THE LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE CLERGY 1379

M. J. BENNETT, B.A.

'"THE clerical poll-tax returns of 1377, 1379 and 1381 have J_ been curiously neglected by historians. The 'totals' ab­

stracted from these records have of course been used by J. C. Russell in his demographic studies and by David Knowles in his work on medieval monasticism, but in respect of more detailed scrutiny the clerical poll-taxes have lain somewhat in the shadow of their secular counterparts. 1 Whilst much of the lay poll-tax material has been systematically appraised and catalogued, the range and quality of the surviving clerical returns are, for the most part, unknown quantities. The only clerical poll-tax material so far in print, consisting of a few membranes relating to the diocese of Salisbury, is patchy in the extreme, and clearly cannot stand comparison with the more impressive series of lay returns. 2 A large proportion of the material from the diocese of Lichfield is of similarly un­ even quality, but amongst these returns there survives an unusually complete account of the poll-tax assessment of 1379 in the archdeaconry of Chester.

The clerical poll-tax returns for the archdeaconry of Chester in 1379 are comprised in two slim membranes, classified at the Public Record Office as E 179/15/6a and E 179/271/4. The first of these documents is headed the 'account of Richard prior of Norton, assessor and collector ... in the archdeaconry of Chester' of 'a certain subsidy granted to the king by the prelates and clergy of Canterbury province ... in the second year (of Richard II's reign)'. It then lists all the regular clergy in the archdeaconry, house by house, and the amount for which each monk, nun and canon was liable. The second membrane, although much the more interesting, has neither date nor heading. It contains a list of some five hundred clergymen, both beneficed and unbeneficed, living in Cheshire and in the portion of Lancashire, the area to the south of the Ribble, included in the archdeaconry. Both from internal

1

2 1379 CLERGY

evidence and from its form of graded assessment (a marked contrast to the largely 'per capita' levies of 1377 and 1381) the second document, with the first, can be ascribed categoric­ ally to the year 1379. :i At the same time the two documents, although filed separately at the Public Record Office, clearly can be regarded as being directly complementary, the one being a continuation of the other. The first membrane (E 179/ 15/6a) begins with the heading to the account and a full survey of the religious houses in the archdeaconry, and this is followed in the second (E 179/271/4) by a thorough assessment of the secular clergy. The only overlap between the two documents is a summarised but otherwise identical account of the regular clergy which is included in the second membrane and is signi­ ficantly crossed through, with 'as above' appearing in the margin alongside.

These documents seem to have completely escaped the notice of local historians, and extracts from the first membrane and the whole of the second are printed here for the first time. 1 The historical value of this poll-tax material is considerable, particularly as it constitutes the most comprehensive survey of the church in the pre-Reformation period. These returns provide a relatively complete break-down of the Lancashire and Cheshire clergy at a particular point in time, and thus furnish an indispensable basis for any thorough analysis of the social structure of the clerical population of the medieval archdeaconry. In the course of this introduction it is hoped to collate these returns with evidence drawn from the diocesan and other local records, and to draw attention to some of the great possibilities of this poll-tax material.

POPULATION

The poll-tax returns of 1379 are generally regarded as inferior to those of 1377 and 1381. In comparison with the first assess­ ment, in particular, the 1379 survey was subject to large scale evasion. Thus historians on the whole have been rightly sus­ picious of 'totals' derived from this source. The figures J. C. Russell obtained from the enrolled totals of clergymen in the archdeaconry of Chester amply illustrate the point. The total clerical population recorded in the archdeaconry in 1377 was 498, that of 1381 was 308, whilst that of 1379 was a mere 271. 5 Nor is Chester exceptional in these figures. In all dioceses the 1379 figures were consistently well below those of 1377 and 1381. The problem is that these enrolled 'totals' seem to bear little or no relation to the number of clergymen actually

1379 CLERGY 3

recorded in the document under discussion. According to this latter there were at least 509 clergymen in the archdeaconry. This is a higher figure than any of ihe enrolled 'totals' of the three poll-taxes, and suggests considerable under-enumeration occurring between the drawing up of the present document and the enrollment of the returns at the Exchequer. At the same time this hgure casts some doubts upon the high degree of accuracy always claimed for the 1377 figures. This is par­ ticularly the case because there are many definite omissions from the 1379 returns. From other sources the names of many more unbeneficed chaplains working in the area can be dis­ covered. A third membrane of clerical poll-tax returns, date- able to 1377, lists as many as fifty chaplains in the arch­ deaconry whose names are not found in the 1379 assessment." Some of these may be included under different names, others may have moved on, been promoted or died, but this cannot account for more than a small minority. At the same time there is clear evidence of under-enumeration amongst the beneficed clergy. Close examination reveals that around twenty bene­ fices are missing from the present document, although these probably represent the livings of absentees whose names should occur in the tax returns of another archdeaconry. What­ ever the case, Russell's optimum figure of 498 for the clerical population of the archdeaconry of Chester must be regarded as an under-estimate. The 1379 returns list 509 named clergymen and after a detailed scrutiny of the names it is clear that a minimum figure of 600 would be a nearer estimate, if the names of the clergy who have been omitted from this assessment are included.

The five hundred or so clergymen listed in the 1379 returns can be divided into three main categories. In the first category there were the 127 monks, nuns and canons resident in the archdeaconry. Over half of these belonged to the three largest establishments, namely the Benedictine house of St Werburgh's, Chester (27 inmates) and the Cisterian abbeys of Whalley (24 inmates) and Vale Royal (18 inmates). The other religious houses in order of size were Norton priory (15 inmates), the nunnery at Chester (13 inmates), the abbey of Combermere (10 inmates), Burscough priory (7 inmates), Holland priory (5 inmates), Birkenhead priory (5 inmates), Penwortham priory (2 inmates) and the cell at Kersal (1 inmate). Though their numbers dwindled throughout the later middle ages, the regular clergy still constituted a sizeable proportion, almost exactly 25 per cent of the archdeaconry's total clerical popula­ tion. At the same time they remained inordinately wealthy and

4 1379 CLERGY

influential. Apart from their extensive territorial possessions, these religious houses had the patronage of about half the parish churches in the archdeaconry. 7 As a measure of their wealth, too, it is significant that whilst numerically the regulars represented 25 per cent of the total clerical population they were assessed to pay nearly 40 per cent of the archdeaconry's total contribution to the poll-tax. 8

In the second category can be placed the beneficed clergy, all those holding rectories and vicarages in the archdeaconry. According to the poll-tax returns, there were seventy-eight rectors and vicars living in the archdeaconry in 1379. As has already been mentioned, this cannot be regarded as the total number of clergymen beneficed in the area. From other sources it is clear that there were at least a hundred parishes in the archdeaconry at this time. The problem is how to account for these twenty-odd missing parsons. Some may have been omit­ ted on the grounds of poverty. It seems likely, for example, that the parsons of Brindle and Leyland, both missing from the lists of beneficed clergy, were actually recorded in the poll- tax as unbeneficed chaplains. 9 This line of reasoning, however, cannot account for the omission of the rectors of the very rich livings of Manchester, Middlewich and Malpas. It is more likely that these parsons were in fact absentees. Few licences for non-residence were actually recorded in the bishop's register for this period, but Thomas Wyke rector of Manchester, Thomas Fraunceys rector of Middlewich and Mr John Cuddington rector of Malpas all obtained such licences in the early 1360s. 10 Other evidence tends to support the view that these clergymen were rarely resident. Thomas Wyke spent much time on his lord's business in his native Lincolnshire, Thomas Fraunceys obtained permission to have an oratory at his house near Ashbourne, Derbyshire, and Mr John Cudding­ ton taught at Oxford until his death there in 1389. 11 Royal clerks, of course, were not expected to reside in their benefices. Thus it is of significance that the rectors of Prescot, Sefton and Croston, all of whom held their churches on the presenta­ tion of the king or the duke of Lancaster, were all missing from the poll-tax. To have included absentees in the returns would have made nonsense of the whole idea of a poll-tax, and would now present formidable problems for the historical demographer. Many of the missing parsons, like the rector of Warrington, were pluralists, and it is only reasonable to assume that their names do not recur in every diocese in which they were beneficed.12 Indeed these poll-tax returns probably pro­ vide the most useful index of residence amongst the beneficed

