40 Malmesbury Abbey in its Best Days. 



expected, led, by degrees, to much murmuring and gave great offence. 



There were twenty-nine mitred abbots who sat in Parliament, in 

 the House of Lords as Barons : and as, besides these, there were also 

 the Bishops having seats there, the clerical element was considered 

 to be rather too strongly represented. 



Our County of Wilts was, without doubt, rather thickly studded 

 with Religious Houses, and the lands of one must have come very 

 near the lands of another all the way through : as may be seen by 

 following on a map, Malmesbury, Bradenstoke (or Clack) Abbey, 

 Stanley, near Chippenham, Lacock, Monkton -Farley, Maiden Brad- 

 ley, Edington, near Westbury, Amesbury, Ivy Church and Wilton. 

 Besides these there were several small establishments as at A bury, 

 Ogbourne, Marlborough, Clatford, Rockley, Charlton, near Pewsey, 

 Easton Boyal, near Savernake, Kington St. Michael, Longleat, 

 and Bradford-on-Avon. Of these, some disappeared very early I 

 others were merged in the larger ones : and one or two were, what 

 were called Alien priories, i.e., they belonged, not to any English 

 house but to some large monastery in France. These Alien priories 

 were continually liable to be seized upon by the king of England 

 when engaged in war with France and wanting money, as was very 

 often the case. 



To speak more particularly of the possessions of Malmesbury 

 Abbey. Those who are acquainted with this neighbourhood will be 

 able to form some idea of the important position which the abbot 

 filled as landlord, when I name the various parishes about here : 

 premising that he did not possess the entire parish in each case, 

 though he did nearly so, in some. He had, first of all, a great deal 

 in Malmesbury, of house-rents and other dues, also the tithes ; land 

 at Charlton, Brokenborough, Long Newnton, Burton Hill, Colepark, 

 Thornhill, Norton, Milbourne, Whitchurch, Hankerton, Garsden, 

 Cloatley, Crudwell, Kemble, Somerford Keynes, Brinkwortb, Gritten- 

 ham, Purton : also part of Dauntsey, Bremhill, Foxham, Highway, 

 besides other smaller holdings in parishes intervening. Also a house 

 in London, and farms, more or less in size, in Gloucestershire, and 

 South Wales. 



It has often been said that the Religious Houses had too much of 



