A Monastic Chronicle lately discovered at Christ Church, Canterbury, with Introduction and Notes
( ' 4 7 )
A MONASTIC CHRONICLE LATELY DISCOVERED
AT CHRIST CHURCH,
CANTERBURY: WITH INTRODUCTION
AND NOTES.
BY THE REV. C. EVELEIGH WOODRUPP, M.A.
INTRODUCTION.
THE recovery of any little bit of ore from old workings must
always be a source of satisfaction to the miner; but his
estimate of its value may not be the true one, since the
knowledge that the ground has already been well explored
tends to magnify in his eyes the importance of a small
discovery. For similar reasons it is possible that the interest
of the one now to be recorded is over-estimated by the
present writer. It was certainly made in an unexpected
quarter. The bound volumes of ancient MSS. preserved in
the Cathedral library at Canterbury—unlike the vast miscellaneous
collection of detached documents which until
lately has only been partially open to students—have been
well explored, and extensively drawn upon, by antiquaries
and historians, from the days of William Somner to those
of Dean Hook. Some of the volumes were described by
Dr. Todd in the printed catalogue issued as far back as
1802, and others more recently by the late Dr. Sheppard in
his Report to the Historical MSS. Commissioners in 1883.
I t was therefore somewhat of a surprise to the present
writer to find, in one of these volumes, a short Christ
Ohurch Chronicle which had escaped the notice of previous
explorers,
4 8 A CHRIST CHURCH CHRONICLE.
The volume in question is a narrow paper book of
fifty-one folios, labelled C 14. The last fifteen leaves are
filled with the weekly accounts of one John Bedow, dean of
the seven priests who served the Almonry Chapel, for the
year 1434; but the earlier part of the book is in another
hand, and contains miscellaneous memoranda jotted down
by a Christ Church monk, whose name does not appear.
The writer probably held some official position in the monastery
in the first quarter of the fifteenth century, and the
entries he made in the book were no doubt valuable to him,
and are of some interest to us, but need not be described
in detail here, since I am concerned only with the Chronicle
which has been inserted on the 20th, 21st, 31st, 34th,
and 35th folios, and is in the same hand as the foregoing
memoranda.*
The avowed purpose of the chronicler was to put on
record the financial condition of the priory of Christ Church
from the days of prior Henry of Eastry to those of prior
John of Wodensberg, but his real object was to utter a
panegyric on the financial talents of the latter prior, who—
as he tells us—in little more than three years after his
election managed to pay off all the debts incurred by his
predecessors. In the case of the earlier priors he found the
task too much for him, for in his list some of them are
passed over without comment, or with the barren remark
Quid fecerit est ignotum. Even when he reaches a period
presumably within his own memory certain years are left
entirely blank, and in some cases he seems to deliberately
omit what he must have known. But these defects are to
some extent compensated for by the occasional light let in
on the very obscure history of the fourteenth-century priors,
and by the additional information which the later part of
the account supplies for dating some of the additions made
to the conventual buildings by prior Chillenden.
The priors of Christ Church, Canterbury, were not only
the heads of an important Benedictine house, but their
* In the Report of the Hist. MSS. Commission the book is merely desoribed
as " Taxaoio diocesis Cantuar (early thirteenth century)," Report IX., Appendix,
p. 127. Referenoe to the bibliographical note at the end of this Introduction
will shew how inadequate and inaccurate is this title.
A CHRIST CHURCH CHRONICLE. 49
influence extended at times to the remotest corners of the
southern province. This was the ease when, as guardian of
the spiritualities of the see of Canterbury during a vacancy
in the archbishopric, one of the suffragan sees happened
to be also without a bishop, in which contingency the prior
of Christ Church could hold visitations even in such remote
dioceses as those of Hereford or St. David's. But, though their
position amongst the heads of religious houses in England
was in some respects unique, it is remarkable how very little
is known about the personal history of the priors of Canterbury.
It is true that the Chronicle does not add much to
our knowledge, but where all is dark any little ray of light
is welcome, and this the Chronicle does occasionally supply.
Thus, for instance, although Robert Hathbrand was prior
for nearly thirty-two years in the reign of King Edward III.,
little more than that fact was known, but he now comes into
view as a courtly and magnificent prelate, who lived on the
best of terms not only with the great nobles of the realm
but with the king himself; and we are told that he had
acted as tutor to two of the royal princes. It would be
interesting to know which of the king's sons had the advantage
of a Canterbury education. Walter de Burley, of
Merton College, is said to have been Prince Edward's tutor,
but it is possible that the prior of Christ Church may also
have enjoyed this honour; and in that case veneration for
the relics of St. Thomas of Canterbury was perhaps not the
sole cause of the Black Prince's desire to be buried within
the walls of the Metropolitieal Church.*
Again, John Vynch (or Finch), who ruled the house from
1377 to 1391, has been little more than a name, but he now
appears with a sort of halo of sanctity, for onr chronicler
describes him—in the words of the psalmist—as " a man of
clean hands and pure heart," wholly devoted to God's
service. During Finch's priorate the economic condition
of the convent was good, but the chronicler is at pains to
inform us that this happy state of things was at least as
much due to the worldly wisdom of the Treasurers—brothers
# Hathbrand was elected prior of Christ Church in 1338, the year of the
birth of Prince Edward; he died in 1370.
