to suitable clay on the banks of the Hull on the convent's land at Wawne and Sutton. The monks seized the oars and tools, and on another occasion impounded their barge (batella). Thereupon the provost of Beverley instigated the tilemakers to claim the clay as a right pertaining to them as tenants of the archbishop and college of Beverley. They demanded the restitution of the boat, and, on refusal, seized one of the monks who happened to be doing business in Beverley, and put him in prison, threatening to do the same for the abbot and the rest of the brethren on the first opportunity. But the king being expected at Beverley, they released the monk, and eventually made due submission at the monastic court at Wawne.

The sea made further encroachments, so that only a third of the original estate of Tharlesthorpe (about ninety acres) could be saved, and that by the erection. of a costly new sea-wall.

To this disaster followed an expensive appeal to Rome as to certain alleged irregularities in connection with the appropriation of the churches of Easington and Kayingham. The pope insisted on having the original grants before him, and then the official of the court objected to Edward III. being styled King of France. At last the pope covered over the obnoxious word "Francia" in the deeds, with green wax, in his own hand, and in this condition they were returned to Meaux.

A suit was entered into to insist upon the vicar of Kayingham providing the lights about the great altar. The judgment of the official at York was that the word "luminare in the ordination deed was to be understood to mean that the vicar was to provide four tapers for the altar, or two tapers and one lamp, but that the rest of the lights of the choir were to be provided by the monks of Meaux as rectors. Much damage was done to the church of Kayingham, in 1396, by a storm.

Abbot William resigned at the age of seventy-seven on a most liberal allowance, and died at the age of eighty-one.

Thomas Burton, "a man both religious and welllettered," the compiler of the chronicles, succeeded as nineteenth abbot, 1396-1399. He had originally equal votes with William Wendover, the prior, but Wendover withdrew in his favour. Discord soon showed itself. A general chapter of the order was held in England at St. Mary of Graces, London, under the authority of Pope Boniface IV. The insubordinate members of the convent, who seem to have disliked Burton's stricter rule, appointed two of their number to lay a protest before this chapter as to his election, alleging the undue interference of the Duke of Gloucester as founder. The general chapter declined to give judgment, as the abbot had no representative present, but they appointed the abbots of Furness and Roche visiting commissioners. When the commissioners arrived, they found the gates of Meaux abbey closed, and their entrance barred by men armed with bows and arrows and other warlike instruments, placed there by orders of the fatherabbot of Fountains. The commissioners withdrew, but cited the abbots of Fountains and Meaux to appear before the general chapter in London. Thereupon Fountains and Meaux, at their joint expense, sent messengers to Rome, with the result of procuring a bull revoking the authority for the general chapter at London, and annulling all commissions issued by it. Peace was subsequently made at Meaux through a friendly arbitration, and the rebellious monks yielded to Burton.

Meanwhile abbot Burton undertook a long journey to Vienna as proctor for the abbots of Riveaulx, Fountains, Byland, and Kirkstall, at a general Cistercian chapter held there during the schism by order of Boniface IX. He had the honour of sitting

at chapter as one of the four chief abbots, taking the place of the absent abbot of Clairvaux, a supporter of the anti-pope Clement. Further dissensions breaking out on his return to Meaux, abbot Burton, to promote peace, resigned his dignity dignity on August 24th, 1399. He lived a quiet religious life at the monastery over which he had once ruled, dying in 1437. For the last eight years of his life he was blind.

THE CONVENTUAL BUILDINGS.

It may be of service to briefly summarise the chief items of information that are supplied by the chronicle with regard to the fabric of the church and conventual buildings, giving them in chronological order.

So soon as the charters had been completed, by which he devoted the estate to God and the Blessed Virgin, for the foundation of a monastery of Cistercian monks, the earl of Albemarle set to work to provide a house for the infant colony, the material, as it was only intended to be a temporary shelter, being mud and wattle (ex vili cemate), and probably only one story high. It was erected on the spot subsequently occupied by the gatehouse. Close to the house the house he also built, obviously of more permanent material (though not expressly so stated in the chronicle), a chapel for their devotions, which was standing and used as the cellarer's chamber about two and a half centuries later. The chapel building was divided into two parts, the lower floor being used as the monks' dormitory, and the upper section for divine worship.

During the period of the first abbacy, 1150-1160, a young ward of the founder, William Fossard, seduced his daughter, and fled the country. King's licence, destroyed Fossard's ferant, in Birdsall, and the timber

The earl, by the castle at Montof which it was

constructed was given to the monks of Meaux. The monks, who had rapidly increased, finding the chapel building, where so many of them both chanted and slept (psallerant et pausarant), far too small, made for themselves, from the castle beams, a larger building, which, like their first oratory, was divided into two stories, for a chapel and a dormitory. This wooden building was subsequently used as the brew-house.

Under the twenty-two years rule of Philip, the second abbot, 1160-1182, the monks began the building of a great conventual church of stone. It would be in the advanced Norman style, for it was during this period, amongst well-known work, that the transepts and nave of Peterborough cathedral, the nave of Ely cathedral, and the crypt of York cathedral, were built. At the same time a large monks' dormitory, also of stone, was begun; this latter, with its necessary appurtenances, abbot Philip lived to see finished.

Thomas, the third abbot, 1182-1197, obtained the gift of stone quarries both at Hessle and Brantingham. These donations, and the rise of the lighter and fascinatingly graceful style of the Early English architecture, seem to have tempted abbot Thomas, notwithstanding the impoverished condition of the monastery, to pull down the part of the conventual church which his predecessors had begun (on the plea of the inconvenience of its plan), and to commence a new church after a different design.

During this abbacy, William Bull, rector of Cottingham, built a refectory of stone for the monks, which was being used for the same purpose in 1400, and doubtless remained till the dissolution. To this refectory or fratry, abbot Thomas added the usual adjuncts, the calefactory or warming chamber on the east, and the kitchen on the west. He also repaired

or

reconstructed many other buildings of the monastery and its granges. The foundations of the refectory for the lay brethren were also laid during

his rule. The stone for all these buildings came from the quarries at Brantingham.

Abbot Thomas lived five years after his resignation, and died in 1202. There was evidently a chapter house of stone at this time, for the chronicler records that he was buried close to the south pier of the chapter house, near to his two predecessors. No special reference had hitherto been made to this part of the fabric, but it would, we suppose, be included under the big dormitory building of abbot Philip, as the chapter house would be under the part nearest to the church. From this entry it is also obvious that the first chapter house followed the usual Cistercian plan of being rectangular, with a groined roof, supported on two or more columns.

Alexander, the fourth abbot, 1197-1210, completed the refectory for the converts, and began the erection. over it of the lay dormitory. He also began the construction of the cloister in stone (it had probably up to that time consisted of mere wooden lean-tos), and rebuilt the "gong," or domus necessaria. Various other works were undertaken by him with reference to the conventual buildings, at considerable cost, the exact nature of which is not, however, specified by the chronicler. For the second time the beginnings of a great church were swept away to the very ground (penitus avulsisset), and the foundation-stone of a new church, planned after an extensive design, was laid by abbot Alexander, on Palm Sunday, 1207.

The dormitory for the converts and the monks' cloister were finished building during the time of Hugh, the fifth abbot, 1210-1220.

Geoffrey, the sixth abbot, died in the year of his election. During the rule of his successor, Richard, 1221-1235, the monks' infirmary was begun, but not much progress was made with it, as their chief energies were directed to furthering the building of the great church.