Foundation

The Augustinian priory of Newnham was not actually built until some time after the accession of Henry II

Henry 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 it may fairly claim to be the most ancient religious foundation in Bedfordshire, in so far as it still held the church of St. Paul's and succeeded to the endowments of the secular canons there. It is implied in the 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...

 that these latter were in Bedford before the Conquest

Norman conquest of England

The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...

; and Leland records the tradition that they lived in houses 'round about the Church.' How long they had been there, and whether they were in any way descended from the original monastery of Bedford

Bedford Abbey

Bedford Abbey was a short-lived Benedictine monastery, recorded in 10th century England. Bedford Priory, perhaps representing the same institution two centuries later, was an Augustinian priory that within two decades of its foundation moved to nearby Newnham.Bedford Abbey existed in the...

, named in 971 in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...

, it is difficult now to discover: all we know is that they were living at the Conquest as secular canons, and had property at Biddenham

Biddenham

Biddenham is a large village and a civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, located to the west of Bedford near the A428 road.The village largely serves as a dormitory settlement for Bedford, and also for commuters to London, being on the same side of the town centre as Bedford railway station...

 and Bedford. Their patron at this time must have been Hugh de Beauchamp, who first held the barony of Bedford; a little later Payn de Beauchamp, son of Hugh, and his sister Ellen are both named as benefactors.

However the foundation of the priory of Newnham was the work of Simon de Beauchamp, son of Payn, about 1166. Tradition ascribes the change to the scandal caused by the affair of Philip de Broi, one of the canons, whose name has become famous in connection with the quarrel between Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...

 and Henry II. This man was accused of homicide, and cleared himself by oath; but the evidence was so much against him that Simon Fitz Peter, the king's justiciar

Justiciar

In medieval England and Ireland the Chief Justiciar was roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister as the monarch's chief minister. Similar positions existed on the Continent, particularly in Norman Italy. The term is the English form of the medieval Latin justiciarius or justitiarius In...

, summoned him to a new trial. On receiving the summons, Philip broke out into such angry words and insults against the justiciar that the king considered his own authority slighted in the person of his delegate; and the archbishop, fearing that a very severe punishment would follow, interposed and passed sentence upon the offender in his own court. This sentence—the loss of his prebend

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...

, and further some penance for two years only—was considered by the king as a glaring instance of the failure of the ecclesiastical courts in dealing with serious crimes; it contributed something towards the estrangement between him and the archbishop, and also made it advisable for the canons to change their place of residence.

This story has quite good authority, but it has probably no casual connection with the foundation of Newnham Priory. The change from secular to regular canons was going on in many religious houses at this time; the scandal of Philip de Broi can only at the most have hastened an event already inevitable. All that Simon de Beauchamp says is that prudent and religious men had often counselled him to turn the gifts and endowments of his ancestors to a use more productive of reverence to God and honour to true religion, and that he was at last convinced of the wisdom of their advice. He names the king, Henry II, 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:...

, Blessed Thomas the Martyr and Bishop Robert

Robert de Chesney

Robert de Chesney was a medieval English Bishop of Lincoln. He was the brother of an important royal official, William de Chesney, and the uncle of Gilbert Foliot, later successively Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London...

 of Lincoln as having given their consent.

The transference of all the endowments of the secular canons to William, first prior of Newnham, was solemnly made in the church of St. Paul in the presence of many witnesses. The old canons were six in number: Nicholas archdeacon of Bedford, was one of them. They probably kept some portion of their prebends for the term of their lives; perhaps being presented to or left in possession of churches in the gift of the house. The priory was specially rich in churches: fourteen are named in the first charter of Simon de Beauchamp, and eleven of these were still the property of the house in 1535. Simon's endowment was a generous one; his mother and other benefactors added to it, but his own title to the name of founder is unquestionable.

External history

During the first century of their existence the canons of Newnham had a good deal to endure. They had first to suffer from the violence of Falkes de Breauté

Falkes de Breauté

Sir Falkes de Breauté was an Anglo-Norman soldier who earned high office by loyally serving first King John and later King Henry III in First Barons' War. He played a key role in the Battle of Lincoln Fair in 1217. He attempted to rival Hubert de Burgh, and as a result fell from power in 1224...

, who with the consent and approval of King John

John of England

John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...

 actually pulled down the greater part of the church of St. Paul to strengthen the fortifications 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...