VOL. XXIX. E
5 0 A CHRIST CHURCH CHRONICLE.
William Woghope and Thomas Chillenden—as to the prayers
of the good prior.
With the election of Chillenden to the priorate in 1391 the
chronicler evidently enters upon a period within the range of
his own memory, for he now records year by year the acts of
the prior, including of course his constant building operations.
The memory of Chillenden's passion for building survived
even in the reign of King Henry VIII., for Leland calls him
" the greatest Builder of a Prior that ever was in Christes
Church." A complete list of Chillenden's building works is
inscribed on the ' Compotus' roll for the year of his death
(1411) ;* and this list is more complete than that given
in the Chronicle. But the value of the latter consists in the
fact that the works enumerated are dated, and in some
instances particulars are added which enable us to understand
the nature of alterations which were previously somewhat
enigmatical. Thus, although the Roll tells us that new
lodgings were provided for the subsacristans, we get no clue
from that source as to the new position chosen for their
accommodation, or why any change was deemed necessary;
whereas we now learn that these subordinate officials had of
old time been lodged in the north aisle of the Church choir,
where then chambers had grievously obstructed the way
leading to St. Thomas's shrine, and that Chillenden fitted
up a new lodging for them in a room over the Chapel of
St. Andrew.
But of much greater interest than the above are the
details given concerning the work carried out at the same
period at the high altar and its surroundings. The Roll
enumerates amongst Chillenden's works the making Of
" a new altar with a silver gilt Table, with the furniture
of the Altars of Saint Elphege, and Saint Dunstan, and an .'
image of the Blessed Virgin, with four angels of silver and
gilt, and with a precious cup of gold with gems in the hand
of the Virgin, for putting in the body of Christ, ascending
and descending at pleasure."f From the Chronicle we learn
* Printed in Willis's Account of the Conventual Buildings of Christ
Churoh, Canterbury, Archmologia Cantiana, Vol. VII., pp. 188,189.
f Willis, op. cit., p. 188, and Legg and Hope, Inventories of Christ Church,
Canterbury, p. 110,
A CHRIST CHUKCH CHRONICLE. 5l
that the silver table weighed no less than 903 lbs., and cost
£1204, while the carvers, painters, and gilders received £1020,
presumably for the adornment of the altar-screen. Four
years were spent upon the construction of this magnificent
new altar-piece, and we are told that its glories were first
displayed to the populace on the Sunday after the Feast of
the Translation of St. Thomas (7th July) 1400, and that
its dedication was the first official act of Archbishop Arundel
after his return from exile. Mr. St. John Hope surmises
that the new altar-screen was " a low stone wall . . . . like
that still standing in Westminster Abbey Church, extending
across the presbytery."* But it should be noticed that
neither the Chronicle nor the Roll mention the use of stone,
and the Kalendar of Obits preserved at Lambeth states that
Chillenden's work about the altars was of gold and silver,
and of woodwork cleverly carved.f
Indeed, there are reasons for believing that, costly as the
work was, it was rather of the nature of a restoration of
something which already existed than the erection of something
entirely new. Nearly a hundred years earlier we read
of a costly altar-piece which the Prior and Chapter proposed
• to erect, and towards which Archbishop Reynolds offered
to subscribe twenty pounds. There was some difficulty about
getting the craftsman to carry out his contract, for, after
having received ten marcs on account of work done from the
monks of Christ Ohurch, he appears to have tried to make
a better bargain with some other religious house, conduct
which elicited indignant letters of protest from both Archbishop
Reynolds and Prior Eastry. J It is not certain
whether eventually this altar-piece was erected or not, but,
assuming that it was, I believe that a portion of it is in
existence even in the present day. But to this I shall revert
presently.
* Op. cit., p. 109.
f " Maius vero altare cum duobus altaribus Sanctorum Dunstani et Elphegi
opere argenteo et aureo, ac ligno sultiliter inciso decenter ornavit" (Lambeth
MS. 20, fo. 210").
J Eastry Correspondence, IV. R. 27, RR. 8, and IV. R. 38, Christ Church,
Canterbury. The craftsman employed was one Jordan, described as Pictor,
who was to receive for his work, when completed, an annual pension of twentyfive
mares,
•n 9.
