Houses of Augustinian canons: Priory of Bradenstoke

HOUSES OF AUGUSTINIAN CANONS

8. THE PRIORY OF BRADENSTOKE

The priory of Bradenstoke, dedicated to St. Mary, was situated in the parish of Lyneham, near the village of Bradenstoke-cum-Clack, on a high ridge of land overlooking the Avon valley. The site was well chosen, for there were abundant springs, and near by, a holy well. (fn. 1) There is some 17th-century evidence that a chapel occupied the site as early as the reign of Henry I. (fn. 2) If so it may have been incorporated into the priory church, and may have accounted both for the narrowness of the nave (24 ft. against a length of 126 ft.) and also for the fact that the church was on the south side of the cloister although the site itself was a north—south one. The founder was Walter 'le Eurus', son of Edward of Salisbury, and father of Patrick, first Earl of Salisbury. He gave the vill of Bradenstoke and the church (i.e. Lyneham) with all their appurtenances to found a convent of canons regular, which was to be a daughter house of St. Mary's Abbey, Cirencester. His charter was confirmed by his wife, Sybil, and his sons, William and Patrick, in the presence of Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, probably shortly before June 1139. (fn. 3) Walter also granted a hide of land at Etchilhampton in pure alms, 10 librates of land in Wilsford in Underditch hundred, and the chapel of Lake. (fn. 4) Probably he also promised the church of Canford (Dors.) and the chapel of St. Andrew at Chitterne, because Earl Patrick gave instead to the priory the church of Wilcot, with its dependent chapel at Draycot Fitz Payne, as well as a portion of the manor of Wilcot. Patrick exchanged the Wilsford property, given by his father, for the rest of the manor of Wilcot, then worth £12 yearly, and also gave a salt pit at 'Waldfleta' in Canford. He confirmed other gifts to the priory, including a virgate in Lake granted by Richard Cotel, quit of all secular service except danegeld to the Crown, an estate called 'Dene' near Bradenstoke given by William de Litelcote, a grant of land from William Malcovenaunt, and the church of North Aston (Oxon.), given by William de Eston with 50 acres of land there. The canons bought three houses and a virgate in North Aston from Reynold St. Paul, which Patrick confirmed. (fn. 5) His wife, the Countess Ela, gave land and rents in Hatherop (Gloucs.) worth 100s. yearly. (fn. 6) Their son, Earl William, gave Canford church with its dependent chapel of St. James at Poole (Dors.), also the chapel of St. Andrew at Chitterne, and pasture there for 100 sheep, one oak yearly from his woods, and pasture on his Dorset demesnes for 100 ewes and their offspring, 10 oxen, 10 cows, 1 bull, and in his woods 12 pigs and 1 boar. His wife, Eleanor, gave the advowson of Cooling church (Suff.) with a rent of 40s. there, but these properties were not long in the possession of Bradenstoke. (fn. 7)

The connexion between the priory and the family and descendants of the founder was long and intimate. Walter himself became a canon of the house after the death of his wife, who was buried in the choir of the church. On his death in 1147 he was buried in the same grave. (fn. 8) His son Walter became a canon of Bradenstoke, as did two sons of Earl Patrick, Patrick and Philip. William, the 2nd Earl, was buried at Bradenstoke in 1196, also his daughter Pernella, and the heart of his son Stephen. (fn. 9) William Longespée, the 3rd Earl, gave the priory the advowson of the church of Rogerville (Seine-Inférieure) with a pension in it, as well as land and rents there and in Sandouville (Seine-Inférieure), and a virgate of land in Chitterne and one in Amesbury. (fn. 10) By his will in 1225 the priory had a gift of 300 ewes, 10 cows, and 7 ploughbeasts. (fn. 11) His steward, Belingar, gave to Bradenstoke ½ hide of land with pasture for 100 sheep in one of the Winterbourne vills in Dorset, but there is no evidence of this land belonging to the priory later than 1207. He also gave 300 sheep, 10 oxen, 10 cows, 20 pigs, 2 ploughbeasts, 40 goats, and 20 other animals. (fn. 12) When the dowager Countess Eleanor died in 1232-3 the prior, Simon, was one of the executors of her will. (fn. 13) The last William Longespée gave the priory some land held in villeinage, with its 24 tenants and their offspring, in 'Kyngstanton', to maintain two chantry priests in the chapel of Canford Manor house. His son-in-law Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, gave more land there, with eleven tenants in villeinage, for a third chantry priest to serve in the same chapel. The chantries were maintained until the Dissolution and in 1535 each priest was receiving £5 annually. (fn. 14) The patronage of Bradenstoke eventually passed by marriage to Thomas, Earl of Lancaster. A letter which the prior wrote to him about 1300 in reply to his request for help with transport shows the friendly relations existing between priory and patron. In 1353 Edward the Black Prince was patron, but by 1412 the patronage had been recovered by the Duchy of Lancaster, which retained it until the Dissolution. (fn. 15)

The early Angevin kings showed special favour toward Bradenstoke in several ways, perhaps because of the devotion of Earl Patrick to the cause of the Empress Matilda. It is indeed notable how many of the early benefactors of the priory were partisans of the empress, including members of the families of Bohun, Basset, Marshal, Berkeley, and Lovel.

The first royal charter known to have been granted was the one by which Henry II, between 1173 and 1179, confirmed the spiritual and temporal endowments of Bradenstoke. (fn. 16) Richard I gave valuable aid to the priory in its final attempt to throw off the domination of Cirencester. The profession, subjection, and obedience which Cirencester demanded from its daughter house seem to have become irksome very soon after the foundation of the priory. In the 13th-century cartulary of Cirencester there is the text of a bull of Innocent II of 1141 granting papal protection of the possessions of the abbey. The only endowments particularly named are the vill of Bradenstoke and its church, which the bull says were given to Cirencester by Walter of Salisbury, with the agreement of Bishop Roger. The particular mention of only these properties gives reason to suspect that these words were interpolated into the original text by Cirencester, especially as Walter did not make such a grant by his foundation charter to Bradenstoke. (fn. 17) If it is an interpolation then some controversy may have already begun between the two houses. Two bulls of Lucius III, of 15 December 1182 and of 13 May 1184, granted to Bradenstoke, show that it still possessed these endowments. (fn. 18) The first bull confirmed the priory in its possession of the vill of Bradenstoke and its church (Lyneham), with the rest of the endowments given by Walter and his son Patrick and by Earl William, as well as by other early donors. Some more recent grants were included: a hide of land at Costow Farm in Wroughton, ½ hide in Chitterne, and a virgate in 'Langforde', and 3 solidates of land in Wilton. The second bull, of 13 May 1184, repeated these confirmations, including a virgate in Wilton. But the text of this bull, as given in the Stowe cartulary of Bradenstoke, has also an interpolation in which Bradenstoke granted itself complete autonomy, and Earl William of Salisbury was said to have procured it. The next bull of Lucius III to Bradenstoke was issued six days later, on 19 May 1184, and confirmed the election of a new prior, Matthew. It also declared the priory free from all subjection to Cirencester. There is no reason to suspect that this was an interpolation. But the Cirencester cartulary has another bull of Lucius III, dated 7 January 1185, confirming to this house among other grants 'the church of Bradenstoke with all pertaining to it'. (fn. 19) This passage must be another interpolation, devised by Cirencester in order to continue to maintain its claims. The controversy was not settled until Clement III appointed the abbots of Reading and Tewkesbury and the Bishop of Worcester as papal judges delegate to hear and determine it. In 1189 Cirencester agreed to abandon its claims, the surrender being greatly due to the intervention of Richard I, its patron, and of Earl William Longespée, patron of Bradenstoke. All charters and muniments relating to the case were returned by Cirencester to the Bishop of Salisbury, who confirmed the agreement and sent on the documents to Earl William. (fn. 20) In 1207 King John confirmed the emancipation of Bradenstoke. (fn. 21)

