Lapley Priory
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Lapley Priory was a priory
in Staffordshire
, England
. It was a satellite house of the Benedictine
monastery of Saint Remigius
or Saint-Rémy at Reims
in Northern France.
In 1061, Burchard, the son of Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia
, accompanied Ealdred, Archbishop of York
, on a diplomatic mission overseas. Presumably, this was on Ealdred's quest to get his appointment to the archbishopric confirmed by the Pope, although he still held the see of Worcester
in Mercia
. They stayed at the great cathedral city and monastic centre of Reims
, named after St Remigius, apostle of the Franks
, who is buried there in a large Romanesque
Basilica. Burchard fell mortally ill and requested burial in the Benedictine Abbey
, in return for a donation of land on his behalf. To fulfil his son's desire, and to benefit his soul, Ælfgar gave to St. Rémy five pieces of land: at Lapley
, Hamstall Ridware
, Meaford
, and Marston in Church Eaton
, all in Staffordshire, and at Silvington
in Shropshire. So the abbey of St. Rémy at Reims already held these lands in the reign of Edward the Confessor
, before William the Conqueror arrived, a fact that was recorded clearly in Domesday Book
in 1086.
It is unclear when the Abbey decided to go further and establish a house to exploit its estates in Staffordshire and Shropshire. Domesday Book records that
This is clear recognition of Ælfgar's donation, but gives no clue about a priory. However, at Marston it says "Two of St. Rémy's men hold 1 hide. Land for 1 plough. Value 5s." So it seems that there was already a small delegation of monks from the abbey were present in Staffordshire in 1186. The land at Silvington is listed, and so are the lands at Meaford and Hamstall Ridware, with confirmation that they were donated by Earl Ælfgar.
By the reign of Henry I
(1100–1135), we have at least one name of a monk. Godric, perhaps an early prior, went to petition the king at Tamworth because Robert, a royal chaplain, had laid claim to the church at Lapley. It seems that the church at Lapley had belonged to the church at Penkridge
and it is possible that Robert was a canon of Penkridge. Henry found on the Abbey's behalf, but clearly the monks were concerned that further challenges might occur, and they appealed to the Pope to confirm their titles to land and property, which Pope Alexander III
(1159–81) apparently did. By this time, when Peter Cellensis
was abbot of St. Rémy, it is certain that the priory was in operation.
s - usually two or three - and they were mostly, but not entirely, from France.
Essentially the small monastic community acted as the local lord of the manor
. They were only too willing to do this when it generated revenue for the parent abbey but they tried to avoid duties that they felt compromised their Benedictine
rule, especially its non-violent implications. It was in the mid-13th century that the surrounding society generally started to put pressure on them to discharge their wider obligations.
One irksome and potentially difficult issue was that the lord would normally be expected to attend the local hundred court and shire court
, where they might be forced to countenance the shedding of blood. The monks were exempt from this, as recognised by Henry I, but it was alleged that they were supposed pay for the exemption, which they naturally tried to avoid doing. From 1248, the Sheriff
simply came and took 10s. a year, and after 10 years he upped his demand to 5 marks. Despite this policy of abstention from the ordinary courts, the monks maintained their own right to a view of frankpledge
, i.e. the right to make their own tenants jointly responsible for law and order, and their right to erect gallows on their manors, as well as free warren, the right to hunt on their demesne
.
Another right established by Godric's appeal to Henry I was that of advowson
, the right to nominate a priest, to the church at Lapley. This could be profitable, as incumbents generally paid to be installed, although this strictly forbidden as the sin of simony
. The drawback was that the secular world, including the local ecclesiastical authorities, increasingly expected patrons of parishes to make sure they were well-supported and well-run. In 1266, the bishop made a visitation, found the vicarage poorly-financed and forced the priory to make a larger investment in it.
While Lapley and Marston continued to be managed by the monks themselves, with lay
assistance, the farther estates were leased out. Ridware was held by serjeanty
- an arrangement by which the lessee had to perform certain services for his lord. In this case the tenant was expected to act as marshal at the priory over the Christmas period, from Christmas Eve
to St Stephen's Day and to leave 5s. 4d. when he left after breakfast on 27 December. For a time in the late 13th century, the priory had the right to hold a weekly fair
and annual market
at Aston, within Lapley.
The revenues seem never to have been large. In theory, the priory was supposed to remit a considerable sum each year to Reims. In 1367 it did manage to send a bond for 120 marks, a remarkable sum in the troubled circumstances then prevailing. However, the priory generally struggled financially, mainly because, as an "alien house", a monastery belonging to an abbey in a foreign country, it was constantly subject to seizures, impositions and pressure in time of war or international tension.
