A HISTORY OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 



Thomas Pemberton was preceptor. The New- 

 land returns included ^^20 a year from rent and 

 farms in Ossington bailiwick, and also ^5 2s. 

 from Roger Rogerson the bailiff of the same. 



In addition to this rents and farms in Winkburn 

 came to j[ig, bringing the total up to £4.4. 2s. 

 Bailiff Roger was in receipt of a stipend of 

 £2 14^. 4^.>* 



FRIARIES 



15. THE FRANCISCAN FRIARS OF 

 NOTTINGHAM 



The exact date of the settlement in Notting- 

 ham of the Franciscans or Grey Friars is not 

 known, but it was an accomplished fact before 

 the year 1230. This order of mendicants only 

 reached England in 1224, so that they were not 

 long in obtaining a foothold in this busy centre 

 of the Midlands. The Nottingham house was 

 one of the eight friaries in the wardenship of 

 Oxford ; it was situate in the south-west 

 corner of Broadmarsh, not far from the castle. 



The earliest known record occurs on the 

 Close Rolls of 1230, when Henry III granted 

 the Friars Minor of Nottingham twenty tie- 

 beams for the construction of their chapel.' 

 Two years later he made them a further grant 

 of five trees out of the forest of Sherwood for 

 the stalls of their chapel,^ and yet another grant 

 for the same purpose in 1234.' In 1236-7 the 

 friars were constructing a quay on the river, and 

 received two royal grants of timber for this 

 purpose.* In 1242 the friars had a gift of ten 

 oaks out of the hav of Willey.' Fifteen oaks 

 were granted them by Henry III, in April 1247, 

 for their buildingN, and again in August of the 

 same year six more oaks for their infirmary.' 



A few years afterwards the friars began to 

 build a church of stone, and the king granted them 

 licence in 1256 to take stone from his Notting- 

 ham quarry for that purpose ; ' but they were 

 still maintaining their other wooden buildings, 

 and had a grant of twelve Sherwood oaks for 

 their repair in 1258.* In 1261 grants were 

 made them of twenty oaks from Bestwood for 

 the dormitory and chapter-house;' and in 1272 

 they had a further grant of ten oaks for building 

 purposes.'" 



Reverting to a much earlier transaction of this 

 reign, it may be mentioned that Henry III in 

 1235 issued a writ of Allocate in favour of the 

 bailifls of Nottingham with respect to 5;. due 

 yearly for a place in that town wherein the 



" Vakr Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 68-9. 

 ' Close, 14 Hen. Ill, m. 14. 

 'Ibid. 16 Hen. Ill, m. 3. 

 ' Ibid. 19 Hen. Ill, m. 23. 

 ' Ibid. 20 Hen. Ill, m. 4 ; 21 Hen. Ill, m. 3, 

 ' Ibid. 26 Hen. Ill, m. 2. 

 ' Ibid. 31 Hen. Ill, m. 9, 5. 

 ' Ibid. 40 Hen. Ill, m. 1 1 d. 

 ' Ibid. 42 Hen. Ill, m. 23. 

 ' Ibid. 45 Hen. Ill, m. 20, 15. 



Friars Minor were lodged, and which the king 

 out of charity had pardoned to the friars so long 

 as they lodged there.'' 



The Patent Rolls of Edward I and II yield 

 some fiirther disconnected information as to this 

 friary. 



On 28 April 1277 the Crown licence was 

 granted, after inquisition by the sheriff of 

 Nottingham, to the Franciscans to stop and 

 inclose a lane adjoining the wall of their close, to 

 effect a slight extension of their site.'* In 1303 

 licence was granted after inquisition to the same 

 friars to make an underground conduit from 

 their spring in Atherwell to their house within 

 the town, and to lead the watercourse through 

 it.'' This licence was renewed in 131 1, when 

 Edward II sanctioned the carrying of this sub- 

 terranean conduit through the king's lands and 

 park at Nottingham.'* This spring is probably 

 identical with the ' Frere Watergang ' mentioned 

 in 1395." 



Commission was issued by Archbishop Romayne 

 in May 1286 to the Franciscan Friars, in highly 

 laudatory terms, authorizing them to absolve 

 those who had been excommunicated for laying 

 violent hands on clerks — cases which by right 

 or privilege were reserved to the diocesan, but 

 which were by his letters patent permitted to 

 these friars, but not in any way to exceed 

 canonical letters. These powers were to be 

 held by special friars of the different houses in 

 the diocese, including the one at Nottingham, 

 but were revocable at pleasure.'* 



In January 1 292-3 the same archbishop 

 licensed the warden of the Friars Minor of 

 Nottingham to absolve excommunicate persons 

 who had been guilty of violence against clerks 

 as above. A like licence was again issued to 

 the warden in October 1294." 



The new stone church of the Friars Minor 

 was finished early in the 14th century. On 

 24 September 1303 Archbishop Corbridge 

 issued his commission for the dedication of this 

 church and churchyard. '* Further progress was 



" Ibid. 56 Hen. Ill, m. 9. 



" Pat. 19 Hen. Ill, m. 4. 



" Pat. s Edw. I, m. 20. 



" Pat. 21 Edw. I, m. 27. 



" Pat. 5 Edw. II, m. 21. 



" Nott. Bcr. Rec. i, 282. 



" York Epis. Reg. Romanus, fol. 69 d. 



" Ibid. fol. 79d. 84. 



" Refig. Inst, of Old Nott. i, 68. 



144 