John conferred many other favours on the priory, showing his fondness for it by his frequent visits. (fn. 22) A tun of wine was sent from Bristol to Bradenstoke by royal order during 1204, and gifts of wine and cattle were made in 1207. (fn. 23) In the 15th century and until 1588 there were some buildings in the priory called the king's lodgings, standing west of the prior's hall. Probably the prior had been a supporter of John in his rebellion against Richard I. (fn. 24) In a will which he made at Marlborough in 1203, in the presence of the Prior of Bradenstoke, the Abbot of Ford, and the Earl of Essex, John left many valuable gifts of jewels and furnishings to the priory, but it is not known whether these were ever received. (fn. 25) In 1205 the king granted to Bradenstoke some pasture in the royal enclosures in Chippenham Forest for 40 cows and their one-year-old calves, and 2 bulls. A place called 'la Hildebir' or 'Aldebir' was also given for the erection of cattle sheds of timber supplied by the Crown. (fn. 26) In 1215 John granted 2 loads of ash, or birch, alder, or willow, from Chippenham Forest daily, to be used as the canons wished. (fn. 27) John's impressive charter to Bradenstoke, of 17 September 1207, confirmed the spiritual and temporal property of the priory, which by now possessed a large and wealthy endowment. (fn. 28)

Henry III was an equally generous benefactor to Bradenstoke. The priory was put under royal protection and defended from all impleading of the prior, canons, and their men for any tenement before the king and his chief justice in December 1216, and again in January 1226 for two years, and in March 1231. (fn. 29) Three royal charters of 1232 confirmed its property and gave additional privileges. (fn. 30) In the first one Henry granted the site on which the priory was built, also soc and sac, toll and team, 'infangthef' and 'utfangthef', quittance from all geld, and from suit in shire, hundred, and wapentake courts, from sheriffs' aids, wardship, castle and bridge works, from ward penny, overpenny, and tithing penny, and from 'henigwite, flemenwyte, leirwyte, blocwyte, grithbreche, fremenwite, forstall, hamsoc, heiborum and frankpledge'. But when frankpledge was taken in any court of the prior a royal official was to be present. Woods, old and new, were to be quit of waste and regard, and the canons might course with their hounds over all their lands. Throughout the king's realm they were quit of toll, and their goods were to be free from passage tolls by land and by sea. The second charter confirmed some of the endowments, and the third granted an annual fair to be held at Bradenstoke for five days from the eve of the Nativity of the Virgin (5 Sept.). The sheriffs of the eight counties in which the lands of the priory lay were ordered on 26 June to read in full shire court the first royal charter granted on 21 June. On 20 July 1232 Henry granted another charter confirming all the properties as confirmed in John's charter of 1207. (fn. 31) Henry III stayed at Bradenstoke on 5 August 1235. (fn. 32) Other royal gifts included 18 old oaks for fuel from Chippenham Forest in 1223, 2 more in 1235, and 5 good oaks in 1236, In 1247 Henry gave 6 oaks from Chippenham to make new choir stalls for the priory church, 6 more for stalls in 1248, 4 oaks for roof laths in 1251, and 6 for roofing the church in 1253. (fn. 33) The Sheriff of Wiltshire was ordered by royal writ of 20 November 1265 to relax his distraint upon the priory and to remember that Bradenstoke was now exempt from any suit in shire court or hundred where its demesne lands were, particularly in the hundred of Kingsbridge by reason of the manor of Tockenham. (fn. 34) Edward I granted in 1285 free warren to the prior and canons in their property at Bradenstoke, Lyneham, and Wilcot. In 1291 he gave ten oaks with their strippings, fit for use as timber. (fn. 35) Edward III gave licence in 1361 for a weekly market to be held at Bradenstoke on Fridays, and a yearly fair for three days from the vigil of St. George (22 Apr.). (fn. 36)

The chief spiritual and temporal properties of Bradenstoke were situated in Wiltshire. Others of great value were in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and Dorset. The spiritual properties in Wiltshire earliest given to the priory were the churches of Lyneham and Wilcot. They were each worth £10 in 1291. (fn. 37) Their complete appropriation, with the chapels of Lake and St. Andrew at Chitterne and the churches of Canford and North Aston, was confirmed by Lucius III on 15 December 1182 and 13 May 1184. (fn. 38) Clement III confirmed to Bradenstoke the churches of Lyneham, Wilcot, and North Aston on 12 March 1188. (fn. 39) The value of Canford church in 1291 was £13 6s. 8d., and of North Aston £6 13s. 4d. (fn. 40) In 1291 Bradenstoke had a portion of £5 in the church of Chitterne (fn. 41) The church of Seagry, given to the priory between 1188 and 1205 by Alexander de Segre, was valued at £5 in 1291. (fn. 42) The maintenance of vicars in the appropriated churches with reasonable sustenance and with due regard to episcopal rights was insisted upon by Archbishop Hubert Walter when about 1205 he confirmed Bradenstoke in its spiritual possessions. (fn. 43) The advowson of Marden church was given by Philip Basset before 1207 together with some claim upon the rectory. The Bishop of Salisbury confirmed the complete appropriation to the priory in 1267, with the assent of the rector, John de Ore. In 1291 Marden church was worth £6 13s. 4d. (fn. 44) Walter Croc gave to Bradenstoke before 1207 the chapel of Hazelbury in Box, with a messuage, a croft, his demesne tithes, and those of his men. (fn. 45) The quarry in Hazelbury, which Walter also gave, probably supplied the beautiful stone for the building of Bradenstoke Priory. William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, gave to Bradenstoke the church of Easton, near Marlborough, (fn. 46) but the gift was not long enjoyed owing to the claim to the advowson made by the abbey of Mont-Ste-Catherine (Seine-et-Marne), by reason of the grant from Anselm, William's brother. When the abbey presented a young clerk, Stephen, to the church about 1210, Bradenstoke asserted its rights by disturbing his possession; But the priory surrendered most of its claims in 1236, retaining only the tithes of hay, grain, and cheese from its demesne in Easton. The agreement between the two houses was ratified in 1246 by the Bishop of Salisbury. (fn. 47) Between 1184 and 1191 John the Marshal, brother of William, gave the church of Cheddar (Som.) to Bradenstoke. But the priory soon released it to the chapter of Wells in exchange for the church of Chilcompton (Som.). Wells retained a pension of a 'besant' in the latter church. In 1291 the church was valued at £5 and the pension at 2s. (fn. 48) Bradenstoke had a portion worth 16s. in 1291 in the church of Orcheston St. George, representing the original grant of two parts of the demesne tithes given by William de Litelcote before 1207. (fn. 49) In Maddington church the priory had a pension worth 13s. 4d. in 1291. (fn. 50)