5 2 A CHRIST CHURCH CHRONICLE.
Another notable feature in Chillenden's altar-screen was
" a precious image of the Holy Trinity, with six Apostles of
silver nobly gilt,"* the gift of Archbishop Courtenay. The
figure of the Blessed Virgin, which served as the Pix, and
the massive silver altar-table, are mentioned in the inventory
of 1540 amongst the goods left to remain in the Church, but
the table was sent to London by order of the Privy Council
in the first year of King Edward VI.t The altar-screen,
however, was still " rich and becoming " nearly one hundred
years later, for Somner tells us that in his day, though shorn
of much of its former glory, it was substantially much the
same as when Erasmus saw it.J
Somner lived to see the altar-piece still further defaced,
for, amongst other sacrilegious acts perpetrated by Colonel
Sandys's soldiers in 1642, it is recorded that "they defaced
the goodly skreen of tabernacle work, behind the altar." §
But although grievously injured the screen was not entirely
destroyed either then or during the troublous times of the
Commonwealth, and when King Charles II. came back in
1660 one of the first works undertaken by the Dean and
Chapter was the restoration of the dilapidated altar-screen.
That some part of the mediseval work was still left is,
I think, proved by the fact that Christopher Hartover of
Deptford, to whom the restoration was entrusted, undertook
in his contract to make " such additions of joined and carved
work . . . . as are now in any part wanting to the full completing
and perfecting of the screen now standing and being, at
the ascent at the east end of the Choir . . . . as well for gold
where gilding is to be used, as for colour, etc."|| Probably,
however, it was not found practical to retain much of the
* " Item unam ymaginem Sancti Trinitatis preciosciorem cum sex apostolis
argenteis et nobiliter deauratis ad tabulam summi altaris . . . . Que quidem
ymagines ad valorem CCCXL librarum appreoiantur in presenti" (Register S.,
f. 23, quoted by Legg and Hope, op. cit., p. 109).
t " To the Dean and Prebendaries of Canterbury to deliver the Silver table
that stood upon their High Aulter, by indenture contayning ye weight of the
same, to Sir Anthony Aucher" (Acts of Privy Council of England, New Series,
vol. ii., p. 539).
J Somner, Antiquities of Canterbury, ed. J. Battely, p. 94. Somner's first
edition of the Antiquities of Canterbury was published in 1640.
§ See a Letter sent to an Honourable Lord by Dr. Paske, Sub-dean of
Canterbury, printed in London, 9 Sept. 1642,
|| Christ Churoh Register, NQ. 27,
1
x fia
#
I
^ I J I W H AM Ql'Jirclj Xtrrr-a-
FKAGMENT OF XI I ITH CENTURY SCREEN-WORK FOBMEBLY IN
CHBIST CHUBCH, CANTERBURY.
A CHRIST CHURCH CHRONICLE, 5$
older work, since—judging from what can be seen of the
screen in Dart's view of the Choir, published in 1726—
it appears to be characteristic of seventeenth-century workmanship
rather than of that of the fourteenth or fifteenth.
Part of the mediteval screen is, however, I believe, still
preserved in the Church of Adisham, where at one time it
formed the reredos of the altar, but is now placed in the
south transept. This interesting fragment of early carved
woodwork is said to have been brought to Adisham from
Canterbury by Archdeacon Battely, who was rector of the
parish from 1678 to 1708.
An illustration of this curious piece of panelling was
given in an Article by the late Rev. Montagu Villiers on
Adisham Ohurch—published in Volume XIV. of our Transactions—
which is now reproduced upon the opposite page.
The panelling measures 8 feet 8| inches in height (to the
top of the flanking pilasters) and 6 feet 9£ inches in width,
and is divided into thi-ee tiers; in the uppermost are three
trefoiled recess es, the backgrounds of which are ornamented
with shallowly-sunk diaper work, and gilt. In the centre
of each of these arched recesses are the holes of the rivets
by which an image in high relief had been attached to the
gilded background. The midmost panel is made up of four
quatrefoils within circles, and the lowest panel, which was
formerly plain, is now. covered by a deal board bearing
representations of the four Evangelists. These were probably
painted in the seventeenth century, and, according to
Mr. Villiers, were at one time fastened over the diapered
background of the top panel. The flanking pilasters shew
empty mortice joints in front, as though to receive another
framework or a canopy. Possibly this may represent addition s
made to the thirteenth-century screen by Chillenden, and
it may be that the images which once occupied the now
vacant compartments were the silver ones of which we read
in the Roll commemorating that prior's works.
Concerning the rebuilding of the nave the Chronicler tells
us less, than he might reasonably have been expected to do.