1379 CLERGY 5

clergy available for the medieval period. From this source it is thus possible to say that in 1379 at least 75 per cent and pos­ sibly 80 per cent of the beneficed clergy were actually resident in the archdeaconry (though not necessarily in their parish). More interestingly, a striking correlation can be found between absenteeism and type of patronage. In only one out of the seven churches to which members of the royal family had presented, and in only two out of the eleven parishes which were in the patronage of non-local baronial families, were there resident rectors in 1379.'" This contrasts neatly with the rela­ tively good record of residence, sixty-two out of sixty-three, apparent amongst parsons presented to their churches by local patrons, whether monastic or lay. These residence patterns are of course exactly as historians might have ex­ pected, but it is useful to have impressions confirmed in such an unequivocal fashion. 11

In the third main section of the clerical population are all the unbeneficed clergy. In 1379 there were some 304 unbeneficed clerks recorded in the poll-tax returns for the archdeaconry of Chester. Their names were listed under the deanery in which they worked, and thus their distribution within the arch­ deaconry can be traced. There were 49 in Chester deanery, 17 in Wirral deanery, 40 in Frodsham deanery, 25 in Maccles- field deanery, 23 in Middlewich deanery, 17 in Nantwich deanery, 9 in Broxton deanery, 22 in Warrington deanery and 74 in the other Lancashire deaneries (Manchester, Blackburn and Ley land). In addition to these there were some 27 other poorer clerks and Roger de Salghale, the notary at Chester. As has already been said, there were in all probability a much larger number of unbeneficed clergymen living in the arch­ deaconry. Even the total of 304 suggests an unusually large ratio of unbeneficed to beneficed clerks. The ratio must in fact have been around four to one, proportions which D. Robinson suggests would have been typical (if at all) only in the years before the Black Death. 1 " The relatively large number of un­ beneficed chaplains in the archdeaconry was in all probability a function of the largeness of many of the Lancashire and Cheshire parishes. It has been calculated that prior to the parochial reorganisation in the last century, the three largest parishes in the country, at least in terms of townships served, were Whalley (44 vills) in Lancashire, Great Budworth (35 vills) in Cheshire, and Prestbury (32 vills) also in Cheshire. In all these parishes parochial chapelries and chapels-at- ease were necessarily established at a very early date, and these must have provided a livelihood for many unbeneficed

6 1379 CLERGY

chaplains. The numbers of these unbeneficed clergy seem to have remained reasonably static throughout the later middle ages, there being 315 listed in the survey of 1541-2 distributed amongst the deaneries in almost identical proportions to those of 1379. 10

THE BENEFICED CLERGY

Apart from providing a useful estimate of the maximum number of clergy living in the archdeaconry of Chester at that time, the poll-tax returns of 1379 can furnish valuable in­ sights into the actual structure of the clerical population. Un­ like the 'per capita' levies of 1377 and 1381, the 1379 poll-tax was assessed according to wealth. Whilst bishops and mitred abbots were to contribute £4, other heads of religious houses and holders of benefices worth more than £10 per annum were to be assessed at sums ranging from 5s. to £3. Holders of bene­ fices worth less than £10 were assessed at a standard rate of 2s., monks and nuns were to contribute sums ranging from 4d. to 3s. 4d., and unbeneficed clerks were to pay a uniform 4d. 17 Although this graded scale was rather rigid and, in all probability, inequitable, it seems to represent the most success­ ful attempt made in the middle ages to tax the real sources of clerical wealth, and it should be valued accordingly.

The tax returns for the archdeaconry reveal great disparities of wealth amongst the clerical population. The relative afflu­ ence of the regular clergy has already been mentioned. The wealthiest churchmen in the archdeaconry were the abbot of St Werburgh's, Chester assessed at £4, the abbot of Whalley and the abbot of Vale Royal both assessed at £3, and the abbot of Combermere and the prior of Norton both assessed at £2. The rector of Wigan alone amongst the secular clergy was expected to contribute more than £1. Similarly, the monks and canons of these five houses all were assessed at 3s. 4d., a sum higher than many of the beneficed clergy. The inmates of the smaller monasteries were to pay sums ranging from Is. to 3.v. 4d., and though these were comparatively modest amounts they were much larger than the sums expected of unbeneficed clerks. All in all an inordinately large proportion of clerical wealth seems to have been in monastic hands. Even though Richard, prior of Norton, was the assessor and collector of the poll-tax in the area, the regular clergy contributed 40 per cent of the arch­ deaconry's tax assessment, a percentage totally disproportionate to their numbers.

Amongst the beneficed clergy themselves, there were enor-

1379 CLERGY 7

mous differences in wealth. The poll-tax returns are particularly valuable in this respect in that both the assessment and the valuation were recorded for each benefice. At the top of the scale were the extremely rich rectories of Wigan (200 marks), Stockport (£90), Standish (£80), Astbury (95 marks), Wilmslow (85 marks), Rostherne (80 marks), Davenham (80 marks), St Mary's Chester (80 marks) and Halsall (80 marks). The par­ sons of these livings were assessed at sums ranging from 13.v. 4d. to 30.s. To their number might be added the names of some of the parsons omitted from the poll-tax, notably the rectors of the valuable livings of Manchester, Middlewich and Malpas. 1 ' At the other extreme were the really poor benefices of North Meols (8 marks), Grappenhall (£5), St Olaf's Chester (£5) and Walton (£5). These parsons, in common with the vast majority of the unbeneficed chaplains, were assessed in the poll-tax at a standard 2.v. In the main it seems that the poorer churches were those in the gift of religious houses. The average value of the 37 benefices in the hands of local monasteries in fact only amounted to £17 85. This is a marked contrast with the £33 4s. which was the average value of the 25 churches in the patron­ age of local gentry families.

Inevitably, too, there were considerable differences in the character and the backgrounds of these parsons. The clergymen instituted to the rich rectories in the patronage of laymen were usually of higher social rank than those presented to the poorer churches generally in the gift of monastic institutions. The former were often of gentry rank, closely associated with the family holding the advowson. In 1379 the rectories of Wigan, Standish, Stockport and Wilmslow were all held by close rela­ tives of their respective patrons. James de Langton, rector of Wigan, and James de Baggeley, rector of Stockport, both obtained their livings several months before their ordinations as subdeacons." Indeed the churches of Wigan, Standish and Halsall, the three richest benefices in the Lancashire assessment, seem to have been reserved almost exclusively for members of the patron's immediate family. In the fifty years following the poll-tax (to 1430) three Langtons were in turn presented to Wigan, three Standishes to Standish, and two Halsalls to Hal- sail. 20 Presentations to the rectory of Stockport, on the other hand, were subject to a great deal of competition between a number of gentry families. The rights of patronage seem to have gone to the highest bidder on a number of occasions, and in the resulting confusion groups of gentlemen attempted to install their nominees in the parsonage by force.- 1 Indeed these benefices were well worth fighting over. Their incomes stand

8 1379 CLERGY

comparison with the resources of many of the county's most prosperous knights. It is small wonder that many of these par­ sons followed the life-style of the class from which they were drawn. The rectors of Rostherne seem to have been particularly good examples of this class of parson. Thomas de Budenhale (1368-96) and, more notably, his successor, Roger Venables (1396-1436) were key figures in county society, assiduously in­ volving themselves in all the social activities of the Cheshire gentry. 22 It is interesting to note that in 1403 the parsons of Rostherne, Davenham, Pulford, Dodleston, Hawarden and Handley even joined the county's chivalry in armed revolt against Henry IV. 23

Patrons used their benefices not only to provide livings for younger sons, but also as a form of remuneration for clerks working in their service. The churches in the gift of the crown, the bishop and other magnates were almost always utilised in this fashion, and the parsons of these churches represent another category of privileged clergyman, the clerical careerists. These clerks, many of whom were still in minor orders at the time of their institution, simply used the Church as a source of income, holding their benefices as absentees whilst they pursued their careers in other fields. It has already been noted how the vast majority of parsons presented to their churches by royal and baronial patrons were missing from the poll-tax assessment. William de Burgh, rector of Warrington, was a pluralist, and other royal nominees like Simon de Melburn, rector of Sefton, and William de Huntelow, rector of Croston, were almost cer­ tainly absent in the service of the king or the duke of Lancaster. The parsons promoted by other non-local magnates, the Greys of Ruthin, the Lovells of Oxfordshire and the De La Warres of Lincolnshire, were also absentees, presumably for similar reasons. These royal and seignorial clerks and the well-born parsons of the rich family livings already mentioned, consti­ tuted the privileged elite of the late medieval clergy. Their benefices were not necessarily of the greatest value but, being absentees, they invariably had other sources of income and frequently held livings in plurality/ 4

