RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



ment was made entirely at the abbey's expense,* 

 and was of a nature to keep the new priory 

 very dependent on St. Albans. Warin gave to 

 the house ^ the site, church and buildings on 

 both sides of the street and various tithes, in- 

 cluding those of the abbey's demesne of Luton, 

 of the new assart at Sarratt and all assarts made 

 in future and of all pannage belonging to St. 

 Albans; a rent of 20s. in Cambridge for the 

 sisters' clothing * ; and to each leper up to the 

 number of thirteen a monk's left-off frock and 

 cloak ; for their maintenance the corrodies 

 already given for past abbots, and one at the 

 death of every abbot in future,' until they 

 numbered thirteen ; the corrodies of Kings 

 Oifa and Henry and Pope Hadrian when the 

 holders died, and meanwhile an allowance of 

 bread, meat and ale from St. Albans ; two 

 loaves from every ovenful of the abbot's portion ; 

 leave to grind a measure of oats and another of 

 malt at certain mills ; 3^. a week from the toll 

 of the town of St. Albans ; food for two horses 

 every day from the abbey granary ; and a cart- 

 load of wood every week ; while the chaplain 

 and his clerk were to receive their food daily 

 from the abbey, a mark a year from Walden 

 Church and half a mark from the church of 

 Newnham. 



The sisters were fortunate in their first 

 warden, John de Walden, who was an able 

 advocate of their cause, and as he enjoyed the 

 royal favour it was probably through him that 

 King John confirmed to them in 11 99 2 acres 

 in Eastbrook '* given them by Queen Eleanor, 

 and granted them a yearly fair on the vigil and 

 feast of the Nativity of the Virgin * ; in 1204 

 he further gave them 30 acres of assart in 

 Eastbrook Wood' and in 1 21 5 received the 

 house and sisters into his protection.^" 



A papal mandate of January 1223^ forbade 

 the abbot and convent to use their patronage 

 to lay burdens on the lepers at Pre, but the 

 actual grievance of the subject community is 

 unfortunately not explained. According to 

 Matthew Paris Pre was so poor in the middle 

 of the 13th century that its inmates had scarcely 



* Matthew Paris is rather bitter on the subject 

 {Gesia Abbat. i, 205). 



* Ibid. 202-4. 



^ Land in Cambridge was granted by Warin to 

 Anchitel de Grantebreg and his heirs for this rent to 

 St. Mary de Yik (Anct. D. [P.R.O.], A 1 1069). 



' The seventh was claimed and granted on the 

 death of Abbot William de Trumpington in 1235 

 {fiesta Abbat. i, 305). 



'^ Eastbrookhay in the parish of Kernel Hempstead 

 {V.C.E. Herts, ii, 222). 



' Cart. Antiq. M. 20 ; Inspex. of Ric. Ill 

 (Dugdale, Mm. iii, 358, no. viii). 



' Cart. Antiq. M. 18. 



1" Rot. Lit. Pat. (Rec. Com.), 131. 



" Cal. of Papal Letters, i, 90. It was issued owing 

 to a complaint of the lepers. 



the necessaries of life.i* The exaction of the 

 clerical tenth in 1254 must therefore have 

 pressed hardly on them, especially since the 

 house had just then to be rebuilt. It seems 

 indeed that they could not have finished what 

 they had begun if Pope Alexander IV had not 

 helped them by offering indulgences to those 

 who contributed to the work." 



Abbot Richard de Walhngford (1328-36) 

 made a few regulations for the house." He 

 required the brothers at their reception to swear 

 fealty to St. Albans before the abbot and arch- 

 deacon, and vow never to procure the entrance 

 of brothers, sisters or nuns except through the 

 abbot ; they must also promise in writing to 

 live in chastity, voluntary poverty and obedience 

 according to the rule of St. Benedict. Up to this 

 time it is said the brothers and sisters had pro- 

 fessed no certain rule. 



Some idea of the Ufe led by the inmates may 

 be gathered from the ordinances drawn up '^^ 

 possibly by Abbot Michael or his successor 

 Thomas de la Mare i' who is known to have 

 made a rule for Pre.^' 



The master, who must be versed in temporal 

 affairs, was to transact the business of the house 

 with the advice of his brothers and the prioress 

 and to render an account to the abbot every 

 year ; chapters were to be held twice a week by 

 such brothers as were monks to treat of the 

 needs of the house ; when the bell was rung in 

 the morning all were to rise, and after washing 

 their hands go to church, where the brothers 

 and chaplains were to say the matins of our 

 Lady and of the day, then after a short interval 

 the hours, and finally high mass, at which all 

 unless very ill were to be present ; the brothers 

 were to have a common board, and the prioress, 

 nuns and sisters were likewise to dine together 

 in the frater, and none was to be late or leave 

 before grace ; from Easter to All Saints there 

 were to be two meals a day, from All Saints to 

 Lent one only, except on Sundays; intervals 

 between mass and vespers were to be occupied 

 with work or devotions in church ; talking in 

 church and after CompUne was forbidden ; the 

 doors between the men and women were to be 

 closed except at service-time ; the brothers 

 were not to speak to the nuns and sisters, and 

 all were forbidden to talk to seculars where 

 suspicion of evil might arise ; no men must eat 

 in the nuns' close without leave of the prioress ; 



12 Chron. Maj. (Rolls Ser.), v, 452. 



1' Dugdale, Mon. iii, 356, no. iv, v, vi. 



" Gesta Abbat. ii, 2 13- 1 4. 



1» Cott. MS. Nero, D I, fol. 1 73-4 d- 



18 Both had personal reasons to be interested in 

 Pr^. Michael's sister Alice entered the hospital 

 in 1342-3 (Mins. Accts. bdle. 869, no. 22), and 

 Thomas's sister Dionisia became a nun there {Gtite 

 Abbat. ii, 373)- 



1" Gesta Abbat. ii, 402. 



429 



