A HISTORY OF YORKSHIRE 



queen and others, to provide more generously 

 for him. On 3 January following "* the arch- 

 bishop directed that Richard de Halghton was 

 to have a separate chamber within the monastery 

 and one of the monks as his chaplain, according 

 to the ordinance of the prior, as well as a double 

 portion of allowance of the food of a monk, 

 20s. a year pro speciebus and clothes from the 

 convent, as well as a portion for a servant. 



The troubles of the house did not, however, 

 cease, although unfortunately little more than 

 hints are given as to what was going on. Pope 

 John XXII issued a mandate, dated in November 

 1326,^' to the Prior of Thornholme to go to the 

 Benedictine monastery of Bretton and inquire as 

 to a charge by Henry de Sandal, one of the 

 monks, against William de Went the prior, of 

 dilapidation and other crimes. The prior was 

 charged with having made William Bassett, an 

 apostate Friar Preacher, sub-prior, against the will 

 and protest of the monks. Robert de Langestoft, 

 who was excommunicate and a forger of papal 

 letters, had been made cellarer, and the monks 

 who would give evidence on these points had 

 been shut up, and in the archbishop's absence 

 the prior had obtained favour by gitt^ to nobles 

 and powerful men of the city and diocese. A 

 report was to be sent to the pope and the prior 

 cited before him. What report was sent is not 

 known, but William Bassett, the apostate Friar 

 Preacher, was no credit to Monk Bretton and 

 caused a great deal of trouble. On 20 August 

 1 33 1 -'^ Archbishop Melton sent him to Whitby 

 for punishment as a sower of discord in the 

 convent, and as having admitted the sin of 

 incontinence. In his letter to Whitby the arch- 

 bishop said that Bassett had been found guilty 

 de excessibus enormibus. He returned after a while 

 to Monk Bretton, and in 1340 made complaint 

 of the excessive correction from which he had 

 suffered in the monastery of Monk Bretton.*^ 

 The complaint against William de Went cannot 

 have been substantiated, for he retained office 

 for the next seven years and resigned in July 

 1338.^^ 



In 1380-1 the prior was taxed at 27;. o\d., 

 and there were ten other monks each taxed at 



In 1404 another complaint reached Rome 

 from the convent itself against its prior, and on 



" York Archiepis. Reg. Melton, fol. i6ob. 



" Cal. of Papal Letters, ii, 254. The deliberate 

 description of Monk Bretton as Benedictine should 

 be noted. Other similar allusions occur in Cal. of 

 Papal Letters, ii, 254 ; iv, 303 ; v, 117, 200, 604, and 

 are almost universal in the Archiepiscopal Register 

 when Monk Bretton is mentioned. 



'° York Archiepis. Reg. Melton, fol. 187. Monk 

 Bretton was to pay 5 marks a year to Whitby for his 

 keep. 



'' Ibid. sed. vac. fol. 49^. 



» Ibid. Melton, fol. 215^. 



"Subs. R. bdle. 63, no. 12. 



19 April 1404*' Boniface IX issued a mandate 

 to the Archbishop of "\'ork to summon William, 

 Benedictine Prior of Monk Bretton, and if he 

 found, as the recent petition of the convent con- 

 tained, that he had dilapidated and alienated its 

 goods and continued to do so, to deprive him, 

 license the convent to elect another prior, and 

 confirm the election. Apparently the com- 

 plaint of the convent was substantiated, for on 



20 December 1404'^ Archbishop Scrope con- 

 firmed the election of John de Crofton as prior, 

 vice William de Ardesley resigned. 



Monk Bretton was one of the greater house-;, 

 which escaped dissolution under the earlier Act. 

 Its temporalities '^ were derived from property, 

 mostly in its immediate neighbourhood, but 

 including a few small possessions in Derbyshire, 

 Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, and Lancashire. 

 The spiritualities were the two consolidated 

 moieties of the church of Bolton-on-Dearne, 

 the churches of Monk Bretton alias Lund, Dar- 

 ton, Royston, and Hickleton. The gross annual 

 revenue was ;^323 8i. 2(/., and the clear value 

 ;{;239 y. 6d. 



The house was surrendered on 2 1 November 

 1539'' by the prior and thirteen monks. Their 

 goods and cattle were sold for £,2^1 3^. 8<^., the 

 lead of the church amounted to 39 fodders and 

 there were seven bells. 



The plate '^ belonging to Monk Bretton at 

 the time of the Dissolution was as follows : ' Item, 

 j crosse of wodd plated w' silver. Item, an 

 oder wodd crosse having the iiij evangelistes 

 enameled. Item, fyve chalices. Item, j little 

 pixe gylt. Item, ij crewetes. It. j grct 

 squair salt w' cou' parcell gilt. It. j oder 

 squair salt w'out cou' parcel gilt. Item, xij 

 spoones. It. j standing piece w' cou' gylt. It. j 

 pounced piece. It. ij little pieces. It. iij masors. 

 It. j goblet w' cover parcell gilt.' 



There were fourteen monks pensioned at the 

 Dissolution." William Browne the prior 

 received ^40 a year ; Thomas Normanton, sub- 

 prior, and William Roieston, cellarer, each £•] ; 

 three others £6 each, seven ^^5 6j. 8(/., and one 

 (John Pontefract) £(> 131. ^d. 



Priors of Monk Bretton 

 [Cluniac] 



Adam (the first prior) '^ 

 Roger, early 13th century'' 

 Adam II, occurs 1227 '" 



*• Cal. of Papal Letters, v, 604. 



" York Archiepis. Reg. Scrope, fol. 43. 



" Vahr Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 42. 



" Dugdale, Man. An^l. v, 135. 



^ L. and P. Hen. Fill, xiii (2), 1 172. 



" Ibid, xiv (1), p. 67. 



^ Dugdale, Mon. j^ngl. v, 136, no. i. 



" Marl. Chart. 83, C. 36. 



" Baildon, Men. h.clci, i, 140. 



9+ 



