72 
THE MONKS OF MARMOUTIER. 
Perhaps Hedley Priory is most interesting to York people 
for the fact that St. Robert of Knaresborough,—who was 
a York boy, and whose father was twice Mayor of York, 
and his younger brother once,—retired to Hedley for 
quiet. He had become so popular in Knaresborough that 
he fled to Spofforth, but even there he was oppressed and 
distracted by the crowds who followed him, until at last he 
yielded to the invitation of the monks of Hedley and went to 
live with them. He was not there long, however, for dis¬ 
satisfied with the conversation of the monks, he returned to 
his former retreat at Knaresborough, where he lived and died. 
Hedley Priory is now a farm-house, and known as Hedley 
Hall ; there are some fragments left of the old religious House, 
built-up buttresses and windows, which for generations had 
puzzled the tenants, who had not the slightest notion that the 
house had ever been anything other than a farm or piivate 
dwelling-house. 
I have already taken up too much time in connection with 
the possessions of the Priory, but it makes one green with 
envy and fills one with vain regrets to remember that at one 
time about 350 acres of land in Leeds belonged to poor Trinity, 
that at Sturton we possessed about 850 acres, and at Coneys- 
thorpe probably some thousands of acres, besides lands and 
churches all over the counties of \ork and Lincoln. 
When I get upon this topic among my own people at Holy 
Trinity they sometimes indulge in a kindly smile, and I will 
say no more now about it, except just to mention seveialothei 
York Churches that came in one way and another into the 
possession of the Priory, there was S. Cuthbert s in Layei- 
thorpe, S. Gregory’s in Micklegate that stood on the site of 
the houses now in Barker Lane and those fronting Micklegate, 
All Saints’, North Street, S. James’ Chapel on the Mount, the 
Chapel of S. Helen, Dringhouses, the free Chapel of Bilbrough, 
and a Chapel at Knapton by Acomb. 
You may have noticed that in connection with the Churches 
belonging to the Priory there has been frequent mention of the 
dedication, S. Helen. I wonder why the Priory authorities 
were so fond of this dedication. There were S. Helen, Fisher- 
gate, S, Helen, Dringhouses, S. Helen, Thurnscoe, and S. 
