Adam de Brome
Encyclopedia
Adam de Brome (died June 16, 1332) was an almoner
to King Edward II
and founder of Oriel College in Oxford
, England
.
De Brome was probably the son of Thomas de Brome, taking his name from Brome near Eye
in Suffolk; an inquisition held after the death of Edmund
, 2nd Earl of Cornwall
, in 1300, noted de Brome holding an inheritance of half a knight's fee. The first records of de Brome are as a collector of food supplies in Dorset
in 1297, in April 1298, he was in Ireland
, from November 1299 was in charge of the assize of corn and wine and in the same year lead troops from Yorkshire
to Carlisle for a campaign in Scotland
. In 1305 he was auditing accounts of the papal tithe
s, and in 1312 assessing tallage
in the midlands. Early in Edward II's reign de Brome was one of the King's Clerks of Chancery, he was twice ordered to take charge of the Bishop of Durham's seals until its vacancy was filled. After 1311 he was given a variety of judicial offices, as justice of assize, commissioner of oyer and terminer
, and as a justice dealing with crimes against the wool customs.
In the 14th century many royal officials were not directly paid, but instead were given the incomes of distant ecclesiastical properties that they rarely visited. De Brome may have been one of these, he had been ordained priest on March 2, 1301, and was admitted as rector of Wyck Rissington, Gloucestershire, three weeks later. He was appointed Master of God's House, Dunwich
, in 1306, and was, for a short time, rector of Bridford
, Devon
between 1311 and 1312, Handsworth
, Yorkshire between 1313 and 1316, and of St Creed
, Cornwall
in 1314. He also held the posts of chancellor of Durham sede vacante, in 1311 and between 1316 and 1317, archdeacon of Stow, in the diocese of Lincoln
in 1320, prebendary
of Bathwick in Wherwell Abbey
, Hampshire
from 1314 until 1320, rector of St Mary the Virgin
, Oxford
from 1320 until 1326, warden of St Bartholomew's Hospital, Oxford from 1326 until 1332, and rector sharing Eckington
, Derbyshire
from 1328 until 1332.
On April 28, 1324, letters patent were issued by the King giving de Brome licence to found a college of Scholars, allowing him to hold in mortmain
a messuage
worth £30 a year for the "students of divers sciences in the Virgin's honour", to be governed by a rector elected by the scholars, the details of the government to be settled by de Brome himself. Before the year was out, de Brome had purchased two tenements in Oxford, Tackley's Inn and Perilous Hall, the college, later called Oriel College, was declared to be for the study of theology and the ars dialectica and John de Laughton was appointed the first Rector.
On January 1, 1326, de Brome handed over the properties to the King, who, on January 21 issued by letters patent a charter of foundation in his own name, the Rector was to be replaced with a Provost
, de Brome was appointed the first Provost and the college re-endowed with Tackley's Inn and Perilous Hall. Statues issued in the King's name by the Bishop of Lincoln
, Henry Burghersh
in May 1326 called for the provision of a common seal, to be kept in a box with three keys, one for the Provost and the other two to trusted Scholars, the seal depicts the Annunciation, with the figure of Adam de Brome kneeling below and the legend Sig.Comune Domus Scholarium Beate Marie Oxon. The statues also stipulated daily services to be held in St Mary's for the souls of the father and mother of Burghersh, the Bishop himself, his brother and sisters, the King and de Brome. Burghersh confirmed the appropriation of St Mary's and by August 1, 1326, de Brome had resigned it's rectory into the hands of the college.
De Brome died in June, 1332 and was buried on the north side of St Mary's Church, where, despite rebuilding, his tomb remains.
Almoner
An almoner is a chaplain or church officer who originally was in charge of distributing cash to the deserving poor.Historically, almoners were Christian religious functionaries whose duty was to distribute alms to the poor. Monasteries were required to spend one tenth of their income in charity to...
to King Edward II
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
and founder of Oriel College in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, 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...
.
De Brome was probably the son of Thomas de Brome, taking his name from Brome near Eye
Eye, Suffolk
Eye is a small market town in the county of Suffolk, East Anglia, England, south of Diss, and on the River Dove.Eye is twinned with the town of Pouzauges in the Vendée Departement of France.-History:An island...
in Suffolk; an inquisition held after the death of Edmund
Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall
Edmund of Cornwall of Almain was the 2nd Earl of Cornwall of the 7th creation.-Early life:Edmund was born at Berkhamsted Castle on 26 December 1249, the second and only surviving son of Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall and his wife Sanchia of Provence, daughter of Ramon Berenguer, Count of Provence,...
, 2nd Earl of Cornwall
Earl of Cornwall
The title of Earl of Cornwall was created several times in the Peerage of England before 1337, when it was superseded by the title Duke of Cornwall, which became attached to heirs-apparent to the throne.-Earl of Cornwall:...
