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 A HISTORY OF NORFOLK The Cells of the Cathedral Priory of Norwich The cells of the great cathedral priory of Norwich were five in number — Aldeby, Lynn, Norwich, St. Leonard's, Yarmouth, and Hoxne in Suffolk. 2. THE PRIORY OF ALDEBY ^ Asnes de Beaupr^, who was afterwards the wife of Hubert de Rye, gave in the time of Henry I, the church and manor of Aldeby to the monks of Norwich. Whereupon Bishop Herbert placed here a prior and three Benedictine monks, estab- lishing the house as a priory cell of Norwich. When the conventual church was founded, Bishop Herbert laid the first foundation-stone and Hubert and Agnes the second. Henry I confirmed to the priory, which was dedicated to the honour of St. Mary, the grant by Hubert de Rye of tithes in Swanton, Hockering, and Deepham, together with the church and manor of Aldeby, and other grants of Henry de Rye, the son of Hubert. The temporalities were valued at^^yi 55. bd. in the year 1428. In 1275 the jury of Knavering hundred found the prior of Aldeby had assize of bread and beer, and held view of frank-pledge, but they knew not by what warrant.^ In 1286 William Rosalyne purchased of the prior and convent of Norwich the lordship of this town, except certain messuages and lands and the advowson of the church, which were reserved to the convent and henceforth called the prior's manor. On 27 May, 1355, John de Bedingfield, prior of Aldeby, was appointed by Laurence, prior of Norwich, acting as vicar-general for the bishop, to hear the confessions of the nuns of Bungay. In 1376 Sir Thomas Savage was buried by the south porch of the priory church. In 1466 Lady Isabel Morley died patroness of the priory, being heir to the founders, Hubert and Agnes de Rye.^ In 1481 Edmund Salle, Roger Framling- ham, and William Spink were the three monks of this cell. The priors of the several cells of Norwich had to present annual accounts to the prior of Norwich. Various of these account rolls for Aldeby are extant in the treasury of Norwich Cathedral, namely from 1422 to 1426, from 1440 to 1442, for the year 1462, and twelve others at irregular intervals, the last being for 1523- At the visitation of Norwich Priory in 15 14, John Lakenham, the prior of Aldeby, could only give a poor account of himself and his ceil. He had not handed in the accounts of the last ' Blomefield, viii, 2, 3 ; Dugdale, Mon. vi, 461-2 ; Taylor, Index Monaiticus. '' Hund. R. (Rec. Com.), i, 540. ^ Inq. p.m. 6 Edw. IV', No. 21. year, though he said he was prepared to do so ; the house was in debt to the extent of ;^I0 ; he had only paid £^ of his annual pension to the mother house, but the cellarer held a marsh per- taining to the cell by way of exoneration ; the gates of the cell and the brewery were in a ruinous state. The bishop's injunctions conse- quent on this visit insist on all cells returning annual accounts to be deposited in the Norwich treasury each Michaelmas.'* Edmund Norwich was prior of Aldeby at the visitation of 1532; he was examined, but only as to the condition of Norwich Priory.' Priors of Aldeby * John de Bedingfield, occurs 1355 Richard de Rye, occurs 1422 Thomas Hethyll, occurs 1462 William Bexwell, occurs 1505 John Lakenham, occurs 1 5 14 Edmund Norwich alias Drake, occurs 1532 3. THE PRIORY OF LYNN ' Bishop Herbert of Norwich, about the year II 00, founded the noble parish church of St. Margaret's, Lynn, and attached to it a priory of monks, dedicating the house in honour of St. Mary Magdalen, St. Margaret, and all virgin saints. He richly endowed it with churches, lands, rents, and men, and granted the priory a market on Saturdays, and a fair at the feast of St. Margaret ; but he made the priory of Lynn and all its possessions subordinate to the great diocesan priory of the Holy Trinity, Norwich. The prior of Lynn, though an important person in the local affairs of Lynn, was appointed solely by the prior and convent of Norwich and was removable at pleasure. He was responsible to Norwich for all rents and profits that he received, so that all donations and grants to the priory of Lynn were practically made to Norwich and need not be recapitulated in this brief outline sketch. The taxation of 1291 gives the annual value of the temporalities as ;^8 os. ^d. In the Valor of 1535 this cell was valued under Norwich Priory ; the spiritualities were returned at ;^i I is. lid. and the temporalities at £14. Os. 6id. A roll of accounts from Michaelmas, 1438, to Michaelmas, 1439, delivered to the prior of Norwich, shows that the receipts in that year amounted to ;^I90 Js. i^d., whilst the expendi- ture was ^^196 85. But the receipts fell off materially towards the close of its existence. ' Jessopp, op. cit. 72-3, 78-9. ' Ibid. 263. ' The first four priors are named by Blomefield, and the last two are cited in the visitations. ' Blomefield, viii, 494-500 ; Dugdale, Mon. vi, 462-3; T3.oT,InJexMonr.stkus, 5; V>eo&, Our Borough, Our Churches {iSgg), />assim. 28