The old Norman nave had been pulled down by Archbishop
Sudburyj who re-erected at his own.cost and charges the
54 A CHRIST CHURCH CHRONICLE.
western ends of the aisles.* The work was begun at the'
western end, doubtless to give immediate support to the Norman
towers which were left standing. Since the Chronicle
makes no mention of any work done on the nave when Finch
was prior, it would seem that after Sudbury's murder in 1381 the
work was at a standstill for ten years, and was recommenced
by Chillenden in the first year of his priorate (1391). Nine
years later—that is, in 1400—the new nave was apparently
approaching completion, for in that year Archbishop Arundel
contributed one thousand marks towards building the vault.
Unfortunately the chronicler does not give the whole amount
expended on rebuilding the nave. We only have figures for
six years, during which period the total outlay for this work
amounted to £2774 7s. 6d. Relating to other expenditure
the chronicler supplies particulars for eight of the twenty
years of Chillenden's term of office, from which we learn
the total outlay amounted to no less than £13,056 lis. 9d.,
exclusive of repairs done on the manors of the priory, and of
the ordinary maintenance charges of the house. It is not
uncommon to use a multiple of twenty when comparing the
purchasing power of money at the beginning of the fifteenth
century with what an equal sum would buy to-day ; but so
high a figure is scarcely justified when we remember that one
of the prime necessities of life, viz., wheat, averaged about
six shillings and sixpence per quarter in the period under
review, and that the price is not much more than six times as
much in the present day. But, whatever standard may be
taken, the figures mentioned above indicate such a lavish
expenditure that it is no surprise to learn that Chillenden's
successor found the Church very heavily in debt.
The new prior was, however, a man of business instincts.
A new system of book-keeping was inaugurated, and although
during Wodensberg's priorate additions were made to the
conventual buildings—notably the completion of the new
cloisters, which his predecessor had only commenced—he
was able, in not much more than three years after his
election, to clear off all liabilities. The chronicler is at
* " Duas alas in parti posteriore ecclesie erexit sumptibus propriia et expensis"
(Somner, op. oit, p. 22 note)i
A CHRIST CHURCH CHRONICLE. 55
great pains to bring this out clearly by means of an elaborate
balance-sheet, wherein he shews that, after the debt had
been paid and the money in the hands of the several
obedientiaries had been reckoned up, and a valuation made
of the grain and building-stone remaining in stock, the
Convent could shew to their credit a sum of £810 2s. lfd.
Wodensberg's success a.s a man of business impressed our
chronicler very deeply, for he tells us that he knew of none
who could equal him in this respect, and he regretfully
adds that he despaired of ever finding anyone worthy to be
his successor.
I t only remains now to give a transcript of the Latin
text, accompanied by a literal translation, to which some
elucidatory notes have been added.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE ON C. 14. (Press mark T. 7. 17.)
. Size, l l f inches by 4-J- inches.
Fohos, 51 (paper).
Contents. Fo. 1. The assessments on the sees of the southern
pi'ovinee for Peter's peace, as fixed by Pope Gregory V. in his
second year, 997.
Fos. 2—8. Christ Church rents in the city of Canterbury.
Fos. 10—12. Proceedings in an assize of waste held by the
bailiffs of the City of Canterbury, 140*}.
Fos. 13—16a. Wages of the conventual servants.
Fos. 16b—20. Gifts (exhennid) due from the priory to the
archbishop at Christmas and Easter.
Fos. 20b, 21. Christ Church Chronicle.
,, Fos. 23—25. Profits of the Almonry.
Fos. 26—2S. King's tenths due from the priory in the year 1402.
Fos. 29, 30. Christ Church assessment for the expenses of the
ambassadors sent to the Council of Constance.
Fo. 31. Christ Church Chronicle.
Fos- 32, 33. Assessment for the new sea-wall at Tenham.
Fos. 34, 35. Christ Church Chronicle.
Fos. 37—51. The weekly accounts of John Bedow, dean of
the priests serving in the almonry chapel (1424).
56 A CHRIST CHURCH CHRONICLE.
[Text.]
[fo. 35a.]
