Page:VCH Bedfordshire 1.djvu/434

 A HISTORY OF BEDFORDSHIRE it would have secured to him the love of all stuff, corn, cattle, and debts owing to the house his brethren and an honourable memory. were valued in June 1538 at £509 17s. 4J. ; The abbey was endowed by the founder and at the survey of the lands taken at the with the manor of Woburn,and other parcels same time a total of £450 14.J. 3^. in tem- of land in the neighbourhood were added by poralities and £78 145. cW. in spiritualities various benefactors before 1 162. 1 The manor of Medmenham (Bucks), for building another abbey, was confirmed to the abbot in 1200— I 2 ; and in 1202 Hugh Malet granted the manors of Swanboume and Mursley (Bucks) in pure and perpetual alms, with the church of Swan- bourn, to be held of him and his heirs for ever. 3 The church of Chesham was in the gift of the abbey in the twelfth century, 4 and the churches of Birchmore, Whitchurch and Soulbury at a later date. In 1291 5 the tem- poralities of Woburn amounted to £121 10s. 8^/., and the spiritualities may have added another £50. A taxation of the property of the abbey taken in 1338 valued it at £132 19*. 9^ 6 The abbots held in 1302 7 one knight's fee in Eversholt, and smaller fractions in Potsgrave, Hare, Holcutt and Harlington ; in Buckinghamshire 8 one fee in Swanbourne and another in Stewkley, and a part of Dray- ton. In 1316 9 they held half of each of the three vills of Milton Bryan, Eversholt and Birchmore, with Woburn ; in 1346 they held half a fee in Woburn, Milton Bryan and Pulloxhill 10 ; in 1428 one fee in Eversholt and another in Holcutt, with one half in Milton Bryant, Hare and Pulloxhill 11 ; the Buckinghamshire fees remaining much the same, except the one in Stewkley which had passed to the abbess of Fontevraud. The valuation in 1535 of the whole property of the abbey was £391 1 8s. 2d. clear. 18 The mov- able goods of the monastery, including plate, money, jewels, church ornaments, household and that may be to their edification. The Pope is either a good man or an ill ; to the Lord he standeth or falleth. The office of a bishop is honourable. What edifying is this to rail f Let him alone.') ; his care to avoid implicating his friend, Sir Francis Bryan ; his thought for his own nearest relations when he saw that he was in danger of death. ' Foundation Charter, Dugdale, Mon. v. 478. 2 Rot. Chart. (Rec. Com.), i. pt. 1, 83 ; Rot. de Oblatis et Finibus (Rec. Com.), 90. Woburn paid 40 marks, as well as 10 marks for two palfreys as the price of this confirmation. 3 Feet of F. (Rec. Com.), 198. 4 Cott. MS. Julius, D iii. f. 123b and elsewhere. » Pope Nich. Tax. (Rec. Com.) 6 Pat. 11 Edw. III. pt. 2, m. 8. ' Feud. Aids, i. 8. s Ibid. 82. » Ibid. 21. "» Ibid. 25, 33. 11 Ibid. 43, 46, 126, 127, 128, 129. " Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.) was obtained. 13 The report of the Crown bailiff four years later gave a total of £427 8*. 3^., including the rectories of Birchmore with Woburn chapel, Soulbury, Chesham and Whitchurch in Buckinghamshire, and lands in Beds, Bucks, Oxon, Herts, Northants and London, and the manors of Eversholt, Pullox- hill, Grenfield, Westoning, Potsgrave and Swanbourne. 14 Abbots of Woburn Alan, 15 first abbot, 1 145 William, 16 occurs circa 1 1 80 Peter 17 „ 1202, died 1204 Nicholas 18 „ 1208 Richard 19 „ 1217, 1228, deposed 1234 Roger 20 of Fountains, elected 1234 Adam of Luton, 21 died 1247 Nicholas, 22 elected 1247 Roger, 23 died 1 28 1 Hugh of Soulbury, 23 elected 1281 William, 24 occurs 1286 Robert de Stokes, 26 elected 1297 Henry, 26 elected 13 1 2 Thomas de Thornton, 27 elected William Manepeny, 28 „ William Hawburth, 29 „ John of Ashby, : Robert Charlet, 31 Robert Hall, 32 Thomas Hogeson, Robert Hobbes 34 '336 1396 1436 1458 H63 1483 occurs 1499 529 No seal of this abbey remains so far as is known. w L. and P. Hen. VIII. xiii. (1), 1280. Dated 29 June, 30 Henry VIII. 14 Dugdale, A/on. v. 481 ; and MS. summary of Ministers' Accounts, P.R.O. 16 Dugdale, Mon. v. 301. 18 Add. MS. 5827, 176b (Cole's transcript of MS. notes of Browne Willis). " Feet of F. (Rec. Com.), 198 ; Add. MS. 5827, 176b (ref. to Gale, i. 182). « Add. MS. 5827, 176b. 19 Ann. Mon. (Rolls Series), iii. 108. 20 Ibid. 140. 21 Ibid. 174. 22 Ibid. »a Ibid. p. 287. " Pat. 14 Edw. I. m. 8. 26 Line. Epis. Reg., Memo. Sutton, 182. 2 " Ibid. Memo. Dalderby, 241. 27 Ibid. Memo. Burghersh, 344. 26 Ibid. Memo. Buckingham, 436. 2 » Ibid. Memo. Alnwick, 31. 30 Ibid. Inst. Chedworth, 46d. 31 Ibid. 31 Ibid. Inst. Russell. 33 Ibid. Inst. Smith. 34 L. and P. Hen. VIII. iv. 6047.