LOW MELWOOD. "BY Milwood Park side," says Leland, " stodde the ryghte fair Monasterie of the Carthusians*," founded about the nineteenth year of the reign of Richard the Second, by Thomas Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham, and Earl *The Carthusians were a celebrated order of monks, instituted by Bruno of Cologne, in Germany, A. D. 1080, and was planted in Britain by Henry the Second about a century afterwards. They had nine monasteries in England, of which this at Low Melwood was one. The most remarkable was that dedicated to Jesus of Bethlehem, at Shene, upon the Thames, Surrey, founded by Henry Marshal of England, and Lord of the Manor of Epworth. It was commended to the care of the blessed Virgin Mary, St. John the Evangelist, and St. Edward the King and Confessor: and was denominated the Priory in the Wood, "or the House of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin or Mother of God." We learn from the Royal licence for the foundation of this house that the original endowment consisted of a hundred acres of land round the house, the Manors of Newbold-super-Avon, Melbroke, Wappenbury, Sharnford, Coppeston, and Walton, all in the county of Warwick. The noble founder Henry the Fifth, in 1414, and that in London, near West Smithfield, founded by that celebrated warrior, Sir Walter Manny, created Knight of the Garter by Henry the Third. The House in West Smithfield was dissolved in the twenty-ninth of Henry the Eighth, who bestowed it on Sir Thomas Audley, by whose sole daughter and heiress it came to Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk; from whom it was purchased in 1611 for thirteen thousand pounds, by Thomas Sutton, who converted it into a rich hospital for eighteen decayed gentlemen, a head master and a second master for a free school, and forty-four boys to be maintained at school for eight years, with forty pounds then to bind them apprentices; and twenty pounds a year for eight years for twenty-nine scholars sent to the universities. The governors are sixteen, the revenues five thousand three hundred and ninety-one pounds per annum. This is the present Charter House. See Hearne's Dom. Carthusiana. The rule of the Carthusians was very strict. They were never allowed to eat flesh. They fasted eight months in the year; and in Lent, Advent, and on Fridays, eat no white meats, as eggs, milk, butter, cheese. They dined in their cells alone, which was brought them by a lay-brother, without speaking. Women were not only excluded their inclosures, but even their Church; and therefore their Church was generally within their house. They were usually permitted to walk about in private roads once a week, but never to eat out of doors or to drink any thing but water. Only superiors, or others when they addressed themselves to superiors, were allowed to speak, except on certain days after noon. Except at the times appointed they never stirred out of their cells, which were so many small houses, with four little houses for all necessary purposes, and a little garden. They worked in their gardens, or at some handicraft or art, being furnished with proper tools and with books. They always wore a plaited hair shirt, and out of modesty, slept in a kind of half dress, on straw beds laid on boards; went to bed at five, or six, or seven o'clock, rose again at ten to their double matins, returned to rest towards three, and rose again at five or six in the morning. Their dress consisted of a long loose black gown, similar to the surplice of modern times, but in it were no sleeves. On their heads they wore a hood, which closely encircled the face and fastened under the chin. This order was held in very high estimation by the writers of the Romish Church. Cardinal Bona stiles them "The great miracles of the world-men living in the flesh as out of the fleshthe angels of the earth representing John the Baptist in the wilderness-the principal ornaments of the Church-eagles soaring up to heaven, &c." founder also obtained the Royal licence to enable the Abbot and Convent of St. Nicholas, at Angiers, to make over to this Priory their cell of monks at Kirkby, in Warwickshire. Many other bequests of land were afterwards added in different parts of the Isle ; and a further bequest of land, adjoining the lands round the house, was made by John Duke of Norfolk after the death of his widow; which reversionary interest she gave up to the Prior on the payment of one penny, so that, at the valuation taken in the reign of Henry the Eighth, the items of its possessions stood thus. Domus Carthusien' in Insula de Axholme, in Com' Lincoln'* Valor' omnium dominiorum, maneriorum, terrarum, et tenementorum, &c. per ann. Summ' omnium deductionum Et valet ultra £ s. d. 290 14 72 52 19 5 237 15 2 Comput' ministrorum Dom' Regis, temp' Henri' VIII. Axholme