Caldwell Priory
Encyclopedia
Caldwell Priory was a priory in Bedfordshire
, England
, from circa 1154 to 1536. It was situated in the south-west of Bedford
on the south bank of the River Great Ouse
.
, but undated; but as a prior of Caldwell witnessed a charter granted by Robert de Brus, 2nd Lord of Annandale
to Harrold
during the lifetime of Malcolm IV of Scotland
(1153–65), it may be concluded that this house, like so many others in Bedfordshire, was founded early in the reign of Henry II or perhaps in that of Stephen
. The founder's name is unknown. The Close Roll
of 13 Edward III speaks only of 'the ancestors of Simon Barescote of Bedford'; Leland, by naming Simon Barescote in one place, and in another assigning the foundation to the Beauchamps or the Beaumonts, shows that there were several contradictory traditions in existence in his time. The priory belonged at first to the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
and was dedicated to St. John Baptist
; but after the thirteenth century it probably ceased to be in any way distinguished from the other Augustinian
houses. The canons of the Holy Sepulchre were only separated from other Augustinians by their name, and the scarlet badge on their cloaks; in all probability they kept exactly the same rule, as on two occasions canons of Dunstable Priory
were invited to be priors of Caldwell, while it was still called by the name of the Holy Cross.
Four churches in Bedfordshire — Bromham, Roxton, Sandy and Oakley with the chapel of Clapham — belonged to Caldwell at the beginning of the thirteenth century; Marsworth and Broughton in Buckinghamshire, and Arnesby in Leicestershire before 1291; Tolleshunt Major in Essex at a later date. Its temporal possessions lay for the most part within the county of Bedford, and were never very extensive; in 1291 they were worth less than £50.
At the siege of Bedford Castle
in 1224, the canons assisted the king by providing him with materials for mangonel
s, and received in return a share of the stones from the dismantled walls. At this time, as well as later, they seem to have been on friendly terms with the canons of Dunstable. It was by the advice of the prior of Dunstable, amongst others, that Prior Eudo of Caldwell resigned and fled to the Cistercians of Merivale, before the visitation
of Bishop Grossetête
; and the sub-prior of Dunstable took his place. The reason why he was afraid of the visitation is not stated, only that he was 'accused by many'; he had only been prior five years, and during his term of office had been sent by the pope to settle a dispute as far away as Yorkshire
.
In 1287 there seems to have been some uncertainty about the advowson
of the priory, and the election of John of Yprès was hurried so as to prevent any claim being made.
In the year 1339, at the death of Prior Roger of Wellington (or Wymington) the king's escheat
or seized the lands of the priory; partly on the ground of a rumour that in the time of Henry III
the advowson had been taken into the king's hand, and partly because the prior held two carucate
s of land and a rent of 100s. within Bedford town, and held in fee farm of the king. The canons however appealed to the king himself, who thereupon wrote to the escheator to molest them no further, saying that he had heard from the present prior that Simon de Barescote, whose ancestors founded the priory, gave the advowson to Roger the Marshal
, and he to William le Latimer; and that thus it had descended to Robert de Ufford
and his wife who then held it.
The churches belonging to the priory were not very wealthy, and sometimes they proved a source of expense rather than of revenue. The chapel of Clapham in their own county, and the church of Marsworth in Buckinghamshire must have cost the canons a good deal of money. A part of the tithes from both of these had been granted to Osney Abbey
at its foundation, amounting to a pension of 12 marks; and from the first the canons of Caldwell seem to have made efforts to escape this payment. In 1279 they had to be ordered to pay it 'on pain of excommunication'; but in the beginning of the fourteenth century Hugh de Beauchamp, who was prior at the time, began a long series of suits with Osney on the same subject. He was seemingly unsuccessful, for this pension was still reckoned among the liabilities of the priory in 1535. It was probably the pressure of poverty at this particular time that stirred the prior to make these efforts; he was then rebuilding the conventual church, and only a few years before Bishop Dalderby
had granted a licence to the canons to beg alms for this purpose, as they were so poor. Several chantries were granted at about the same time.