In Gloucestershire Bradenstoke had a portion in Dodington church valued at 25s. in 1291, a gift from one of the de Berkeleys, lords of the manor. (fn. 51) In Hertfordshire the advowson of Offley church was given to the priory by Amicia de Mara, or Delamare, with, as her charter says, 'as much right as the lord of the foundation can have in presentation to his church'. It was confirmed by her grandson Geoffrey.de St. Leger before 1207, and also by William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, (fn. 52) but a dispute arose between Prior Simeon and William St. Leger in January 1239. The right of advowsori was then adjudged to belong to the priory, and again in 1332 when Richard St. Leger contested it. (fn. 53) By 1406 Bradenstoke had lost the advowson for good. (fn. 54) An exchange of spiritual and temporal property between Bradenstoke and the Norman abbey of St. Wandrille (Seine-Inférieure) was of advantage to both parties. In November 1285 Bradenstoke surrendered to the abbey the advowson of Rogerville with all its other property there and in Sandouville, receiving instead the advowson of Towcester church (Northants.), and a pension therein, the advowson of Burton Bradstock (Dors.), as well as temporal property in both places. (fn. 55) The pension in Towcester church was worth 35s. in 1291. (fn. 56)

Certain endowments in Wiltshire were granted for particular spiritual purposes. In Hullavington the priory had a rent of 2s. to maintain 'the service of the Virgin' in the parish church. It had an acre of meadow in Corston to find a light for the daily mass of the Virgin. (fn. 57) A rent of 10s. from Ewell Mill was reserved for a lamp to burn before the altar of the Holy Trinity, the Virgin, and All Saints in the priory church. (fn. 58) Bradenstoke maintained a chaplain in the chapel of Draycot Fitz Payne to say mass at regular hours out of a yearly subsidy of 2½ marks given by Elias Cotel and his heirs, lords of the manor. (fn. 59) In Westcot (Gloucs.) a rent of 10s. was given by Robert de Berkeley for a lamp to burn perpetually before the high altar of the priory church. (fn. 60)

Bradenstoke strengthened its title to its spiritual properties by the early acquisition of papal confirmations and other papal privileges. Lucius III took the priory under papal protection by his bull of 15 December 1182, and granted that the prior and canons might choose the priests for their churches to present to the diocesan, who, if they were suitable, would commit to them the cure of souls. (fn. 61) New lands of the priory, freshly broken for tillage, were not to be tithed, nor any produce for feeding its animals. The priory had free right of burial of those wishing to be buried within its precincts, provided the parish churches thus deprived received due mortuary fees. (fn. 62) In time of interdict it could celebrate in low voice, and without ringing of bells. It could freely receive clerks and freemen for the canonical profession and all the canons were to remain under the discipline of the rule for life. The prior was to be elected by common consent of the canons, or of those of wiser judgement. The bull of Lucius III of 13 May 1184 confirmed the same rights with a few significant additions. In the appropriated churches two, three, or four canons might serve, one only having the cure of souls. A canon might now leave the priory with the consent of the prior and join a community of stricter religious life. The priory and its churches were to be wholly exempt from new exactions levied by any ecclesiastics, and from sentences of interdict and excommunication, unless there were reasonable causes for their imposition. (fn. 63)

The most valuable of the temporal possessions of Bradenstoke in Wiltshire were in the hundred of Kingsbridge in which the priory was situated. The manor of Lyneham comprised its property in Lyneham, Bradenstoke, Clack, Littlecote, and Preston, and was worth £18 6s. in 1291. (fn. 64) By 1535 the Bradenstoke-cum-Clack property alone was worth £12 18s., and from Lyneham with Littlecote the rents of the customary tenants were then valued at £27. (fn. 65) At 'Cowych' (now Cowage Farm) Philip Basset gave the priory an estate in 1264-5, valued at 50s. in 1291 and at £7 6s. 8d. in 1535. It had a grange there at the Dissolution. (fn. 66) At Bupton in Clyffe Pypard the priory had arable, meadow, and pasture before 1232, and in Clevancy a house with a messuage, a virgate with common of pasture, some meadow, and 2s. in rents. (fn. 67) Its arable land and meadows in Thornhill, near Broadtown, were worth 6s. 8d. in 1291. (fn. 68)

Bradenstoke acquired the manor of Tockenham between 1232 and 1265 by grant of Thomas de Tockenham, its lord. (fn. 69) This property became by the gradual accumulation of adjacent estates, mainly in the late 13th and 14th centuries, one of its most valuable manors. Although the royal charters of 1207 and 1232 confirmed no property here the priory had built a mill in Tockenham, to the detriment of a certain free tenant, between 1189 and 1194. (fn. 70) In 1262 Henry de Beynton gave to the priory 31½ acres of arable, ¼ acre of meadow, I messuage, a croft called 'Benecroft', and common of pasture in Tockenham. (fn. 71) The manor was worth £4 6s. 8d. in 1291. (fn. 72) More land and tenements were given in West Tockenham by Robert Russel, and by Henry de Buntesdon in 1302 and Robert Brut in 1303. (fn. 73) In 1344 Simon, Vicar of Seagry, gave a messuage and 4 virgates in Little Tockenham, valued at £3 a year. (fn. 74) A large estate comprising 2 messuages, 1 carucate, and 40 acres of arable, 13 of meadow, 20 of pasture, and 24 of wood in West Tockenham, Lyneham, and Littlecote were given in 1413 by John Elcumbe and his wife Joan. By 1535 the manor of Tockenham was worth £15. (fn. 75)

