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 A HISTORY OF NORFOLK Bowff^'nn, who was in charge of the cell of hostility by suppressing a house that bore so good Wormesay, said that that priory was much out a repute and did so much for the poor of the of repair. Canon Thomas Lytyll, who was also district.' at the cell of Wormegay, made no complaint. The county commissioners sold to ' my Lorde Canon Richard Lynn complained of the capacity of Rutland,' on i6 February, 1537, 'alle the of the schoolmaster.^ stuff in the Quyre for xb. the stuffe .'n Lady The Valor of 1535 gave the annual income Chappell fo. xs., and the stuffe in the vestry for of Pentney Priory, including Wormegay, as The secret comperta of Legh and Ap Rice, £12 ^^- ^'^■' ^^ ^'^° purchased the contents of the conventual buildings, cattle, corn, hay, and grow- ing crops ; the total amounting to £114 15^. 9^. early in 1536, recorded that Prior Codde had In addition to this the plate, in the custody of carried on an intrigue with the abbess of Richard Southwell, was valued zX £iz i. d. Marham, and we are asked to believe that the The debts of the house amounted to ^^ 1 6.® prior and five of his canons confessed their In March, 1537, ex-Prior Codde was not incontinency to these two visitors, themselves of only awarded a pension of ^^24, but was appointed scandalous lives." In the face of the report of the county gentlemen who visited the house a few months later, and of the several satisfactory reports made at the searching episcopal visitations of this house during the sixteenth century, it is impossible to give the least credence to the slanders. The county commissioners reported that ' the priory of Chanones of Pentney and Wormegay of the Order of Seynt Augustine ' had a clear annual value of ;^i8o 19;. od. that the religious persons in the house num- bered nine, ' alle Prystes of very honest name and goode religious persones who doue desyre the kynges highness to contynue and remayne in religione ' ; that eighty-three other persons had their living there — namely, twenty-three hinds, thirty household servants, and thirty chil- dren and other poor servants ; that the lead and bells were worth ;ri8o, and that the house was in very good and requisite repair ; that the goods were worth ;^ii9 5^. 6^.; that the woods were worth £20 ; and that £1(3 was owing to the house.' In March, 1536, Richard Southwell, himself a county commissioner, and Robert Hogen wrote to Cromwell, specially commending to his notice the prior of Pentney, who, according to Legh and Ap Rice, was guilty of a grievous crime and the head of a dissolute set of canons. Southwell and Hogen assured Cromwell that the ' prior relieved those quarters wondrously where he dwells, and it would be a pity not to spare a house that feeds so many indigent poor, which is in a good state, maintains good service, and does so many charitable deeds.^ On 6 October, 1536, the county com- missioners, Messrs. Townsend, Paston, South- well, and Mildmay, were at Pentney ; in a subsequent report they stated that they did not then suppress it because of the insur- rection in the north parts ; probably thereby meaning that they were afraid of exciting further ' Jessopp, 'None. Visit. (Camd. See), 29, 106, 167, 251, 3IZ. 'i. and P. Hen. Fill, x, 143. ^ Chant. Cert. Norf. No. 90. ' L. and P. Hen. 1111, x, 22I. warden of the hospital of St. Giles, Norwich.' The priory was granted on 14 February, 1538, to Thomas, earl of Rutland.* Priohs of Pentney Geoffrey,^ occurs 1 1 67 William de Vaux,^" temp. Hen. II Ralph,^^ occurs 1225 Simon,^- mentioned 1228, 1250 Geoffrey,^' c. 1260 William,^^ temp. Edw. I Richard de Marham,^' elected 1302 Giles de Whitwell,^^ elected 1338 Thomas de Helgeye,^' elected 1342 Ralph de Framlingham,^^ elected 1349 Vincent de Caldecote,^' elected 1 35 1 Peter Bysshop,^" elected 1353 Walter de Tyrington,^' elected 1 38 1 John de Wilton," elected 1397 William Swaffham,-' elected 1 41 4 John de Tyrington,"^ elected 141 6 Richard Pentney,-* elected 1449 Ralph Medylton,^^ elected 1464 John Woodbridge,"' elected 1496 John Hawe,-* elected 1 5 18 Robert Codde,"^ occurs 1526, last prior The thirteenth-century seal ad causas of this house is oval (2 in. by li in.), and shows "Ibid, xii (i), 218. « Suppression Papers (P.R.O.), ^p. ' Aug. Off. Bks. ccxxxii, fol. 49 ; L. and P. Hen. Flll,xn (1), 352 (33). ^ Aug. Off. Bks. ccxi, fol. 22. ' Hilt, of Abp. Becket (Rolls Ser.), vi, 262. '° Blomefield, Hiit. of Norf. ix, 41 ; almost certainly an error. " Ibid. '- Ibid. '^ Ibid. " Ibid. " Ibid. '^ Norw. Epis. Reg. iii, 14. '' Ibid. 62. '^ Ibid, iv, 96. "Ibid. 133. '» Ibid, iv, 147. " Ibid, vi, 76. '' Ibid. " Ibid, vii, 89. »' Ibid, viii, 6. " Ibid, xi, 19. ■'^ Ibid. 143. '■ Ibid, xii, 192. '* Ibid, xiv, 148. Rymer, Foedcra, and Jessopp, Noixv. Fisit. 390