; he was probably an oppressive neighbour all the time he lived there, until the capture of the castle in 1223 by 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 losses of the canons were partly made good to them by the gift of the church of Tinden, and by a present of stones from the dismantled castle.

It was in the same year (Easter term 1223) that the priory was involved in a very interesting suit for the church of Aspley Guise

Aspley Guise

Aspley Guise is a village and civil parish located in central Bedfordshire, England. It is just over the county border from Woburn Sands in the Borough of Milton Keynes and about by road to Milton Keynes Centre and to the M1 London to Yorkshire motorway junction 13.-Notable buildings:The...

. There were three claimants in the field, namely Fawkes de Bréauté and the priors of Dunstable

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...

 and of Newnham. The last parson, Nicholas, has been presented by Roger de Salford, who held a knight's fee

Knight's fee

In feudal Anglo-Norman England and Ireland, a knight's fee was a measure of a unit of land deemed sufficient from which a knight could derive not only sustenance for himself and his esquires, but also the means to furnish himself and his equipage with horses and armour to fight for his overlord in...

 of Simon de Beauchamp in 1166. This Roger had then given 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...

 to the church of Dunstable, his charter being confirmed by Simon de Beauchamp and by Robert Bishop of Lincoln. The prior of Newnham pleaded that Guy de St. Walery and Aubreye his wife had given the church to St. Paul's, Bedford, their gift being confirmed by Simon de Beauchamp and Bishop Hugh. It was proved that Roger had only held Aspley as baillee until he was assigned land to the value of £10 elsewhere (which he afterwards received in Stotfold

Stotfold

Stotfold is a small town and civil parish in the county of Bedfordshire.In the 19th century, Stotfold was regarded as a wealthy place. The saying was that to live in Stotfold, one has to have £100 and a pig. The town is divided by a long road, High Street, which separates the north side from the...

), and that Guy de St. Walery had recovered Aspley against him by fine. Therefore his gift was invalid, and Newnham was assigned the church under St. Walery's gift.

But new troubles soon arose through the tyrannical behaviour of William de Beauchamp

William de Beauchamp (1185)

-Magna Carta baron:de Beauchamp took part in the 1210 expedition to Ireland and the 1214 expedition to Poitiers before joining the rebellious barons in 1215 at the beginning of the First Barons' War, entertaining them at his seat of Bedford Castle; as such Beauchamp was one of the rebels...

, son of the founder; who, encouraged by his wife Ida, proved himself quite as much an enemy to the religious of the neighbourhood as Fawkes de Bréauté had been. The first difficulty was connected with the church of Wootton

Wootton, Bedfordshire

Wootton is a large village and civil parish located to the south-west of Bedford, in the north of Bedfordshire, England. The parish also includes the hamlets of Hall End, Keeley Green and Wootton Green....

, and other property of the priory; but it was at the election of a prior that William's conduct at last brought him under episcopal censure. The charter of Simon had provided that the convent should have the right of free election, only asking his consent as patron: William wished to do the part of both bishop and patron. There was some unpleasantness over an election in 1247; but in 1254 William came in person to the priory with his wife, and compelled the new prior, Stephen, to come outside the gate to him to receive the temporalities; then, taking him by the hand, he led him into the church, and installed him in his place in choir. This, however, was too much for the bishop: he at once visited the priory and made William apologise for his invasion of the liberties of the church. It is possible that the great charter of Newnham, in which William confirmed all the gifts of his father and others, including the licence for free election, belongs to this time. The next of the Beauchamps, another William, made some reparation for the misdeeds of his father.

When the barony of Bedford

Barony of Bedford

-First creation:*Created for Paine de Beauchamp, by William Rufus*William de Beauchamp - forfeit for rebelling in the First Barons' War*Faukes de Brent - sent by King John of England to enforce William's forfeit, forfeit himself for rebellion under Henry III of EnglandExtinct? Merged?Merged to...

 passed to the Mowbrays the advowson of the priory went with it. An attempt was made in 1347, at the death of John of Astwick, to prove that it was held of the king in capite

Capite

In old English law, a capite was a tenure, abolished by Act 12 Chas. II, xxiv., by which either person or land was held immediately of the king, or of his crown, either by knight-service or socage. A holder of a capite is termed a Tenant-in-chief....