A leadership dispute between Baldwin de Spynale and Gobert de Lapion in the 1330s made the priory particularly vulnerable to secular intervention. Gobert was sent over by the abbot to head the priory, accompanied by another monk, John Lange. Baldwin claimed to have a prior claim to the position and vindicated his cause in 1334 in the bishop's court, which excommunicated Gobert. However, the king tried to achieve a pause in proceedings by granting both men royal protection for a year and styling each Prior of Lapley in the documents. This was to no avail, for, shortly afterwards, Baldwin complained that the Vicar of Lapley and other men had raided his home, stolen all his documents and driven off large numbers of cattle and pigs. Then there was a second raid, with Gobert and his clerk among the assailants. The king instituted enquiries into both events, but the dispute raged on for years.
, and this made it increasingly vulnerable as the sense of English national identity
developed - particularly as this was often in contradistinction to Frenchness. All the alien houses were subjected to increasing royal depredations during the 13th and 14th centuries.
In 1204, after the loss of Normandy
to Philip Augustus of France, king John seized the priories - or at least declared them seized in the hope of recouping some of the costs of his campaign. The prior of Lapley was forced to pay the price of three palfrey
s to regain legal control over the priory. Thereafter, the prior was required to pay for a licence to go overseas. In 1288 the priory was seized for a time because the prior made an unauthorised trip abroad, and in 1324 it was seized again on the outbreak of war with France. This time the priory was restored only on the understanding that it would pay the Crown 55 marks per annum. In 1327, Edward III
came to the throne, vowing to wipe the slate clean by restoring all the alien houses and abolishing the annual payments.
Edward's resolution was not to last. The Hundred Years War, beginning in 1337, was to result in repeated seizures and, ultimately, the dissolution of nearly all the alien houses, including Lapley. The Crown seized Lapley immediately, like the other alien houses, but in this case it was able to play a game of divide and rule with the competing leadership contenders, who were still awaiting a resolution to their dispute. Lapley was rented back first to Gobert and Robert de Shareshull
, who were recognised as proctors of the abbey of St. Rémy, for a farm of 55 marks. Then it was given to Baldwin at greatly reduced farm, on the claim that the previous regime had run the property down, and under guarantees of good conduct from the Bishop of Lichfield. It was later transferred to the Earl of Derby
. By 1342, Robert of Shareshull was again in control, but in 1346, it went again to Baldwin, on the request of Isabella of France
, the king's mother.
By 1354, the Black Death
and a great fire had brought the priory to extremity. Baldwin owed arrears of £77 13s. 3¾d, and an inquiry established that the manor of Lapley was worth only £11 14s. 10d. Baldwin was pardoned the arrears, although he needed to ask for this to be repeated several more times before his death, around 1361. The next prior, Peter de Gennereyo, a monk of St. Rémy, made the remarkable contribution of 120 marks to the parent abbey in 1367 but was forced to redeem the priory when it was seized again in 1369. He came to a regular arrangement and this spared him a further problem when most of the other alien houses were seized in 1378 and their occupants expelled from the country. He was permitted to stay and manage Lapley. This was short-lived relief, however, as the Richard II
gave the priory to his esquire
, Robert de Hampton in 1384, and Peter was forced to rent it back from him for two years.
This tedious to-ing and fro-ing continued into the next century, with the priory now assigned to the prior, now to a royal lackey. However, Henry V
put an end to the story in 1415. Already planning what was to become the Agincourt campaign
, and strongly committed to presenting himself both as a distinctively English king and a defender and purifier of the Catholic faith, he determined to suppress all the alien houses in England. This measure was presented to the Fire and Faggot Parliament
of 1414, alongside measures to suppress Lollardy
. Henry reassured lay beneficiaries that this was to be final: there would be no restoration of the priories on conclusion of peace with France. The suppression was carried through in the following year.
Lapley was swiftly dissolved. All its estates were handed over to Tong
College, a pious foundation established about five years earlier by Isabel, widow of Sir Fulk Pembrugge (or Pembridge).
Lapley Priory was a priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, 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...
. It was a satellite house of the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monastery of Saint Remigius
Saint Remigius
Saint Remigius, Remy or Remi, , was Bishop of Reims and Apostle of the Franks, . On 24 December 496 he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks...
or Saint-Rémy at Reims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
in Northern France.
