*1368, Sir William of York, priest, was instituted on Sept. 25, on the presentation of Lady Alice de Neville, Lady of Brauncepath, and on Oct. 10 following he had leave of absence for two years in her service. (Reg. Thoresby, ff. 148, 149.) On June 22, 1378, licence was granted to the Dean and Chapter of York for alienation to them in mortmain by certain persons, whose names are mentioned, of certain property in York, for finding a chaplain to celebrate divine service daily in Holy Trinity, King's Court, according to the Archbishop's ordinance, for the souls of certain other persons named (and amongst them William of York, parson of Fishlake) when they died. (Cal. of Patent Rolls, 1377-1381, page 256.) On his death.

*1378, John de Kirkeby, Nov. 2, on the presentation of Sir Richard Scrope, knight. He exchanged with

*1379--80, Thomas de Ulsby or Ullesby, parson of St. Mary's, Grimsby, instituted on Feb. 20, on the presentation of Sir Richard Lescrope, knight, and Sir John Fairfax, clerk. (Reg. Alex. Neville, i, 29.) In 1386 John de Uluesby and John Fairfax, parson of Prestcotes, paid the King 25 marks for licence to alienate in mortmain a messuage and a' bovate of land in Ketilwell and half the advowson of the church there to Coverham Abbey. (Cal. of Patent Rolls, 1385-9, page 207.) The attention of the Benedictine General Chapter was given, inter alia, to the higher education' of the monks of the Order. In 1283 a College had been founded at Oxford, by John Gifford, Lord of Brimsfield, for the monks of St. Peter's, Gloucester, and it was known as "Gloucester Hall," now Worcester College. The principal Benedictine houses in the Southern Province joined in the enterprise, and built separate houses for themselves in connection with it. In 1334 Benedict XII issued from Avignon the bull called "Benedictina, the most important bull issued by the Papal See for the legislation of the Order. Chap. v enacts: In every house a properly paid teacher is to be appointed to instruct the monks in grammar, logic, and philosophy. Seculars are not to be taught with the monks. Chap. vi: One monk in twenty must be sent to the Universities for higher studies, and he is to have a fixed allowance.

Thomas Hatfield, Bishop of Durham, founded a College, also at Oxford, for the use of the Priory of Durham. It was known as

1 Nineteenth Century, vol. xx, p. 724; Hist, and Cart. Mon. S. Peter, Gloucestria; College Histories, Worcester College, 1900;

Gesta Abbatum Mon. S. Albani; The
English Black Monks of S. Benedict,
Taunton, vol. i, p. 40.

Durham College. In 1380 the Prior, Robert de Walworth, a great benefactor to the Priory, who obtained a bull from Pope Urban VI, giving the right to the mitre and other pontificals to the Prior, obtained from Bishop Hatfield licence to acquire lands of the annual value of 200 marks for endowment of the College at Oxford. In the licence the Bishop speaks of the College as "per nos de novo fundato." (Deputy Keeper of Public Records' Reports, i, 275.)

In 1352 Ralph, Lord Nevill of Raby, who had so much interest with the Bishop, Prior, and Convent that he obtained permission for himself and his wife to be buried within the church, which had not before been granted to a layman or woman, exchanged the manor of Eure, co. Bucks., with the King for the advowson of the church of Fishlake, then in the King's hands, as before explained. Perhaps the connection of Fishlake with the history of St. Cuthbert may have attracted him to this. He presented once to Fishlake and then died. The advowson was put in his inq. p. m., dated 1638. His widow Alice also presented once, in that year, and she died, and the advowson appears also in her inq. p. m., dated 1376. The advowson went to their son John, Lord Nevill of Raby. He also, like his father, was much interested in Durham. Among other benefactions he gave 600 marks towards the screen at the back of the high altar, which still remains; and he also is buried in the Cathedral, at the north end of the middle transept. In 1378 (1 Ric. II) he appears to have had in his mind a scheme for dealing with the advowson of Fishlake, for on 10 June he obtained a patent (Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1377-1381, page 235) from the King, authorising him to alienate it, inter alia, "to any ecclesiastics, secular or regular, and for them to appropriate the same." But he was unable to carry this out at the time, as he had to go on the King's service into Acquitaine. made it over to Richard Scrope, knight, and John Fairfax, clerk; and on June 23, 3 Ric. II. (1379), the King, at Westminster (Ibid., pages 343, 367), granted a pardon to them for having acquired it and entered upon it without licence, and he thereby granted them licence to do so. He further granted them licence to present to the Rectory, then void through the death of William of York, who had been presented by the Lady Alice. Sir Richard Scrope had presented, in November, 1378, John de Kirkeby, who on Jan. 25, 1379, exchanged the living with Thomas de Ullesby, the King granting a patent presenting John de Kirkeby, parson of the church. of Fishlake, to the church of St. Mary, Grymesby, on an exchange of benefices with Thomas de Ullesby. (Ibid.)