De statu ecclesie post decessum antiquorum patrum et
reverendorum dominorum priorum, de quibus experiri poterit
in quo statu istam sanctam ecclesiam dimiserunt, est videndum,
unde ab illo viro precippuo domino H. de Eastri qui
prefatam ecclesiam xlvij annis strenuissime gubernavit ad
presens, ut de ceteris taceantur inchoandum est, qui A0 dni
M°cccmoxxxi°, A0 vero Regis Edwardi in0 quinto in vigilia
Ambrosii migravit a corpore et ecclesiam liberam dereliquit.1
Post eum venit dominus Ricardus Oxyndenne, sed quid
fecerit est ignotum.2
Tunc venit ille f amosissimus dominus et duorum filiorum
Regis alumpnus, Regi et proceribus regni acceptissimus
dominus Robertus Hadebrand, qui prioratum in omni hono re
efc magnificencia, honorifice et splendide gubernavit, qui postquam
xxxii fere annis dictum prioratum magnis laboribus et
expensis honorifice gubernasset, gloriosissime ievit in pace,
1 Henry of Eastry's priorate marks a new era in the history of
the priory of Christ Church. He was elected in 1284, at a period
when the discipline of the house was much relaxed, owing to the
inefficient rule of his predecessor Thomas Ringmere, who eventually
resigned his office, and retired first to the Cistercian Abbey of
Beaulieu in the New Forest and afterwards to a hermit's cell.
Eastry was a man of great business capacity, whose reforms may
still be traced in the monastic registers; indeed these, in the form
in which they now exist, date from his days, the earlier registers
having all been recopied during his priorate. It was for this reason
that the Eastry era was fixed upon as a convenient date for
commencing an account of the financial history of the priory.
A complete hst of Prior Eastry's building-works is preserved,*
and amongst them is the beautiful carved stone screen which incloses
the Cathedral Choir. But the memory of these had grown dim
during the century which had elapsed since his death, and our
chronicler apparently did not have access to the record referred to,
* Christ Church, Canterbury, Register I., fo. 212, printed by Professor
Willis in Archmologia Cantiana, Vol. VII., pp. 18S—7.
A CHRIST CHURCH CHRONICLE. 57
[Translation.]
Concerning the state of the Church after the death of
those ancient and reverend fathers the lord-priors, that is to
say, an attempt to shew in what condition they left that holy
Church. Passing over in silence earlier priors, let us start
from the days of that distinguished man Dom. Henry of
Eastri, and continue our account until the present time. He
governed the aforesaid Church with the greatest energy for
forty-seven years, and departed this life in the year of our
Lord 1331, in the fifth year of King Edward III., on the
eve of St. Ambrose's day [6 Dec], leaving the Church free
from debt.1
After him came Dom Richard Oxyndenne [1331—1338],
but what he did is unknown.3
Then came that very celebrated lord Dom Robert Hadebrand
[1338—1370], tutor to two of the King's sons, and a
man very acceptable to the King and to the nobles of the
realm, who ruled the priory honourably and splendidly,
living in all honour and magnificence, who after he had
governed the said priory for nearly thirty-two years, with
great labour and expense, departed in peace, covered with
for he passes over in silence Eastry's many benefactions to the
Church and Convent. . I t is remarkable that the burial-place of
such an eminent man is not recorded, but possibly the recumbent
efiigy beneath the window nearest to the transept in the south aisle
of the choir may be Eastry's; at any rate the architectural style of
the accessories of this tomb shew that it was erected at no great
distance from the date of his death—1331.
2 Again, reference to the Register (L) would have told the
chronicler that the elaborate five-light window in the south wall of
St. Anselm's Chapel was inserted in the days of Prior Oxenden
(1336), and that he contributed the greater part of the cost.*
* "Memorandum quod anno 1336 faota fuit una fenestra nova in Ecclesia
Christi Cant., viz. in capella SS. Petri et Pauli Apostolorum, pro qua expensse
fuerunt ministratse " . . . . £42 : 17 : 2. " Summa £8 :13 : 4, data fuit a quibus
dam amicis ad diotam fenestram. Reliqua peounia ministrata fuit a Priore."
(See'Battely, Appendix to the Supplement, p. 1, in Somner, op. cit.)
58 A CHRIST CHURCH CHRONICLE'.
, [Text.]. "
sed in quo statu ecclesiam suam demiserit ignoratur, quia
omnes revenciones ecclesie post tunc sint et diu antea ad
manus Thesaurarioruni devenerint, et in ipso anno mortis sue
Conventus debebat Thesaurariis viz., Will Dovere, et Gilberto
xxii
Hamcherche per evidentiam compoti, eorundem DCCCCIIIIX
XVIIJ8 niJa ob. qrt. Et erat iste annus, annus Jubileus.8
Post eum venit dominus Ricardus Gylyngham qui . . . .
[blank].
Deinde dominus Stephanus Mongham, qui anno sue creacionis
primo anno viz. Incarnacionis dominice MCCCLXXVJ0
invenit ecclesiam oneratam diversis creditoribus, ut plene
patet in registro quern inchoavit ex relacione et fideli informacione,
ut ibidem per di versa parcellaet nomina creditorum
Johis Molash commonachi et confratris sui tunc ecclesie
xxii
Thesaurarii in HCCCIIIJV VIJ8 nd quod est in mareis MMLXXVIIJ
marc vjd. Et sic invenit ita delreliquit [sic], quia in ipso anno
creacionis sue primo migravit a seculo.