Not unnaturally, these clerical careerists tended to be better educated than the average country parson. Although it is pro­ bable that there were quite a few local clergymen who had spent some time at one of the universities, it seems that only seven of those beneficed in the archdeaconry in 1379 were entitled to use magister before their name. Three at least of these were absentees at the time of the poll-tax. Mr William Newhagh, rector of Burton, was a diocesan official based at

1379 CLERGY 9

Lichfield; Mr John Cuddington, rector of Malpas, was a teacher at Oxford; and Mr Thomas L'Arblaster, rector of Tar- porley, was presumably a clerk of Lord Grey of Ruthin. 25 The other four graduates, too, seem to belong to the same category of clerk, and it is extremely improbable that they resided in their parishes on a permanent basis. Mr Roger Mulnegate was a nominee of the bishop, presented to the rectory of Halsall by lapse of the lay patron. Mr John Laas's tenure of the rectory of Plemstall can only be gauged through the occurrence in the bishop's register of two licences for non-residence granted to him in 1374 and 1384.-° Mr John Wetefield had held the rec­ tory of Bebington since 1355, but only occurs in local records in his later years, perhaps after retirement from some adminis­ trative service. 27 Mr Richard Winwick, vicar of Walton, cer­ tainly had a distinguished career already behind him in 1379. He was a Lancashire man and no doubt he held the poor par­ sonage of Walton for personal reasons, but even in later life his residence there was only intermittent. He held more lucrative benefices at both York and Lincoln, and was buried in the latter cathedral in 1409. - s None of these clerks could have contributed a great deal to the spiritual life of the community, especially as their qualifications were more administrative than pastoral. A graduate in the later middle ages was destined for higher things than a mere country parsonage, and nothing would be more misleading than to try and judge the spiritual quality of the local church from the proportion of graduates amongst its beneficed clergy.

These two groups of clergymen the rectors of rich family livings and the clerical careerists stand out as the two most privileged elements in the local clerical population, but it would be inappropriate to separate them too rigidly from the main body of beneficed clergymen. There was, after all, no rigid divide between 'rich' and 'poor' benefices, and there was considerable flexibility in the type of patron making present­ ments. During minorities in gentry families and vacancies in relgious houses the crown or more strictly the earl of Chester or the duke of Lancaster considerably extended its rights of patronage. 29 At the same time influence could always be brought to bear on patrons and probably accounted for Richard Winwick's institution to Walton, a church in the gift of Shrews­ bury abbey. In any case 'rights of next presentation' were always a marketable commodity/"1 Indeed all the parsons in the archdeaconry, no matter how poor their benefices, owed their position to broadly similar operations of patronage. Gentry families used rich and poor churches alike to provide

10 1379 CLERGY

livings for their younger sons. Wigan (200 marks), Stockport (£90), Standish (£80) and Wilmslow (85 marks) have already been mentioned as churches held in 1379 by members of their patrons' families. To these can be added the rectories of Cheadle (40 marks), Bury (40 marks), Aughton (20 marks) and Radcliffe (11 marks). These churches actually represent a third of all the benefices in the gift of the local gentry, and the pro­ portion reserved for relatives would appear higher still if other kinsmen cousins and nephews, in particular could be taken into account. The medieval gentry always had need of the services of the clerical class for secretarial and other work and, where there were no aspiring clergymen in the family, it was only natural for gentlemen to use their benefices to promote local clerks who had (and would) prove useful in their service. In at least three cases Cheshire parsons were presented to their churches by their manorial lord. Nicholas Penne, a native of Brereton, was instituted to the rectory of Tilston on the recom­ mendations of Sir William Brereton. William de Kekwyk owed his promotion to the rectory of Thornton to Sir Thomas Button, the lord of a sizeable estate in Keckwick. John de Brunstath probably originated from Brimstage in the Wirral and was pre­ sented to the rectory of Mobberley by the lord of Brimstage, John Domville. In none of these cases were the clerks pro­ moted within their native parishes or even within their native deaneries. Their institutions make sense only in terms of the feudal geography of the county, and Penne, Kekwyk and Brun­ stath can all be found on occasion performing some form of service, often as trustees in property settlements, for their patrons and their families. 31 The ways in which religious houses used their rights of patronage, however, are rather more obscure. Although on occasion relatives and friends of mem­ bers of the convent were promoted to livings in their gift, and though monastic appointments were sometimes subject to the influence of the crown and other local benefactors, it seems that in the main the patronage of religious houses was less partial than the average layman. Indeed monastic patrons could well afford to be more disinterested in their appointments since in many cases they had already appropriated the revenues of the churches in their gift, leaving only poorly endowed vicarages for the actual incumbents. Thus many of the parsons presented by religious houses seem to have been of relatively humble origins, often recruited internally from amongst the stipen­ diary chaplains already working in the parish. Robert de Mon- ton, vicar of Eccles, Roger de Poghden, vicar of Childwall, John de Shagh, vicar of Prestbury, and Henry de Molynton,

1379 CLERGY 11

vicar of Backford, all seem to have originated from the parish in which they were ultimately beneficed. 32 For the majority of priests, however, it must be confessed that evidence relating to their sources of patronage is, where actually available, ex­ tremely confusing. Robert Kelyng, vicar of Wallasey, is a case in point. He was a native of Liverpool, and occurs in many property transactions in the town. He was ordained priest in the early 1360s to the title of Norton priory, but seems to have owed his institution to the vicarage of Wallasey to St Wer- burgh's abbey, Chester. In later years he seems to have obtained a degree, and in 1385 he was in Scotland in the service of Hugh de Segrave, Treasurer of England. 32 This evidence is far too fragmentary to build up a coherent picture of Kelyng's career, but it at least demonstrates something of the diversity of inter­ ests and connections which might influence the career of even the humblest of country parsons.

Though the beneficed clergy in the archdeaconry of Chester were a very mixed group, the vast majority had at least one characteristic in common; they were all local men. Over three- quarters of the parish churches in the archdeaconry were in the gift of local patrons, and since clerks promoted by outsiders tended to be absentees the resident body of beneficed clergy­ men was overwhelmingly local in complexion. Although it is impossible to be precise in such matters, it is very probable that as many as 90 per cent of the parsons of benefices listed in the poll-tax of 1379 were actually natives of the archdeaconry. Many of the parsons bore the names of local gentry families like Mascy, Wever, Cholmondeley, Davenport, Bulkeley, Fit- ton, Baggeley, Mere, Aston, Langton, Waleys, Standish, Rad- cliffe and Pilkington. Other distinctively local family names were Poghden, Shalcross, Shagh, Wemme, Kelyng, Wodehouse, Penne, Steresacre, Totygreve, Hallum, Belew and Rosumgreve. Other parsons bore as their surnames very distinctive Cheshire and Lancashire place-names such as Brunstath, Coppenhall, Altcar, Budenhale, Sandbach, Bromburgh, Winwick, Manches­ ter, Molynton, Bunbury, Kekwyk, Crowton, Formby, Salghton and Hondbridge. All these parsons, and many more, were natives of the archdeaconry, and their local provenance no doubt tended to reinforce the regionalised character of the Church in these parts. By the later middle ages the archdeacons of Chester had already obtained from the bishops of Lichfield extensive rights and privileges within their jurisdiction/" These privileges effectively gave the Church in Cheshire and south Lancashire a measure of freedom from episcopal control, an independence in ecclesiastical affairs which to some extent

12 1379 CLERGY

mirrored the franchises of the two counties palatine in secular matters.