Origins
The origins of the priory lie in the period around the Norman Conquest.In 1061, Burchard, the son of Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia
Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia
Ælfgar was son of Leofric, Earl of Mercia,by his well-known wife Godgifu . He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on the latter's death in 1057....
, accompanied Ealdred, Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
, on a diplomatic mission overseas. Presumably, this was on Ealdred's quest to get his appointment to the archbishopric confirmed by the Pope, although he still held the see of Worcester
Bishop of Worcester
The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury...
in Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
. They stayed at the great cathedral city and monastic centre of Reims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
, named after St Remigius, apostle of the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
, who is buried there in a large Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
Basilica. Burchard fell mortally ill and requested burial in the Benedictine Abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
, in return for a donation of land on his behalf. To fulfil his son's desire, and to benefit his soul, Ælfgar gave to St. Rémy five pieces of land: at Lapley
Lapley
Lapley is a small English village situated in Staffordshire some 3.5 miles SW by Wof Penkridge, 1.5 miles east of Wheaton Aston, 0.5 miles northeast of the Shropshire Union Canal, 1.5 miles north of Watling Street and 6 miles SSW of Stafford...
, Hamstall Ridware
Hamstall Ridware
Hamstall Ridware is a village and civil parish in the district of Lichfield in Staffordshire, England. It is in the Trent Valley, and lies close to the villages of Hill Ridware, Mavesyn Ridware and Pipe Ridware...
, Meaford
Meaford, Staffordshire
Meaford is a landmark hamlet in the English county of Staffordshire.It lies at the junction of the A34 and A51 roads, north of the town of Stone. It is on the River Trent, while Meaford Lock is on the Trent and Mersey Canal...
, and Marston in Church Eaton
Church Eaton
Church Eaton is a small English village in the west of Staffordshire lying some southwest of Stafford, northwest of Penkridge and just from the Shropshire border. It lies in gently rolling dairy farming countryside...
, all in Staffordshire, and at Silvington
Silvington
Silvington is a village in Shropshire, England. The church is dedicated to Saint Michael and is in the Diocese of Hereford....
in Shropshire. So the abbey of St. Rémy at Reims already held these lands in the reign of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
, before William the Conqueror arrived, a fact that was recorded clearly in Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
in 1086.
It is unclear when the Abbey decided to go further and establish a house to exploit its estates in Staffordshire and Shropshire. Domesday Book records that
- "The Church of St. Rémy holds Lapley from the King. It held it similarly before 1066. With dependencies 3 hides. Land for 6 ploughs. In lordship 3 ploughs; 5 slaves; 18 villagers and 9 smallholders with 8 ploughs. Meadow, 16 acres; wood 3 furlongs long and as many wide. Value 50s."
This is clear recognition of Ælfgar's donation, but gives no clue about a priory. However, at Marston it says "Two of St. Rémy's men hold 1 hide. Land for 1 plough. Value 5s." So it seems that there was already a small delegation of monks from the abbey were present in Staffordshire in 1186. The land at Silvington is listed, and so are the lands at Meaford and Hamstall Ridware, with confirmation that they were donated by Earl Ælfgar.
By the reign of Henry I
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
(1100–1135), we have at least one name of a monk. Godric, perhaps an early prior, went to petition the king at Tamworth because Robert, a royal chaplain, had laid claim to the church at Lapley. It seems that the church at Lapley had belonged to the church at Penkridge
Penkridge
Penkridge is a market town and ancient parish in Staffordshire, England with a population of 7,836 . Many locals refer to it as a village, although it has a long history as an ecclesiastical and commercial centre. Its main distinction in the Middle Ages was as the site of an important collegiate...
and it is possible that Robert was a canon of Penkridge. Henry found on the Abbey's behalf, but clearly the monks were concerned that further challenges might occur, and they appealed to the Pope to confirm their titles to land and property, which Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181. He is noted in history for laying the foundation stone for the Notre Dame de Paris.-Church career:...
(1159–81) apparently did. By this time, when Peter Cellensis
Peter Cellensis
Pierre de Celle was a French Benedictine and bishop.-Life:...
was abbot of St. Rémy, it is certain that the priory was in operation.
The priory and its monks
The priory stood at Lapley, next to the parish church, and both were surrounded by a moat. Beyond this stretched its own estate, and that at Marston was so close that they were run as one by the monks. There were only a few monkMonk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s - usually two or three - and they were mostly, but not entirely, from France.