Anno dni Miflimo CCCLXXVII0
anno viz. sequenti tunc,
post eum venit ille innocens manibus et mundo corde, venerabilis
ac Deo devotus dominus Johes Vynch, qui ad ista onera
supportanda qui sibi predecessor eius ut superius liquet dereliquit
magis oracionibus et suorum confratrum W. Woghope
3 The exact nature of the change in the conventual bookkeeping,
which caused the chronicler some difficulty, I am unable
to explain, since the Treasurers' Accounts for this period are no
longer extant.
The principal additions or alterations to the conventual buildings
whieh are connected with Hathbrand's name are the Master's Hall,
on the north side of the infirmary, which is still iu a good state of
preservation, and forms part of the prebendal house nearest to the
dark-entry, and the remodelling of the chancel of the Infirmary
Chapel by the insertion of a new chancel-arch and large " decorated"
windows. In order to strengthen the old Norman walls
, a new interior lining of flint work, about 18 inches in thickness,
waa now plaeed.,over the Norman ashlar work. Recently some of
A CHRIST CHURCH CHKONICLE. 59'
[Translation.]
glory. But in what state he left his Church is not known,
because all the revenues of the Church after that time, and
for a long time previously, were paid into the hands of the
Treasurers, and in the year of his death the Convent owed
to the Treasurers, viz., to William Dovere and Gilbert
Hamcherche, as may be seen in the account roll of the
same, £990 18s. 4feL And that year was the year of
Jubilee.3
After him came Dom Richard Gylyngham [1370—1376],
who . . . . [blank].
Then Dom Stephen Mongham, who in his first year of
his election, to wit, the year of the incarnation of our Lord
1376, found the Church indebted to divers creditors, as is
fully set forth in the register which he began from the relation
and faithful information of brother John Molash, his fellow
monk, at that time treasurer of the Church, whereby when
the various amounts and names of creditors were reckoned
up the debts were found to amount to £1385 7s. lid, which
is in marcs 2078 marcs and 6d. And as he found the Church
so he left it, because he migrated from this world in the
first year of his election.
In the year of our Lord 1377, that is to say in the following
year, he was succeeded by that man of clean bands
and pure heart, the venerable and godly Dom John Vynch
[1377—1391], who for the support of the burden bequeathed
to him by his predecessor, as stated above, wisely depended
more on the power of prayer and the care and worldly wisdom
this fourteenth-century lining was removed by the masons engaged
in repairing it, when the brilliant colours of mural paintings on the
Norman wall were revealed. Only a small portion of the north
wall of the chancel was uncovered, but the ancieut paintings
brought to light have since been copied in facsimile, and the Dean
and Chapter have caused wooden shutters to be erected for their
protection.
60 A CHRIST CHURCH CHRONICLE.
(Text]
et T. Chilindenne4, solicitudine sapienter mundiali quam sua
yconomia specialius confisus dei gracia preventura (?) ecclesiam
suam ab omni debito liberam dereliquit, et multa et magna
edificia renovavit dormitorium viz. et cameras novas pro
hospitibus et plura alia edificia collaudanda sicut concessit
eius alumpnus T. Chylyndenne A0 i° infra.
[fo. 35b.]
XX
Md qd anno dni M°CCCIIIXJ° dominus Thomas Chylindenne
decretorum doctor eximius creatus est in priorem, in die
Sancte Juliane virginis a reverendo in Christo patre et domino
Wifto Courtenay Archiepiscopo Cantuariensis cum consensu
tocius Capituli A0 vero regni regis Ricardi na i a conquestu
XIIII0.
Hie anno sui prioratus primo fieri fecit introitum de
capella prioris ad cameram eiusdem qui antea fuerat per
scaccarium supra coquinam. Pecit etiam magnam cameram
prioris de novo reparari- cum fenestris caminis et cellura,
et novam capellam in le gloriet, novamque domum vocatam
le panydchambre, ad expensam exx1', et continuavit fabricam
navis ecciie primitus per reverentissimum in Christo patrem
et dominum, dominum, Simonem de Sudbury inchoatam ad
expensam cccc1'.
Sma huius anni sine reparacionbus Maneriorum DXX11.5
* "Woghope and Chillenden were the treasurers. It is recorded
of the former, in an obituary written by' Thomas Causton (Ghrist
Church, Canterbury, MS. D. 12), that " he made the chamber called
heven." This apartment still exists in the house of the seventh
prebendary (now occupied by the Lord Bishop of Dover), and
is still called by the same high-sounding name, while that beneath
it is called ' Paradise.' This house is now known as "-Chittenden's
Chambers," but it might with at least equal propriety be connected
with the name of Woghope or Finch.