The priory did not grow any richer as time went on. In 1318 the canons parted with the advowson of Broughton church to the dean and chapter of Lincoln; and in 1525 with that of Sandy to Bishop Longland
and his brother. The bishop wrote of it in the same year as 'a very poor place,' and said that instead of the £100 which the king had asked for in his letter, he had only instructed the prior to contribute £20 towards the loan which was being collected from all the religious houses.
visited the house in 1387 and reminded the canons, according to the custom of a visitation, of the duties of obedience, silence, assistance in choir, and proper administration of the goods of the monastery. He laid special stress on the necessity of instructing the younger canons in song and in grammar, that they might be fit to perform the divine office. They were forbidden under pain of imprisonment and excommunication to enter taverns in Bedford, or to visit the monastery of Elstow
.
Bishop Repingdon repeated these injunctions not to go to Bedford, or to the abbey of Elstow on any pretext whatever; and one of the canons was forbidden to go outside the cloister at all. The canons generally were not to drink anywhere but in the prior's presence, which seems to imply some laxity in this respect.
When Bishop Grey visited the priory he found John Wymington, the brother whom Bishop Repingdon had ordered to keep within the cloister, holding the office of sub-prior; he had now to be deposed. There is nothing special in the injunctions of this time which might point to laxity; the bishop only said that the canons were not to go to Bedford, that hunting dogs were not to be kept in the monastery, and that the common seal was to be kept under lock and key. And it seems that Bishop Longland accused the house of no worse fault than poverty.
in 1536.
.
crowned, and standing with the holy Child
in her arms; on the right St. John the Baptist, on the left St. John the Evangelist
; the prior kneeling below.
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, from circa 1154 to 1536. It was situated in the south-west of Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
on the south bank of the River Great Ouse
River Great Ouse
The Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...
.
Origins
The origin of the priory of Caldwell is somewhat obscure. Its earliest charters of endowment are of the reign of Henry IIHenry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, but undated; but as a prior of Caldwell witnessed a charter granted by Robert de Brus, 2nd Lord of Annandale
Robert de Brus, 2nd Lord of Annandale
Robert II de Brus, le Meschin , was a 12th century Norman noble and 2nd Lord of Annandale...
to Harrold
Harrold, Bedfordshire
Harrold is a civil parish and electoral ward in the Borough of Bedford within Bedfordshire, England, around nine miles north-west of Bedford. The village is on the north bank of the River Great Ouse, and is the site of an ancient bridge, linking the village with Carlton with Chellington on the...
during the lifetime of Malcolm IV of Scotland
Malcolm IV of Scotland
Malcolm IV , nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" , King of Scots, was the eldest son of Earl Henry and Ada de Warenne...
(1153–65), it may be concluded that this house, like so many others in Bedfordshire, was founded early in the reign of Henry II or perhaps in that of Stephen
Stephen of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
. The founder's name is unknown. The Close Roll
Close Roll
The Close Roll is the administrative record created by the medieval office of the chancery that recorded all the letters close issued by the chancery. In the medieval Kingdom of England, the first Close Roll was started in 1204 under the Chancellorship of Hubert Walter...
of 13 Edward III speaks only of 'the ancestors of Simon Barescote of Bedford'; Leland, by naming Simon Barescote in one place, and in another assigning the foundation to the Beauchamps or the Beaumonts, shows that there were several contradictory traditions in existence in his time. The priory belonged at first to the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Order of the Holy Sepulchre
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem is a Roman Catholic order of knighthood under the protection of the pope. It traces its roots to Duke Godfrey of Bouillon, principal leader of the First Crusade...
and was dedicated to St. John Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
; but after the thirteenth century it probably ceased to be in any way distinguished from the other Augustinian
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
houses. The canons of the Holy Sepulchre were only separated from other Augustinians by their name, and the scarlet badge on their cloaks; in all probability they kept exactly the same rule, as on two occasions canons of Dunstable Priory
Dunstable Priory
The Priory Church of St Peter with its monastery was founded in 1132 by Henry I for Augustinian Canons in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England. St Peter’s today is a large and impressive building, but this is only the nave of what remains of an originally much larger Augustinian priory church...
were invited to be priors of Caldwell, while it was still called by the name of the Holy Cross.