; but the jury then called proved conclusively that it was held always of the barony of Bedford, and that Sir John Mowbray

John de Mowbray, 3rd Baron Mowbray

John de Mowbray, 3rd Baron Mowbray was the son of John de Mowbray, 2nd Baron Mowbray. He was born on 29 Nov 1310 at Hovingham, Yorks...

 was at that time the patron. Thomas Mowbray

Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk

Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, KG, Lord Marshal and Earl Marshal was an English nobleman.-Life:...

, Earl Marshal

Earl Marshal

Earl Marshal is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England...

, confirmed the charter of William de Beauchamp. The foundation charter, charter of transference to Newnham and others were confirmed by Henry II. Edward I

Edward I of England

Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...

, 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...

, 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...

 and 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...

; the last royal charter was that of Henry IV

Henry IV of England

Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...

. dated 15 February 1408-9.

Internal history

Of the internal history of the priory we know very little. It seems to have had a good reputation at all times. Hervey, the prior in 1228 (previously prior of Osney

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...

), was commissioned in that year, with Richard de Morins of Dunstable, to visit all the houses of their order throughout the dioceses 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 :...

 and Coventry

Diocese of Coventry

The Diocese of Coventry is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Coventry, who sits at Coventry Cathedral in Coventry, and is assisted by one suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Warwick. The diocese covers Coventry and Warwickshire.The diocese is...

; two priors resigned in consequence. In Grossetête's

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...

 unsparing visitations

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 1235 and 1249 no charge was laid against this house; and no other visitation is recorded until that of Bishop 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....

 some time before 1322. The prior at that time, John of Astwick, was very unpopular, and anxious in consequence to resign; but the bishop thought it sufficient to urge the brethren to be more exact in their obedience. Bishop Buckingham

John 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...

 sent an order in 1387 that 'peace should be established between the priories of Newnham and Caldwell

Caldwell Priory

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.-Origins:The origin of the priory of Caldwell is somewhat obscure...

;' it would be interesting to know what was the matter in dispute, as there was usually so much goodwill between the various houses of Austin canons in this county. A year later a brother was received back, who had become an apostate through discontent and was now repentant. At the visitation of Bishop Grey the discipline of the house was still good; all that the bishop enjoined was that the sub-prior should do the work of the prior, now grown old and feeble. Later, when Cardinal Wolsey undertook to reform the whole Augustinian order, it seems that Newnham was still amongst the more satisfactory houses. At the great general chapter summoned at Reading in June 1518 (the first after the lapse of more than a century) the prior of Newnham was chosen as one of the definitor

Definitor

A definitor is, in Latin, he who defines. In the Catholic Church, however, this is a title with different specific uses. There are secular definitors, who have a limited amount of oversight over a part of a diocese...

s, and made visitor for two counties.

The prior, John Ashwell, with fourteen canons and two lay brothers, signed an acknowledgement of the royal supremacy in 1535. It is probable that these seventeen were but a small proportion of the original number. Nothing is known of the circumstances of the surrender of the house, except that it was made by a prior who had not been long in office, and took place on 2 January 1540-1. A pension of £60 was granted to the prior, John Burne, and pensions of other sums to fifteen canons besides.

Endowments

The original endowment of the priory by Simon de Beauchamp comprised the tithes of fourteen churches—St. Paul's Bedford, Renhold, Ravensden, Great Barford, Willington, Cardington, Southill, Hatley, Wootton, Stagsden, Lower Gravenhurst, Aspley, Salford

Salford, Bedfordshire

Salford is a small English village in the county of Bedfordshire, near the large new town of Milton Keynes. It is located near the M1 motorway....

, Goldington; portions of land in many places which had belonged to the old canons; the tithes of all his markets, assarts and woods; the castle mill and another with some lands and water attached; the free use of all waters belonging to the castle, as far as Fenlake, for fishing, navigation and breeding swans; and the right to pasture a certain number of cattle with his own free of cost. These gifts are rehearsed with much detail and some additions in the Great Charter of William de Beauchamp. At the time of the Taxatio of Pope Nicholas IV

Pope Nicholas IV

Pope Nicholas IV , born Girolamo Masci, was Pope from February 22, 1288 to April 4, 1292. A Franciscan friar, he had been legate to the Greeks under Pope Gregory X in 1272, succeeded Bonaventure as Minister General of his religious order in 1274, was made Cardinal Priest of Santa Prassede and...

 the income of the priory appears as £164 10s. 8d., of which £92 6s. 8d. is made up of spiritualities

Spiritualities

Spiritualities is a term, often used in the Middle Ages, that refers to the income sources of a diocese or other ecclesiastical establishment that came from tithes...

