RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



An oval seal attached to a deed of Prior John 

 of Normanby dated 1366 (Lytham Chart. 3a, 

 4ae, Ebor. 30) has at the top the Virgin and 

 Christ seated ; beneath, a female figure (? St. 

 Catherine) crowned holding a crozier (?) ; at the 

 base a half figure praying. Legend effaced. 



3. THE PRIORY OF UPHOLLAND 



The Benedictine priory of (Up) Holland, near 

 Wigan, founded in 1 31 9, replaced a college of 

 secular canons founded nine years before by 

 Sir Robert de Holland, kt., who laid the basis 

 of the fortunes of a noble house on the favour of 

 Thomas, earl of Lancaster."* Bishop Langton, 

 finding that the canons had deserted the place, 

 whose wildness made it a more suitable resi- 

 dence for religious than seculars, with the consent 

 of Holland substituted (10 June, 1319) Bene- 

 dictine monks for the chaplains and assigned 

 the endowments of the college, including the 

 rectories of Childwall and Whitwick (in Leicester- 

 shire), to the new priory."^ Edward II added 

 his confirmation and licensed the house to acquire 

 in mortmain lands to the value of j[^20 a year.**' 



The house has little history. Its endowment 

 was small and the times were not propitious for 

 further additions.**' Whitwick church was 

 taken into the royal hands in or before 1323 

 by reason of the prior's default ; *** the nature 

 of his offence is not further defined, but the first 

 prior is known to have resigned or been deprived 

 of his ofEce, and this may have been the occa- 

 sion. Possibly he was a partisan of Thomas of 

 Lancaster, whose execution was then recent. The 

 sequestration of Whitwick, however, was not per- 

 manent. As early as 1334 the priory attracted 

 episcopal animadversion. William of Doncaster,**' 

 former prior, was living alone on the manor of 

 Garston, ' contra canonica et regularia instituta.' 



In 1 39 1 the priory became involved in a 

 violent quarrel with Henry Tebbe of Thren- 

 guston, who farmed part of the Whitwick tithes. 



"* For the college see below, p. 166. Lancaster had 

 himself given the advowson of Whitwick. His arms 

 were conjoined with those of Holland in the priory seal. 



"* Dugdale, Mon. iv, 401-11 ; Cal. of Pat. 1317- 

 2 1) P- 353- Childwall had been appropriated to the 

 college for some time. Holland and the earl petitioned 

 the pope to appropriate Whitwick, but the consent of 

 John XXII was only given two months before the 

 refoundation ; Cal. Pap. Letters,W, 188. It was thought 

 prudent in 1321 to obtain a new papal order appro- 

 priating it to the priory ; ibid. 215. The rectory is 

 here valued at 30 marks a year, but the earlier man- 

 date makes its annual value 40 marks. In the Pope 

 Nich. Tax. (646) it was assessed at 20 marks. 



'« Cal. of Pat. 1317-21, p. 398. 



■" No chartulary of the priory is known to exist. 



"« Cal.of Close, 1323-7, pp. 131, i35- 



'" F.CH. Lanes, iii, 125. Thomas of Doncaster was 

 the name of the first prior according to Bishop 

 Langton's ordinance. 



II 



Tebbe refused to pay, tore up the obligation into 

 which he had entered when it was shown to him, 

 drove the prior Robert of Fazakerley out of the 

 church, carried off oblations to the amount of 

 £$ from the altar, and menaced Robert with 

 death if he tried to re-enter. Failing to get any 

 redress from the sheriff of Leicestershire the 

 prior brought the matter before Parliament. A 

 sergeant-at-arms was sent to arrest Tebbe and 

 his chief abettor, who, being produced in Parlia- 

 ment, confessed their guilt and were clapped in the 

 Fleet, but on paying a fine and coming to terms 

 with the prior obtained their pardon and release."" 



By an indenture dated 15 May, 1464, the 

 prior and convent undertook that one of the 

 monks should daily say mass in their church for 

 the souls of Sir Richard Harrington, kt., and of 

 his father and mother."* 



If the house was not belied the end of the 

 century found it in a parlous state. Bishop 

 Hales was informed that the monks did not 

 observe their rule, that their church was out of 

 repair, and their other houses ruinous and their 

 spiritual and temporal goods dilapidated or dissi- 

 pated by their negligence. In 1497 ^^ appointed 

 commissioners to inquire into the excesses of the 

 monks and others, but unfortunately their report 

 has not been preserved. *^^ 



As the income of the house was less than 

 j^ 1 00 it was dissolved under the Act of February, 

 1536. Some light is thrown upon its condition 

 at that date by the ' Brief Certificate ' "' of the 

 royal commissioners, who then revalued it, and 

 from their detailed inventory of its plate, jewels, 

 and furniture.*'* The buildings were again in 

 good repair, but the thirteen monks of the 

 original foundation were reduced to five (in- 

 cluding the prior), all of whom were in priest's 

 orders.*'* Three were desirous of ' capacities,' 

 the others seem described as ' aged and impotent, 

 desiring some living of the King's alms.' The 

 list of rooms shows that the rule was laxly 

 observed. Each monk had a separate bed- 

 chamber, the common dorter being appropriated 

 to the use of the sub-prior. With one excep- 

 tion they were provided with feather-beds. To 

 judge by the report of Doctors Legh and Layton, 

 the visitors of the previous year, the morals of 

 the prior, Peter Prescot, and two of his brethren 

 were exceedingly loose. *'° The testimony of 

 the two visitors lies, as is well known, under 

 some suspicion of hasty exaggeration.*" But 



"» Rot. Pari, iii, 286^, z()U. 



"' B.M. Norris of Speke Chart. No. 645X. 



'" Lich. Epis. Reg. Hales, fol. 236^. 



'" Duchy of Lane. Rentals and Surv. fol. 5, No. 7. 



"* Duchy of Lane. Miscellanea, bdle. xi, No. 47. 

 It was made on 15-17 May. 



'** The priory had eight ' waiting servants ' and 

 thirteen hinds. '" L. and P. Hen. Vlll, x, 364. 



'" Gairdner, Hist, of the Engl. Ch. in the Sixteenth 

 Century, 165. 