Four churches in Bedfordshire — Bromham, Roxton, Sandy and Oakley with the chapel of Clapham — belonged to Caldwell at the beginning of the thirteenth century; Marsworth and Broughton in Buckinghamshire, and Arnesby in Leicestershire before 1291; Tolleshunt Major in Essex at a later date. Its temporal possessions lay for the most part within the county of Bedford, and were never very extensive; in 1291 they were worth less than £50.
At the siege of Bedford Castle
Bedford Castle
Bedford Castle was a large medieval castle in Bedford, England. Built after 1100 by Henry I, the castle played a prominent part in both the civil war of the Anarchy and the First Barons' War. The castle was significantly extended in stone, although the final plan of the castle remains uncertain...
in 1224, the canons assisted the king by providing him with materials for mangonel
Mangonel
A mangonel was a type of catapult or siege engine used in the medieval period to throw projectiles at a castle's walls. The exact meaning of the term is debatable, and several possibilities have been suggested. Mangonel may also be indirectly referring to the 'mangon' a French hard stone found in...
s, and received in return a share of the stones from the dismantled walls. At this time, as well as later, they seem to have been on friendly terms with the canons of Dunstable. It was by the advice of the prior of Dunstable, amongst others, that Prior Eudo of Caldwell resigned and fled to the Cistercians of Merivale, before the visitation
Canonical Visitation
A canonical visitation is the act of an ecclesiastical superior who in the discharge of his office visits persons or places with a view of maintaining faith and discipline, and of correcting abuses by the application of proper remedies.-Catholic usage:...
of Bishop Grossetête
Robert Grosseteste
Robert Grosseteste or Grossetete was an English statesman, scholastic philosopher, theologian and Bishop of Lincoln. He was born of humble parents at Stradbroke in Suffolk. A.C...
; and the sub-prior of Dunstable took his place. The reason why he was afraid of the visitation is not stated, only that he was 'accused by many'; he had only been prior five years, and during his term of office had been sent by the pope to settle a dispute as far away as Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
.
In 1287 there seems to have been some uncertainty about the advowson
Advowson
Advowson is the right in English law of a patron to present or appoint a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a process known as presentation. In effect this means the right to nominate a person to hold a church office in a parish...
of the priory, and the election of John of Yprès was hurried so as to prevent any claim being made.
In the year 1339, at the death of Prior Roger of Wellington (or Wymington) the king's escheat
Escheat
Escheat is a common law doctrine which transfers the property of a person who dies without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in limbo without recognised ownership...
or seized the lands of the priory; partly on the ground of a rumour that in the time of Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
the advowson had been taken into the king's hand, and partly because the prior held two carucate
Carucate
The carucate or ploughland was a unit of assessment for tax used in most Danelaw counties of England, and is found for example in Domesday Book. The carucate was based on the area a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season...
s of land and a rent of 100s. within Bedford town, and held in fee farm of the king. The canons however appealed to the king himself, who thereupon wrote to the escheator to molest them no further, saying that he had heard from the present prior that Simon de Barescote, whose ancestors founded the priory, gave the advowson to Roger the Marshal
Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk
Roger Bigod was 4th Earl of Norfolk and Marshal of England.He was the son of Hugh Bigod, and Matilda, a daughter of William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke and Marshal of England. After the death of his father in 1225 Roger became the ward of William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury...
, and he to William le Latimer; and that thus it had descended to Robert de Ufford
Robert d'Ufford, 1st Earl of Suffolk
Robert d'Ufford, 1st Earl of Suffolk, KG was born in Thurston, Suffolk, England to Robert d'Ufford and Cecily de Valoines. On 13 November 1334 he married Margaret de Norwich, daughter of Sir Walter Norwich and Catherine de Hedersete. They had four children. He was made Earl of Suffolk in...
and his wife who then held it.
