41 In Dugdale, Men. Angl. (ed. 1846), iv, 331, 

 Christopher Haftcorth is mentioned as the last prior, 

 but there was no Durham monk of that name at the 

 period. Bennett was the last who held office, and he 

 married as soon as he was discharged from his vow. 

 ' In the time of James I and before that there was an 

 old proverb or saying 



The Prior of Finkela hath got a fair wife, 



And every monk will have one ' ; 

 Mickleton MS. i, 92 ; Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), 

 pref. pp. xxxi, xxxii. 



" Engraved, Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), 63. 



Ibid. 67. 



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