By the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Salisbury. 173 



some too Protestant, when it was again brought into use, I may 

 mention while on the subject of these ordination lists, that they do 

 not with us, go back beyond Bishop Hallam's register (1408 — 17), 

 and that they show that it was common to perform the ceremony 

 in a very large number of Churches — such as the great conventual 

 Churches of Sherborne and Reading, Shaftesbury and Abingdon, 

 the Dominican Church at Fisherton, and the Franciscan at Sarum : 

 the parish Churches of some of the more important towns, such as 

 Devizes and Marlborough ; and especially in the chapels and 

 Churches of the places where the bishop's manors were situated. 

 Thus Bishop Hallam ordained himself five times in the chapel of 

 his manor at Potterne, and the same number of times in his chapel 

 at Sonning. Bishop Beauchamp ordained nine times in his chapel 

 at Ramsbury, and three times in Sonning Chapel. In the latter 

 part of the fifteenth and beginning of the 16th century, Ramsbury 

 seems to have been the favourite residence. Bishop Langton 

 (1485 — 93) ordained eight times in Ramsbury Chapel, and eight 

 times in the Church, and only once in the Cathedral. Bishop 

 Audley (1502 — 21) ordained eighteen times in Ramsbury Chapel, 

 which he is said to have built or re-built, and forty-eight in Ramsbury 

 Church, or sixty-six times altogether at that manor, and only three 

 times in the Cathedral, and five times in the Lady Chapel. His 

 successor, Cardinal Laurence Campegio, never resided at all, hence 

 we see the force of the suggestion why the Palace Chapel is not 

 mentioned as being used for ordinations, since for many years it was 

 only an occasional residence of its tenants. A curious illustration 

 of this neglect of the palace after Bishop Beauchamp's time is given 

 by a document which Mr. Maiden has kindly supplied to me. This 

 is a declaration by Bishop Blyth (1493 — 99) of the terms on which, 

 he has appointed John Alston as custos or warden of the palace. 1 



1 Blythe Registee, folios 41 and 42. 



Note. — The contractions of the original have been expanded. 



" Custodia palatii Sarum. — Omnibus Christi fidelibus ad quos presentes 

 littere pervenerint Johannes permissione divina Sarum Episcopus salutem in 

 Auctore salutis. Sciatis nos pro bono et acceptabili servitio quod dilectus nobis 

 in Christo Johannes Alston serviens noster nobis impendit ac favente domino 



