RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



soon began to wrangle with his predecessor, 

 grudging apparently the provision made for 

 him. The Duke of Gloucester was appointed 

 arbitrator between them on 6 January 1442 

 and on i September deUvered his award ^^ : 

 Wheathampstead was to surrender all estate 

 in Tyttenhanger, and was to receive for life 

 Park Manor and lands in Radwell ; he was to 

 have the house near the infirmary which he had 

 rebuilt and he might go where he pleased except 

 to Tyttenhanger Manor ; a certain amount of 

 plate was also allotted to him. It was probably 

 fortunate for the ex-abbot that Duke Humphrey 

 was then making arrangements for the cele- 

 bration of his anniversary at St. Albans. In 

 June 1441 he had obtained the royal licence to 

 give the aUen priory of Pembroke to the abbey 

 for this purpose,'* but it was not until i August 

 1443 that he actually granted the property.'" 

 The ordinances, drawn up presumably at this 

 time, provided for daily masses at his sepulchre 

 and services and distributions on his anniversary 

 at a cost of ;^44 ijs. 2d. a year and for the annual 

 payment of ^^60 to the relief of the convent's 

 kitchen.'* The duke died on 23 February 1447 

 and was buried in the tomb already made for 

 him in St. Albans." Some jewels belonging to 

 the abbey, which had been in his keeping, now 

 came into the hands of the king, who presented 

 them to his colleges of Eton and Cambridge.'* 

 The abbot and convent put in their claim, and 

 it seems likely that there was a connexion 

 between these events and the grant of extensive 

 privileges made to the abbey by the king in 

 November of that year. On 18 December 

 1448, however, avowedly in compensation for 

 the loss of their goods," they received acquit- 

 tance of jf20 in every clerical tenth until the 

 sum of I600 should be reached, ratification of 

 the duke's gift of Pembroke Priory and of 

 their possession of the churches of Tenby 

 and Manorbeer, co. Pembroke, appropriated 

 under a Hcence of 1445,*° and confirmation of 

 the Letters Patent of 1440 and of the recent 

 grant. 



In dealing with his monks the abbot was not 

 successful. One only actually apostatized, but 

 eight others escaped from his control by pro- 

 curing bulls of emigration or promotion, among 



'' Arundel MS. 34, fol. 82 d., printed in Amunde- 

 sham, Annales, ii, 278-89, App. B. 



" Cal. Pat. 1436-41, p. 567. 



" Chart. R. 27-39 ^^"- ^I' "°- +°- 



'* Cott. MS. Claud. A viii, fol. 195, printed in 

 Dugdale, Mon. ii, 202. 



" An Engl. Chron. of Reigns of Ric. II-Hen. VI 

 (Camd. Soc), 1 17-18. It cost Abbot Stoke and the 

 convent ;£433 6s. %d. (Dugdale, Mon. ii, 202). 



^^ Reg. of St. Albans, i, 27; Chart. R. 27-39 

 Hen. VI, no. 40. 



5' Chart. R. 27-39 Hen. VI, no. 40. 



*" Cal. Pot. 1 44 1 -6, p. 356. 



them Henry Halstede, Prior, and Robert Mor- 

 path, Cellarer of Wallingford.*^ The Prior of 

 Belvoir in 1449 secured himself from removal 

 without reasonable cause,*^ evidently as a pre- 

 caution against such action on Stoke's part as 

 had just resulted in the loss of the cell of 

 Wymondham to the abbey. Stephen London 

 had been Archdeacon of St. Albans, and Stoke, 

 who disUked him for telling him too plainly of 

 his faults, had made him Prior of Wymondham 

 to get rid of him and then after a few months 

 had arbitrarily recalled him.*' The patron. Sir 

 Andrew Ogard, espoused London's cause, and 

 obtained bulls which raised the priory to an 

 abbey in 1449 and made it independent.** The 

 petty spitefulness shown by Stoke *^ to London 

 leads to the conclusion that the defections in 

 his time were due to his faults, not to his re- 

 forming zeal. It is said that Stokes was avari- 

 cious ** and that in his time learning " and 

 preaching were neglected at the monastery,*' 

 but it must be remembered that the information 

 comes from Wheathampstead's eulogist and 

 may be biased.*^ The difficulty is to know 

 how much allowance to make for prejudice, 

 especially as regards the story ^^ told about 

 Stoke's favourite, WilUam Wallingford,5i x!a& 

 official-general. ^1" Stoke on his death-bed in- 

 formed the prior and others that he had saved 



^^ Reg. 0/ St. Albans, i, 146-7. Stoke on 20 Oct. 

 1448 asked for the arrest of the last two as apostates 

 (Chan. Warr. [Ser. l], file 1759, no. 3 5)- After 

 Stoke's death Halstede sought readmission to the 

 convent, and promised if he were made Prior of 

 Binham to pay the debts of the house and rebuild 

 the dormitory. It needed, however, strong persuasion 

 and remonstrance on Wheathampstead's part to make 

 the monks agree to his return (Reg. of St. Albans, i 

 138-42). 



*2 Cal. Pat. 1446-52, p. 247. 



" Reg. of St. Albans, \, 148-54. 



** His pardon for procuring papal bulls is dated 

 16 March 1449 [Cal. Pat. 1446-52, p. 260). 



*' It appears again in his sale of the missal given 

 by Wheathampstead to his chapel [Reg. of St. Albans, 

 i, 427). 



*6 Ibid. 116. 



*' For years there was no learned master to teach 

 the youths in the cloister, and scarcely a scholar was 

 sent to the university (ibid. 24). 



*8 Under him the monks ceased to preach to the 

 people during Lent (ibid. 25). 



*5 The ill-feeling between Stoke and Wheathamp- 

 stead had not been removed by the settlement of 

 1442. It tells against Stoke that Wheathampstead 

 was befriended by his former opponent Alnwick, who 

 had now become Bishop of Lincoln (Amundesham, 

 Annales, i, 364, n. 7). 



50 Reg. of St. Albans, i, 102-35. 



" Abbot Gasquet says {Abbot Wallingford, 6-7) 

 that from the author's description the Wheathamp- 

 stead Register cannot be regarded as official. 



"a Wallingford held five offices, including that of 

 archdeacon. 



403 



