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 A HISTORY OF BEDFORDSHIRE 8. THE PRIORY OF CALDWELL The origin of the priory of Caldwell is somewhat obscure. Its earliest charters or endowment are of the reign of Henry II., but undated ; * but as a prior of Caldwell witnessed a charter granted by Robert Bruce to Harrold 2 during the lifetime of Malcolm IV. of Scot- land (1153-65), we may conclude that this house, like so many others in Bedfordshire, was founded early in the reign of Henry II. or perhaps in that of Stephen. The founder's name is unknown. The Close Roll of 13 Edward III. 3 speaks only of ' the ancestors of Simon Barescote of Bedford' ; Leland, by naming Simon Barescote in one place, and in another assigning the foundation to the Beau- champs or the Beaumonts, shows that there were several contradictory traditions in exis- tence in his time.* The priory belonged at first to the order of the Holy Sepulchre, 5 and was dedicated to St. John Baptist ; 8 but after the thirteenth century it probably ceased to be in any way distinguished from the other Augustinian houses. The canons of the Holy Sepulchre were only separated from other Augustinians by their name, and the scarlet badge on their cloaks 7 ; in all pro- bability they kept exactly the same rule, as on two occasions canons of Dunstable were invited to be priors of Caldwell, while it was still called by the name of the Holy Cross. Four churches in this county — Bromham, Roxton, Sandy and Oakley with the chapel of Clapham — belonged to Caldwell at the beginning of the thirteenth century ; Mars- worth and Broughton in Buckinghamshire, and Arnesby in Leicestershire before 1291 ; 8 1 One is contained in an Inspeximus of Richard II. Pat. 13 Rich. II. pt. I, m. 21, and witnessed by Hugh de Beauchamp : the other in Pat. 2 Henry VI. pt. 3, m. 23, and witnessed by Richard Bishop of Winchester. 1 Lansd. MS. 591, f. 4b. 3 Close, 13 Edw. III. pt. i. m. 38. 4 Quoted Dugdale, Mon. vi. 391. 6 So called in the charter of 57 Henry III. (Dugd. Mon. vi. 393). 6 The grant under the charter just mentioned is to God, to Blessed Mary and the brothers of the Holy Cross ; but this does not necessarily imply that the house was dedicated to St. Mary. The charters of Henry II. are granted to ' his canons regular of St. John Baptist, Bedford,' or ' his poor canons of St. John Baptist ' : and in the Acknow- ledgment of the Royal Supremacy they are the canons of St. John Baptist and St. John Evangel- ist (Rymer, Fwdera, vi. [2], 198). 7 Helyot and Bullot, Hist, des Ordres Mon. ii. 116. » Pop Nich. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 63. Tolleshunt Major in Essex at a later date. 9 Its temporal possessions lay for the most part within the county of Bedford, and were never very extensive; in 1291 they were worth less than £50. At the siege of Bedford Castle in 1224, the canons assisted the king by providing him with materials for mangonels, and received in return a share of the stones from the dis- mantled walls. 10 At this time, as well as later, they seem to have been on friendly terms with the canons of Dunstable. It was by the advice of the prior of Dunstable, amongst others, that Prior Eudo of Caldwell resigned and fled to the Cistercians of Meri- vale, before the visitation of Bishop Grosse- tite ; and the sub-prior of Dunstable took his place. 11 The reason why he was afraid of the visi- tation is not stated, only that he was ' accused by many ' ; he had only been prior five years, and during his term of office had been sent by the pope to settle a dispute as far away as Yorkshire. 12 In 1287 there seems to have been some uncertainty about the advowson of the priory, and the election of John of Ypres was hurried so as to prevent any claim being made. 13 In the year 1339, at the death of Prior Roger of Wellington (or Wymington) the king's escheator seized the lands of the priory ; partly on the ground of a rumour that in the time of Henry III. the advowson had been taken into the king's hand, and partly be- cause the prior held two carucates of land and a rent of iooj. within Bedford town, and held in fee farm of the king. The canons however appealed to the king himself, who thereupon wrote to the escheator to molest them no further, saying that he had heard from the present prior that Simon de Barescote, whose ancestors founded the priory, gave the advowson to Roger the Marshal, and he to William Ie Latimer ; and that thus it had descended to Robert de Ufford and his wife who then held it." The churches belonging to the priory 9 Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iv. 189. »» Close, 8 Henry III. ; Ann. Mon. (Rolls Series), iii. 88. 11 Ibid. 179. 12 Cal. of Pap. Letters, i. 230. 13 Ann. Mon. (Rolls Series), ii. 340. » Close, 12 Edw. I.pt. 1, m. 18 ; 13 Edw. III. pt. 1, m. 38. This reference to the recent death of Roger of Wellington makes it difficult to account for Robert de Lufwyk, who is said to have resigned at the election of William of Souldrop in 1338 (Line. Epis. Reg., Inst. Burghersh, 319). la