He

This alienation by John, Lord Nevill, appears to have been for a period of fifty years, with reversion to himself. Later on, in 1384 (Ibid., 1381-1385, page 371), he arranged with the King to grant this reversion to the Prior and Convent of Durham, for the maintenance of their College at Oxford; and that it might be granted in frank almoin, he granted it first to the King himself, with the stipulation "that when the Prior and Convent sue from the Chancellor for the re-grant thereof, the King will grant it in frank almoin, and the Chancellor for the time being, without further mandate, is to prepare a charter under the Great Seal accordingly, upon the petition of John, Lord Nevill, who has directed his body to be buried in the Monastery of Durham." The actual grant by the King in frank almoin (Ibid., 1385-1389, page 243), is dated Westminster, Oct. 10, 10 Ric. II (1386). It states that the grant is made by the King out of reverence for the glorious Confessor St. Cuthbert, to the Prior and Convent of Durham, and their newly-erected College in the University of Oxford, in aid of the support of eight monks and eight secular scholars studying, and celebrating divine service therein for the good estate of the King, and for his soul after death, and for the souls of his father, grandfather, progenitors, and heirs, and the late Queen Philippa and others.

In 1387, on Aug. 8, Alexander Neville, archbishop of York, appropriated the rectory to Durham College, Oxford, reserving an annual pension of 13s. 4d. to the Prior and Convent of Durham. This was confirmed by Pope Urban VI the same year, and on July 1, 1388, it was confirmed by the Chapter of Durham. A Vicarage was ordained at the same time, in the presentation of the Prior and Convent. The vicar was to receive yearly the sum of £13 6s. 8d., and to have a house.

KIRKLEES PRIORY.

BY S. J. CHADWICK.

"And they saw the sanctuary laid desolate, and the altar profaned, and the gates burned up, and shrubs growing in the courts as in a forest or as on one of the mountains, and the priests' chambers pulled down."-I Maccabees iv, 38.

SINCE my account of the Priory appeared in volume xvi of this Journal, an old paper document, in sixteenth century handwriting, has been found at Kirklees, containing copies of the following documents :

1. Copy of the licence in mortmain, 19 Richard II (20 April, 1396), of which a summary is given in the Journal, vol. xvi, page 326.

2. Copy of the grant mentioned in the same volume and page of the Journal as having been authorised by the above licence. The grant is dated at Mirfield, Sunday next after the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel (30 September), 1397 (21 Richard II), and purports to be made by Sir John de Mounteney and John de Amyas only.

3. Copy of the licence in mortmain, 27 June, 1 Henry IV (1400), mentioned in volume xvi of the Journal, page 327. There is,

however, no copy of the grant which is authorised by this licence.

4. Imperfect copy of the Bull of Pope Boniface IX, appropriating the church of Mirfield to Kirklees..

5. Account of the separation of the church of Mirfield from the mother church of Dewsbury.

6. Note as to the patronage of the churches of Kirkheaton and Mirfield, which is somewhat similar to the extract from the Dodsworth MSS. printed in note 2, page 325, of the Journal,

vol. xvi.

It seems unnecessary to print copies of Nos. 1 and 3, as I have already given their purport in my above-mentioned paper. It is not clear why the second licence in mortmain (1 Henry IV), which is under the seal of the Duchy of Lancaster, was obtained, the grant under the first licence having been already made by Mounteney and Amyas, as previously stated. Richard II resigned his crown 29 September, 1399, and was succeeded by Henry IV, and it may have

been thought safer under the circumstances to obtain a new licence and a new grant. The new grant, however, does not appear to have been made; at any rate no copy is known; but the prioress and convent appear to have obtained possession of the property purporting to be granted to them, and in due course they obtained the Pope's Bull appropriating the church of Mirfield to the Priory. The extracts from this Bull and from the grant by Mounteney and Amyas to Kirklees, which Whitaker gives in his History of Leeds, are very imperfect, and I therefore give a full translation of both the Bull and the grant, which has been made by Mr. F. B. Bickley, of the Manuscript Department of the British Museum, who has also, with the kind permission of Sir G. J. Armytage, made a full transcript of the old paper document above mentioned. Mr. Bickley says that the original Bull is not in the fine collection at the British Museum, and all trace of it has been lost.

The account of the separation of the church of Mirfield from the mother church of Dewsbury and the note on the patronage of the two churches of Heton (Kirkheaton) and Mirfield have already appeared in print in Whitaker's Loidis and Elmete, page 362, but with many errors, and it seems desirable to reprint them here in order to make the collection of Kirklees documents as complete as possible. The note about the patronage, however, is not very accurate, as will be seen on reference to volume xvi of this Journal, page 325, note 2. The account of the separation of the church of Mirfield from Dewsbury is not trustworthy. It would appear from an entry in Archbishop Gray's Register (Surtees Society), page 96, that Mirfield was a separate parish in 1245, and that Richard le Vavasour was rector at that time, so that John Heton was not the first rector. The entry is under the date 6 ides (10th) May, 1245, and is to the effect that "Ric. le Vavasur has the church of Mirefeld."

I take this opportunity of mentioning that some information about the family of Fleming may be obtained from the Chartulary of St. John of Pontefract, edited for this Society's Record Series by the late Mr. Richard Holmes. See especially page 497 and the references there given. The name also frequently occurs in the early Wakefield Court Rolls, and there are many Fleming charters amongst the Kirklees muniments, one of the latest being a conveyance, dated 25 September, 10 Henry VIII (1518), of Hartshead Hall (now part of the Kirklees estate), by John Flemmyng, of Clifton, to John Lake.

I ought, perhaps, in my former paper on Kirklees to have mentioned that in Gough's edition of Camden's Britannia, 1806, vol. iii, plate 14, facing page 267, is engraved the tomb of Elizabeth de