THE UNBENEFICED CLERGY

As has already been noted, the beneficed clergy only repre­ sented a small proportion of the total clerical population of the archdeaconry. Numerically more important were the 304 seem­ ingly unbeneficed clerks recorded in the poll-tax of 1379. These cannot be regarded simply as an impoverished clerical pro­ letariat. Their number included Roger de Salghale, the notary at Chester, who was assessed at 3s. 4d., and in fact the vast majority, 276 out of 304, were required to contribute 2s. a head, the same rate as the poorer parsons. These clerks clearly all held livings as valuable as some of the lesser benefices, although the sources of their income are more difficult to trace. Only the twenty-seven clerks assessed at 4d. can be regarded as completely unbeneficed. It is possible that some of these had no regular income, but then many of them seem still to have been in minor orders. 35 The truly destitute amongst the clerical population would doubtless have been omitted completely from the assessment.

The large number of unbeneficed chaplains in the arch­ deaconry must to a great extent have been a function of the immense size of many of the Cheshire and Lancashire parishes. At the time of the tithe commutation Whalley, Great Budworth and Prestbury were the three largest parishes in the country. a " In all these parishes many dependent chapel- ries had grown up during the middle ages. Some of these were only temporary establishments, but others acquired a more per­ manent standing as parochial chapelries. The churches at Nantwich, Northwich and Macclesfield, none of which were parishes, must have been fairly large establishments by this period. By the end of the fourteenth century there were at least six dependent chapelries at Clitheroe, Downham, Burnley, Colne, Church and Haslingden in the large, sprawling parish of Whalley. 1T In a few cases the names of the incumbents of these chapelries can be traced, and matched with those occurr­ ing in the poll-tax returns. John de Bowehurst (or Rowehurst) was chaplain of Church. 38 John de Rossyndale was almost cer­ tainly a chaplain at Macclesfield, and Richard Munne seems to have been the incumbent of one of the chapels at Liverpool. 39 William de Derby and Richard de Doglis both seem to have been chaplains at the chapel of Douglas, and Thomas de Clay- ton was the priest at the chapel on the Ribble Bridge. 40 By a

1379 CLERGY 13

curious chance it is recorded that Nicholas de Minshull was chaplain of the important parochial chapelry of Knutsford. 41

Many of the other chaplains recorded in the poll-tax held position as stipendiary priests in the parish churches. Some were even responsible for the cure of souls in the parishes of absentee rectors. William de Wermincham probably acted in this capacity for the rector of Middlewich, John de Scoles for the rector of Manchester and Robert Davenham for the rector of Plemstall. 42 Richard de Stoke held the curacy and leased the profits of the appropriated church of Stoke in Wirral. 43 A large collegiate church like St. John's, Chester provided livings for a large number of chaplains. Richard Madelegh, Richard Fil- cock, John Sudbury, Robert Davenham, Richard Ku, Geoffrey del Wyche, John More, John de Stone, William de Kingelegh, Robert Hood and William Tewkesbury all occur as vicars- choral at this collegiate church." Adam de Astbury was a chaplain at Astbury and in the poll-tax returns chaplains are recorded at Over, Frodsham, West Kirby, Bebington, Malpas, Aldford, Tilston, Hanmer and Holford (presumably a private chapel). 45 At the same time there were many chantry chapels to be served in the archdeaconry. John Claviger and John Walton both seem to have been chantry priests at Huyton church. 4 '1 John le Archer was chaplain at the chantry chapel of Blackrod whilst Adam de Kekwik officiated in the chantry of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Standish. 47

It would be difficult to estimate the incomes of these chap­ lains. The stipends of priests were regulated throughout the later middle ages but although in 1378 they had been fixed at 8 marks per annum for chaplains with cure of souls and 7 marks for all other chaplains, these rates clearly did not always obtain in practice. 18 The priests at the newly founded chantries at Huyton were to be paid 10 marks per annum. 49 In 1383 the new chaplain at Chester castle was to receive £5, and this was almost certainly in addition to his board and lodging"' 0 . Many chapels and chantries, too, had their own revenues, not only from oblates and other ecclesiastical sources but also from rents and lands donated by their founders. The chantry estab­ lished in the early fourteenth century at Standish church had been endowed with two messuages and sixty acres of land. 51 At the same time it is necessary to take into account other sources of income available to these chaplains. There were always occasional rites such as services in private chapels, masses for the dead, which could be performed by these chaplains for a fee. In 1369 Sir Thomas Lathom left £20 in his will to find a suitable chaplain to say masses for his soul for five years. 52

14 1379 CLERGY

There was also a great deal of secretarial and administrative work which a chaplain might perform on behalf of gentlemen and merchants. In particular, many chaplains acted as trustees in the property settlements of landowning families, and over half the clerks recorded in the poll-tax can be found acting in this capacity in surviving deed collections. 53 These services must always have been remunerated in some way, whether directly by payment or indirectly by patronage. In his will of 1395 William Mainwaring made bequests to numerous clergy­ men who had doubtless served him in the past, including 13s. 4d. each to John le Pecok and Peter Blys. 54 Some chap­ lains, too, seem to have held property on their own account. Nicholas le Baker and John le Pecok are both recorded as hold­ ing burgages in Nantwich in 1385/' r> Richard Munne, William Crouther held lands respectively in the towns of Liverpool, Stockport and Altrincham. 511 Richard de Bromburgh (alias Richard Vernon of Bromborough) held property in Brom- borough, Thomas del Walle had a small estate in Halton and John de Hephales was a tenant in the forest of Macclesfield.* 7

It is unlikely that any of these chaplains, taxed as they were at the same rate as many parsons, were without regular source of income. Indeed they would not have been allowed to pro­ ceed to holy orders at all without having had a guaranteed living (or 'title', as it was known) of at least five marks a year. 1 " For the vast majority of clerks this had meant seeking the sponsorship of a local monastery, and in the period 1370-79 Lancashire and Cheshire houses granted 'titles' to 125 ordi- nands. 39 Theoretically the granting of titles committed the monastery to providing livings for their newly-ordained priests, but in practice titles meant little in terms of real patronage. Holland priory, with only one vicarage in the archdeaconry at its disposal, gave twenty-seven titles in this period. St Wer- burgh's abbey, with eighteen Cheshire churches in its gift, gave none. Although over twenty of the priests ordained in the years 1370-79 ultimately obtained benefices, only two of these were actually promoted by the monasteries which had originally pro­ vided their titles."" Indeed the significance of this system of sponsorship is difficult to assess even in the most general terms. The ordinations of over 40 per cent of the chaplains in the poll-tax can be traced, but these do not reveal many coherent patterns. Certainly it seems that many clerks, predictably, took their titles from the monastery nearest their home. It is clear, for example, that most clerks from the eastern half of Lanca­ shire from Blackburn, Whalley, Eccles and Rochdale parishes, in particular looked to Whalley abbey for sponsor-

1379 CLERGY 15

ship. Clerks from the western half of the country, on the other hand, such as Richard More of Liverpool, William Derlyng of Whiston, William le Ferour of Croston, John Morsolles of Hale and Thomas Scharpe of Sefton, generally took their titles from Holland priory. Most of these chaplains, moreover, seem to have found employment in their own locality, and the main north-south highway through Warrington, Wigan and Chorley seems to mark a divide between the areas in which the priests sponsored by Whalley and those sponsored by Holland were active.'" Similar spheres of influence can be detected "in Cheshire, with Norton priory giving more titles in the north and Combermere abbey giving more titles in the south." 2 These are only very general patterns, however, and in many cases it has to be admitted that there is no direct correlation between the area in which a clerk resided and the location of the monastery which granted him his title. At least a fifth of the chaplains whose ordinations can be traced owed their titles to religious houses from outside the archdeaconry. Where these monasteries held property in the archdeaconry, of course, the connections between the clerks and their sponsors can some­ times be traced. Thus Adam de Brekale and John de Lunt, who were ordained to the title of Merevale abbey, both came from hamlets to the north of Liverpool, an area in which Mere- vale had territorial interests." 3 In other cases, however, the nature of the connection remains a complete mystery. Clergy­ men from the larger towns, in particular, seem peculiarly eccentric in their choice of sponsors, reflecting, no doubt, the wider connections of the mercantile classes. In the poll-tax returns for the deanery of Macclesfield the names of three clerks from Stockport were recorded, each of whom obtained his title from a different monastery from outside the archdeaconry. John le Walker was sponsored by Merevale, William Edkus by the house of St. Katherine outside Lincoln and William de Bagelegh by the hospital of St. John the Baptist by Stafford." 4 At the same time there were a fair number of chaplains resident in the archdeaconry in 1379 who were clearly not local men. A few of these, like John de Snayth (alias John son of Henry le Taillour of Snaith, Yorkshire), had actually been sponsored by local religious houses, and had no doubt been offered livings in the locality."" Others, like the group of Irish chaplains in the deanery of Chester, had probably moved into the archdeaconry in the hopes of finding employment."" Indeed it is all too easy to under-estimate the geographical mobility of the clerical population. Many Lancashire and Cheshire chaplains doubt­ less found work in other parts of the country, and within the

