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iiic founder ot this chauntry was Sir William Berkeley, of 

 Beverston Castle (Gloster), and of Avon and Bisterne (Hants) in 

 fulfilment of the terms of the will of his father, Sir Maurice 

 Berkeley, and as one of his executors. This Sir Maurice Berkeley 

 was a knight and landowner in several counties, and owned 

 messuages in the town of Christchurch, and he willed to be buried 

 near kinsfolk in Christchurch Church. By his will, he devised the 

 appropriation of certain rentals, etc., for the erection and sustenta- 

 tion of a new chauntry chapel in the Church of Christchurch 

 Twynham, Co. Southton. With the executors were associated 

 some others, and these executors and feofees were empowered to 

 take the necessary legal steps to found, appropriate and provide 

 for ever a chauntry, to be called " The Berkeley Chauntry," also 

 to allocate such rentals, fines and monies as should pay a priest 

 to pray daily in the said chauntry chapel for the souls of Maurice 

 Berkeley and Dame Anne Berkeley, his wife. To these names 

 were added by Sir William Berkeley, in a codicil (P.P.C. 24 

 Logge) his own name, that of his wife, Catryn (sic) and all Christian 

 souls. The first burial of a Berkeley in Christchurch Priory seems 

 to have taken place in 1475, but the chauntry, as we shall 

 presently see, is about ten years later in date. A satisfactory 

 explanation of the delay is the fact that a special license was 

 necessary to avoid the penalities of the Act of Mortmain. It 

 happened in times of national discontent and suspicion, King 

 Edward IV. was in his dotage and died shortly afterwards, his 

 son, Edward V., never actually reigned but was murdered in the 

 Tower of London, and his uncle Richard succeeded as Richard 

 III. Sir William Berkeley was a supporter of the murdered 

 Prince, and was, in consequence, attainted by Richard, and he fled 

 across to France. He returned with Henry VII. and was at 

 Bosworth in 1485. As soon as possible after the accession of 

 Henry VII. the legal processes were recommenced to found the 

 Christchurch chauntry, for amongst the State papers of the new 

 dynasty, now at the Record Office in London, is the License for 

 William Berkeley, one of the King's Bodyguard and the son and 

 heir of the late Sir Maurice Berkeley, late one of the King's 

 Council (i.e., Edward IV.), together with his heirs and executors, 

 the right notwithstanding the Law of Mortmain, to allot lands and 

 rentals to the value of ten marks yearly, but not held in chief, to 

 John the Prior and the Convent of Twynham, in the County of 

 Southampton, to find a canon of and in the said Convent to 

 celebrate Divine service daily within a chapel newly built by the 

 said William Berkeley in honour of SS. Mary Magdalen and John 

 Baptist, in which the aforesaid Sir Maurice Berkeley and Anne, 

 his wife, lie buried.. Also for the good Estate of King Henry 

 (VII.) and his consort Elizabeth, now King and Queen, and for 

 the petitioners and their souls after their decease, etc. These 

 Letters Patent are datr-d Westminster, nth November, 1482. The 

 Prior named in these Letter Patent was John Draper I., the 24th 

 Prior to Twynham, whose priorate extended from 1477 to 1501. 



