A Contemporary List of the Benefactions of Thomas Ikham, Sacrist to St Austin's Abbey, Canterbury, circa 1415

( 152 ) A CONTEMPORARY LIST OF THE BENEFACTIONS OE THOMAS IKHAM, SACRIST, TO ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY, circa 1415. TRANSCRIBED AND TRANSLATED BY CHARLES COTTON, O.B.E., F.R.C.P.E.-, M.R.C.S. ENG-. THOMAS IKHAM:, a monk of St. Austin's Abbey, was born at the village of that name on the lesser Stour, near Canterbury, probably about the end of the first quarter of the fourteenth century. Doubtless many recruits for the Monastery were obtained from Ikham and the surrounding villages during early and mediseval times, rendering it difficult or impossible to identify in most cases the particular family to which they belonged, as it was the custom for one taking monastic vows to drop his patronymic for the name of the place of his birth. Exactly who Thomas Ikham was probably never will be known, but Ikham should ever be proud of her son, who by the munificence of his benefactions left his mark on one of the wealthiest and most celebrated religious houses in the kingdom. We can only assume that Thomas must have belonged to a wealthy and important family, as the total sum expended by him on St. Austin's must have been between three and four thousand pounds, a very large sum in the fourteenth century, representing at least about £50,000 of our money. That the "Ancient House" of which Thomas became a Brother realized its indebtedness is certain, as the document, of which the following is a transcript, opens with the statement that, during the period that he occupied the office of Sacrist to the Monastery, the Lord Abbot and the wisest THE BENEFACTIONS OE THOMAS IKHAM. 153 Members of the House made annually an allotment and estimate of the Conventual Funds, which were allotted to the Sacristy for the expenses incurred by the Sacrist in carrying out bis duties, and that the detailed list subjoined was over and above those funds found by Thomas from his own private sources. The date of his death and a short account of his benefactions (fairly complete, but not entirely so) are given by Thorne (Decern Scriptores Col. 2196): the former is stated to have been in the year 1391, and, besides the fact that he had held the office of Sacrist in the Abbey, it is mentioned that he had paid the debts of the Convent and made certain benefactions, of which a record was regularly kept and a valuation made. Such a record and valuation is now before us. The original is in the possession of St. Augustine's College, Canterbury, and it is witb a feeling of great satisfaction and gratitude that one realizes that this fifteenth century manuscript is now in its original home after an exile of more than 350 years. Efforts to ascertain the history of this document from the time of the dissolution of the Abbey to its return in 1893 by the generosity of the Warden, the Rev. Dr. G. F. Maclear, have proved unavailing. The MS. is written on paper with no watermark, it measures about 7J in. by 12£ in., and the writing is in a hand characteristic of the early part of the fifteenth century. Except that the last half of the final paragraph is very •corrupt, and a mistake—very common in the addition of Roman figures—is made in the sum total at the foot of the document, the text is well written in the abbreviated Latin of the period. The transcription of the MS. was a matter of ease, the •extension and translation of considerable difficulty. For much help in this I am indebted to the Rev. C. E. Woodruff, 154 THE BENEFACTIONS OE THOMAS IKHAM. M.A., late Rector of Tunstall, whose scholarship and knowledge of medisevalism is known to all students. The contents are of great interest to lovers of St. Austin's, as considerable light is thrown on the fabric of the great church, on St. Paneras Chapel, and on the domestic buildings both at Canterbury and at Margate, where was the marine residence of the community, as well as illustrating by the ornaments and vessels mentioned the habits and methods of the administration of the Divine offices in mediaeval times. The description of the art and craft of the goldsmith of the period causes one to deplore more than ever the suppression of a society, and the destruction of such an ancient house, when accompanied by ruthless pillage and robbery as