Bradenstoke held the manor of Chaddington in the parish of Lydiard Tregoze, Blackgrove hundred. It was valued at £2 10s. 8d. in 1291. (fn. 76) It had been acquired partly by gift, and also by purchase of land at 'Estchadyndon', and included some arable and meadow at Salthrop. (fn. 77) In Lydiard Millicent in 1283 Geoffrey de Asphale gave a messuage, 73 acres of arable, 8 of meadow, and 16 of wood, then valued at 26s. 8d. a year. The property in 1291 was assessed at 30s. (fn. 78) Bradenstoke had rents in Wanborough, and from his demesne there Sewale d'Oseville gave a load of grain which the priory was to have every Michaelmas. (fn. 79) At Draycot Foliat the priory had 4 acres of arable valued at 2s. in 1291. (fn. 80) It had arable land at Costow and the tithes of sheaves from 5 hides there until 1247 when the priory ceded to Stanley Abbey the tithes from 4 of the hides except 2 acres. (fn. 81) The main estates of Bradenstoke in Scipe hundred were in Stratton St. Margaret and Upper Stratton. In the former the priory had ½ hide, with some meadow, and rents, granted by Ralph de Arguges before 1232. His son Everard gave more rents and land, and also sold land to the priory because he needed money. Bradenstoke had a windmill in Stratton St. Margaret and received grants of land from other donors both here and in Upper Stratton. The manor was worth 25s. in 1291. (fn. 82) In Haydon a virgate given before 1207 remained the sole possession of the priory there; it was valued at 6s. 8d. in 1291 and the rent from the property in 1535 was the same. (fn. 83) Bradenstoke had originally a large estate of 5 hides and a messuage in Blunsdon St. Andrew, but some of it was lost and much of it decayed and without tenants by 1362. (fn. 84) At Somerford Keynes in Cricklade hundred the priory had a rent of 5s. in 1232. (fn. 85) Its manor in Shorncote was worth 16s. in 1291. (fn. 86) In Cricklade itself the priory had land, rents, and ½ burgage, the property being assessed at 7s. 2d. in 1291. (fn. 87) The land and rents of the priory in Minety were worth 3s. in 1291 and at Hankerton 2 messuages with 2 crofts were then worth 8s. (fn. 88) In Brokenborough it had 2s. in rents in 1232. (fn. 89)

Bradenstoke had a rent of 7½d. from a house near the Gildhall in Malmesbury and rent from a burgage in Westport by 1232. (fn. 90) About 1252 William le Porter gave to the priory his tenement opposite to All Saints Church, in 'the great street', which was let at a rent of 20s. and was exempt from the service of making the king's wall. It had other property in 'Estret' and in 'Kyngestret'. (fn. 91) At Corston the priory had free chace through the manor of the chief lord for 1d. a year. (fn. 92) Some arable land in the open fields of Clapcote in Grittleton with some rents there came into the possession of Bradenstoke probably after 1232. (fn. 93)

In Startley hundred the priory held considerable property, of which the most valuable was the manor of Seagry, acquired by gift, mainly from the Cokerel family, and by purchase. The earliest grant was of a place called 'Sechdewell', where formerly stood a mill and fishpond, given by Alexander de Segre, who had given the church to the priory. John Cokerel granted all his demesne in Upper Seagry. The priory acquired also meadow land in Lower Seagry, hear Dodford Farm, and by gift of Elias Burel all his fee in Upper and Lower Seagry. (fn. 94) Humphrey Bohun, first Earl of Hereford, granted exemption from all dues at his court of Farleigh for the manor of the priory in Seagry, and from John Russel Bradenstoke bought the rights of free way and of chace over his property. (fn. 95) In 1291 the Seagry manor was valued at £3. (fn. 96) Bradenstoke. held a virgate in Christian Malford of Glastonbury Abbey by knight service before 1189. (fn. 97) By 1207 it had also two mills, the hamlet of 'Milesham' (now Melsome Wood), and a messuage near one of the mills, the gifts of Ralph Luvel de Clivel. His son Sylvester gave meadows near the mills and a flagbed there. (fn. 98) In 1338 Richard atte More gave another 9 acres of meadow also near the mills to the priory. (fn. 99) In Little Somerford it had property comprising arable, meadow, and rents, assessed at 2s. in 1291. (fn. 100)

In Chippenham hundred Bradenstoke had meadows near Burrow Farm in Langley Burrell, and at Cocklebury both arable and meadow. (fn. 101) The land in Tytherton Lucas which belonged to the priory was assessed at 1s. 6d. in 1291. (fn. 102) Bradenstoke bought from Thomas de Culerne all his land at 'Chalvecroft' in Colerne, probably between 1207 and 1232, and acquired other property in rents and land there from him and other donors. (fn. 103) By 1232 the priory had rents and arable land at Stanley in Bremhill. (fn. 104) In Chippenham town an acre of land was given to the priory in the reign of Henry II, and by 1232 it had several messuages and houses as well as more land, the whole being assessed at 6s. 8d. in 1291. (fn. 105) In Calne 2 closes of meadow near a fountain called 'Chanie', a house in Patford Street, and a shop and messuage belonged to the priory in 1232. It had also some land in Blackland. The Calne property was worth 6s. 8d. in 1291. (fn. 106) At Studley the priory held 2 acres in 1232, and its property at Compton Bassett was valued at 1s. in 1291. (fn. 107)

In Avebury Bradenstoke had a rent of 2s. in 1232 and in 1291. (fn. 108) Its property in Marlborough was first acquired about 1245 when Arnald le Fader gave 1½ burgage, yielding a rent of 20s. Eustace, a royal bailiff, gave 3 shops and some land near the cemetery of St. Mary's Church. Other tenements belonging to Bradenstoke were in High Street, 'Baronestret', and on 'la Grene'. The whole of the property in Marlborough belonging to the priory was worth 22s. in 1291. (fn. 109) John the Marshal gave half the vill of Easton, near Marlborough, to the priory before 1164. At the time of donation it was worth £12, and in 1291 £7 4s. 8d. (fn. 110) In Devizes Bradenstoke held 2 crofts in 1207, one being outside the walls in the street called 'Reawe'. (fn. 111) It had a rent of 5s. in Marston in 1232 and in 1291. (fn. 112) In Coate a virgate belonging to the priory about 1230 was leased at a rent of 30s., and was assessed at this sum in 1291. (fn. 113) Bradenstoke had a messuage and land in Melksham in 1232, given by Sylvester Luvel, some arable land at Shaw near Melksham, in 1207, given by Ralph Luvel, and a tenement in Bradford-on-Avon in 1232. (fn. 114)