Finances
The original endowment of the priory cannot be exactly stated, as the foundation charter is not in existence. Robert of Houghton granted to the canons the site of the priory in 1272; and in 1336 they held lands and tenements in Bedford, Bromham, Milton, Colesden, Roxton, Chalverston, Sandy, Sutton, Potton, Thurleigh, Holwell, Felmersham and Shelton. The churches held by the priory in 1291 were Oakley with Clapham, Roxton, Bromham, Sandy; with Marsworth and Broughton in Buckinghamshire and Arnesby in Leicestershire. In 1535 they still remained in its gift, except Broughton and Sandy; Tolleshunt Major in Essex being added. In 1302 the prior of Caldwell held half a knight's fee in Chawston and small portions in Milton Ernest and Eaton; in 1346 the same half-fee; and until 1346 he held also one quarter of a knight's fee in Edlesborough in Buckinghamshire. The first report of the Crown bailiff gives a total of £134 15s. 8½d., including the demesne lands of the priory, the manor of Shelton and divers parcels of land in the counties of Bedford, Warwick, Northampton, Leicester, and the rectories of Clapham, Oakley, Roxton-cum-Colesden, Bromham, Marsworth, Arnesby and Tolleshunt Major.The churches belonging to the priory were not very wealthy, and sometimes they proved a source of expense rather than of revenue. The chapel of Clapham in their own county, and the church of Marsworth in Buckinghamshire must have cost the canons a good deal of money. A part of the tithes from both of these had been granted to Osney Abbey
Osney Abbey
Osney Abbey or Oseney Abbey, later Osney Cathedral, was a house of Augustinian canons at Osney in Oxfordshire. The site is south of the modern Botley Road, down Mill Street by Osney Cemetery, next to the railway line just south of Oxford station. It was founded as a priory in 1129, becoming an...
at its foundation, amounting to a pension of 12 marks; and from the first the canons of Caldwell seem to have made efforts to escape this payment. In 1279 they had to be ordered to pay it 'on pain of excommunication'; but in the beginning of the fourteenth century Hugh de Beauchamp, who was prior at the time, began a long series of suits with Osney on the same subject. He was seemingly unsuccessful, for this pension was still reckoned among the liabilities of the priory in 1535. It was probably the pressure of poverty at this particular time that stirred the prior to make these efforts; he was then rebuilding the conventual church, and only a few years before Bishop Dalderby
John Dalderby
John Dalderby was a medieval Bishop of Lincoln.-Life:Dalderby was rector of Dalderby in Lincolnshire before holding the prebendary of North Kelsey in the diocese of Lincoln...
had granted a licence to the canons to beg alms for this purpose, as they were so poor. Several chantries were granted at about the same time.
The priory did not grow any richer as time went on. In 1318 the canons parted with the advowson of Broughton church to the dean and chapter of Lincoln; and in 1525 with that of Sandy to Bishop Longland
John Longland
John Longland was the English Dean of Salisbury from 1514 to 1521 and bishop of Lincoln from 1521 to his death in 1547.He was King Henry VIII's confessor and was said to have been one of those who first persuaded the King that he should annul his marriage to Katherine of Aragon.During the English...
and his brother. The bishop wrote of it in the same year as 'a very poor place,' and said that instead of the £100 which the king had asked for in his letter, he had only instructed the prior to contribute £20 towards the loan which was being collected from all the religious houses.
Visitations
The visitation of Bishop Grossetête in 1249, when Prior Eudo fled to the Cistercians, has been already alluded to. Bishop BuckinghamJohn Bokyngham
John Bokyngham was a medieval Bishop of Lincoln.Bokyngham was keeper of the seal of Thomas, regent in England from March through July 1360, and then Dean of Lichfield. He was appointed Lord Privy Seal in 1360 and held that office until 1363.Bokyngham was elected bishop between 20 August 1362 and 4...
visited the house in 1387 and reminded the canons, according to the custom of a visitation, of the duties of obedience, silence, assistance in choir, and proper administration of the goods of the monastery. He laid special stress on the necessity of instructing the younger canons in song and in grammar, that they might be fit to perform the divine office. They were forbidden under pain of imprisonment and excommunication to enter taverns in Bedford, or to visit the monastery of Elstow
Elstow Abbey
Elstow Abbey was a monastery for Benedictine nuns in Elstow, Bedfordshire, England. It was founded c.1075 by Judith, Countess of Huntingdon, a niece of William the Conqueror, and therefore is classed as a royal foundation...
