A HISTORY OF YORKSHIRE 



as the loaves which the chief forester of the 

 priory was accustomed to receive, and meat, fish, 

 and other food such as the chief forester had, and 

 two lagenas of the better ale, and two deterioris 

 cervhie. 



In 1482 " Archbishop Rotherham issued a 

 set of injunctions ; the majority are in general 

 terms, and refer to the due observances of the 

 canonical life. The frequent access to and gos- 

 siping at the priory of women is forbidden, as 

 grave scandal had arisen from it in regard to the 

 prior and some of the canons. Neither the 

 prior nor canons were to hold private confabula- 

 tions with any suspected women, either in the 

 church or other secret places, within or outside 

 the priory, by which evil report might arise. 

 The priory was heavily in debt, and the prior 

 and convent were enjoined to abstain from 

 burdensome expenses, as far as possible, for the 

 honour of the house, so that it might soon be 

 freed from debt. Owing to its debts they were 

 forbidden to grant pensions, fees, or annual rents 

 to any persons whatsoever under the common 

 seal or otherwise, or to sell corrodies, or liveries, 

 or to make grants or alienations of their posses- 

 sions, or of their woods, or to grant long leases of 

 their manors, without archiepiscopal licence. 



All the moneys, accruing from whatever 

 source, were to be delivered to the prior, and 

 be in his custody, and at his disposal, and a 

 trustworthy and discreet canon was to be deputed 

 to keep an indentured roll, in which all the 

 receipts were to be entered. No one was to 

 keep a useless servant, who was a burden to the 

 house, or one super incontinencie vicio graviter 

 diffamatus. 



An oath of Gilbert Marsden, the prior, follows 

 the injunctions, by which he promised that he 

 would not waste or dissipate the goods of the 

 priory, and would fulfil all the injunctions of the 

 archbishop, and if he failed in this, then he 

 undertook to resign his office, and forgo all 

 claim to a pension. It may be surmised that 

 all did not proceed satisfactorily,'* for the next 

 year Gilbert Marsden resigned, and on 10 July 

 Archbishop Rotherham confirmed the election 

 of Christopher Wood in his place. Whether 

 Prior Marsden resigned under compulsion, or 

 voluntarily, is not clear, but a dispute arose 

 between the prior and convent on the one part 

 and the two retired priors, Christopher Loft- 

 house and Gilbert Marsden, on the other, which 

 was settled on 29 October 1483 '' by William 

 Poteman, the archbishop's vicar-general. Chris- 

 topher Lofthouse was to be appointed to the 

 vicarage of Long Preston and have a chaplain 

 with cure of souls in charge of the parish for 

 him, who was to occupy the vicarage house and 

 have glebe to the value of 531. i^d. annually, 

 Lofthouse receiving a pension of 21 marks 



" York Archiepis. Reg. Rotherham, i, fol. zob. 

 " Ibid. fol. 37. "Ibid. fol. 453. 



yearly, and all the profits of the church of Hare- 

 wood, till 2 February next ensuing. Gilbert 

 Marsden was to have an annual pension of 

 25 marks and arrears of 53J. i,d., and, it is oddly 

 added, the use of a certain silver bowl as long 

 as he wished ; but he was to redeem that bowl 

 with another he had pledged within a year, or 

 pay the prior and convent their value, and as 

 long as he lived, unless the archbishop with 

 consent of the prior and convent directed other- 

 wise, was to urge no other claim against the 

 prior and convent. 



In 1528 '' Prior Richard and the convent of 

 Bolton granted to William Wall the office of 

 porter, assigning him certain wages and livery of 

 food. ' The sayd Wylliam shall loke upon all 

 strangears and take and brynge thame to oy' 

 ofifycers w* in, for y° well and y' worshyp of y" 

 sayd hows of Bolton. Also y' he or hys servaunt 

 shall loke upon y" gest beddes as hays beyn accus- 

 tomyd, and to loke upon all meyn persons comyng 

 to y° sayd hows, and se y' thay be logyd accord- 

 yng to y' degre. And also y° sayd Wylliam 

 shall se y' all pore folkes resortyng to y* sayd 

 hows for Almes shalbe servyd as custome hays 

 beyn. And also yt ys covenantyd and grantyd 

 betwyx y" sayd parteys, yt y° sayd Wylliam shall 

 not have w' in y° demayns of y° sayd hows 

 nother cow nor hors w' owt a specyall lycence, 

 and y' he shall not kepe in y" yate hows nother 

 hys wyfF, ne no other woman, except he be 

 agyd or dyseasyd and may not help himselfF.' 

 He was fiirther to suffer no misrule, or allow the 

 presence of any suspected person, under pain of 

 forfeiting his appointment. William Wall was 

 living at the Dissolution, when this appointment 

 was commuted at 53^. 4<af. annually. 



A lease made in 1537'^ deals with property 

 at Embsay, and described the boundaries of the 

 land there ' by meres or boundes from oon cer- 

 teyn stone lying on Byrkbanke, wherupon ther 

 is wrought by a mason oon Anlett of that oon 

 syde and a Toone and a bolte '* on that other 

 syde, and so frome that stone to other stones so 

 marked.' 



The will of Richard Moone, the last prior, was 

 proved at York 28 July 1541.'° He bequeathed 

 his body to be buried in the chancel of the 

 church of Catton (in the East Riding, near Stam- 

 ford Bridge). The will proceeds : ' I give and 

 bequeath xx marc at Bolton, and in the parish- 

 inge wher I was borne to power people. Itm. 

 my chales to Preston" churche wher I was 

 borne, to serve the parishe with, Itm. my vest- 

 ment, silver crewettes, and all other thinges 

 belonginge to my altare, to serve theme that 



"Conventual Leases, Yorks (P.R.O.), no. 20. 

 "Ibid. no. 16. 



^ An interesting description of a rebus of the name 

 Boiton. 



^ York Reg. of Wills, xi, fol. 553. 

 '" Long Preston Church in Craven. 



[98 