The manor of Chitterne in Heytesbury hundred belonged to Bradenstoke and included by 1232 extensive pastures for sheep. (fn. 115) The manor grew from the ½ hide given by Stephen de Langford before 1184, and as in other places where the priory had rectorial rights in the church or chapel the manorial estate appears to have been purposefully developed. It was valued in 1291 at £3 5s. 6d. (fn. 116) In Imber Bradenstoke had a rent of 27s. in 1207, and its property there was valued at £1 in 1291. (fn. 117) In Horningsham it had a rent of 13s. 4d. given by Robert de Ewias. (fn. 118) Its property in Upton Lovell, consisting of a virgate and a messuage, was worth £1 in 1291. (fn. 119) At Fisherton de la Mere the priory held 1 hide of land in 1291, worth 30s. (fn. 120)

The most valuable manor after Lyneham was Wilcot in Swanborough hundred given by Earl Patrick. (fn. 121) This manor probably included the estates of the priory in Stowell and in Etchilhampton in 1291, when it was valued at £27 17s. (fn. 122) The prior had assize of bread and ale, view of frankpledge and gallows in his manor of Wilcot. (fn. 123) In Oare a hide of land belonged to Bradenstoke in 1232 and was held by Elias Cotel in 1246 for a rent of 1 lb. of cinnamon. (fn. 124), The priory had rents in Rushall valued at 3s. in 1291. (fn. 125) In Wilsford the priory had a virgate and 6 acres of land about 1182, a legacy from Humphrey de Bohun, assessed in 1291 at 16s. (fn. 126) At Little Langford the Bradenstoke estates were mainly pastoral for sheep farming and were given by Stephen de Langford before 1182. In 1291 they were valued at 2s. (fn. 127) The manor of the priory in Shrewton in Dole hundred included its property in Winterbourne Stoke and was valued in 1291 at £3 14s. (fn. 128) In Amesbury Bradenstoke had a rent from the mill and other rents there and in West Amesbury. They were worth 9s. 2d. in 1291. (fn. 129) In Ludgershall the priory had property valued at 3s. 4d. in 1291. (fn. 130) It had 8½ virgates in North Tidworth in 1232, and the property in 1291 was worth 6s. 8d. (fn. 131) In Underditch hundred, at Wilsford, the property belonging to Bradenstoke was rented by the Prebendary of Wilsford and Woodford at 14s. a year about 1409, and in Lake the priory had ½ hide of land which was leased at a rent of 16s. a year. (fn. 132) In Wilton Bradenstoke had a messuage near 'Westgate', rents and tenements in Minster Street, and others in the street called 'Marsh', the total value in 1291 being 2s. (fn. 133) In Salisbury in 1232 Bradenstoke had a rent of 6d. (fn. 134) It had a manor in Winterbourne Earls valued in 1291 at £2 17s., and at Hurdcott its lands and rents were then worth 18s. 6d. (fn. 135) William Longespée (II) released the tenants of the priory in Hurdcott from suit of court and view of frankpledge at his court at Winterbourne Earls, except for robbery committed within the prior's fee. But in those cases the prior received the amercement and chattels of the felon. Until 1232 the prior's tenants had to contribute to sheriff's geld due from the tithings of Whaddon and Grimstead. (fn. 136)

The earliest temporal property which Bradenstoke had in Gloucestershire was in Hatherop, the gift of the first Countess Ela of Salisbury. Other grants of land here were given before 1232 by William Boterell and Ralph de Parco. (fn. 137) Roger de Berkeley gave to the priory arable and meadow in Dodington, in 1273 Henry de Berkeley gave pasture there for 200 sheep and a virgate of arable land. (fn. 138) Thomas de Berkeley gave land in Uley, and Robert de Berkeley gave pasture, meadow, and rents at Westcot in Lasborough. (fn. 139) At Tormarton Bradenstoke held in 1291 2 carucates, each worth 20s., rents of assize worth 2s. 6d., and common of pasture for sheep, oxen, cows, and pigs. (fn. 140) In Fairford the priory had a dovecot worth 2d. in 1291, 53s. 4d. from rents of assize (including the rent from 1 burgage), and 2 carucates each worth 30s. The manor of Fairford included also the property of Bradenstoke at Milton End, originally a hide of land given by Hugh de Chaworth before 1207. (fn. 141) At Hamsted in Old Sodbury the priory had 1 carucate in 1291, valued at 12s., and stock worth 40s. (fn. 142) In Great Sodbury 32 acres of pasture were given to Bradenstoke in 1337. (fn. 143) The priory had land and rents in Cirencester from 4 houses near 'Goseditch', and in Ampney Crucis it had tenements, pastures, and meadows. (fn. 144)

In Oxfordshire Bradenstoke gradually acquired by gift and by purchase a valuable manor at North Aston, beginning with the grants made by William de Eston. (fn. 145) In 1279 the priory of Bradenstoke was said to hold 2 virgates in frankalmoin of the fee of William Trivat, a hide of land of the same fee by knight service, with 11d. a year to the king as 'hidage', a virgate in villeinage, and another at a rent of 2s. in lieu of ail services. (fn. 146) At Burford a virgate belonging to the priory rendered 10s. in rent in 1275. Its property here was valued at 10s. 4d. in 1291. (fn. 147) In Banbury in the 14th century the priory had a rent of 2d. and at Wootton a rent of 9d. and of a half pound of pepper for land lying towards Woodstock Park. (fn. 148)

The most valuable manor belonging to Braden-stoke in Somerset was in Limington, granted by Godfrey St. Martin, and confirmed by royal charter in 1232. It was worth £5 10s. in 1291. (fn. 149) The prior was allowed in 1232 to erect a gallows here. (fn. 150) In Kilmersdon near Radstock the property of the priory, consisting of land, rents, and services, was valued at 3s. in 1291. (fn. 151) Soon after its foundation the priory acquired land, rents, and privileges in Bristol which may have served to expedite the export of its wool. William, the 2nd Earl of Gloucester, gave to Bradenstoke freedom from toll in buying and selling anything in Bristol which pertained to the demesne of the priory, and William de Neufmarché gave quittance from tolls and from passage dues for its wagons as they passed through Hinton Charterhouse. Walter, the harpist of Earl William, gave land in the street in Bristol 'where harrows are made', for a nominal rent of a full dish of beans paid in to the exchequer of the earl as chief lord. John, son of William the priest and chaplain of St. Mary Redcliffe, gave land lying next the belfry of St. Mary's. The priory acquired other rents and tenements in 'Radeclive' street and in the fair of Bristol. (fn. 152) In Bath Bradenstoke had rents and 1 burgage by 1232. (fn. 153)