.
Bishop Repingdon repeated these injunctions not to go to Bedford, or to the abbey of Elstow on any pretext whatever; and one of the canons was forbidden to go outside the cloister at all. The canons generally were not to drink anywhere but in the prior's presence, which seems to imply some laxity in this respect.
When Bishop Grey visited the priory he found John Wymington, the brother whom Bishop Repingdon had ordered to keep within the cloister, holding the office of sub-prior; he had now to be deposed. There is nothing special in the injunctions of this time which might point to laxity; the bishop only said that the canons were not to go to Bedford, that hunting dogs were not to be kept in the monastery, and that the common seal was to be kept under lock and key. And it seems that Bishop Longland accused the house of no worse fault than poverty.
Dissolution
The prior, Thomas Dey, with six canons and two lay brothers, subscribed to the Royal Supremacy in 1535; and as the house had an income of only £109 8s. 5d. clear, it was surrendered under the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries ActDissolution of the Lesser Monasteries Act
The Act for the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries – was an Act of the English Reformation Parliament of 1535/36, the beginning of the legal process by which King Henry VIII set about the Dissolution of the Monasteries...
in 1536.
After the dissolution
After the dissolution, the 306 acres (1.2 km²) site and buildings were leased out, until being sold in 1563 for £404. The priory buildings appear to have lasted into the nineteenth century, but were replaced sometime between 1818 and 1857 by a new house. That house was demolished some time between 1926 and 1967. The site was then used for some years by an iron and steel company, and in contemporary times is a mix of housing and brownfield landBrownfield land
Brownfield sites are abandoned or underused industrial and commercial facilities available for re-use. Expansion or redevelopment of such a facility may be complicated by real or perceived environmental contaminations. Cf. Waste...
.
Priors of Caldwell
- Osbert, occurs 1178 and 1186
- Hugh, occurs 1200-1
- Alexander, elected 1212, died 1229
- William, elected 1229, died 1244
- Eudo, elected 1244, resigned 1249
- Walter of Caddington, elected 1249, resigned 1272
- Matthew of Bedford, elected 1272, resigned 1287
- John of Yprès, elected 1287, resigned 1313
- John de Lacu, elected 1303, died 1318
- Hugh de Beauchamp, elected 1318, resigned 1326
- Roger of Wymington, elected 1326, occurs 1332
- Robert of Lufwyk, resigned 1338
- William of Souldrop, elected 1338, resigned 1348
- Richard of Hardwick, elected 1348, died 1349
- Ralph of Derby, elected 1349, died 1375
- Thomas of Stratford, elected 1375, died 1396
- Ralph Portreeve, elected 1396, resigned 1397
- Thomas Pollard, elected 1397, died or resigned 1420
- Thomas Bole, elected 1420, occurs 1425
- John Ampthill, occurs 1437
- John Bedford, resigned 1479
- Richard Derby, elected 1479
- Thomas Cople, elected 1492, resigned 1509
- Robert Hanslape, elected 1509, resigned 1525
- John Biggleswade, elected 1525, died 1531
- Thomas Dey, elected 1531
Common seal
The common seal of the priory represented the Blessed Virgin MaryBlessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic)
Roman Catholic veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary is based on Holy Scripture: In the fullness of time, God sent his son, born of a virgin. The mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God through Mary thus signifies her honour as Mother of God...
crowned, and standing with the holy Child
Child Jesus
The Child Jesus represents Jesus from his Nativity to age 12. At 13 he was considered to be adult, in accordance with the Jewish custom of his time, and that of most Christian cultures until recent centuries.The Child Jesus is frequently depicted in art, from around the third or fourth century...
in her arms; on the right St. John the Baptist, on the left St. John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
; the prior kneeling below.
External links
- Cauldwell Priory Bedford - Bedford Borough Council website
- Later History of Cauldwell Priory Bedford - Bedford Borough Council website
- Caldwell Priory - English HeritageEnglish HeritageEnglish Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
Pastscape website - The Priory of Caldwell, in The Victoria History of the County of Bedford: Volume 1