A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



belfry, and other parts of the church were still 

 badly in need of repairs,** while to add to the 

 difficulties of the convent eighty of their sheep 

 had died that year, and only eighteen were left. 



The acknowledgement of the royal supremacy 

 was signed on 14 October 1534 by the prior and 

 four canons,^ and there were five rehgious living 

 there,** according to the royal commissioners 

 'of slender report,' on 6 April 1537, when the 

 house was dissolved ^^ as one of the smaller 

 monasteries. The prior, John Atewe *' or Yate,*' 

 was given a pension of ^^5 ^ ; the other canons 

 received a present only.^° It is not surprising 

 to find that in 1537 the buildings were in ruin 

 and decay.*" The only piece of plate there then 

 was a chaUce valued at izs. ^d.*^ but a few 

 years before the convent had certainly had 

 more.*^ The four bells, weighing 24 cwt.,*' 

 were probably those noted in 1442 as lately 

 bought.'" 



The income of the house in I526wassaid to be 

 ^^46 gross and ^23 is. 6d. net**; in 1535 it was 

 reckoned at ^^29 igs. 11 id. net,*' and at the 

 Suppression ^'23 clear, apart from demesne lands 

 worth 1075.*' The canons were rectors of Little 



'- The chancel and nave were both in a ruinous 

 state, and they were not the only buildings in this 

 condition ; yet £12 had been spent on repairs in 

 I 526 (Salter, A subsidy collected in the diocese of Lincoln 

 in 1526, p. 192). 



'' Dep. Keeper's Rep. vii, App. ii, 306. This 

 seems to have been the usual number, for there were 

 five brothers in the priory in 1 442 (Visit, of Bp. 

 AInwicic) and five also in 1530 (Visit, of Chancellor 

 Rayne), if John Atue, curate of Little Wymondley, is 

 included. 



*• Transcript of Land Rev. Rec. bdle. 66, no. 3. 



'5 Mins. Accts. Hen. VIH, no. 1606. 



'« Ibid. 



" L. and P. Hen. Fill, xiii (i), 1520. '8 jbid. 



" The sum of j^^g is. %d. was divided among them 

 and eleven servants (Mins. Accts. Hen. VIII, no. 

 1606). 



*" Transcript of Land Rev. Rec. bdle. 66, no. 3. 



*i Aug. Off. Misc. Bk. cccxli, fol. 66. The total 

 of the goods and plate is given at ^^ l 3 izs. c)d. In 

 the inventory made by the commissioners just before 

 the Suppression (K.R. Church Goods |-§) it was 

 estimated at £6 19/. 51/, and this sum included 44/. 

 for crops sown and 25/. for five cart-horses. The 

 stuff in the quire was very poor, the article of the 

 highest value being a pair of organs priced at 5/., 

 while the only vestments were apparently a very old 

 one of blue silk valued at 20a'., two others, one of 

 baudekin, the other of red silk, reckoned at 3/., and 

 an old cope at ^d. (ibid.). 



*2 At the visitation of 1530 they had more than 

 one chalice and a silver ship. 



^' Mins. Accts. Hen. VIII, no. 1606. 



** Visit, of Bp. Alnwick. The canons in 1530 

 said they had, and had of old, four bells (Visit, of 

 Chancellor Rayne). " Salter, op. cit. 192. 



*« Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iv, 276. 



*' Land Rev. Rec. bdle. 66, no. 3. 



Wymondley, the church of which was served by 

 one of them as curate.** 



Priors of Wymondley 



WilHam, occurs c. 1218 *' 



Hugh, occurs 1233-4*" 



Martin, instituted 1246, died 1247-8" 



Richard de Waldia, elected March 1247-8,*' 



occurs 1251 ** 

 John de Mordon, resigned 1 290 ** 

 John de Wymondley, elected 1290,** deprived 



1300 ** 

 John de Mordon, re-elected 1300," occurs 



1302,*' died 1304*° 

 Elias de Wheathampstead, elected 1304,*" 



occurs 1310,*^ died 1340'' 

 John de Buckden, elected 1340,** occurs 



1345,'* died 1347°* 

 Wilham Legat, died March 1 349 »' 

 Roger de Beston, elected 1349," resigned 



I May 1374** 

 John AnabuU, resigned 1404-5 **" 

 John Stevens, instituted February 1404-5 "' 

 Richard Chapman, occurs November 1442 '" 

 John Bawdry, died 1478 '^ 

 William Howse or Hawes, elected 1478,'* 



occurs 1488,'^ resigned 15 1 3 '* 

 Robert Ellys, elected 1513,'* resigned 1520" 

 WiUiam Weston, elected in 1520," occurs 



1530, '8 died 1531 '" 



*8 Parochial Visit, of 1 527 (Doc. of Bishopric of 

 Line, at Exchequer Gate) ; Mins. Accts. Hen. VIII, 

 no. 1606. 



" Temp. Mabel Abbess of Elstow (Cott. MS. 

 Nero, E vi, fol. 128). 



*" Feet of F. Herts. 18 Hen. Ill, no. 168. 



" Clutterbuck, Hist, and Antiq. of Herts, ii, 548. 



'^ Ann. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 175. 



" Richard Prior of Wymondley (Anct. D. [P.R.O.], 

 D 506). 



" Line. Epis. Reg. Sutton, Memo. fol. 2. 



" Ibid. Inst. fol. 84 d. 



'* Ibid. Bp. Dalderby, Inst. fol. 231. 



" Ibid. »8 Ibid Bp_ Dalderby, Memo. fol. 44. 



" Ibid. Dalderby, Inst. fol. 235. «" Ibid. 



" Ibid. fol. 242. 



'2 Ibid. Burghersh, Memo. fol. 371. '' Ibid. 



" Cal. Pat. 1 343-5, p. 501. 



" Ibid. 1345-8, p. 262. 



'' Line. Epis. Reg. Gynwell, Inst. fol. 344. 



" Ibid. 



^8 Ibid. Buckingham, Memo. pt. i, fol. I34d. 



'8= Clutterbuck, op. cit. ii, 549. °° Ibid. 



'" Visit, by Bp. Alnwick (Doc. of Bp. of Line). 



'' Line. Epis. Reg. Rotheram, Inst. fol. 1 1 9. 



^2 Ibid. " Early Chan. Proc. bdle. 366, no. I. 



'* Line. Epis. Reg. Smith, Inst. fol. 427. 



" Ibid. 



'^ Ibid. Wolsey and Atwater, Inst. fol. 49. He was 

 receiving a pension in 1526 (Salter, op. cit. 192). 



" Line. Epis. Reg. Wolsey and Atwater, Inst. fol. 49. 



'8 Visit, of Chancellor Rayne (Doc. of Bp. of Line, 

 at Exchequer Gate). 



'^ Line. Epis. Reg. Longland, Inst. fol. 224 d. 



442 



