Page:VCH Bedfordshire 1.djvu/458

 A HISTORY OF BEDFORDSHIRE Juliane ' Amice, 2 occurs 1264 and 1268 Margery of Hereford, 3 resigned 1304 Cecily de Cantia, 4 elected 1304 Petronilla of Radwell, 6 elected 1335, re- signed 1354 Christine Murdak, 6 elected 1354, resigned 1357 Maud de Tichemersh, 7 elected 1357, oc- curs 1364 Katherine of Tutbury, 8 elected 1369, oc- curs 1384 Emma Drakelowe, 9 occurs 1405 and 1 413 Elizabeth Chiltern, 13 resigned 1470 Margaret Pycard, 14 elected 1470 Helen Crabbe, 15 died 1501 Eleanor Pygot, 16 elected 1 50 1, died 1509 Agnes Gascoigne, 17 elected 1509 Elinor Warren, 18 surrendered 1536 The seal of the priory represented St. Peter, standing, in mitre and chasuble, two keys in the right hand and a crosier in the left. The legend is very indistinct, only the last two words being legible. . . petri catenas. 19 HOUSE OF THE GILBERTINE ORDER 11. THE PRIORY OF CHICKSAND The Gilbertine priory of Chicksand was founded about the year 11 50 by Roais 10 and her husband Payn de Beauchamp, baron of Bedford. The foundress had been previously the wife of Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, who died in 11 44, and was buried in the abbey of Walden, which he had founded some years before. 11 After the death of her second husband, the Countess Roais was frequently at Chicksand, and when her eldest son, 12 Geoffrey de Mandeville, died in 1 Occurs Lansd. MS. 391, f. 8, in an agreement with Ralf Morin, witnessed by W. de Beauchamp (i.e. before 1260, if this, as seems probable, was the elder William, whose charter to Chicksand Ralf Morin witnessed (Dugdale, Mon. vi. 950). 8 Occurs ibid. f. 9b with Sir John de Grey ; and Line. Epis. Reg., Inst. Dalderby, 261. « Ibid. 261 (John de Grey, patron). « Ibid. Inst. Burghersh, 32od. « Ibid. Inst. Gynwell. 1 Ibid. 397 ; Lansd. MS. 391, 44. s Line. Epis. Reg., Inst. Gynwell, 83 ; Lansd. MS. 391, 35, etc. » Lansd. MS. 391, ff. 13b, 34b, etc. 10 It seems proper to put Countess Roais first, because the priory was always called her foundation, though it was endowed with lands of the Beau- champs. The witnesses to the foundation charter are Henry Murdak, Archbishop of York 1146-53, and Nicholas, archdeacon 1 145-81 (Dugdale, Mon. vi. 950). Also in it Payn de Beauchamp and his wife ask the prayers of the nuns for their son Simon ; but Geoffrey de Mandeville did not die till 1 144, and therefore Simon could not have been born much before 1 146. » Dugdale, Mon. iv. 142-3 (Chronicle of Walden Abbey). > 3 The chronicler of Walden Abbey says that she 1 1 66, she endeavoured to secure his burial there ; but being defeated in this purpose by the monks of Walden Abbey (who naturally desired that the son of their founder should be buried in their church) she retaliated by carry- ing off the whole furniture and hangings of his private chapel for the adornment of her own priory. 20 did her best to draw away the hearts of her sons from their own abbey to the priory of Chicksand, which she was then building (ibid.) 13 Line. Epis. Reg., Inst. Chedworth, 178. " Ibid. " Ibid. Inst. Smith, 443d. " Ibid. 17 Ibid. 457d. is L. and P. Hen. VIII. xiii. (1), 1520. On the fly-leaf of Lansd. MS. 391 is written : ' Prioresses occurring in this book: Juliana abt. 1 251, Agnes 1257, Amicia 1260 and 1265, Matildis about 1280, Cecilia 1312, Margeria de Hereford 1340, Katherine Tutbury and Emma Drakelowe.' The same list is given in Tanner, Not. Mon. ' from a MS. in the possession of Walter Clavel ' (probably the Lans- downe MS.), and in Dugdale, Mon. vi. 330. It has not been followed here, because it is very diffi- cult to make the dates on the fly-leaf correspond with those in the chartulary. The only Agnes who occurs is certainly earlier than Basile ; and the latter name, which is quite distinct in the chartu- lary, with the date 30 Henry III., is not found on the fly-leaf at all ; and Margery of Hereford is plainly misdated 1 340. 19 The same seal, much defaced, is attached to Add. Ch. 15726. 20 Dugdale, Mon. iv. 142-3. The story is rather an amusing one. As soon as Geoffrey died, his followers proceeded at once with his body to Saffron Walden, without sending any message to Countess Roais, whose masterful disposition they evidently knew well : but a certain clerk escaped from their company and carried the message to her at Chick - 390
 * Ibid. ft. 8, 13.