The meaning of the last sentence in the above paragraph does
not lie on the surface. I can only conjecture that it alludes to
some reference made by Chillenden at a later date to' the work
done by his predecessor.
A CHRIST CHURCH CHRONICLE. 61
[Translation.]
of his brother monks, W. Woghope and T. Chilindenne,
than on his own good management, and so by the preventing
grace of God he bequeathed his Church (to his successor)
free from all debt. He restored many great buildings,
the dormitory, and new lodgings for guests, and many
other praiseworthy buildings, as his pupil, T. Chylyndenne,
allowed (?) in his first year below.*
Be it remembered that in the year of our Lord 1391,
Dom. Thomas Chylindenne, a distinguished doctor of the
canon law, was made prior on the day of St. Juliana the
virgin [22 May] by the reverend father and lord in Christ
William Courtenay, Archbishop of Canterbury, with the
consent of the whole Chapter, in the fourteenth year of the
reign of King Richard II. from the Conquest.
In the first year [1391] of his priorate he caused a
passage to be made from the prior's chapel to his lodgings,
which hitherto had been reached by way of the Cheker over
the kitchen. He also thoroughly repaired the prior's great
lodging, putting in new windows, chimneys, and a ceiling,
and built a house called the panydchambre at a total cost
of iS120. Also he went on with the rebuilding of the nave
of the Church, which had been originally commenced by the
most reverend father and lord in Christ, Simon of Sudbury,
expending thereon £400.
The total of this year, without reckoning manorial
repairs, is £520.5
6 In order to understand the nature of the first alteration it is
necessary to remember that the prior's chapel was situated over the
south side of the infirmary cloister where the Howley-Harrison
library now stands (see FIG. 6). The prior's mansion, or
camera, was on the east side .of the north end of the passage, now
known as the dark-entry (FIG. 5).* The old way of getting
* Eor the convenience of readers Willis's plans are here reproduced from
Archmologia Cantiana, Vol. VII., shewing a ground-plan (EIG. 5) and a firstfloor
plan (EIG, 6), with tbe east at the top of the Plate,
62 .A CHRIST CHURCH CHRONICLE.
[Text.]
I t em A0 ii° fecit dealbari totum chorum et totam ecclesiam
superiorem, et cameras trium parvorum sacristarum, que
tunc in ala boriali ecclesie in via viz. qua itur ad fferetrum
Sci Thome multum inhoneste dictam viam accloyantes, et
novam cameram pro eisdem sacristis fieri fecit supra altare
Sci Andree cum novis fenestris ibidem, et alio honesto
apparatu ad dictum altare ad expens' L" una cum continuacione
fabrice ecclesie ad expensam DXV" V3 v,Td.ut in
computo illius anni.
Isto anno inchoatum est novum hospicium in villa vocatum
le Cheker ad expensam CLXXIIII" XIIII3 IIII4 .
Summa huius anni ultra &c. Dcoxxxvm11 xix8 xd.B
from the chapel to the mansion was through the door at the
extreme east of the north wall of the chapel (FIG. 6, I), which led
into the cheker building. The cheker was the counting-house of the
convent, and in order to obviate the inconvenience whi6h may have
been sometimes caused by using it as a passage-room, Chillenden
made another door at the north end of the east Avail of the chapel
(FIG. 6, F), and connected it with his lodgings hy means of an
enclosed gallery on the level of the first floor running across the
western wall of the infirmary hall (FIG. 6, H) , by means of which
he could pass from his chapel to his lodgings in perfect privacy.
The prior's camera, with the gloriet (an apartment on the first
floor at its north end), have long since been pulled down, but the
mullions of the lower lights of the tall perpendicular windows
inserted by Chillenden may still be seen on the east side of the
dark-entry. Professor Willis, in his description of the conventual
buildings (published in Archceologia Cantiana, Vol. VII.),
does not mention the existence of a chapel in the gloriet. Another
piece of new information is the fact that the infirmary kitchen was
beneath the, cheker. Willis places it on the east side of the
infirmary hall (Archceologia Cantiana, Vol. VII., Plate 3, p. 199).
The 'panyd,' or panelled chamber, was a wainscoted room in the
south aisle of the infirmary hall—on the first floor (FIG. 6, A, B, C).
Willis says that it formed part of a suite of rooms allotted to the
sub-prior. After the dissolution of the monastery these rooms
were incorporated into the house of the twelfth prebendary. This
house was pulled down about the year 1845, but it was standing
A CHRIST CHURCH CHRONICLE.
From Willis' Plana, Archaologia Cantiana, I'll.
OJ
68
let Norman.
2nd Norman.
Early English.
Decorated.
Perpend if ular.