infra Insulam, nuper Prioratus, Com' Lin' Axholme, &c. reddit assis' cum reddit ad volunt' Axholme, Belton, Clawerworthe, Ketby, Dvithethorpe, *Madox's Formulare Anglicanum. The manner in which the Commissioners were required to set forth the ecclesiastical property was as follows. First, a return of all the fixed property, such as manors, lands, tenements, or rents: then Com' Linc. Axholme, firma terrarum dominicalium Karkby Bellers, firma terr' et ten' Sileby, firma Rector' Melton Mowbray, pensio' Vicar' Kirkby, monachorum reddit assis' in Kirkby et alibi Kirkby et alibi, firma terrarum Kirkby, firma Rector' cum aliis decimis Creke, pens' de Rector' Wythbroke, pens' de Rector' Shernford, pens' de Rector' 2 13 4 1 10 5 This establishment was a place of considerable consequence, and in the welfare of which the founder and his successor felt great interest. His remains were buried here in a tomb of alabaster, which was brought by his son Thomas from Venice, where he died; as were also the remains of his grandson John de Mowbray. The powerful interest which its noble founder had with the Court of Rome secured to this House its pre-eminent privileges. In the Pontificate of Pope Boniface the Ninth, a bull was granted by which all such as should visit the Chapel of our Lady in the Isle of Axholme on the second day of July, the Festival of the Visitation of the Virgin, "being duly penitent, and having confessed then of all the tithe property, and of all the customary oblations which were estimated com. annis, of these the gross amount was to be returned. From this amount, however, they were allowed to make certain deductions before the actual value was ascertained These deductions consisted, first of the rents resolute to the Lord, and all other annual and perpetual rents and charges; secondly, alms which were due to the poor according to any foundation or ordinance; thirdly, fees to stewards, receivers, bailiffs, and auditors; and fourth, synodals and procurations. The returns are made in general conformably to these instructions; and thus, in the account of the possessions of this Priory, we have, first, the annual value of the precincts; next of the land which was situated in the county in which the house stood, the land in other counties; and last, the impropriate RectoOn the other hand we have the rents resolute, the alms, the fees, and the synodals. confessed their sins, and giving alms towards the erection and support of the House, should have the same indulgence and remission of sins as were obtained by those who, on the first and second days of August, visited the Church of St. Mary in Portiuncula, called of the Angels, without the Walls of Assisium." It appears from Dugdale, that this indulgence was exhibited at the Visitation of the Lord Bishop of the diocese, held at Gainsbrough, in the year 1398, a copy taken of it by the Registrar, and institution given to the Prior, who is stiled the Lord Prior*. The memorandum states that it was "a true leaden bull of the said most Holy Father, with a string of brazen threads of a curious saffron colour, garnished after the manner of the Roman Court, sound and entire, true and proper, not defiled, not cancelled, nor in any part corrupted, but entirely void of all suspicion and blame." This indulgence was general for all sins committed up to that period. The House was surrendered to the King's Visitors on the 26th of June, 1553. Michael Meekness was the name of the last Prior; and he had eight monks under him. It appears from a paper in the Cotton MSS. that a complaint was made against this Prior by Bryan Bee, Vicar, Dayn Thomas, Alred, and Brother Thomas Covert, about the time of the dissolution, for conveying "our goods out of our House, as soon as he was come home from London, when he said he had gyfyne up his offyce, the house, the land, but not the goods, wax worth x lb. pewter vessels iii. score or there aboute, iii pecys of wolan cloth, a great quantyte of spyce, with many other things. Our chese and fyshe is greatly wasted, our rydyng horses is gonet." He is accused also of letting one of the farms, after he had given up the land, to one of his * There were two sorts of Priories: first, where the Prior was governor as fully as any Abbot in his abbey, and was chosen by the convent; secondly, when the priory was a cell, subordinate to some great abbey, and the Prior was placed and displaced at the will of the Abbot. Low Melwood belonged to the first of these two descriptions of priories. The Priors lived in a less splendid and expensive manner than the Abbots, though in some of the greater Houses they were called Lord Priors or Lady Prioresses. Every Prior was to be in priest's orders, by a decree of the Council Burton's Eccles. History of Yorkshire. of London, A. D. 1126. † Cleopatra, E. iv. Fo. 97. |