The temporal property belonging to Bradenstoke in Dorset first consisted of the manor of Canford Prior, the grant of which was confirmed by the royal charter of 1207. It was valued at £2 in 1291. (fn. 154) William de Lillington gave one-third of his manor in Lillington to Bradenstoke in 1215, and in 1291 it was worth £1. (fn. 155) The priory was granted the valuable manor of Burton Brad-, stock in 1285 by the abbey of St. Wandrille in their exchange of properties. (fn. 156) It was assessed at £4 6s. 8d. in 1291. (fn. 157) Burton eventually passed into the possession of the collegiate chapel of St. Stephen's, Westminster, and in exchange Bradenstoke received, either from the Crown between 1435 and 1437, or from St. Stephen's a little later, probably after 1469, the manor called Framptons in East Hendred (Berks.). It was formerly a part of the possessions of the alien priory of Frampton (Dors.) which had been given to St. Stephen's. (fn. 158) Bradenstoke was in possession of Framptons by 1516 and in 1535 this manor was valued at £8 6s. 8d. (fn. 159) The priory had land at Watchfield (Berks.), in 1232, valued at 6s. 8d. in 1291 and in 1535. (fn. 160) In the Isle of Wight Bradenstoke had arable and pasture land in Briddlesford in 1232, but no later record of it has been found. Certain rents and tenements in London were confirmed to the priory by the charters of 1207 and 1232 and of these no later evidence is known. (fn. 161)

The temporal property of the priory in Towcester (Northants.) was acquired by the exchange in 1285 which Bradenstoke made with St. Wandrille. It included houses, rents, and mills, worth £2 17s. 4d. in 1291. (fn. 162) Before 1285 the lord of the main manor in Towcester, William de Munchensi, had allowed the tenants of St. Wandrille to use his bakehouse, as that belonging to the abbey was very decayed. Bradenstoke repaired it and in 1288 recovered the furnage of all its tenants. (fn. 163) Bradenstoke had property in Burton Latimer (Northants.) by 1222, including a mill called 'Byggemull'. Hillaria de Godervilla, her brother Nicholas de Malesmains, and others of the same family gave land here to Bradenstoke, and the manor of Burton was valued at £8 in 1291. (fn. 164) In 1330 the prior admitted that he had not yet erected pillory, tumbrel, nor gallows as he should have done. The Crown confiscated his liberty, but it was shortly restored on payment of a fine of 6s. 8d. The prior also declared that he held no assize of bread, nor of ale, as there were no bakers nor brewers within his view. (fn. 165)

Bradenstoke had property at Wales St. John in south Yorkshire, held of the barony of Laughton. Its manor of Wales and Waleswood began with the grant of 2 carucates of land by William Gras between 1207 and 1219. In 1238 Roger Mody gave 14 acres of arable and 4 of meadow, and by 1291 the whole manor was worth £4 10s. 8d. From Wales moor the canons got both stone and coal. The priory had a gallows in Wales St. John by 1276. (fn. 166)

Bradenstoke acquired in 1406 the advowson and possessions of the Hospital of St. John, Wootton Bassett. The advowson was granted by Edward, Duke of York, and the possessions, then worth about 6 marks yearly, by the master of the hospital, to whom licence was granted by the Crown to effect the alienation. Bradenstoke became responsible for all future charges pertaining to the hospital. (fn. 167) Robert de Careville, Treasurer of Salisbury Cathedral, left a legacy of 40s. in 1267 to the Prior of Bradenstoke, and in 1400 they received another of 40s. from John Chelsey, Canon of Wells and Rector of Great Somerford. (fn. 168)

The early charters of Bradenstoke comprise many grants of pastures and of sheep, and there are other indications of its economic interest in sheep farming and in the sale of wool. In 1339 the Crown acknowledged a debt of £12 15s. 9d. due to the priory for 2½ sacks and 3 cloves of wool collected from its Wiltshire estates. (fn. 169) In 1227 the prior was listed among those of the clergy whom the king asked to give him an aid in wool as a loan. (fn. 170) A policy of leasing or farming many of the estates of the priory was continuously pursued during the 13th century, and on the eve of the Dissolution all its temporal and spiritual property appears to have been farmed, for its revenues as given in the Valor of 1535 proceeded entirely from assized rents and the farms of its rectories. (fn. 171) The administrative officials in 1535 were a chief steward, a substeward, and three other stewards, one each for Canford, Limington, and Waleswood. (fn. 172)

There was considerable increase of the temporal property of Bradenstoke during the 13th century by purchase of land, particularly of pasture and of meadow, often at a high price, chiefly in places where it already had a manor and where the pasture and meadow were valuable. (fn. 173) Under the rule of priors Simon, William, and Geoffrey, who besides buying property appear to have induced gifts of land, the priory secured its title in many of the newly granted or purchased estates by fines. In the Stowe cartulary 20 fines in various courts between 1203 and 1262 are recorded. (fn. 174) The first of these secured the claim of the priory to a hide of land at North Aston by payment of a fine of 3½ silver marks (fn. 175) in 1203. North Aston church occasionally involved Bradenstoke in litigation. As owner of the rectory the priory claimed a right to a tithe portion of the sheaves in Nethercott which the Rector of Steeple Aston was reluctant to acknowledge. In 1225, by the verdict of the papal judges delegate appointed by Honorius III, a half of the tithe portion was allotted to Bradenstoke. (fn. 176) The Rector of Steeple Aston concurred, but in 1313 when Thomas de Somerton was rector he was sued by the Prior of Bradenstoke for spoliation of the tithe portion, then said to be worth 5s. (fn. 177) The final judgement is not known. In 1226 Simon the miller of North Aston was sued by the Prior of Bradenstoke for the recovery of the tithes of the mill. Again the Pope appointed judges to decide the case, who gave a verdict in favour of the prior. (fn. 178) A tithe case between Bradenstoke and Merton Priory concerning certain hay tithes from meadows lying within the fee of Duns Tew but in the parish of North Aston was heard before papal judges delegate in 1229. Bradenstoke agreed to resign half the tithes of Duns Tew to Merton for the sake of peace. (fn. 179)

A bill of complaint was brought about 1509 before the court of Star Chamber by Prior Thomas Walshe against John Anne, to whose grandfather the manor of North Aston had been demised at farm for 33 years in 1485. (fn. 180) This bill, the only evidence extant of a most interesting case, charged John Anne with the conversion of tillage to pasture and with the decay of 12 houses and of 7 ploughs in the vill of North Aston. The prior stated that his manor formerly comprised 300 acres of arable, 20 of pasture, and 20 of meadow, and that now 142 acres of arable had been 'inclosed and diched' by John Anne, to be converted into pasture. Also he complained of arrears of rent for seven years from John, and for two years from his father William Anne who, although the prior had sued him between 1494 and 1503 and won his case with damages, had remained recalcitrant.

