By the Me v. W. H. Jones. 



299 



this parish, because a series of most interesting documents, in 

 which a portion of its history is minutely detailed, is included 

 in the Edington Chartulary. Keevil is in the hundred of Whor- 

 welsdown. In Domesday it is said to belong to Ernulfus de 

 Hesding. By him the church and sundry lands attached to it 

 were given to Shaftesbury, on his dedicating a certain kinswoman 

 as a nun in that convent. The son of Ernulfus de Hesding 

 subsequently confirmed the father's gift, and the Rectory of Keevil, 

 with its appurtenances, became part of the possessions of Shaftesbury. 



In a.d. 1393 John Bleobury, one of the executors of Bishop 

 William of Edington, the founder of Edington Priory (which is 

 but a few miles from Keevil), arranged to purchase from the Abbess 

 of Shaston the impropriation of the Rectory of Keevil. It is to 

 this purchase that the deeds, to which I have alluded, relate. 



The deeds commence by reciting the gift of Ernulfus de Hesding, 

 and the son's confirmation of his father's gift to the Abbey of Shaftes- 

 bury. Then, after a description of some of the prescriptive rights of 

 the Rector of Keevil, one of which was an oak yearly from the Lord's 

 park for fire- wood and other necessaries, we have a certificate from 

 the King, as to the undoubted right of the Abbess to the presenta- 

 tion to the Church of Keevil. Next follows a petition, drawn up 

 in Norman French, addressed to the King, in which permission is 

 requested for the Abbess to convey the said presentation to the 

 Rector and Convent at Edington. 



The reply to this petition, is, first of all, a commission issued to 

 certain persons to make inquisition as to whether any harm would 

 come to the Crown by the said transfer. This enquiry ending 

 satisfactorily, the licence of the King is granted for proceeding in 

 the matter. The agreements are next made between the Abbess of 

 Shaftesbury and the Rector of the Convent of Edington, with all 

 the accustomed formalities. A reserved rent of four marks, to be 

 paid annually to her Convent, is stipulated for by the Abbess. 



This part of the business completed, the Bishop of Sarum is 

 next applied to for his sanction. A similar round of 'inquisitions ' 

 is to be gone over in this case also, the Archdeacon acting as the 

 Bishop's representative, and making a long report, which is duly 



