RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



picked Hp by the parish priest, who inquired 

 what it was. The robbers, recognizing that 

 their companion's seizure was a punishment for 

 sacrilege, were terrified and begged the priest 

 to take the cross back at once to the monks. It 

 was possibly to compensate for losses then sus- 

 tained that Abbot William de Trumpington 

 (1214-35) gave to the house a beautiful psalter 

 and ordinal and two gilded shrines." For the 

 safety of the shrines and the relics in them he 

 appointed a monk with a colleague to relieve 

 him to guard them continually. During the 

 time of this abbot the conventual church was 

 consecrated by John Bishop of Ardfert.' 



The regulations made by Abbot Roger in 1275 

 with regard to monks who died at Redbourn ' 

 show that there was no cemetery here. The 

 cell was, as in Abbot Warin's day, a place where 

 the monks could have a brief relief from strict 

 discipline. 



The constitutions of Abbot Richard de 

 Wallingford (1326-35) for Redbourn'' aimed 

 chiefly at preventing too great relaxation of the 

 rule. The three monks taking their turn there 

 were to remain a month, and were neither to 

 go nor return on foot ; a brother at Redbourn 

 who by permission came to St. Albans must be 

 accompanied by his prior ; the brothers were 

 to go to matins, say together the canonical 

 hours, and hear the mass of the day, and those 

 who were priests must not omit for four days to 

 celebrate mass ; constant transgressors of these 

 rules were to have their stay shortened ; they 

 were to take the air together in places removed 

 from public concourse and return in good time 

 for dinner; they were forbidden to visit 

 neighbouring houses and friends or go beyond 

 the boundaries without the prior's leave, and to 

 go on foot a mile beyond the priory, or stay the 

 night anywhere without the abbot's permission ; 

 they must not eat before the common meal or 

 sup in time of regular fast without leave of the 

 prior, who was to be very careful how he gave 

 it ; their food was to be served daily from the 

 kitchen of the abbey as for monks at St. Albans ; 



were naturally not very palatable when they 

 reached Redbourn, about 3 miles off, and 

 when sold at St. Albans fetched little ; so 

 that the monks at Redbourn were reduced to 

 all kinds of shifts for their maintenance.** 

 This state of things was ended by Abbot 

 Thomas de la Mare " (1349-96), and the sum 

 of 5J-. a week was given in lieu of food." 

 He also simplified the matter of the convent's 

 supply of fuel, ordaining that they should 

 have sixteen cartloads of wood at Michaelmas 

 instead of the two logs a day from i November 

 to 2 February allowed them by his predecessor, 

 Michael de Mentmore.** Abbot Thomas did 

 much for the priory, giving vestments, plate, 

 furniture and books,** rebuilding the chapel of 

 St. James,*^ which had been burned down many 

 years before," and among other improvements 

 to the buildings *' constructing a house " which 

 he could use both as a wardrobe and study when 

 he visited Redbourn. He was very fond of the 

 place and frequently stayed there, though he 

 was careful that his presence should not cause 

 constraint or be burdensome in any way to the 

 convent." 



It was no doubt through his endeavours that 

 Thomas de Beauchamp Earl of Warwick in 

 1383 renounced his claim to Redbourn Heath.^" 

 The dispute on the point had for years ^* caused 

 the priory great inconvenience, for the Flam- 

 stead men, relying on their lord's support, had 

 kept up a continual feud with the convent ; on 

 one occasion they had seized the cart with the 

 monks' provisions and taken it to Flamstead, 

 and the prior had been so frightened lest his 

 food supply might be cut off that he had bought 

 another less public approach to the priory.^ 



The stone walls round the outer court were 

 repaired by Abbot John Wheathampstead 

 (1420-40), who also gave Ij to the fabric of the 

 kitchen ^ and contributed to decorate the chapel 



*" Gesta Abbat. ii, 397-8. 



^ This seems the inference from ibia. 400. 

 Bread and ale probably continued to be supplied 



" Ibid, 

 ibid. 



the pnor and brothers were not to keep hunting- from the abbey (Amundesham, Annales [Rolls Ser.], 



dogs, hunt, look on at the sport, or leap over 

 the hedges of their neighbours ; they must not 

 bring into the house persons of doubtful reputa- 

 tion to eat or talk with them, or have inter- 

 course with such outside. 



The arrangement about food did not work 

 at all well : hot dishes sent from the abbey 



8 Gesta Abbat. i, 282, 294. The shrines were 

 those made to receive the remains of St. Amphibalus 

 and his companions. 



'■ Ibid. 289. An indulgence of forty days was 

 granted on this occasion. 



' Ibid. 452. By tradition the bodies of the monks 

 dying at Redbourn were brought to St. Albans by the 

 River Ver. 



' Ibid, ii, 202-5. 



206). 

 "His 



" Gesta Abbat. ii, 398. 

 gifts included spoons, tables, napkins, 

 hangings for the hall, graduals, a complete volume of 

 Legends of the Saints commemorated throughout 

 the year, red silk curtains for the altar and a frontal 

 to match and precious frontals and drapery for the 

 altar in Lent (ibid. 399). 



" Brother John de Bokedene and William Stubard, 

 a lay brother, carried out this work (ibid.). 



" Ibid. 400. 



*' He spent 100 marks here 

 payment of debts (ibid. 391). 



1" Ibid. 399. 19 Ibid. 



^^ Ibid, iii, 259-60. 



^1 It had gone on in the time of the previous earl 

 who died in 1369. 



^^ Gesta Abbat. iii, 258. 



^' Amundesham, Annales, ii, 264, App. A. 



in building and 



400. 



417 



l'^ 