Essentially the small monastic community acted as the local lord of the manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
. They were only too willing to do this when it generated revenue for the parent abbey but they tried to avoid duties that they felt compromised their Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
rule, especially its non-violent implications. It was in the mid-13th century that the surrounding society generally started to put pressure on them to discharge their wider obligations.
One irksome and potentially difficult issue was that the lord would normally be expected to attend the local hundred court and shire court
Shire Court
Shire Court or Shire Moot was an Anglo-Saxon institution dating back to the earliest days of English society. The Shire Court referred to the magnates, both lay and spiritual, who were entitled to sit in council for the shire and was a very early form of representative democracy. The practice of...
, where they might be forced to countenance the shedding of blood. The monks were exempt from this, as recognised by Henry I, but it was alleged that they were supposed pay for the exemption, which they naturally tried to avoid doing. From 1248, the Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
simply came and took 10s. a year, and after 10 years he upped his demand to 5 marks. Despite this policy of abstention from the ordinary courts, the monks maintained their own right to a view of frankpledge
Frankpledge
Frankpledge, earlier known as frith-borh , was a system of joint suretyship common in England throughout the Early Middle Ages. The essential characteristic was the compulsory sharing of responsibility among persons connected through kinship, or some other kind of tie such as an oath of fealty to a...
, i.e. the right to make their own tenants jointly responsible for law and order, and their right to erect gallows on their manors, as well as free warren, the right to hunt on their demesne
Demesne
In the feudal system the demesne was all the land, not necessarily all contiguous to the manor house, which was retained by a lord of the manor for his own use and support, under his own management, as distinguished from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants...
.
Another right established by Godric's appeal to Henry I was that of 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...
, the right to nominate a priest, to the church at Lapley. This could be profitable, as incumbents generally paid to be installed, although this strictly forbidden as the sin of simony
Simony
Simony is the act of paying for sacraments and consequently for holy offices or for positions in the hierarchy of a church, named after Simon Magus , who appears in the Acts of the Apostles 8:9-24...
. The drawback was that the secular world, including the local ecclesiastical authorities, increasingly expected patrons of parishes to make sure they were well-supported and well-run. In 1266, the bishop made a visitation, found the vicarage poorly-financed and forced the priory to make a larger investment in it.
While Lapley and Marston continued to be managed by the monks themselves, with lay
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
assistance, the farther estates were leased out. Ridware was held by serjeanty
Serjeanty
Under the feudal system in late and high medieval England, tenure by serjeanty was a form of land-holding in return for some specified service, ranking between tenure by knight-service and tenure in socage...
- an arrangement by which the lessee had to perform certain services for his lord. In this case the tenant was expected to act as marshal at the priory over the Christmas period, from Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
to St Stephen's Day and to leave 5s. 4d. when he left after breakfast on 27 December. For a time in the late 13th century, the priory had the right to hold a weekly fair
Fair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
and annual market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
at Aston, within Lapley.
The revenues seem never to have been large. In theory, the priory was supposed to remit a considerable sum each year to Reims. In 1367 it did manage to send a bond for 120 marks, a remarkable sum in the troubled circumstances then prevailing. However, the priory generally struggled financially, mainly because, as an "alien house", a monastery belonging to an abbey in a foreign country, it was constantly subject to seizures, impositions and pressure in time of war or international tension.
A leadership dispute between Baldwin de Spynale and Gobert de Lapion in the 1330s made the priory particularly vulnerable to secular intervention. Gobert was sent over by the abbot to head the priory, accompanied by another monk, John Lange. Baldwin claimed to have a prior claim to the position and vindicated his cause in 1334 in the bishop's court, which excommunicated Gobert. However, the king tried to achieve a pause in proceedings by granting both men royal protection for a year and styling each Prior of Lapley in the documents. This was to no avail, for, shortly afterwards, Baldwin complained that the Vicar of Lapley and other men had raided his home, stolen all his documents and driven off large numbers of cattle and pigs. Then there was a second raid, with Gobert and his clerk among the assailants. The king instituted enquiries into both events, but the dispute raged on for years.
Difficulties and dissolution
Lapley, of course, was an Alien prioryAlien priory
Alien priories were religious establishments in England, such as a monastery or convent, which were under the control of another religious house outside of England...
, and this made it increasingly vulnerable as the sense of English national identity
English national identity
English national identity was established during the Early Middle Ages, as the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were forged into a new nation state. However, from the Union in the eighteenth century the terms 'English' and 'British' began to be seen as interchangeable, and today some argue that Englishness and...
developed - particularly as this was often in contradistinction to Frenchness. All the alien houses were subjected to increasing royal depredations during the 13th and 14th centuries.
