A HISTORY OF YORKSHIRE 



lythj'^and 1 8th '' centuries respectively. Each 

 is a vesica with a fiiiure of St. Peter. 



208. THE BEDERN, YORK 



The existence of vicars choral at York, as in 

 other collegiate establishments, was the natural 

 result of non-residence on the part of the canons, 

 who delegated their duties in the church to 

 deputies. The appointment of king's clerks, 

 whose ordinary occupations made them incapable 

 of constant residence, to canonries was a custom 

 of early growth, and thus vicars came into being 

 by degrees. In process of time each of the thirty- 

 six canons had his own vicar. Although they 

 were not incorporated by royal Letters Patent 

 until a late date, the vicars possessed common 

 property as early as the 13th century, and were 

 placed in the time of Archbishop Gray under the 

 control of the sub-chanter, whose duties as war- 

 den and keeper of their common fund were 

 similar to those of the provosts of Beverley 

 and other colleges.^ Their common dwelling, 

 known as the Bedern, was given to them by 

 William of Laneham, canon of York, before 

 1248 ^ ; the name Bedern, which was in use at 

 Beverley to signify the common hall of the 

 college, probably means a ' house of prayer,' and 

 was thus appropriated to the dwelling of clergy 

 who were continually occupied in the service of 

 the church.' 



Many grants of property were made to the 

 vicars and their warden during the 14th century. 

 In 1 33 1 Henry le Vavasour granted them the 

 advowson of Ferry Fryston, out of which they 

 were to maintain three chantry priests, two in 

 York Minster and one in the chapel of Hazlewood 

 or the church of Fryston.^ The area of the 

 Bedern was enlarged in 1335 by the grant of a 

 piece of land at the corner of Aldwark and St. 

 Andrew's Street made by the mayor and com- 

 monalty of York." In 1339-40 they were 

 appointed trustees for the chantry in the minster 

 and the obit provided for by the will of Nicholas 

 of Huggate, Provost of Beverley.' In 1348, 

 Thomas de Ottely and William de Cotingham 

 founded a chapel in the Bedern in honour of 

 the Holy Trinity, the Blessed Virgin and St. 

 Katherine.' There was also a chantry of 5 

 marks value attached to this chapel.' Although 

 they had received no formal charter of incorpora- 



^ Cat. of Seals, B.M. 2371, Add. Chart. 1805. 



" Ibid. 2372, liz,45. 



' Dagdale, Mon. vi, 1475. 



' Ibid. ; see a qTialifying note by Raine, Archbp. 

 Grafs Reg. (Surt. Soc.), 245 



' See A. F. Leach, Beverley Chapter Act Book (Surt. 

 Soc), i, pp. 1, 11. 



' Cal. Pat. 1330-4, p. 103. 



•Ibid. 1334-8, p. 163. 



° Ibid. 1338-40, p. 417. 



' Drake, Ebor. 573. " Ibid. 



tion they are called the college of thirty-six vicars 

 in the Letters Patent of i January 1393-4, by 

 which they received a grant in frankalmoign of 

 the advowson of St. Sampson's in consideration of 

 their purpose to resume their original common 

 life in their hall by the churchyard of the minster.' 

 They are stated to have been living in separate 

 houses — a dispersion which was probably en- 

 couraged by their condition under Archbishop 

 Nevill, whose tyranny was most successfully 

 exercised over them.^" The grant of St. Samp- 

 son's was made on condition that the vicars 

 should keep the obit of Richard II and his queen 

 yearly, and chant an appropriate antiphon and 

 collect daily after compline before the image of 

 St. John the Baptist in the minster." 



The revival of the common life of the Bedern 

 is marked by the grant, in May 1 396, of a licence 

 to construct a gallery from the solar of the 

 vicars' gatehouse to that of the gatehouse of the 

 close, on the other side of Goodramgate, and so 

 avoid the risk of crossing the street on their way 

 to and from service, especially after dark." In 

 June of the same year vicars who were enter- 

 tained, according to custom, by the residentiaries, 

 were restrained from sharing the fruits of St. 

 Sampson's during these absences.^' The alloca- 

 tion of these fruits to the common fund and 

 individual vicars was determined by an ordinance 

 of the dean and chapter, bearing date 24 May 

 1399." No vicarage was ordained in St. Samp- 

 son's, and Henry IV in 1403 allowed the church 

 to be served by a sufficient conduct, without 

 endowment of a vicarage."" 



The habits of the vicars for some years before 

 the revival of the Bedern are indicated by the 

 comperta at some of the chapter visitations. Some 

 of them in 1 362 walked about the streets dressed 

 like laymen and wearing knives and daggers." 

 In 1375 they objected to the use of the organ on 

 the quire-screen at high festivals unless they were 

 treated to wine by the residentiaries." An order 

 in 1408 was made forbidding the service of wine 

 to them at or after meals, which led to a serious 

 quarrel with the chapter and the expulsion of the 

 sub-chanter."* 



The incorporation of the vicars as a college, 

 with the sub-chanter as warden, was obtained 

 from Henry V by Letters Patent bearing date 

 26 May 1421." In 1459, the dean ^^^ chapter 

 acquired the advowson and impropriation of 

 Nether Wallop, in Hampshire,*"' on their behalf. 



• Cal. Pat. 1 39 1-6, p. 386. 



" See Hist. Ch. of York (Rolls Sen), ii, 323. 



" Cal. Pat. 1391-6, p. 386. 



" Ibid. 1391-6, p. 712. 



"Ibid. p. 725. 



"Ibid. 1 399-1401, p. 172. 



" Ibid. 1401-5, p. 235. 



" York Fabric Rolls (Surt. Soc), 242-3. 



" Ibid. 243. " Ibid. 244. 



" Cal. Pat. I ^l 6-22, p. 360. 



"* Ibid. 1452-61, p. 512. 



382 