16 1379 CLERGY

archdeaconry itself the unbeneficed clergy seemed to have moved around with considerable facility. Of the thirteen un­ beneficed chaplains whose names are recorded in the poll-taxes of both 1377 and 1379 only eight were resident in the same deanery on both occasions. 07

Although most of the 304 unbeneficed clerks were assured of a reasonable living, their chances of real ecclesiastical prefer­ ment were extremely limited. Many of the chaplains listed in the poll-tax seem to have served as priests for thirty or forty years without any real hope of being promoted to a benefice. In the deanery of Frodsham, for example, Adam le Mason, Gil­ bert de Gropenhale, John Hank, Thomas Forste, Robert de Walton and William Geffeson had all been ordained over twenty years previously. 08 With a ratio, in 1379, of about four chaplains to every parish in the archdeaconry, the chances of being presented to even one of the poorer churches were slim indeed. The situation was aggravated by the fact that such a large proportion of the benefices were habitually reserved for scions of local gentry families, royal servants, diocesan officials and the like. In the period 1380 to early 1385 new institutions, as opposed to exchanges, were made to eighteen Lancashire and Cheshire churches. Three of these were filled by clerks nominated by the king and other magnates. Three more went to clerks still in minor orders, presumably relatives of their patrons. Two were granted to priests who were already beneficed, and two more were filled by monks of Whalley and Burscough. This left only eight benefices to be shared amongst all the other local chaplains, and in fact only one, the rectory of Wilmslow, went to a chaplain listed in the poll-tax of 1379. 09

Only about one in ten of the chaplains recorded in the poll- tax seem to have eventually attained a benefice. Thomas Forste, after nearly a quarter of a century as a priest, was presented to the rectory of Wilmslow in 1380. Three years later, although his institution was not recorded in the bishop's register, John de Craunton (alias Graunton) was vicar of Eccles. In 1389 Roger de Belgreve acquired the rectory of Astbury, John le Ficheler the vicarage of Rochdale and John Liverpool the rectory of North Meols. In the 1390s John Molyneux, Hugh le Strynger, John de Burton, John Birkyn, John Wodehouse, Richard Twoyereold, John de Alston, Robert de Colayn, Philip Egerton, John Spencer (alias Claviger) and Roger de Salghale were presented to the churches of Thurstaston, War- mincham, Over, Lymm, Swettenham, Eccleston (Cheshire), Leyland, Middleton, Heswall, Backford and Acton. 70 Others even found preferment outside the archdeaconry. Thomas de

1379 CLERGY 17

Hornby was vicar of Kirkham in Amounderness, a church in the diocese of York but in the gift of Vale Royal, from around 1394. 71 John Case, a chaplain from the deanery of Macclesfield, seems to have acquired the Derbyshire living of Grendon-in-the- Moors. 72 Stephen le Lene, another Macclesfield chaplain, seems to have followed the fortunes of his fellow-townsman, John de Macclesfield, the distinguished royal clerk. In the 1390s almost certainly through Macclesfield's influence at court he was presented to the rectory of Horsmonden in Kent. Like many of the other Cheshire parsons who joined the rebellion of 1403, Stephen le Lene remained loyal to Richard II after his deposition. In May 1402 he was executed in London along with a group of friars for conspiring against Henry IV. 73

In the main the benefices to which these chaplains were pro­ moted were of the poorer sort. The vicarages of Rochdale and North Meols were two of the most meagre livings in the arch­ deaconry, and the churches of Eccles, Thurstaston, Swettenham, Middleton and Backford were all valued at less than £10. Even where chaplains from 1379 were instituted to the richer bene­ fices their fortunes were not always advanced very substan­ tially. Roger de Belgreve's tenure of Astbury seems to have been subject to the payment of a heavy annual pension and Hugh de Toft, who attained the rich rectory of Stockport in 1404, seems to have been forced to resign three years later. 71 Most of these chaplains in any case seem to have obtained their benefices very late in life, and hardly any found any further preferment. Both Hugh de Toft and John de Merbury (rector of Brereton, 1403-10) were chaplains with close connections with the Cheshire gentry, and yet both had to serve extremely long apprenticeships, one of nearly fifty, and the other of nearly thirty years, as unbeneficed priests, 7 "' Indeed it seems that if a chaplain were not sufficiently well-connected to possess a bene­ fice at the time of his ordination, there was little likelihood of his having a really successful career in the church. John Button seems to have been the only clerk in the poll-tax who later obtained a whole succession of lucrative benefices, and his in­ clusion amongst the unbeneficed chaplains of the archdeaconry was in any case rather incongruous. He had already been pre­ sented to the church of Lawton in 1377 but, being then in minor orders, his institution had not been ratified. By 1382, however, he was a bachelor of civil law and his future career was put on a surer footing by his promotion to the rectory of Barrow, a sinecure then in the gift of Sir Lawrence Button. 7U

18 1379 CLERGY

CONCLUSION

Though the clerical poll-tax returns furnish an indispensable basis for the analysis of the social structure of the local church, they do not provide a comprehensive picture of the ways in which the clerical profession acted as an avenue of social advancement for Lancashire and Cheshire men. Amongst the ranks of both the beneficed and unbeneficed clergy resident in the archdeaconry in 1379 there were only two local clerks, Richard de Winwick and John de Dutton, who seem to have found ecclesiastical preferment on something more than a modest scale. It must be remembered, however, that the poll- tax returns do not record the names of all the local clergymen who were following successful clerical careers in other parts of the country. It has already been observed that clerks who were not beneficed at the time of their ordination were unlikely to find high preferment, and the same is obviously true of the parsons who had only obtained their benefices late in life. In a sense, therefore, the local clerks listed in the poll-tax were all men whose career-prospects were rigidly delineated. For the ordinary chaplain the most that could ever be achieved was a modest parsonage. All the other ecclesiastical livings, from canonries to bishoprics, were reserved for men of a different calibre who were still clerks, but clerks whose accomplishments were administrative or academic rather than pastoral. The careers of these more successful clerks, spanning as they did many dioceses, cannot always be followed from the local records but have to be traced at a national level.

Thus the small number of clerical careerists recorded in the poll-tax returns does not necessarily mean that there were few opportunities open to local men. In fact, following in the wake of John de Winwick (d.1360), Keeper of the Privy Seal and Treasurer of York, there were a large number of clerks from the archdeaconry who achieved a measure of success at a national level. Master Richard de Winwick, his brother, has already been mentioned. Another kinsman, William de Asshe- ton, was at the university of Oxford at the time of the poll-tax. He was a bachelor of civil law in 1377 and a doctor by 1385. He acquired a whole series of lucrative livings, including the local rectory of Prescot, and for a long period he was Chancel­ lor of the Duchy of Lancaster. TT A little younger than the Winwicks were the Farington brothers, also from Lancashire. In 1375 Robert, Roger and William de Farington were already beneficed in various parts of the country when they acted

1379 CLERGY 19

together as trustees in a property settlement near Leyland. 7S Robert de Farington probably pioneered the family fortunes by his long service to Edward III and Richard II, first as a chan­ cery clerk and later as Treasurer of Ireland. Besides the stipends of these secular offices he also held numerous benefices, includ­ ing a canonry at York and his native parish of Croston. 79 William de Farington, like Richard de Winwick, probably owed his university education to his brother's achievements, and eventually became a professor of Theology. s " A Cheshire clerk who must have been establishing himself in the royal service at this time was John de Macclesfield. In the 1390s he acquired many ecclesiastical sinecures as a reward for his ser­ vices to Richard II as a privy seal clerk and Keeper of the Wardrobe." 1 These were only the forerunners, moreover, of a whole group of notable ecclesiastics who rose to prominence in the opening decades of the fifteenth century. Thomas Langley, bishop of Durham, Robert Hallum, bishop of Salis­ bury, and William Booth, archbishop of York, were all local men and a contemplation of their careers perhaps provides a necessary complement to the picture of the Lancashire and Cheshire clergy derived from the poll-tax returns.

