A HISTORY OF YORKSHIRE 



anything found therein was to be appropriated to 

 the common use of the house. 



No base persons were to be admitted to meals 

 in the refectory, and no laymen, except lawyers 

 and doctors, were to interfere with the private 

 affairs of the infirmary. No meals or drinkings 

 except such as were absolutely necessary were 

 to take place after general compline, and all 

 warming and unlawful relaxation at the in- 

 firmary fire was wholly forbidden at all times. 

 Further, the monastery was not to be burdened 

 by the relatives of the prior, and no canon or 

 brother was to receive money or payment for 

 work. Other punishments for faults discovered, 

 the archbishop deferred, hoping for amendment. 

 Fifteen years later Archbishop Romanus held a 

 visitation of the priory on 13 October 1295,' and 

 in a decretum sternly forbade the presence of 

 any unworthy {inhoneste) persons in the refectory. 

 Only worthy (honeste) persons were to have their 

 meals there, according to the judgement of the 

 president. Gossiping and relaxations, especially 

 in the prior's chamber and the refectory after 

 compline, or after the convent had retired to 

 bed, were forbidden. No corrodies were to be 

 sold without the archbishop's special licence. 

 The bursar was to render accounts twice a year 

 to the seniors, and they were to make the state 

 of the house known to the convent. 



Silence was to be duly observed, and no 

 ciaustral canon was to go out without leave, and 

 those who did were to be punished. They 

 were on the other hand to be carefully engaged 

 in divine service, the mass of the Blessed Virgin, 

 and the study of books. The cloister and 

 infirmary were not to be open to lay people, 

 specially women. The carols of everyone were 

 to be inspected once a year, so as to exclude 

 all suspicion of private possessions. A lamp was 

 to burn continually every night in the dormitory 

 to remove any possible chance of fault. The 

 sick were to be properly tended and useless 

 servants removed. The almoner was cautioned 

 to be more careful. Gifts were not to be 

 received by any member of the convent without 

 leave. Old clothes were to be given to the 

 poor. Canons of ill repute were not to have 

 leave to go out, nor were they to be promoted 

 to office. No intercourse was to be held with 

 women, and especially not with those who were 

 suspected. The prior and sub-prior were to 

 correct faults equitably, and licence to go out 

 was not to be granted except for good reasons. 



At the archbishop's previous visitation (concern- 

 ing which the Register is silent) J. de Eboraco only 

 partly cleared himself of crimes alleged against 

 him, and J. de Neuhay not at all. The arch- 

 bishop therefore ordered that for four years 

 J. de Eboraco was, each Friday, to have bread, 

 ale, and vegetables only, and Brother J. de 



' York Archiepis. Reg. Romanus, fol. 47^. 



Neuhay for seven years the same, except on Fri- 

 days in Lent and Advent when he was to have 

 bread and water only. They were both suspended 

 from the celebration of divine services, and were 

 to take the lowest places among the priests, 

 while undergoing this penance. A memorandum 

 is added, that on 31 December 1295, the arch- 

 bishop left it at the discretion of the prior to 

 dispense these penances when he deemed proper. 

 In 1324'" Archbishop Melton issued a letter 

 on behalf of the priory, in which he stated that 

 the priory, because of the inundations of the 

 Rivers Ouse and Aire which surrounded it, the 

 frequent invasions of the Scots and other enemies, 

 and the loss of cattle, had become so impover- 

 ished that it was hindered from its works of 

 piety and hospitality. 



The church of Bingley, as already noted, 

 was one of the founder's gifts to the priory." 

 The gift was confirmed by Archbishop Roger, 

 and the prior and canons appear to have fre- 

 quently appointed one of their number to serve 

 it. A strange episode is related in this connexion 

 in the Register of Archbishop Bainbridge,'' in 

 which John Wilkynson, canon of Drax, was in- 

 volved. A rumour had been set about that, as 

 Wilkynson in his examination put it, ' there 

 was a grete good in the cuntrey which myght 

 be gote, if there was any connyng men in the 

 cuntrey.' In other words, that there was some 

 hidden treasure at a place called Mixenden near 

 Halifax, which could be obtained by a series of 

 incantations. It is, perhaps, one of the most 

 extraordinary stories of mediaeval necromancy 

 on record. Six persons were charged with the 

 ofiFence, the chief of whom was Thomas Jame- 

 son, who had served the office of Sheriff of 

 York in 1497, ^'■^^ ht&n lord mayor in 1504, 

 but the canon of Drax had taken no small 

 share in the venture. 



One of the witnesses, Henry Banke, chaplain 

 of Addingham, said that he had heard Brother 

 John the parish priest of Bingley state in the 

 house of Christopher Hardwick of Addingham 

 ' that there was as moch goode in a place besides 

 Halifax as wold raunsome a kyng ; and that 

 oone Leventhorp nowe dede had seene the foote 

 of the kist, and the devell sitting upon it, and 

 that he had put a swerd to remove it, and he 

 nypped it a soundre in the myddist, as it had 

 been a rish ; and the said Sir John said it coold 

 never be gott but with losse of a Cristen sole.' 

 The evidence of ' Sir John Wilkynson chanon of 

 Drax, sworne and examyned,' is entered in the 

 Register. He admitted having made 'a cerkill ' 

 of 30 ft. compass, and that he had agreed to call 



"Ibid. Melton, fol. 161 b. 



" Dngdale, Miw. j4ngl. vi, 195, no. i. 



"York Archiepis. Reg. Bainbridge, fol. 70, etc. 

 All the documents re'ating to the case, transcribed by 

 Canon Raine, are printed in the Jrcb. Jount. xvi 

 72-81. 



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