, in 1300, noted de Brome holding an inheritance of half a knight's fee. The first records of de Brome are as a collector of food supplies in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
in 1297, in April 1298, he was in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, from November 1299 was in charge of the assize of corn and wine and in the same year lead troops from 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...
to Carlisle for a campaign in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. In 1305 he was auditing accounts of the papal tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
s, and in 1312 assessing tallage
Tallage
Tallage or talliage may have signified at first any tax, but became in England and France a land use or land tenure tax. Later in England it was further limited to assessments by the crown upon cities, boroughs, and royal domains...
in the midlands. Early in Edward II's reign de Brome was one of the King's Clerks of Chancery, he was twice ordered to take charge of the Bishop of Durham's seals until its vacancy was filled. After 1311 he was given a variety of judicial offices, as justice of assize, commissioner of oyer and terminer
Oyer and terminer
In English law, Oyer and terminer was the Law French name, meaning "to hear and determine", for one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat...
, and as a justice dealing with crimes against the wool customs.
In the 14th century many royal officials were not directly paid, but instead were given the incomes of distant ecclesiastical properties that they rarely visited. De Brome may have been one of these, he had been ordained priest on March 2, 1301, and was admitted as rector of Wyck Rissington, Gloucestershire, three weeks later. He was appointed Master of God's House, Dunwich
Dunwich
Dunwich is a small town in Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB.Dunwich was the capital of East Anglia 1500 years ago but the harbour and most of the town have since disappeared due to coastal erosion. Its decline began in 1286 when a sea surge hit the East Anglian coast, and...
, in 1306, and was, for a short time, rector of Bridford
Bridford
Bridford is a village in south west England, located in the Teign Valley, Devon on the edge of Dartmoor. Bridford is twinned with Saint-Vaast-sur-Seulles, a village in the Normandy region of France....
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
between 1311 and 1312, Handsworth
Handsworth, South Yorkshire
Handsworth is a suburb of south eastern Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, England. Handsworth has a population of approximately 15,000. It covers an overall area of approximately...
, Yorkshire between 1313 and 1316, and of St Creed
Sancreed
Sancreed is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated approximately three miles from Penzance....
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
in 1314. He also held the posts of chancellor of Durham sede vacante, in 1311 and between 1316 and 1317, archdeacon of Stow, in the diocese of Lincoln
Diocese of Lincoln
The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire.- History :...
in 1320, prebendary
Prebendary
A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...
of Bathwick in Wherwell Abbey
Wherwell Abbey
Wherwell Abbey was an abbey of Benedictine nuns in Wherwell, Hampshire, England.-Foundation:The nunnery was founded about 986 by Ælfthryth, the widow of King Edgar. She retired there to live out her life and was buried there.-10th to 16th centuries:...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
from 1314 until 1320, rector of St Mary the Virgin
University Church of St Mary the Virgin
The University Church of St Mary the Virgin is the largest of Oxford's parish churches and the centre from which the University of Oxford grew...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
from 1320 until 1326, warden of St Bartholomew's Hospital, Oxford from 1326 until 1332, and rector sharing Eckington
Eckington, Derbyshire
Eckington is a town in North East Derbyshire, 7 miles north of Chesterfield and 8.5 miles south of Sheffield on the border with South Yorkshire.Eckington has a population of 11,152....
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
from 1328 until 1332.
Mortmain
Mortmain is a legal term that means ownership of real estate by a corporation or legal institution that can be transferred or sold in perpetuity; the term is usually used in the context of its prohibition...
a messuage
Messuage
In law, the term messuage equates to a dwelling-house and includes outbuildings, orchard, curtilage or court-yard and garden. At one time messuage supposedly had a more extensive meaning than that conveyed by the words house or site, but such distinction no longer survives.A capital messuage is the...
worth £30 a year for the "students of divers sciences in the Virgin's honour", to be governed by a rector elected by the scholars, the details of the government to be settled by de Brome himself. Before the year was out, de Brome had purchased two tenements in Oxford, Tackley's Inn and Perilous Hall, the college, later called Oriel College, was declared to be for the study of theology and the ars dialectica and John de Laughton was appointed the first Rector.
On January 1, 1326, de Brome handed over the properties to the King, who, on January 21 issued by letters patent a charter of foundation in his own name, the Rector was to be replaced with a Provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
, de Brome was appointed the first Provost and the college re-endowed with Tackley's Inn and Perilous Hall. Statues issued in the King's name by the Bishop of Lincoln
Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral...
, Henry Burghersh
Henry Burghersh
Henry Burghersh , English bishop and chancellor, was a younger son of Robert de Burghersh, 1st Baron Burghersh , and a nephew of Bartholomew, Lord Badlesmere, and was educated in France....
in May 1326 called for the provision of a common seal, to be kept in a box with three keys, one for the Provost and the other two to trusted Scholars, the seal depicts the Annunciation, with the figure of Adam de Brome kneeling below and the legend Sig.Comune Domus Scholarium Beate Marie Oxon. The statues also stipulated daily services to be held in St Mary's for the souls of the father and mother of Burghersh, the Bishop himself, his brother and sisters, the King and de Brome. Burghersh confirmed the appropriation of St Mary's and by August 1, 1326, de Brome had resigned it's rectory into the hands of the college.
De Brome died in June, 1332 and was buried on the north side of St Mary's Church, where, despite rebuilding, his tomb remains.