. The largest items amongst the temporalities

Temporalities

Temporalities are the secular properties and possessions of the Christian Church. It is most often used to describe those properties that were used to support a bishop or other religious person or establishment. Its opposite description would be the spiritualities.In the Middle Ages, the...

 are lands, etc., at Goldington, Salpho, Stotfold and Sharnbrook; and these are found in the Feudal Aids

Feudal aid

Feudal aid, or just plain aid is the legal term for one of the financial duties required of a tenant or vassal to his lord. Variations on the feudal aid were collected in England, France, Germany and Italy during the Middle Ages, although the exact circumstances varied.-Origin:The term originated...

as portions of knights' fees.

In 1302 the prior of Newnham held half a knight's fee in Sharnbrook, several fractions in Goldington, and half a knight's fee in Salpho. In 1316 half a fee in Goldington, a quarter in Salpho, one seventh in Biddenham, one quarter in Southill. In 1346 half a fee in Cotes and half a fee in Sharnbrook. In 1428 the same as in 1346 with the addition of half a knight's fee in Salpho, and a quarter in Blunham and Moggerhanger.

A comparison of the Valor and the Taxatio shows however that the property of the priory was almost the same in extent at both dates, varying very little in the course of history. It was all within the county of Bedford. Not one of the churches of the original endowment was quite lost, though three were only paying small pensions in 1535. Besides divers parcels of land the prior held the manors of Stotfold and Cardington. The total valuation in 1535 was £284 12s. 11¾d.; in 1541 the ministers' accounts give only a total of £200 17s. 8¾d.

Priors of Newnham

The priors of Newnham were:

• William, first prior, appointed 1166
• Ralph, occurs 1198 and 1205
• Eustace, occurs 1214, died 1225
• Harvey, elected 1225, died or resigned 1238
• Walter, elected 1238, died 1247
• Walter of Chawston, elected 1247
• Stephen, elected 1254, died 1264
• William le Fraunceys, elected 1264, died 1271
• William le Ros, elected 1271, died 1272
• Michael of Goldington, elected 1272, died 1283
• John of Bedford, elected 1283, resigned 1300
• Adam of Sherborne, elected 1300, resigned 1300
• William of Biddenham, elected 1300, died 1307
• William of Thorp, elected 1307, resigned 1315
• John of Astwick, elected 1315, resigned 1347
• John of Amersham, elected 1347, resigned 1348
• Henry of Woodford, elected 1348, died 1349
• William of Woodford, elected 1349
• Nicholas Baldock, elected 1362, died 1369
• John of Biddenham, elected 1369, died 1395
• William of Woughton, elected 1395
• John Bromham, occurs 1437 and 1441
• John, occurs 1477 and 1490
• Henry of Newnham, occurs 1493
• John Ashwell, occurs 1535
• John Burne, occurs 1540

Common seal

The conventual seal was large and elaborate. It represents St. Paul seated on a throne, under a trefoiled canopy, with sword in his right hand; an angel above on either side, and groups of votaries under arches to the right and left, with the moon above one group and the sun above the other. Legend: SIGILL' PRIORIS ET CONVENTUS SBĪ PAULI DE NEWEHAM.

Counter-seal: three niches. In the middle St. Paul kneeling with an executioner behind him; above his head PAULV and possibly a hand of blessing. St. Luke and St. Titus on the left and right, with their names above them. Legend: MUCRO . FUROR . SAULI . FUIT . ENS[IS . PAS]SIO . PAULI.

There is a seal of William of Woughton, prior 1395, pointed oval, representing St. Paul seated in a canopied niche, pinnacled and crocketted, holding a sword in the right hand and a book in the left, between two shields, one with a lion and the other a cross paty; and a prior below, half length, with hands folded in prayer. Legend: S. FRATRIS WILTĪ DE WOKETONE PRIORIS DE NEWED.

The seal of Henry de Newnham (1493) is the same. Legend: s. F'RIS HENRIC' NEWNAM PRIORIS DE NEWEHAM.