•*«£«*
C*MEWES
PRIORS
MAN si
CRYPT
LAVATORY T R A N S E P T
S ' 6 7
1IT0RY SUBVAULTS
D
Fig. 5.-GBOUND PLAN OF INFIBMABT CLOISTEB AND SITBBOrNDING BUILDINGS.
64 A CHRIST CHURCH CHRONICLE.
From Willis' Plans, Archmologia Cantiana, VII,
lat Norman.
2nd Norman.
Early English.
SSS»SSjg Decorated.
Perpendicular.
PANELLED
CHAMBER
ANDREWS
CHAPEL
CHAPEL
LAVATORY
CHAMBER
CHAPTER •
DORMITO Rr. HOUSE
Fig. 6.—FIBST-FLOOB PLAN OF INFIBMABT CLOISTEB AND STJBBOUNDING BUILDINGS.
A CHEISX CHUECH CHRONICLE: 65
[Translation.]
I n his second year [1892] he caused the whole choir and
all the upper part of the Church to be whitewashed, including
the rooms of the three petty sacristans which at that
time were in the north aisle of the Church, obstructing in
very unseemly fashion the way, that is to say the passage
leading to the shrine of St. Thomas. He caused new quarters
to be provided for the same sacrists over the altar of
St. Andrew, putting in new windows there and seemly fittings
for the said altar at an outlay of £50, together with
the continuation of the fabric of the Church at an outlay of
£515 5s. 6d., as may be seen in the account roll of that year.
I n that year was begun the new inn in the town, called the
Cheker, at an outlay of £174 14s. 4d.
The sum total for this year, not reckoning manorial
repairs, is £738 19s. IOd.6
when Professor Willis made his survey. In his article, published
some years later, he expresses regret that the ' panyd chamber'
should have been sacrificed when the house was demolished. " It
was," he says, " a beautiful specimen of the domestic architecture
of Chillenden's period, eleven feet high, completely lined and ceiled
with wainscot panelling. It had a handsome broad window (B),
with four lights and a transom externally, close to the Treasury.
A four-centred chimney-arch and chimney was placed west of the
window against the Treasury wall" (ut supra, p. 58).
6 The whitewashing of churches was a practice by no means
confined—as was once thought—to post-Reformation churchwardens,
but was very commonly resorted to in mediseval times, no doubt
partly as a sanitary measure. Nor was it necessarily devoid of
artistic effect when properly applied. The chronicler does not' give
the cost of this piece of work, probably because, as a matter of
fact, it was spread over two years. This we learn from the
Sacrists' Rolls, from which source it also appears that the total
cost of whitewashing the whole of the upper portion of the church,
i.e., all that lay to the east of the central tower, amounted to £19.
The position of the new accommodation provided for the subsacristans
has been already pointed out". It only remains to say
that "the seemly new fittings for the altar of St. Andrew" Qionesto
VOL. xsrx, F
6 6 A CHRIST CBTOEtCH CHRONICLE.
[Text.]
Item Anno in0 adquisita est pars manerii de Selgrave
que valet per annum x" ad expens' de OLVI" XIII8 iraa ultra
xx11 pro amortizacione. Bt in isto anno adquisita sunt Tenementa
Eoberti Lytle in London ad expensam cccxxxiin1' vi8
vmd ultra xxvi1' XIII3 imd pro annua pensione dicti Eoberti et
uxoris sue ad vitam eorum, qui per vi an nos et dimidium dicta
pensio perceperunt, viz. CLXIII11 VI8 vind et pro amortisacione
dictorum tenementorum XL11 turn postquam omnia ista fueret
persoluta, Dominus Rex pro defectu amortisacionis quern
reperit contra ius suum male et negligenter actum, omnia
tenementa supradipta fecit confiscari sed ex sua gracia
speciali et ad humilem rogatum dicti prioris omnia integre
restituit prout in patentibus in Cancellario plene patet.
Isto A0 inchoatum est novum opus collegii oxoniensis
quod per nie
s annos duravit ad expensam CCCXL, et pro
chymerhall adquisito xx11.
Bt continuatio fabrice novi hospicii ad expensam CCCLI1
'.
Bt continatio fabrice ecclesie ad expensam ccccxxviii1
1
xv8 imd in compoto illius anni.
Summa huius anni cum annis sequentibus ultra reparaciones
maneriorum MDCCOLXXH11 VIS vmd . 7
apparatu ad dictum altare) probably refer to some ornamentation
on the under side of the floor put in over the chapel. The floor
was removed about forty years ago, but one of the Cathedral workmen,
who remembers it in situ, tells me that it was ' faddled,' by
which term he probably meant that the beams supporting it were
moulded and carved on their under side.
The rebuilding of the Cheker inn, which occupied three yenrs,.
cost in all no less than £867 14s. 4