NOTES

1 J. C. Russell, 'The Clerical Population of Medieval England', Traditio, II (1944), and D. Knowles and R. N. Hadcock, Medieval Religions Houses: England and Wales (second edition, 1971).

2 'Clerical Poll-Taxes in the Diocese of Salisbury', ed. J. L. Kirby in Collectanea Volume XII. ed. N. J. Williams (Wilts. Arch. Nat. Hist. Soc. 1956).

3 Robert de Brotherton, Hugh le Strynger (alias Hugh de Warrington) and John de Haworth. all mentioned as chaplains in the poll-tax, did not enter holy orders until 1378. Register of Bishop Robert de Stretton part one, ed. R. A. Wilson (Historical Collections for Staffordshire, n.s. VIII, 1905). pp. 335-7.

4 The clerical poll-taxes were not used, for example, in Douglas Jones, The Church in Chester, 1300-1540 (diet. Soc. third ser. VII, 1957).

5 J. C. Russell, British Medieval Population (1948), p. 135.6 PRO E 179/45/16.7 Details relating to parish churches, their incumbents and their patrons

are mainly derived from G. Ormerod, History of Cheshire, ed. T. Helsby (1882), J. P. Earwaker, East Cheshire (1887) and the Victoria County History of Lancaster.

8 The regular clergy paid £34 6s. Od. out of the archdeaconry's total con­ tribution of £89 2s. &d.

9 Thomas de Chorley and John Seriaunt occur amongst the Lancashire chaplains. The parsons of Brindle and Leyland had the same names. V.C.H. Lanes. VI. pp. 1 and 79.

10 Bishop Stretton's Register, part one. pp. 8. 16 and 17.11 Talbot Deeds 1200-1682, ed. E. Barker (Lanes, and dies. Rec. Soc.

CIII, 1948), deed no. 70. Bishop Stretton's Register, part one, p. 30. Lich-

20 1379 CLERGY

field Diocesan Registry, B/A/1/6 (Reg. Scrope) f. 54, and A. B. Emden, A Biographical Register of the University of Oxford to 1500 (1957-9), I, p. 526.

12 William de Burgh, rector of Warrington. was also rector of Babvvorth (in Nottinghamshire). V.C.H. Lanes. Ill, p. 311.

13 The missing rectors of Croston, Sefton, Winwick, Prescot, Warrington, Bunbury, Manchester, Middlewich, Tarporley, Malpas (both moieties), Leigh, Barrow, Mottram and Warmincham all owed their benefices to members of the royal family or other non-local magnates.

14 There is an alternative, though far less likely, interpretation of the poll- tax omissions. They may represent clergymen who had somehow man­ aged to secure exemption from the assessment.

15 D. Robinson, Beneficed Clergy in Cleveland and the East Riding 1306- 1340 (Bprthwick Papers no. 37, 1970), p. 8. J. C. Russell. 'The Clerical Population of Medieval England' p. 179, expresses surprise that in 1377 the unbeneficed clergy outnumbered the beneficed by as many as two to one.

16 'A List of Clergy for eleven Deaneries of the Diocese of Chester 1541-2', ed. W. Fergusson Irvine in Miscellanies Volume III (Lanes. Chcs. Rec. Sac. XXXIII, 1896).

17 See Clerical Poll-Taxes, ed. J. L. Kirby.18 Their values at the end of the thirteenth century can be traced in

Taxatio Ecclesiasticu Angliae et Walliae auctoritate P. Nicholai IV, circa A.D. 1291, ed. T. Astle, S. Ayscough and J. Caley (Rec. Comm. 1802), pp. 248-9.

19 Bishop Stretton's Register, part one, pp. 239 and 315.20 V.C.H. Lanes. IV, p. 62, VI, p. 188 and III, p. 189.21 PRO Chester 25/10 m. 19.22 See Leicester-Warren MSS. at Tabley House, Knutsford, passim.23 C.P.R. 1401-5, p. 264.24 Their other interests are often difficult to trace, but the parsons oi

Warrington, Burton and Walton were all pluralists.25 G. Ormerod, Hist. Cheshire, II, pp. 543, 606 and 234.26 Bishop Stretton's Register, part one, pp. 68 and 87.27 'Calendar of Cheshire Recognizance Rolls' in 36th Report of the Deputy

Keeper of the Public Records (1875), p. 516.28 V.C.H. Lanes. Ill, p. 7.29 This makes it impossible to trace, for instance, who actually presented

Mr John Laas and Mr John Wetefield to their parsonages. Neither institution seems to have been recorded in the bishop's register and, though both benefices were normally in the gift of religious houses, it seems probable that they were both royal presentees.

30 See, for example, agreements relating to the advowson of Stockport. John Rylands Library (Manchester), Bromley-Davenport Muniments II/Woqd- ford, and Bodleian Library (Oxford), 'Rev. J. Watson's Manuscript Collection towards a History of Cheshire' p. 202.

31 G. Ormerod, Hist. Cheshire, II, p. 696; BM Addit. Charters 49836-7; and Talbot Deeds, passim.

32 All these parsons have surnames common in their parishes, and all occur frequently in their localities.

33 Bishop Stretton's Register, part one, p. 159, G. Ormerod, Hist. Cheshire, II, p. 477 and 36th D.K.R. p. 267.

34 See P. Heath. The Medieval Archdeaconry and Tudor Bishopric of Chester'. Jnl. Eccl. Hist. 20 (1969), pp. 243-52.

35 Philip de Egerton, for example, seems to have entered holy orders early in 1379. Bishop Stretton's Register, part one, p. 341.

36 D. Sylvester, The rural landscape of the Welsh borderland: a study in historical geography (1969), p. 180.

37 LRO Towneley Muniments, K/16/3-4.38 'Dunkenhalgh Deeds c. 1200-1600'. ed. G. A. Stocks and J. Tail in

Chetham Miscellanies New Series Volume IV (Chet. Soc. second ser. LXXX, 1921), deed no. 111.

1379 CLERGY 21

39 See BM Cotton MSS, Cleopatra D. VI (the Macclesfield Cartulary) and Liverpool RO Moore MSS, passim.

40 LRO DDIb (Ireland-Blackburne of Hale Deeds), box 2; LRO DDSc (Scarisbrick Deeds). 41/11; and LRO DDHo (De Hoghton Deeds), no. 1048.

41 Registrum Johannis Gilbert, episcopi Herefordensis 1375-1389, ed. J. H. Parry (Canterbury and York Society, XVIII, 1915), pp. 46 and 56.

42 Register of Bishop Robert de Stretton, part two, ed. R. A. Wilson (Historical Collections for Staffordshire, n.s.X, 1907), pp. 184-6.

43 36th D.K.R. pp. 452-3.44 Jones, Church in Chester, pp. 160-1.45 Adam, chaplain of the Blessed Mary of Astbury, occurs in PRO

E 179/45/16.46 Lichfield Diocesan Registry, B/A/1/6 (Reg. Scraps) f. 55d., and Man­

chester Central Reference Library, Farrer MSS, Ll/52/2/1.47 Bishop Stretton's Register, part two, p. 179, and Wigan Library. Standish

Deeds, no. 89.48 B. H. Putnam, 'Maximum Wage-Laws for Priests after the Black

Death, 1348-81'. American Hist. Rev. XXI (1916).49 Bishop Stretton's Register, part one. pp. 145-6.50 36th D.K.R. p. 42.51 Wigan Library, Standish Deeds, no. 38.52 'Calendar of Scarisbrick Deeds', part II. in T.H.S.L.C. n.s.XIII (1898),

no. 102.53 In one typical deed collection, for example, Thomas Budenhale, rectof

of Rostherne, Peter del Shaw, rector of Lymm, John Mascy, rector of Ashton-on-Mersey, Thomas Forste, Robert de Walton, William le Spencer, John Byrkyn, Hugh Toft and Nicholas Minshull can all be found acting as trustees. John Rylands Library, Cornwall-Legh MSS, passim.

54 John Rylands Library, Mainwaring MSS. no. 173.55 The Book of the Abbot of Combermere, 1289-1529', ed. J. Hall in

Miscellanies Volume II (Lane. Ches. Rec. Soc. XXXI, 1896).56 Liverpool RO Moore MSS. deed no. 158: Bodleian Library, 'Rev. J.

