Edington Priory (religious house of regular brethren of the order of St. Augustine at Edyndon) was granted an exemption from murage dated 20/9/1359.
Wording
Whereas William de Edyngdon, bishop of Winchester founded a religious house of regular brethren of the order of St. Augustine at Edyndon in the diocese of Salisbury with the king's licence in honour of SS. Mary and Katharine and All Saints, and for the support of the rector and brethren there and the support of the charges of the said house endowed the same, and with the king's licence made dispositions for the increase of the endowment;
the king, considering the good services of the said bishop and his wise and faithful discharge of the high offices held by him, wherein he was put to much expense and suffered much in health, and being also desirous to provide for the honour and quiet of the said rector and brethren, has hereby granted to them with the assent of the prelates, earls, barons and others of his council the following liberties:-
they shall have the chattels of their men and tenants of the lands and fees, conferred or to be conferred upon them, being felons or fugitives, so that if any of their men and tenants for any offence (delicto) ought to lose life or limb or shall flee and refuse to abide judgement, or shall do aught else for which he ought to lose his chattels, in whatever court justice ought to had of him, the chattels shall go to the rector and brethren, who may put themselves in seisin of the same and keep them to their own use without impediment from the king or his ministers;
they shall have all fines for trespasses and other offences, for licences to agree, all amercements, ransoms and forfeited issues and forfeitures, year, day and waste (vastum et streppum) and all things pertaining to the crown therefrom, murders of all men and tenants of their lands and fees, conferred or to be conferred upon them, in whatever court of the king's the foregoing may be imposed; so that the prior and brethren may collect the same without impediment from the king or his heirs;
the rector and brethren and their successors and all their men shall be quit of toll, pavage, pontage, quayage, murage, passage, payage, lastage, stallage, tallage, carriage, pesage, picage, terrage, scot and geld, hidage, scutage, works of castles, parks and bridges, enclosures, building of royal houses, suits of counties, hundreds and wapentakes, all aids of kings and sheriffs and their bailiffs, view of frank-pledge, murder, common amercement when the county falls into the king's mercy before the king or any justices of the bench or justices in eyre, and of all other custom throughout the king's realm and power;
the rector and brethren shall be quit of all aids, contributions and tallages, which may be exacted from them by the king or his bailiffs or ministers on account of their lands, tenements, rents, goods and chattels ; and when the clergy of the realm or those of the province of Canterbury alone or those of the province of York alone shall grant a tenth or any other portion of their spiritualities, or ecclesiastical goods, or when the commons of the counties of the realm or the citizens or burgesses of the cities or boroughs of the counties shall grant a tenth, fifteenth or any other portion of their temporal goods or moveables or lands, tenements and rents, or if the king shall tallage his demesnes throughout England, or if the pope shall impose a tenth or other quota upon the clergy of the realm or either of its provinces, or then grant the same or part thereof to the king, the rector and brethren shall not be assessed therefore for the king's behoof, but shall be quit of all such payments;
and if it chance that upon the men of the counties of the realm or of other places of the realm or upon their lands, possessions and goods any sums of money be assessed either for equipping men at arms, hobblers, archers or any foot soldiers to be chosen in future for the king's service, to be despatched to any place for any reason, or for the defence of the coast, or if any other such charge shall be imposed by the king, or any fines for the remission of such charges, the lands and possessions and goods of the rector and brethren shall be quit thereof;
the beasts called 'wayf' or 'stray' found on the lands and fees of the said monastery shall belong to the rector and brethren, unless anyone shall have followed them and prove ownership, within a proper time according to the custom of the country;
and the rector and brethren and their successors shall hold the said monastery and all their houses there and elsewhere in the realm quit of livery of the king's stewards, marshals and other ministers of the king, and of the marshals, purveyors and ministers of the magnates of the realm, who shall not make livery therein for the use of any one without the consent of the rector and brethren; and no earl, baron or magnate of the realm or of any other part, and no stewards, marshalls, escheators, sheriffs, coroners or other bailiffs or ministers of the king or bailiffs or ministers of the said escheators, coroners or others, against the will of the rector and brethren, shall be lodged by them on any pretext;
and to the end that the goods and chattels of the monastery be not expended upon lodging the king or any others, the king has taken into his protection the said monastery, rector and brethren, their lands and possessions and goods and chattels, and wills that of their corn, hay, horses, carts, carriages, victuals, goods and chattels and of those of their men nought shall be taken and carried away for those purposes without the consent of the rector and brethren;
nor shall the rector and brethren be bound by any mandate or request of the king to find pension, corrody or maintenance from any of their revenues, but shall be quit of all such;
and they shall have free warren in all the demesne lands conferred or to be conferred upon the said house. By K. and by p.s. {24335.}
Granted by Edward III. (Regnal year 33). Granted at Leeds castle. Grant by By K. and by p.s..
Primary Sources
Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1916,
Calendar of Charter Rolls 15 Edward III - 5 Henry V 1341-1417 Vol. 5. (HMSO) p. 162-63
view online copy
Comments
William Edington (d. 1366), titular bishop of Winchester was a long time royal counsellor and servant, was treasurer 1344-56 and chancellor 1356-63. He transformer the church of birthplace Edington, first as collegiate (1351), then as a house of bonshommes (a passing fashion with the king and his family which found no popularity) for a dean and twelve clerks in 1358. Building work there dates from 1352-61. The surviving church is extensive decorated with crenellations but the Rectors house may well have been built by the bishop as a suitable grand retirement home, as he was about to end his long years of royal service, although he, in fact, died at Bishop's Waltham.
R. G. Davies, 2004, 'Edington, William (d. 1366)'
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press)
http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8481
Record created by Philip Davis. This record created 03/03/2009. Last updated on 19/01/2013. First published online 6/01/2013.
