326 
JOURNAL OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 
Town. I do not think that this church of St. Andrew so placed 
is the church of the fishermen of Sutton. That it was used by 
them there can be no question. 
We all know (if in no other way, from the pleasant pages of 
Mr. Worth) how Sutton, cared for by the dean and prebendaries 
of the old college of Plympton, and subsequently by the Augus- 
tinian canons, who succeeded them there, nourished and increased. 
The Church of St. Andrew was, of course, attached to the Priory, 
the monks being the lords. 
The early records of the church of Sutton are few and far 
between. We find it stated by Camden, that Ealphege was a 
learned priest here in the reign of William II. ; and in a document 
preserved in the Cambridge University library, it appears that he 
held the benefice of Sutton by the gift of the Prior of Plympton. 
He was succeeded in his cure by his son Sadda, who in his turn 
was succeeded by Alnodus. The next holder appears to have been 
Robert Dun or Dun-priest, and he was followed by William Eacon. 
We find nothing further relating to the church until the year 
1159 or 1179 (there is a little confusion in the date), when a 
dispute arose between the Prior of Plympton and John de Yalle- 
tort with respect to the presentation to the benefice. I think this 
proves that the church could not have been the original church of 
Sutton Prior ; but that it was in some way connected with the 
higher part of the town, of which the Valletorts were the lords. 
The matter came before the king, by whom it was referred to the 
Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Winchester. The 
question must have been considered of consequence, either from 
the importance of the place, or from the dignity of the parties 
between whom the dispute had arisen. The decision was in favour 
of the prior's right to present, inasmuch as he was able to prove 
that he and his predecessors had exercised it for such a period as 
would give him undisputed possession of the patronage. 
St. Andrew's is set down in the Taxatio Ecclesiastica of the 
Western Churches, made by the direction of the Pope Nicholas 
IV., as being of the value of £5 6s. 8d. In 1288 the Pope 
granted to Edward I. the tenth of the revenues of all the churches 
of England, Scotland, and Ireland, for the service of the Holy 
Land ; but the king did not avail himself at once of the grant, as 
the survey was not made until 1291 and 1292.* 
* "Annals of England," vol. i. p. 350. 