Bradenstoke Priory contributed 100s. to the aid of the prelates in 1235-6 and in 1242-3 10 marks in aid of the French war. (fn. 181) In 1256 a subsidy of 100s. was paid in fulfilment of a promise given to the king when he crossed to Gascony in 1253. (fn. 182) The priory contributed 100s. again in January 1271, toward a fine of £10 to which it agreed as its share of the tax of one-twentieth on movables. Later in 1271 the prior paid toward this fine 19s. 6d. to the collectors in London, 13s. 4d. to those in Wiltshire, and 67s. 2d. to those in Dorset. (fn. 183) The contribution of the priory to the tenth granted in 1273 for the expenses of Edward I's crusade was assessed at 20 marks for its temporalities in the dioceses of Salisbury, Lincoln, Bath and Wells, Worcester, and York. The money was paid during 1274. (fn. 184) In 1283 the goods and chattels of Bradenstoke in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Dorset, and Yorkshire were declared exempt from assessment to the thirtieth granted to Edward I. (fn. 185) The Prior of Bradenstoke was the collector of the tenth in the archdeaconry of Wiltshire levied in 1298 for the Scottish war. (fn. 186) In 1312 the prior and convent were appointed by the Bishop of Salisbury to be receivers of 4d. in the mark from benefices in the archdeaconry of Wiltshire, but the money was not fully paid in until 1315. (fn. 187) The prior was the collector for the diocese of Salisbury in 1348 of the biennial tenth granted by the clergy of the southern province. (fn. 188) A loan of 100s, was granted to the king by the priory in 1347 for the French war. (fn. 189) In 1485 and in 1487 Bradenstoke was exempted from contribution to a clerical tenth. (fn. 190) In contributions to papal taxation the prior paid 16d. to William de Testa in 1309 as part of his arrears of procuration for the third year, and in 1412 he was cited in a papal letter to the Bishop of Salisbury as having paid nothing at all of his assessment. (fn. 191)

Few events in the general history of Bradenstoke have left any record. The priory of Cartmel (Lanes.), founded about 1190 by William Marshal, later Earl of Pembroke, was first colonized by canons from Bradenstoke. It is significant that Cartmel from its foundation was made independent of the mother house. (fn. 192) Pope Nicholas IV relaxed in 1291 the penances for a year and 40 days of those who should visit the priory church of Bradenstoke on the four feasts of the Virgin and their octaves, and on the anniversary of the church. (fn. 193) In 1371 a certain William Upton of Lyneham was accused of stealing from Bradenstoke church a silver gilt cup with 100s. belonging to the prior and convent. (fn. 194) In 1403 Boniface IX granted an indulgence to penitents visiting the church on certain days, and giving alms for its repair or conservation. He also gave an indult to the prior and the sacristan, and to four priests, either regulars or seculars, deputed by them, to hear confessions and give absolution except in cases reserved to the Apostolic See. Even those who, prevented by any lawful impediment, sent alms to Bradenstoke were to enjoy this indulgence. (fn. 195) Pope Innocent VII granted the prior in March 1405 an indult to have a portable altar. (fn. 196) Thomas Calne, a canon of the house, was given a papal dispensation in 1400 to hold a benefice, with or without cure, and to exchange it as often as he wished. (fn. 197) Other canons received similar grants, Thomas Felawe in 1403, and William Clyff in 1484. (fn. 198)

Bradenstoke suffered much distress during 1352 by reason of the crimes of Prior Thomas Spicer and also by his desertion of the priory. Edward the Black Prince, then its patron, committed his poor priory' at this crisis to Robert Russel, Robert Eleford, described as 'the prince's yeoman'; and to Nicholas Ercheband, one of the canons. Although the prior had left England one of his friends continued to persecute the canons. The prince warned this friend in December 1352 that unless he ceased from his misdeeds such measures would be taken as to make him repent from the bottom of his heart. (fn. 199) In March 1353 the bishop got Thomas Spicer, after much difficulty, to appear before him, and to resign. (fn. 200) The sub-prior and Geoffrey Besiles, one of the canons, were put in temporary charge and in April 1354 the Black Prince informed Bishop Wyville that Besiles had been elected prior. (fn. 201) It was not a happy choice. In 1367 Geoffrey was deprived of his office because of his frauds and malice. Bishop Wyville of Salisbury described him in a letter to Bishop Wykeham of Winchester as 'that irregular denigrated canon', (fn. 202) a description partly inspired by the bishop's horror at a quarrel between the prior and William Byde, a clerk of the episcopal household at Salisbury. (fn. 203) By 1377, however, Geoffrey Besiles had been reinstated as prior and received the royal pardon for his felonies at the instance of Henry de Percy, the kinsman of Edward III. (fn. 204) Some of Geoffrey's difficulties were financial. In 1365 he owed money to Edmund Bannoc, a citizen of London, for which debt £43 6s. 8d. had to be levied on the Wiltshire property of Bradenstoke. (fn. 205)

An episcopal visitation of the priory was made by Bishop Erghum in 1385. (fn. 206) Bishop John de Waltham visited the deanery of Wylye in 1394 and sequestrated the fruits of a portion in Fisherton de la Mere pertaining to Bradenstoke because the prior failed to appear at the visitation. (fn. 207) John Pecham, Archbishop of Canterbury, stayed at Bradenstoke Priory on 29 June 1285. (fn. 208) In 1400 Henry Chichele, then a prebendary of Salisbury Cathedral, was staying at the priory where, he says, he found in an old book written in 1335 a chronological table showing the age of the world, which he copied in full. (fn. 209)

There is little information extant about the priors of Bradenstoke; even the precise periods of their rule can only be dated in two cases. Two of the early priors were appointed papal judges delegate, Prior Henry by Celestine III, and Prior Simeon by Gregory IX. (fn. 210) In the chapter general of the Austin Canons, held at Osney (Oxon.) in 1443, Prior John Chynnok was elected a visitor for the dioceses of Salisbury, Winchester, and Chichester, and was made responsible for the contributions from houses of the canons in the diocese of Salisbury toward the founding of St. Mary's College, Oxford, for scholars of the order. (fn. 211) Prior Thomas Walshe was fined in 1518 by the chapter general for not sending scholars to Oxford. (fn. 212) He had also been fined £5 in 1509 for not appearing at the chapter general held at Leicester. (fn. 213) His interests were not wholly confined to the priory, for he was probably the prior who was elected one of the reeves of Wilton in 1482. (fn. 214) Also he held the prebend of Usthwaite in York Minster between 1512 and 1524. (fn. 215)

