A HISTORY OF YORKSHIRE 



The canons of Beverley owned a large amount 

 of land at the time of Domesday." It is probable 

 that they were already seven in number, deriving 

 their income, like the canons at York, from a 

 common fund. Thomas of Bayeux is credited 

 with the foundation of the office of provost at 

 Beverley, as at York." But while at York the 

 increase in the number of canons and the assign- 

 ment of separate prebends to each led to the 

 discontinuance of the office, the provostry re- 

 mained a permanent feature at Beverley. The 

 possessions of the canons were regarded as one 

 common prebend in which each canon possessed an 

 annual dividend. The corpus of each prebendal 

 share was regarded as consisting in the corrody 

 of daily rations derived from the Bedern.^' The 

 most important source of income, however, was 

 the tribute of thraves paid by each parish in the 

 East Riding," and, although in the course of 

 time thraves from certain specified parishes were 

 appropriated to some of the canons,^' the scat- 

 tered nature of such property prevented the 

 establishment of separate prebends with a fixed 

 area. The duty of the provost was to see to the 

 collection of the thraves, and to divide their 

 annual proceeds. He himself held no office in 

 the church in right of his provostry, although he 

 was usually admitted to one of the seven canon- 

 ries." He was, in fact, the officer in whom the 

 temporalities of the church were vested. The 

 chapter, in Domesday, was in full possession of 

 the regalities of the lands of St. John ; " and it 



" See 'Eccl. Hist.' above, p. ii. 



" The story of the foundation of the provostry is 

 told in the Provost's Book, fol. 8 id. {Chapter Act Bk. 

 [Surt. See], ii, 33Z et seq.), where it is attributed to 

 the existence of quarrels among the canons over their 

 common property. 



" This was recognized by Archbishop Greenfield in 

 his ordinance of 17 Apr. 1307 {Chapter Act Bk. 

 [Surt. Soc], i, 193), by which the corrodies were 

 united formally to the prebends. His statute was 

 pleaded by the canons in 1324 in answer to Melton's 

 objections (ibid, ii, 58-g). 



" The thraves formed part of the concessions of the 

 early charters of the church ; important details as to 

 the manner of their delivery and the punishment of 

 defaulters are found in the Letters Patent of John, 

 3 Oct. and 9 Nov. 1203 (see Cal. Pat. 1307-13, 

 p. 86). 



"e.g. in Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 131, the 

 prebendary of St. Stephen's altar received thraves from 

 Cherry Burton, Rowley, Skerne, Kirk Ella, Watton, 

 Scorborough, Lockington, Lund, Leconfield, Wressell, 

 and Bubwith. Others received the thraves of parishes 

 specially named. 



" He was not always a canon. Robert of Abber- 

 wick (provost 1304-6), Walter Reynolds (1306-8), 

 William de la Mare (1338-60), and others do not 

 seem to have held a canonry. William of Melton 

 (1308-18) and Richard of Ravenser (1360-9) were 

 admitted to canonries after their accession to the 

 provostship. 



" Dom. Bk. fol. 30417, col. i. 



is not unlikely that the office of provost, as chief 

 magistrate and temporal agent of the canons, 

 may have been established at a date earlier than 

 that usually assigned to it. 



Each of the canonries, in process of time, 

 was distinguished by the name of an altar in the 

 church. The original seven were known by 

 the names of the altars of St. Andrew, St. James, 

 St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Michael, St. Peter, 

 and St. Stephen. The prebendary of St. 

 Martin's altar was also rector of the chapel of 

 St. Mary ; but no parish church within the 

 provost's jurisdiction was annexed to any separate 

 canonry.^ To these was added at an unknown 

 date an eighth canonry, attached to St. 

 Katharine's altar, the holder of which was not 

 ex officio a member of the chapter, but attended 

 chapter meetings by invitation.^' The corpus of 

 this prebend was half the daily offerings from 

 the high altar. The other half, and the whole 

 of all other offerings and profits accruing to the 

 church or common fund, were shared by the 

 seven other canons.^^ 



The archbishop himself had his stall in quire, 

 to which an annual corrody from the Bedern 

 was attached.^' This, however, did not give 

 him a place in chapter, or the right to be re- 

 garded as a canon and prebendary. The right of 

 collation to the provostry and canonries was in 

 the hands of the archbishop. 



The church had no dean,^* but there were in 

 it three dignitaries,^^ the precentor, chancellor, 

 and sacrist or treasurer. These were appointed 

 by the provost, and received their income from 

 the revenues of the provostry. They took rank 

 below the canons, with stalls in quire, but no 

 voice in chapter. The precentor had, as usual, 



'° The parochial status of the canons with regard to 

 their altars in the church, mentioned below in rela- 

 tion to the vicars choral, was a peculiar feature of 

 their office. A canon, for this reason, was required 

 to be in priest's orders : ' cum prebende in ecclesia 

 nostra Beverlacensi sacerdotales existant ex institu- 

 cione ac ordinacione primaria earundem' {Chapter 

 Act Bk. [Surt. Soc], i, 14, 15). 



"Thus in 1330 Master William of Abberwick, 

 eighth canon, was said to attend chapter meetings by 

 special grace of the chapter (ibid, ii, 94). 



"^^ Ibid, i, 193. 



" Greenfield, in uniting the corrodies to the pre- 

 bends (ibid, i, 193), defined them as the 'corpora' of 

 the prebends ' prout ex prebenda archiepiscopali . . . 

 cuius corpus in eo solo consistit corrodio satis liquet' 



" The Dean of Beverley, mentioned, e.g., Archbp. 

 GiffartTs Reg. (Surt. Soc), 54, was, of course, the 

 dean of the Christianity, who exercised his office out- 

 side the minster. 



" The position of these officers, below the canons, 

 has led to a denial of the title of dignitaries to them. 

 But that their offices were regarded as 'dignitates' ij 

 shown by a document in the Town Minute Book of 

 Beverley, printed in Chapter Act Bk. (Suit. Soc), ii, 

 339 et seq. 



354 



