32 



Notes on Amesbury Church. 



of the fifth century ? Is it possible that the Parish Church was 

 built where the British foundation had been ? and that the bones 

 of St. Melore had been brought to Amesbury as a sacred place not 

 long before the kingdom of Wessex was established ? 



It seems to me that the return made to the Inq. Nonar. indicates 

 that in 1341 there was a parish priest : — 



£ s. d. 



The 9th of the parishioners == 23 13 4 



— Prioress of Amy in the Psh. = 8 - 

 Q. Philippa = 1 - - 



Preb. of Eothfen = 16 8 



And then, the parson has a virgate of land with pasture worth 

 3s. 4d. ; also the tithe there, 13s. id. Also the rents and customary 

 services annexed to the Church, 20s ; the mortuaries, 3s. id. ; the 

 oblations, 66s. 8d. — which no doubt went to the rectors. But there 

 is also the small tithe 53s. id., which probably the priest had with 

 his virgate of land. The Valor of H. VIII. shows John Belton 

 serving the cure — benefice valued at £7. Indeed when the prioress 

 disposed of the presentation to Ludgershall, foreseeing evil days, 

 she also parted with the advowson of Amesbury, for when Lady 

 Jane Gildeforde, widow, made her will in 1538, she left the ad- 

 vowson of Amesbury to " Sir Ceorge my chaplain." And that 

 advowson could not be the chaplaincy of the Priory Church, for 

 which there seem to have been four priests. 



The Church before its restoration had no sign of having been 

 once adorned with the many monuments which must have been in 

 it had it been the great Priory Church ; Eleanor of Provence, the 

 queen of Henry III. and mother of Edward I., must have had a 

 grand memorial ; and the different princesses buried there would 

 surely have had brasses if they had no effigies. But in this Parish 

 Church fifty years ago there was not one of these : while there was 

 a brass memorial of Editha Matyn, 1470, one of a family which 

 occupied and owned much land hereabouts. 



