306 



The Fall of the Wiltshire Monasteries. 



Abbas wlioys sowls God pardon. And besyde the admyssyon of theis offocers j 

 so lyght, he haythe dystabelyd neuele ow r offycers admyttyd by the seyd Isabell | 

 Abbas the which were good and just and accombred and trobelyd menye bothe 

 of ow r fermers and tenents and specyally suche as beyre ther good wylle to theis 

 ow r last offecers. And ferd r the xxvij th day of Marche the seyd chanster [P chan- 

 sler, i.e., chancellor] cam yn to ow r chapter howse and commawndyd us to geve 

 OW r consent and to seal a general proxi, wherapon he wold nother suffer us to 

 consel ow r frynds ne yett that anye Indyfferent person sculde declare hytt unto j 

 us as ow r trustye frynds John Samphort John Garddenar or other shall more \ 

 pleynlyer expres unto yo r good masterschypp to whome we wold desire you to j 

 take credence, and owre promysys made unto you by ow r frynds shalbe per- j 

 formyd by the grace of God Whoe preserve you. 

 " Wrytten at Wylton the xxviij th dey of Marche. 



" Yo r deyly bedwomen Joke Gyffaet, p l ores of Wylton w 1 hyr systers." j 



Again, on August 23rd, 1537, one William Popley, writing to j 

 Cromwell on various other matters, says : — 1 



" I send also a relaxacion of certain Iniunctions for thePrioresse of Ambresbury ; | 

 my fellow Carleton shall declare the matier more at large unto yo r good lordship. | 

 1 am the bolder to write therin because I have a suster there who thinkithe I f 

 myght preferre her ladies sutes." 



After a longer or shorter period of such pressure it is not j 

 wonderful that we find houses beginning to give way. The first il 

 result is to be seen in the surrender of Kingswood on February 1st, J 

 1538, 2 the deed being signed by Thomas Bewdlaie, abbot, Thomas J 

 Eeding, prior, and twelve others ; pensions being assigned to them i 

 ranging from the abbot's £50 a year and the prior's £6 13s. 4d. to 

 £2 which John Stonley receives, " being no priest." j 



The next surrender is a double one, the two cells of the 

 Grilbertines, Poulton and Marlborough, both falling apparently in 

 one day, January 16th, 1539 ; pensions being assigned in the 

 former case to three inmates, in the latter to five. 



Then follows the fall of Bradenstoke, two days later, January 

 18th, 1539 ; surrendered to Dr. Tregonwell, the King's Com- 

 missioner ; followed three days later by the recently re-founded 

 abbey of Lacock. The inmates of both houses received pensions, 

 fourteen monks at Bradenstoke, ranging from the prior, William 



1 Letters and Papers, xii., (ii.) 570. 

 2 For the deeds of surrender of the various houses, see Letters and Papers under 

 the respective dates ; and Deputy Keeper's Eighth Report, App. II. 