The election of Prior John de Botewell in 1312 took place in the chapter house at Bradenstoke in the face of much opposition. (fn. 216) Bishop Simon de Ghent asked the opposers to appear before him at Reading Abbey on 14 April 1312 to examine their views before he confirmed the election. The prior elect was then asked to Sonning, where the bishop questioned him in secret as to his knowledge of the rule of his order and as to his literary accomplishment. John proved satisfactory and his election was confirmed. (fn. 217) The election of William Cherleton, the sub-prior, was held in the priory chapter house on 19 February 1459. There were twelve other canons present and the way of scrutiny was adopted for the election. (fn. 218)

Bradenstoke Priory on the eve of Dissolution was apparently a well-ordered house in its spiritual and temporal life. One of the canons, John Devynyshe, was nominated by the Bishop of Salisbury in 1521 to be prior of the house of Austin Canons at Poughley (Berks.), being 'grave, learned, a fit person and of good fame'. (fn. 219) In August 1535 John, ap Rice, Cromwell's commissioner, reported to his master that nothing could be found 'after diligent inquisition' against the prior, but two or three of the convent (probably not the canons, as he does not say so) were convicted of incontinence. (fn. 220) There were then thirteen canons in residence with the prior, Thomas Snowe. (fn. 221) Dr. Legh, the other commissioner, forbade the prior to go out at will. This restraint, and Legh's pompous behaviour in general, annoyed ap Rice, who complained to Cromwell that the prior of a house like Bradenstoke, dependent upon its husbandry or sheep farming, must have more freedom or the priory would fall into decay. In November 1536 the prior wrote to Cromwell to thank him for his great goodness in the preservation of the priory, adding that the convent and people of the neighbourhood were praying for him. With the letter the prior sent the yearly fee, which had been 20s. in 1532, and a 'poor present'. (fn. 222) Bradenstoke Priory was dissolved on 17 January 1539. (fn. 223) Its net income from all sources was £212 0s. 3d. in 1535, (fn. 224) The Prior William Snowe received in 1539 a life pension of £60 a year, and William Penne, the sub-prior, one of £8. Canons Thomas Mason, Ralph Hyll, Edward Bruer, and Richard Tomson had each a pension of £5 6s. 8d.; George Notyngham had one of £5, Thomas Messenger, James Wykham, and Richard Ware had each £4 13s. 4d.; and John Playsterer, Thomas Baker, and John Hancocks had each 40s. (fn. 225) One canon, James Cole, became incumbent of Lyneham church at a yearly stipend of £6 13s. 4d., with the small tithes. (fn. 226) William Snowe was appointed the first dean of the new cathedral of Bristol in 1542 and the Crown gave the priory's late possessions in Marden to the dean and chapter. (fn. 227) The site of the priory and the house called 'le Pryors Lodging' with all the buildings and gardens upon the site and with messuages and lands in Clack, closes and 100 acres of woods in Lyneham parish had been leased to Sir Henry Long but were granted in fee, in October 1546, to Richard Pexsall, king's servant. (fn. 228)

The prior's lodging stood between the guest hall on the western side of the cloister and the church, which was on the south side. It had been rebuilt by Prior Thomas Walshe about 1490, and was pulled down in the early 19th century. (fn. 229) But the worst desecration occurred in 1930 when the fine western range of the cloister, including the guest house and the prior's lodging, was wholly removed along with the great tithe barn, to St. Donat's castle in Glamorgan. (fn. 230) The present state of the site is most deplorable and there remain above ground, in increasing decay, only two 14thcentury undercrofts and a tower. John Aubrey described the priory as Very well built, with good strong ribs', and having a cellar 'the stateliest in Wiltshire'. But he added 'the very fundations of this fair church are now, 1666, digged up'. (fn. 231)

Priors of Bradenstoke

William, occurs 1182. (fn. 232)

Matthew, papal confirmation of election, 1184. (fn. 233)

Henry, occurs temp. Popes Celestine III and Innocent III. (fn. 234)

William, occurs from 1203 to 1205. (fn. 235)

Priory probably void in 1208 when it was committed to the keeping of the Earl of Salisbury. (fn. 236)

Simeon, or Simon, occurs from 1215 to 1241, (fn. 237)

William, occurs from 1243 to 1260. (fn. 238)

Geoffrey, occurs from 1261 to 1285. (fn. 239)

William, occurs 1287. (fn. 240)

Hugh, 9th prior, occurs from 1295 to 1307. (fn. 241)

John de Botewell, 10th prior, elected 1312. (fn. 242)

Richard le Best, occurs 1327. (fn. 243)

Richard, occurs from 1345 to 1346. (fn. 244)

Voidance 1 July 1349 to 16 Aug. 1350. (fn. 245)

Thomas Spicer, resigned 1353. (fn. 246)

Geoffrey de Besiles, elected 1354, deprived 1367. (fn. 247)

Richard, occurs from 1370 to 1372. (fn. 248)

Geoffrey de Besiles, reinstated 1377. (fn. 249)

Richard, occurs from 1380 to 1397. (fn. 250)

Thomas, occurs from c. 1400 to 1405. (fn. 251)

Robert Hatte, occurs from 1408 to 1413. (fn. 252)

John Chynnok, elected 1422, died 1459. (fn. 253)

Simon Wotton, occurs 1480. (fn. 254)

Thomas Walshe, occurs from 1483 to 1524. (fn. 255)

William Snowe, elected 1526, resigned 1539. (fn. 256)

A fine conventual seal survives on a 13thcentury deed of the time of Prior Geoffrey. It is a pointed oval, 3 1 / 16; by 1 15 / 16; in., and shows the Virgin holding the Child and seated on a long bench under an elaborately pinnacled canopy, under which are the new moon and a star. On either side of the bench, outside the canopy shafts, stands a censing angel. There is a head in an architectural panel at the foot. The legend is:

SIGILL' : ECCL'IE : BEAT . . . E : BRADENESTOKA

The prior's seal was used as a counterpart to this one. It is also a pointed oval, and measures 1 7 / 16; by 15 / 16; in. Under a trefoiled canopy there is the half-length figure of the Virgin and Child. She stands upon a trefoiled arch, under which is the prior kneeling in prayer. The legend runs:

S' PRIORIS DE BRADENESTOK' (fn. 257)