In 1204, after the loss of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
to Philip Augustus of France, king John seized the priories - or at least declared them seized in the hope of recouping some of the costs of his campaign. The prior of Lapley was forced to pay the price of three palfrey
Palfrey
A palfrey is a type of horse highly valued as a riding horse in the Middle Ages. It is not a breed.The word "palfrey" is cognate with the German word for horse , "Pferd". Both descend from Latin "paraveredus", meaning a post horse or courier horse...
s to regain legal control over the priory. Thereafter, the prior was required to pay for a licence to go overseas. In 1288 the priory was seized for a time because the prior made an unauthorised trip abroad, and in 1324 it was seized again on the outbreak of war with France. This time the priory was restored only on the understanding that it would pay the Crown 55 marks per annum. In 1327, Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
came to the throne, vowing to wipe the slate clean by restoring all the alien houses and abolishing the annual payments.
Edward's resolution was not to last. The Hundred Years War, beginning in 1337, was to result in repeated seizures and, ultimately, the dissolution of nearly all the alien houses, including Lapley. The Crown seized Lapley immediately, like the other alien houses, but in this case it was able to play a game of divide and rule with the competing leadership contenders, who were still awaiting a resolution to their dispute. Lapley was rented back first to Gobert and Robert de Shareshull
Shareshill
Shareshill is a village and civil parish in the South Staffordshire district, in the county of Staffordshire, England. The parish church is dedicated to St Mary and St Luke, Shareshill.-Shareshill in 1851:...
, who were recognised as proctors of the abbey of St. Rémy, for a farm of 55 marks. Then it was given to Baldwin at greatly reduced farm, on the claim that the previous regime had run the property down, and under guarantees of good conduct from the Bishop of Lichfield. It was later transferred to the Earl of Derby
Earl of Derby
Earl of Derby is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end of the reign of Henry III and died in 1279...
. By 1342, Robert of Shareshull was again in control, but in 1346, it went again to Baldwin, on the request of Isabella of France
Isabella of France
Isabella of France , sometimes described as the She-wolf of France, was Queen consort of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre...
, the king's mother.
By 1354, the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
and a great fire had brought the priory to extremity. Baldwin owed arrears of £77 13s. 3¾d, and an inquiry established that the manor of Lapley was worth only £11 14s. 10d. Baldwin was pardoned the arrears, although he needed to ask for this to be repeated several more times before his death, around 1361. The next prior, Peter de Gennereyo, a monk of St. Rémy, made the remarkable contribution of 120 marks to the parent abbey in 1367 but was forced to redeem the priory when it was seized again in 1369. He came to a regular arrangement and this spared him a further problem when most of the other alien houses were seized in 1378 and their occupants expelled from the country. He was permitted to stay and manage Lapley. This was short-lived relief, however, as the Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
gave the priory to his esquire
Esquire
Esquire is a term of West European origin . Depending on the country, the term has different meanings...
, Robert de Hampton in 1384, and Peter was forced to rent it back from him for two years.
This tedious to-ing and fro-ing continued into the next century, with the priory now assigned to the prior, now to a royal lackey. However, Henry V
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
put an end to the story in 1415. Already planning what was to become the Agincourt campaign
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
, and strongly committed to presenting himself both as a distinctively English king and a defender and purifier of the Catholic faith, he determined to suppress all the alien houses in England. This measure was presented to the Fire and Faggot Parliament
Fire and Faggot Parliament
The Fire and Faggot Parliament was an English Parliament held in 1414 during the reign of Henry V.It was held in Grey Friars Priory in Leicester, and the Speaker was Walter Hungerford....
of 1414, alongside measures to suppress Lollardy
Lollardy
Lollardy was a political and religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century to the English Reformation. The term "Lollard" refers to the followers of John Wycliffe, a prominent theologian who was dismissed from the University of Oxford in 1381 for criticism of the Church, especially his...
. Henry reassured lay beneficiaries that this was to be final: there would be no restoration of the priories on conclusion of peace with France. The suppression was carried through in the following year.
Lapley was swiftly dissolved. All its estates were handed over to Tong
Tong, Shropshire
Tong is a village in Shropshire in England. It is near junction 3 of the M54 motorway near Albrighton.The village is remarkable mainly for its church, St Bartholomews, outside of which is the supposed grave of Little Nell, a fictional character in Charles Dickens book, The Old Curiosity Shop...
College, a pious foundation established about five years earlier by Isabel, widow of Sir Fulk Pembrugge (or Pembridge).