Mary of Cockersand, and, in case of their default, upon the abbot and convent of the Blessed Mary of Furness.

On the 10th day of August, 1485, the licence granted on the 16th day of March, 1484, was exemplified under the duchy seal at Lancaster.

Five years later on the 1st of March, 1500—a curious deed was made between "Sir Rafe Elcocke, priest, sole feoffee & Administerer of d'vs goods of John Gardener, late discesyd, apon ye one ptie, and Ryc' Nelson, ye Mair of Lancaster, and Sir Nicholas Greene, the chantrie priest of ye almeshouse, apo' ye or pt." By this deed Ralph Elcock purports to grant to Richard Nelson and Nicholas Greene and their successors the nomination of "ye lady priest and Scole maist'r of Lancaster belongyng ye almyshouse of ye said John Gardner."

The schoolmaster and lady priest were to be "abull instructors, the seyd priest saying masse in ye chapell of or Lady with all other divine services as a priest ought to do."

The schoolmaster was also to be a "profound grammarian, keeping a free schole, teaching and informing ye children unto their utmost profitte, nothing takyn therefor."

"The tyme of the begyning of his infomacion of ye Scole in ye morningtyde at six of ye clocke and so contynewyng unto viij. The said Scole mayst'r to begyn agayn at ye 'o'r of x, and to contynue unto xij, and then from ij afternone untill six at Evyn, saying dayly at the breking up of ye scole de profundis for ye sowlys of J. Gardener and Isabell his wife, ye sowlys of bred❜n & sisturs belongyng unto ye monastery of Seynt Brigitt of Syon, and for all Crystyn sowlys."

The profits of the mill were to be received by the priest and schoolmaster, and placed in a box with two

locks, the mayor having the key of one lock and the chantry priest that of the other; and after providing for the payment of the priest and schoolmaster, the balance was to be held for the repair of the mill and the mill garth, under the oversight of the mayor.

The deed concludes with the provision that "if hit happyn that the seyd lady priest and scole maist'r do not their dutye or be fownd culpable in any such causys which is specifyed in the Indenture tripartite of the ordination of the foundation of the chantrie of J. Gardener, then shall it be lawful for ye Meyr & ye chantrie priest and their successors to monish onys, twyse, thrise, and then to putt owte & to elect another abull priest or scolemaister."

Some ten years later than the date of this deed a survey of the lands of the monastery of Syon remarks that: "The water of Lune lyeth due upon my Lady's ground beside Lancaster, and specially upon three closes in the holding of The Mylle that John

Gardyner toke of my Lady ther is not well repared nor the Dam mayntened, thereffor the Indentur thereof must be seyn, and the water that goeth forth of Lune to that Mylle causeth all the Breche of my Lady's ground aforesaid. My Lady hath but 6s. 8d. by yere for the Mylle and a Close called the adjoyning to the Mylle, and the Close is worthe 5s. by yere thereof, and ever will be or better. Memorandum to enquire if it were hurtful to my Lady to tak that Mylle or unto her tenants, for suerly if the Fysche were wer not well made all the holle water of Lune would lieve his corse to the mylle and so take away much of my Lady's ground adjoyning thereto." This is the last we hear of the mill. It probably stood not far from the eastern extremity of the borough, and not far from the river Lune. The close of land

D

then and now known as Brerebutts was to the southwest of the site of the mill and just within the boundaries of the borough of Lancaster.

The chantries can be traced a little later. At the time of the visitation of the chantries, Edward Baynes was the chantry priest. "The same chapell is within the towne of Lancaster, and not furre in distance from the p'sch church ther, and the said Incumbent with the iiijor bedemen beforesayde all remanying ther to this day accordynge to the ordinance of the sayde ffoundacon." The plate and ornaments were: "One chales of sylver weynge by est' viij onces, ij vestments with albes, one masse boke, one bell in the almeshouse."

The property consisted of "the almeshouse wherein the beydmen doth inhabite, with one chamber for the preyst and one litle gardyne, worth by yere to be let to ferme, xl."

