RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



from St. Leonard's day (6 November) 1390, to 

 the nativity of St. John Baptist (21 June) next 

 following, and in that period had relieved the 

 hospital of many excessive debts, to the amount 

 of more than ;£i00. 



They also reported that William de Botheby 

 found in the hospital a large provision of grain, 

 and the hospital would have been freed of all its 

 debts in three years if Thomas Thurkill had 

 remained in office, but Botheby expelled him 

 and in a short time began to sell large corrodies 

 in a great number. (Then follow some of the 

 names of persons to whom they were sold.) He 

 also sold several sacerdotal corrodies, even to 

 women, which ought to have been given 

 gratuitously to impotent priests, to pray for the 

 souls of the kings and benefectors of the hospital. 

 He also sold the liveries of ' cremetts ' and gave 

 them to esquires, merchants, and well-to-do 

 clerks, contrary to the ordinance of the hospital, 

 and defrauding the alms of the king, and did not 

 cease till he had received more than ;^ 2,453 

 by this sale of corrodies, and the jurors found the 

 hospital ;^220 more in debt than when Botheby 

 became master. 



The ministers of the Earl of Northumber- 

 land had the church of Pickhill, annually worth 

 80 marks, for three years, for debts owed by 

 Botheby to the earl, before he became master, 

 and so the hospital lost 240 marks. Botheby 

 owed a certain Thomas de Skelton, chaplain, 

 £^2\, his private and personal debt, and he took 

 the said church of Pickhill to farm for ;^SO, 

 paying Botheby £,^0, of which sum £^2 1 was 

 allowed to Skelton. 



Botheby also sold and gave several large 

 green oaks in Acomb and Beningbrough to 

 various persons (who are named, including the 

 Prioress of Monkton) to such an extent that the 

 park of Beningbrough was all but destroyed, and 

 part of the wood of Acomb was actually de- 

 stroyed. 



Botheby also sold the nativi in the vill of 

 Broomfleet, remitted the services of the tenants 

 in Broomfleet, and pawned for his own debts 

 chalices, vestments and other church ornaments, 

 as well as the hospital jewels, including a tablet 

 of gold, presented to the hospital by Dom. 

 Nicholas Slake. 



Botheby never was well disposed for the rule 

 of the hospital, for all his time the hospital went 

 from bad to worse, owing to his evil government, 

 and unless he were quickly removed from office 

 the hospital would be finally and totally de- 

 stroyed. 



Then follow accounts of the delinquencies of 

 bailiflfe and foresters appointed by Botheby, and 

 the jurors end by stating that there were con- 

 tinual quarrels between Botheby and the brothers, 

 who would not agree to his sales of corrodies and 

 alienations, to which by fear the majority were 

 driven to consent. 



In another document the jurors reported that 

 William de Botheby entered into office on the 

 Nativity of St. John Baptist 1391, on the resig- 

 nation of Robert Bays, and by his unhappy rule 

 governed the hospital seven years and a half 

 ending on 16 January 1399. 



Botheby, however bad his rule had been, was 

 not so very much worse than some of his im- 

 mediate predecessors, and possibly because the 

 return made in 1398 had laid all the blame on 

 him, a fresh commission was issued by Henry IV 

 on 16 November 1399'^ to John de Neuton, 

 treasurer of York cathedral church, William 

 Cawod, Alan Newerk, William Selby, and 

 Thomas Thurkill (the latter of whom was pre- 

 viously reported to have managed the hospital 

 affairs to its great advantage as deputy master for 

 six months) to visit, and report on the hospital. 

 The long report of the commission is dated the 

 last day of May 1402.'' 



In the first place the commissioners reported 

 that in the time of William de Botheby a sudden 

 fire had broken out, which had consumed the 

 wooden campanile of the church, and with it 

 three noble bells. That Botheby after this had 

 begun to build a stone tower at the south end of 

 the hospital church, and that more than ;^200 

 would be needed to finish it. They also re- 

 ported very many defects in the lead roof of the 

 church, and in the roof of the infirmary house 

 of the poor folk and the dormitory of the brothers, 

 as well as in other buildings within the hospital 

 and in its manors and granges, and in the rent- 

 able houses of the hospital, in and outside the 

 city, and these defects occurred chiefly during 

 the masterships of William de Botheby, and 

 Nicholas Slake and Robert Bayce his predecessors, 

 and ;^200 would not suffice for them. 



They also reported that under these three 

 masters the foundation alms of the hospital had 

 been for the most part pilfered. Three silver- 

 gilt chalices had been pledged by Botheby to 

 Mr. William de Feriby, Archdeacon of the East 

 Riding, for ;^20i for the requirements of the 

 hospital, and a gold tabernacle given to St. 

 Leonard's church by Nicholas Slake had been 

 pledged to William Seler, goldsmith of York, by 

 Botheby for 10 marks, and the money had been 

 applied to his personal use. 



They reported numerous instances of waste 

 and embezzlement of lands, tenements and stock, 

 and also stated that Nicholas Slake lived in the 

 hospital cum tota sua familia at its cost for three- 

 quarters of a year, and received in his time, 

 beyond his expenses, over ;^200. Robert Bayce 

 did likewise, and had more than 100 marks, and 

 William de Botheby spent more than seven con- 

 secutive years in the hospital with his suite, 

 spending more than 200 marks a year, and 



^ Pat. I Hen. IV, pt. iv, m. 30. 



" Chan. Misc. bdle. 20, file 3, no. 13. 



341 