Watson's MS Collection', p. 206; PRO Ancient Deeds C4961.57 BM Addit. MS 36764; Leicester-Warren MSS at Tabley House, Knuts-

ford, Liber C, f. 189; PRO SC 11/898.58 M. Bowker. J he Secular Clergy in the Diocese of Lincoln 1495-1520

(1968), p. 61.59 Bishop Stretton's Register, part one, pp. 231-345.60 John de Craunton (alias Graunton) was ordained to the title of Whalley

in 1371 and presented by them to the church of Eccles. John Spencer was ordained to the title of Birkenhead priory and presented by them to the church of Backford.

61 William le Jewe of Wigan, Hugh le Strynger of Warrington and Richard le Couper of Chorley were sponsored by Whalley, whilst Robert Brotherton of Wigan and Thomas de Walton of Wigan were sponsored by Holland.

62 In the deanery of Frodsham the majority of priests whose ordinations can be traced owed their titles to Norton priory, and none at all to Combermere abbey. In the deanery of Nantwich the situation is com­ pletely the reverse.

63 Particularly in the area around Altcar. V.C.H. Lanes. Ill, pp. 221-4.64 Bishop Stretton's Register, part one. pp. 253, 208 and 308.65 Ibid. p. 246.66 There were local families called Ireland, but since these chaplains

cannot be traced in the Lichfield ordination-lists it seems probable that many were immigrants.

67 PRO E 179/45/16.68 Lichfield Diocesan Registry, B/A/1/1 (Reg. Norburgh), f. 211d.. f. 213.

f. 212. and G. Ormerod. Hist. Cheshire, I. p. 413.69 Bishop Stretton's Register, part two. pp. 183-92.

22 1379 CLERGY

70 Lichfield Diocesan Registry, B/A/1/6 (Reg. Scrope), f. 52-f. 62. Also see V.C.H. Lanes, and G. Ormerod, Hist. Cheshire, passim.

71 V.C.H. Limes. VII, p. 146.72 'Calendar of Deeds etc. enrolled on the Plea Rolls of the county of

Chester'. 29th D.K.R. (1868), p. 57.73 C.P.R. 1401-5.-p. 125.74 36th D.K.R. p. 32 and PRO Chester 25/10 m. 19.75 Lichfield Diocesan Registry, B/A/1/1 (Reg. Norburgh), f. 211d., and

Bishop Stretton's Register, part one, p. 299.76 John Dutton later held, in addition to Barrow, the rectory of Cheadle.

and prebends at Lichfield and St John's Chester. D. Jones, Church in Chester, p. 143.

77 A. B. Emden. Biog. Reg. Oxford, I. pp. 64-5.78 LRO Farington of Worden Deeds, no. 2266.79 C.P.R. 1396-9, pp. 375 and 411, and PRO PCC 9 Marche.80 A. B. Emden. Biog. Reg. Oxford I. p. 666.81 C.P.R. 1385-9, p. 344 and C.P.R. 1396-9, p. 266.

THE TEXT OF THE CLERICAL POLL-TAX RETURNS FOR THE ARCHDEACONRY OF CHESTER 1379

The clerical poll-tax returns for the archdeaconry in 1379 are com­ prised in two documents, obviously complementary as parts of the same asssssment but filed separately at the Public Record Office. The first of these E179/15/6a which provides the heading to both documents and a list of the regular clergy in the archdeaconry, is calendared below. The second document E179/271/4 which contains the bulk of the assess­ ment, is transcribed and translated in its entirety. All place-names have been rendered in their modern form, as have Christian names. Surnames, on the other hand, have besn transcribed as they appear in the original. The almost untranslatable dominus used as a courtesy title for priests has been omitted. To have translated it as 'sir', 'master' or 'lord' would have proved too mis­ leading.

E179/15/6a

Particulars of the account of Richard prior of Norton, assessor and collector in the archdeaconry of Chester from all ecclesiastical persons in the same, both exempt and not exempt, of a certain subsidy granted to the king in his second year by the prelates and clergy of the province of Canterbury in their last convocation at the church of St Paul, London etc.

Thomas, abbot of Chester .............. £4 0. Od26 monks (Christian names only) each at ... 3s 4d Total £8 6. 8dAgnes, prioress of Chester ....................... 13.v 4d12 nuns each at .................................... Is Od Total £1 5. 4dStephen, abbot of Vale Royal ............ £3 0. Od17 monks each at ................................. 3s 4d Total £5 16. &dRobert, prior of Birkenhead ............ £1 0. Od4 monks each at .................................... Is Sd Total £1 6. %dRichard, prior of Norton .................. £2 0. Od14 canons each at ................................. 3s 4d Total £4 6. 8dWilliam, abbot of Whalley ............... £3 0. Od23 monks each at ................................. 3s 4d Total £6 16. 8dThomas, prior of Burscough ............... £1 0. Od6 canons each at ................................. Is &d Total £1 10. OdWilliam, prior of Holland .....................13s 4d4 monks each at ........ ........................ .. Is Od Total 17s 4d

1379 CLERGY 23

John, abbot of Combermere ...............£2 0. Od9 monks each at .................................... 3s 4d Total £3 10. OdJohn, monk of Penwortham ..................... 35 4dWilliam, monk of Penwortham ............... 35 4dRoger, monk of Kersal ........................... 35 4d Total 10. Od

E179/271/4

tAbbot of Chester, with twenty-six monks ........................ £8 6. &dtAgnes, prioress of the nuns of Chester, with twelve nuns ...... £1 5. 4dDean of the collegiate church of St John, Chester 1 .................. 135 4dRector of the church of St Peter,- value 25 marks. Thence ......... 55 QdRector of the church of St Mary, 3 value 80 marks .................. 13s 4dRector of the church of Holy Trinity, 4 value 30 marks. Thence ... 55 OdRector of Thornton."1 value 40 marks. Thence ........................ 105 OdRector of Waverton," value 35 marks. Thence ........................ 55 OdRector of Christleton, 7 value 24 marks. Thence ........................55 OdRector of Dodleston." value 30 marks. Thence ........................... 55 OdRector of Plemstall," value 40 marks. Thence ........................... 105 OdtAbbot of Vale Royal, with sixteen monks ........................ £5 16. 8dVicar of Weaverham, 10 value 20 marks. Thence ..................... 5s QdVicar of Budworth, 11 value 21 marks. Thence ........................ 55 OdtPrior of Norton, with fourteen canons ........................... £4 6. 8dRector of Rost'herne, 12 value 80 marks .............................. £1 0. OdVicar of Bowdon, 13 value 44 marks .................................... 105 QdRector of Lymm, 11 value 45 marks ....................................... 105 OdVicar of Runcorn, 1 '1 value 35 marks .................................... 55 OdtAbbot of Combermere, with nine monks ........................... £3 10. QdVicar of Acton, 111 value 18 marks. Thence ........................... 10s QdVicar of Audlem, 17 value 20 marks. Thence ........................... 5s OdVicar of Wybunbury, 18 value 40 marks. Thence ........................ 10s OdRector of Barthomley, 19 value 45 marks .............................. 10s OdRector of Astbury, 20 value 95 marks .................................... 13s AdRector of Brereton, 21 value 20 marks .................................... 5s QdVicar of Over,- 2 value 25 marks. Thence .............................. 5s QdRector of Davenham, 23 value 80 marks ................................. 13s 4dRector of Tattenhall, 21 value 40 marks ................................. 10s OdRector of Coddington, 25 value 20 marks ................................. 5s OdRector of Aldford, 20 value 20 marks. Thence ........................... 5s QdRector of Tilston,'-' 7 value 22 marks ....................................... 5s OdRector of Bangor, 2S value £90. Thence .............................. £1 0. OdRector of Hanrner, 25' value 80 marks. Thence ........................ 13s AdRector of Cheadle, 30 value 40 marks .... ............................... 10s QdRector of Wilmslow, 31 value 85 marks .................................... 13s 4aVicar of Prestbury, 32 value 20 marks .................................... 5s OdRector of Mobberley, 33 value 40 marks ................................. 10s OdRector of Gawsworth, 34 value 20 marks ................................. 5s OdtPrior of Birkenhead, with four monks .............................. £1 6. SdVicar of Neston. 35 value 25 marks ....................................... 5s OdRector of a moiety of Wallasey. 3 " value 30 marks ..................... 5s OdRector of Bebington. 37 value 50 marks. Thence ........................ 10s OdRector of Woodchurch. 38 value 40 marks. Thence ..................... 10s OdRector of West Kirby, 39 value 38 marks ................................. 10s OdRector of Heswall, 40 value 25 marks. Thence .............................. 5s OdVicar of Eastham, 11 value 30 marks. Thence ........................... 5s OdRector of Stockport,-' 2 value £90. Thence ............................. £1 0. OdRoger de Salghale. notary ...................................................... 3s 4d