that effected in the sixteenth century. I t only remains to select some of the items in the list for detailed comment. First, with regard to the three basins of silver with chains. These were hanging lamps, and were placed in that part of the church behind the high altar, which was called the Corpora Sanctorum from its being the place where the bodies or relics of certain early Saxon saints were preserved in shrines, viz., in the eastern apse, above the altar of the Holy Trinity, St. Austin's shrine was in the centre, .and those of St. Lawrence and St. Mellitus on the north and south respectively. Then, on the north side of this retrochoir, passing from west to east, were the shrines of Saints Lambert, Nothelm, Mildred, Deusdedit,. and Justus. St. Mildred's shrine was in the N.E. apsidal chapel, containing the altar of the Holy Innocents. On the south side, also passing from west to east, were the shrines of Saints Talwin, Brithwald, Adrian, Theodore, and Honorius,, St. Adrian's shrine being in the S.E. apsidal chapel containing the altar dedicated to Saints Stephen, Lawrence, and Vincent. Although the places where the three basinswere are not specified, it is reasonable to suppose that they hung before the three altars above mentioned.* * Of. Rites of Durham. THE BENEFACTIONS OF THOMAS IKHAM. 155 The price of the beautiful cope is amazing, somethinglike £1200 of our money. The fair cushions of silk from India were in all probability to place on the altar (as we now use book-desks) to lay the missal on, a practice which was really necessary in days when the covers of such books were often elaborately wrought with precious metal work, enamelled or jewelled, frequently with a crucifix and attendant figures in high relief. Thorne states (Col. 2122) that there was a terrible storm in the year 1361, which certainly wrecked the roof of the chapel of St. Paneras and appears to have done other damage, as the chapel was left derelict till the year 1387, when Thomas Ikham rebuilt it with the help of Lora att Les. The eastern part of the present ruins, including the arch of the east window, probably dates from this rebuilding. The double roof of the Chapter House meant that it wasvaulted in stone beneath a wooden-framed roof covered with lead. The new Cemetery Gate is the one which stands at thesouth end of the west front of the College, and, except for much alteration in post-reformation times, is identical with Ikham's gate. The Hall at Salmeston, near Margate, liesparallel to the chapel there; it had two stories and was 60 feet long by 25 feet broad. The floor of the upper storey can be traced on the walls, and the doors, windows and windowseats, with the remains of the fireplace, can all be seen, together with a kingpost roof—all Thomas Ikham's woi-k. On the south-east of the Hall and contiguous to it was the buttery and pantry with the chamber above, about 39 feet long by 15 feet broad, many years since in ruins. CHAB-DUS COTTON. 1<56 THE BENEFACTIONS OF THOMAS IKHAM. .BENEFICIA FFEATEIS THOME IKHAM A TEMPOEB QXTO FXJIT IK OFFICIO SACEISTIE SUPEE DISPGSICIONEM ET ESTIMACIONEM PEE DOMINXJM ABBATEM ET SAPIENTISSIMOS CONVENTUS FACTAM ANNXJATIM. Inprimis fecit fieri iij basinos argenteos cum cathenis ad •corpora Sanctorum pro quibus soluit xxvj ii xiij s. Item fecit fieri iiij campanas in turri supra chorum pro -quibus soluit xxx ii et amplius. - Item fecit fieri i novum tectum sub ala Sancti Gregorii •cum fenestris vitreis novis pro quo soluit xl ii. • Item fecit fieri i novum tectum ex parte australi sub ala .Sancti Jobannis pro quo soluit xl li. Item fecit fieri ij magnas campanas in campanile vocatas .Austyn et Marye pro quibus soluit cxvi ti. Item fecit fieri ii campanas in turri ad ostium ecclesie vocatas Mildrede et Margaryte pro quibus soluit xxiiij li. Item fecit fieri j campanam vocatam Gabriel in eodem tiurri pro qua soluit xxxj li. Item fecit fieri de novo i fenestram in navi ecclesie pro .qua soluit ex li. Item comparavit et fecit unam capam puleherrimam de :auro totaliter brudatam ac in margaritis decenter ornatam pro qua soluit cvi li xiii s. iiij d. Item fecit fieri unum turibulum novum pro quo soluit vi ii. Item fecit fieri ii basinos argenteos cum ij philis deauratis •decenter ornatis pro quibus soluit xxvij li. Item dedit vj quyschyns pulchros de Vnde sericos pro