There was also various property in Scotforth, Bailrigg Hutton, Gressingham, Goosnargh, Wadgrave, Langthwaite, Preston, and Winmarleigh, bringing in a rental of xi vji xd.

At the same visitation the other chaplain was described as "a Stipendarie in the parishe church there, ordeyned and founded by the Mayer and burgesses of Lancaster with parte of the profitts rysinge and growinge of one mill graunted to them by Indenture for term of yeres. And the residue of the profitts are ymployed to the mayntenance of one Grammar Schole for wch purpose they say the mill was graunted to them." John Lunde was the priest, his age was fifty-four, and he received yearly the sum of four pounds. There was no plate.

With this record the history of the two chantry priests comes to an end.

The original building, erected by John Gardyner for the four poor men, has long since disappeared. The

present building, known as "Gardyner's Almshouses,' which stands at a short distance from and faces the east end of Lancaster Church, bears the inscription:

The almspeople are now four widows appointed by the Trustees of the Lancaster Charities. They receive the weekly sum of five shillings and sixpence each.

There remains to be dealt with the most important foundation of the four, namely, the grammar school.

From the date of the deed of 1500 nothing is heard of the school until 1615. In that year Randal Carter, of the parish of St. Saviour in Southwark, in the county of Surrey, citizen and tallow chandler of London, by his will, dated the 18th day of April, 1615, made the following bequest: "Item. I give, will, and bequeath to John Marshall, of the parish of St. Saviour's in Southwark aforesaid, baker, and Richard Yearwood, of the parish of St. Saviour's in Southwark aforesaid, grocer, their heires and assignes, as feoffees in trust, towards the maintenance of an Usher in the ffree Schoole of Lancaster, in the County of Lancaster, one Annuity of tenne poundes p. ann. to be issueinge out of my landes, tenements, and hereditaments, in White Crosse Streete, in the parish of St. Giles without Criplegate, in the County of Middlesex, during soe long time as the said free Schoole shall be mainteined and the said Annuity soe employed."

Randal Carter died on the 20th day of April, 1615, and an enquiry held at the courthouse of the parish of St.

Clement Danes, in the county of Middlesex, on the 28th day of February, 1668, showed that John Marshall had died in 1624, that Richard Yearwood had died in 1631, and that Edward Payne, of East Grinstead, the heir-at-law of Richard Yearwood, had conveyed the said annuity unto the Governors of the Free Grammar School of the parish of St. Saviour's in Southwark. It was also found that "John Harrison of Lancaster is and hath beene Usher in the ffree Schoole of Lancaster aforesaid, and diligently hath imployed himselfe in the said place from the fifth day of May, which was in the yeare of our Lord God, 1656, unto the time of the takeinge of this Inquisition.'

The commission ordered that thenceforth the property in White Cross Street should stand for ever charged with the annuity of £10.

This annuity continued to be paid to the Corporation of Lancaster as governors of Lancaster School until 1886, when the property in Whitecross Street was taken by the Metropolitan Board of Works, and a sum of £328. 75. 2d. New Consols placed in the hands of the Charity Commissioners to meet the annuity.

No further mention of the school is met with until the following record appears in the Corporation books:

THE BORROUGH OF
LANCASTER

The sixt day of November 1680.

It is this present day Ordered by the Maior Bailiffs & Councell of this Burrough whose names are subscribed That Thomas Lodge now present Schoolemaster of Heversham shall be & is hereby declared to be Schoolemaster of Lancaster: And that he shall continue Schoolemaster there for and during such such tearme and tyme as he shall be able and dilligent to instruct and teach the Schollers in the said Schoole And that he shall have yearly paid him for his Sallary by the Bailiffs of the Corporation for the time being att the Towne's Hall out of the Towne's Revenue the yearly sume of Thirty pounds of lawfull English money to be paid unto him att every Quarter's end by even & equall porcons And that the said Sallary & Comencement of his ffirst yeare shall begin the ffirst day of