MONASTIC GARDENING 27 



sold in one year (1295-6). 1 A little farther on, in Smithfield, 

 a vineyard was planted by Geoffrey, Earl of Essex, on the 

 land belonging to the " Canons of Trinity Church, London," 

 which was restored to that body in 1137. 2 



It would be tedious to enumerate all the vineyards belonging 

 to monastic houses which are known to have existed, and of 

 which there is merely the name or some slight record surviving, 

 as at Canterbury, Beaulieu, Ramsey, Abingdon, Spalding, Bury 

 St. Edmunds, and many others. 3 Enough has been told to 

 show how important an item the vineyard was in the gardener's 

 department. His cares, however, did not quite end there, as 

 the moat and the ponds were also under his charge. At 

 Norwich the gardener's office bore the expense of cleaning the 

 ditches which divided the various gardens, the Prior's from 

 the chief garden, and so on. 4 At Abingdon also he defrayed 

 the cost of cleaning out the moat, and both there and at 

 Ramsey the gardener purchased nets and baskets for catching 

 the fish in the moats and ponds. 5 



To get at the details of the management of monastic gardens, 

 we have to go so constantly to the accounts of the office, and 

 to look so entirely at the business side of the question, that one 

 is apt to forget the other aspect — namely, the pleasure they 



1 Duchy of Lancaster Account, Bundle 1, No. 1. 



2 " To the Canons of the Holy Trinity, London, for the soul of K. 

 Henry, and for his own welfare and that of Matilda the Queen his 

 consort, and of Eustace his son and his other children, the land of 

 Smethefelde which Earl Geoffrey had taken for making his vineyard, 

 to hold the said land as K. Henry granted it to them. Witness, 

 M[atilda] the Queen " (Charter, Roll 3, Richard II., m. 3, Ancient 

 Deeds Record Office, A6683) . 



Syllabus of Rymer's Feeder a, vol. i., p. 3. 



3 The total cost of the vintage one year at Abingdon was 4s. 4d. In 

 1388-9 the profits from the vineyard were : " from wine, 13s. 4d., from 

 grapes, 20s. ojd., from verjuice, 2s., from vines, 4d." (Accounts of 

 Abingdon Abbey, by R. E. G. Kirk). 



* 1483-4. " For cleaning the great ditch that goes round the garden 

 with the small ditch which is next the ' scaccarium ' ( = exchequer) of the 

 gardener, i8d." (There is an entry, 1516, " for making a window of 

 glass in the ' scaccarium,' 2od.") 



5 Abingdon, 1450-1 : "Et in welez emptis pro piscibus capiendis in 

 fossato conventus 4s. iod. et in factura unius tronke pro piscibus custo- 

 diendis 3d." 



