A HISTORY OF SURREY 



only received order to \ isit Richmond at six 

 o'clock on the previous Saturday evening (i5 

 Juiic 1534), but departed that night reaching 

 the town between 10 and 11. The next 

 morning they first had communication with 

 the warden and one of the seniors named 

 Sebastian : and after that, with the whole 

 convent, begging them to affix their seal to 

 the articles of supremacy : but they only met 

 with a resolute refusal. At last the convent 

 was persuaded to leave the settlement of the 

 matter to their seniors, 'otherwise called 

 " discretes," ' who were four in number. They 

 then arranged that these four friars should 

 meet them on the morrow (Monday 1 7 June) 

 at the house of the Greenwich Observants 

 and bring their convent seal with them. At 

 Greenwich, however, the king's commis- 

 sioners met with resistance from all the friars 

 of that house, as well as from the Richmond 

 deputies. Bishop Lee recited the arguments 

 he used to Cromwell, adding : 'all this reason 

 could not sink into their obstinate hearts,' and 

 they resolved ' to live and die in the obser- 

 vance of St. Francis' religion.' The style of 

 reasoning adopted by the bishop and the 

 official of the council was not very likely to 



be convincing according to their own show- 

 ing. When the Observants cited the rule of 

 Str Francis as to the pope, the commissioners 

 coolly remarked that they considered that part 

 had been forged by some malicious friars.' 



There was but one way, in the opinion of 

 Henry, to deal with these friars who refused 

 to be convinced. The whole order of the 

 Observants was speedily suppressed, and 

 within a few days of the visit of Lee and 

 Bcdyll to Richmond and Greenwich two 

 cartloads of these friars passed through the 

 city to the Tower.* By the beginning of 

 August four of the Observant houses includ- 

 ing that of Richmond were emptied of their 

 occupants, and the other two were daily ex- 

 pecting to be expelled. At the end of the 

 month, Chapuys, the Imperial ambassador, 

 wrote that all the Observants had been driven 

 from their monasteries, and had been for the 

 most part distributed in several monasteries, 

 ' where they were locked up in chains, and 

 worse treated than they would be in prison.' 

 Fifty of the Observant friars died in prison, 

 but some of them obtained leave through 

 Wriothesley's influence to retire into France, 

 Scotland and Ireland. 



HOSPITALS 



12. THE HOSPITAL OF NEWING- 

 TON 



There was an ancient hospital here dedi- 

 cated to the honour of Our Lady and St. 

 Catherine ; but wc have not been able to learn 

 an)thing more concerning it than that it con- 

 tinued until 1551, when, as is stated by Strypc, 

 their proctor had protection or license to solicit 

 alms granted by Edward VI.' 



13. THE HOSPITAL OF SANDON 



The hospital of Sandon, in the parish of 

 Esher, dedicated to the honour of the Holy 

 Spirit," is said to have been founded at the be- 

 ginning of the reign of Henry II. by Robert de 



» Strype, Eccl. Mem. Edw. VI. p. 516. 



' In three or four instances of the thirteenth 

 and fourteenth centuries the hospital is named as 

 dedicated to tJie honour of St. Mary Magdalen ; 

 but it is termed the hospital of the Holy Spirit 

 in the deed of augmentation of Henry III., and 

 also in the patent uniting it to St. Thomas' South- 

 wark. This may be one of those cases in which 

 the whole house had one dedication, whilst the 

 rebuilt chapel had another. 



Wateville." It was augmented early in the 

 reign of Henry III. by William de Percy 

 with an income of 20 marks which Salley 

 Abbey, Yorks, paid him for the manor and 

 forest of Gisburn, and also with 80 acres 

 of land in Foston, Leicestershire. This aug- 

 mentation was granted to the master and 

 brethren of the hospital for the purpose of sup- 

 porting six chaplains for divine offices within 

 the house.' 



On William do Percy's death his heart 

 was buried before the Lady altar in the 

 church or chapel of this hospital, and here 

 too was interred the body of his wife Joan. 

 Giles, the warden or prior of the house, 

 and the brethren covenanted with Sir 

 Wymond Ralegh to keep a lamp and a taper 

 of two pounds weight burning before the 

 Lady altar whenever masses were said.'' 



' Cott. MS. Cleop. E iv. 40. 



' L. and P. Hen. VIll. vii. p. 28 of Mr. Gaird- 

 ner's preface. 



5 Manning and Bray, Hist of Sutt. ii. 749. 



" Dugdale, Monasticon, vi. 676, where this 

 charter is cited in full. 



' Ibid. vi. 676. 



iiy 



