By the Rev. W. G. Clark- Maxwell, F.S.A. 



361 



the desire to avoid any possible cause of disagreement, in conse- 

 quence of the divided patronage, and states that the appropriation 

 of the Bectory is to be subject to Eoyal Licence. The reason for 

 this was in all probability, that the statute of mortmain (1279) 

 forbade the acquisition by a religious house, except under Eoyal 

 Licence, of any lay fee, and the right of presentation of the Bluet 

 family would be reckoned as such. Accordingly we find in the 

 Patent Eolls a licence issued 4th March, 131 2, 1 empowering them 

 to acquire Bluet's half of the advowson, and to appropriate the 

 Church. For this licence they had to pay a fine of 100s., repre- 

 senting the capitalized value of the fines which the Crown might 

 expect to levy on each successive owner of this turn of patronage- 

 The Bishop thereupon issued, on March 6th, 1312, a set of "ordi- 

 nations," or conditions to be observed in the appropriation, which 

 are summarized here as follows, the full text being printed in the 

 Appendix (No. V.) 



The Bishop appropriates the church to the nuns, who were 

 to :— 



(1) Find a priest to say mass for Bluet's soul daily in the Lady 



Chapel of the Abbey Church which was to be built at 

 their joint cost. 



(2) Cause one of their chaplains to say daily a mass of the B. 



Virgin in the aforesaid chapel. During these two masses 

 four candles to burn in the four corners of Bluet's tomb. 



(3) On his anniversary to distribute \d. each to one thousand 



poor people. (This was still kept up at the Eeformation 

 where the Valor Eccl. shows a payment of £2 Is. 8d. to 

 the poor on St. Petronilla Virgin, May 31st). 



1 Pat. Roll Cal. 1311-2. "Licence, after inquisition ad quod damnum 

 taken by Walter de Gloucestre, escheator beyond Trent, for the alienation in 

 mortmain by John Bluet, tenant in chief, to the abbess and nuns of Lacok, 

 tenants in chief, with whom alternately he has the right of patronage in the 

 advowson of the Church of St. Cyriac, Lacok, of his turn of presentation to 

 that Church. Licence also for them to appropriate the Church. By tine of 

 100*." 



VOL. XXXIII. — NO. CII. 