Total .......................................... £18 13. 4d

24 1379 CLERGY

Assessment of Rectors and Vicars of churches not exceeding £10, each at ............. ........ 2s Od

Rector of Newhall,43 value £7 ................................................ 2s OdRector of Wistaston," value £8 ............................................. 2? OdRector of Pulford, 45 value £8 ............................................. 2s OdRector of Thurstaston, 10 value £7 .......................................... 2s OdRector of Grappenhall,47 value £7 .......................................... 2s OdRector of Ashton,"- value £8 ................................................ 2s OdRector of Taxal,49 value £7 ................................................ 2s OdRector of Lawton, 59 value £7 .................. ............................ 2s 0:iRector of Swettenham.51 value £8 .......................................... 2s OdRector of Baddiley,-"' 2 value £9 ............................................. 2s OdRector of Handley." 3 value £8 ............................................. 2s OdVicar of Backford, 54 value £7 ............................................. 2s OdVicar of Frodsham/' 5 value £8 ............................................. 2s OdVicar of Sandbach/' 8 value £9 ............................................. 2s OdRector of Harthill," value £8 ............................................. 2s OdVicar of St Oswald's, 58 value £6 .......................................... 2s OdRector of St Olafs/* value £5 ............................................. 2v OdfVicar of Backford

Total .......................................... £1 14. Od

1379 CLERGY 25Deanery of Chester

Richard Madelegh, chaplain 2sRichard Filcok, chaplain 2sRobert Hood, chaplain 2sJohn Suddebury, chaplain 2sRobert de Davenham. chaplain 2sWilliam de Kingelegh. chaplain 2sRichard Ku 2sGeoirrey del Wyche, chaplain 2sThomas Harlaston, chaplain 2sJohn More, chaplain 2sThomas del Wode. chaplain 2sJohn Herthull, chaplain 2sJohn de Stone, chaplain 2sJohn de Croxston, chaplain 2sRoger de Landecan, chaplain 2sThomas Bernard, chaplain 2sPeter le Spicer, chaplain 2sJohn le Molyneus, chaplain 2sJohn de Neston, chaplain 2sRoger le Molyneus, chaplain 2sJohn Cracowe, chaplain 2sThomas le Porter, chaplain 2sRichard le Molyneus, chaplain 2sWilliam Teukesbury, chaplain 2sThomas Batemon, chaplain 2sRichard Botyler, chaplain 2sHugh de Bacford, chaplain 2sRobert de Neston, chaplain 2,?William Irlond, chaplain 2sMayler de Irlond, chaplain 2sWilliam Grene, chaplain 2sAdam de Pulton, chaplain 2sJohn Batemon, chaplain 2sRichard de Aldeford, chaplain 2sRichard Spark, chaplain 2sRichard de Irlond, chaplain 2sWilliam de Halghton. chaplain 2.?John de Molynton, chaplain 25Roger de Belgreve, chaplain 2sGilbert de Irlond, chaplain 2sWilliam Trofford, chaplain 2sHugh del Heth, chaplain 25Richard Monach, chaplain 2sRichard de Pulford. chaplain 2s William, rector of St Olaf's,

Chester, chaplain 2sThomas de Lymme, chaplain 2sJohn More, chaplain 2sJohn de Stretton, chaplain 2sJohn de Capenhurst, chaplain 2s

Total .................. £4 185

Deanery of Wirral

Simon Soundenheued, chaplain 2sWilliam Fynian, chaplain 2sHugh Schotewik, chaplain 2sJohn de Irlond, chaplain 2sWilliam Hwet, chaplain 2s

Richard dc Brumburgh, chaplain 2sThomas Hwet, chaplain 2s Richard of the chapel of West

Kirkby, chaplain 2s Roger, chaplain of Bebington,

chaplain 2sRobert Ernys, chaplain 2sJohn de Pulle, chaplain 2sWilliam Bacon, chaplain 2sWilliam de Morston, chaplain 2sRandolf de Hulfeld, chaplain 2sRichard de Stoke, chaplain 2sThomas Russell, chaplain 2s Henry de Nesse

Total ............... £1 14s

Deanery of Frodsham

John Snayth, chaplain 2s Robert, chaplain of Frodsham,

chaplain 2sThomas de Haleton, chaplain 2sAdam le Mason, chaplain 2sJohn de Northwiche, chaplain 2sHenry le Walsch, chaplain 25William de Whitelegh, chaplain 2sRoger Willeson, chaplain 2sJohn de Dutton, chaplain 2sRandolf de Wolley. chaplain 2sJohn de Redmor, chaplain 2sHugh Rud, chaplain 2sWilliam Jallock, chaplain IsWilliam Ferour, chaplain 2sWilliam Geffeson, chaplain 2s John, chaplain of Holford,

chaplain 2sRobert de Walton, chaplain 2sHenry de Rouley, chaplain 2sJohn de Norley, chaplain 2sWilliam de Northewode, chaplain 2sThomas Pylyng, chaplain 2sJohn Cuntclif, chaplain 2sNicholas de Munschull, chaplain 25Peter Blyse, chaplain 2sRobert de Are, chaplain 25John Byrkyn, chaplain 2sWilliam le Spsnser, chaplain 2sRoger le Gille, chaplain 2.sJohn Proudglove. chaplain 25John de Wakefeld, chaplain 2iWilliam le Crouther, chaplain 25John le Rode, chaplain 25Gilbert de Gropenhale, chaplain 2sRichard del Wode. chaplain 2sJohn de Merbury, chaplain 2sHenry de Clifton, chaplain 2sWilliam de Bradeley, chaplain 2sThomas de Rousthorne, chaplain 2sThomas Forste, chaplain 25John Hank, chaplain 2s

Total .................. £4 05

26 1379 CLERGY

Deanery of Macclesfield

Henry le Smyth, chaplainHenry Gyles, chaplainHugh Toft, chaplainThomas son of Henry, chaplainJohn le Walker, chaplainJohn Paton. chaplainWilliam Bagelegh, chaplainJohn de Holdon, chaplainJohn de DewsnapeWilliam de WycamRichard DrakeJohn IrischNicholas PrestburyJohn de WodehouseWilliam EdkusRobert de StaundonJohn de RossyndaleJohn de HephalsStephen le LeneWilliam le SaylourRichard de NorwodeJohn CaseWilliam FraseRichard le SmythThomas de la Walle

Total .................. £2 Ids

Deanery of Middlewich

William Strecche Robert Pike Adam de Astebury Richard de Chelle John Burdon William Herygonte Richard de Hanley John Bronhull William de Becheton Nicholas de More Richard Twoyereold John del Hope Richard le Reue Richard le Kypper William de Wermyngham Robert de Staunford Richard de Merely William de Chaddesdene John, chaplain of Over Richard Archer Thomas Ruyll John Brereton Hugh le Mon

Deanery of Nantwich

Total £2

2s2s2s2.v2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2.v2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s

.Qs

2s2s2s2s252s2s2sIs2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s

6.v

Henry le BotelerHenry de DaltonRichard de NurtourNicholas de HaselyngtonNicholas WilleboyJohn del FordeRichard de CraveneJohn de DalbyWilliam WaryngRichard HanemereNicholas le BakerThomas SwordeleyRichard de DodyntonRichard de BuretonRoger AscheleyJohn le PecockRichard le NurtourWilliam Fynche

Total .................. £1

William de HalghtonHenry, chaplain of MalpasJohn JankynsonWilliam, chaplain of AldfordJohn, chaplain of TilstonJohn GledeJohn, chaplain of Blessed Mary

of the sameDavid, chaplain of HanmerJohn, son of William

Total ........................

Names of clerks, each at .........

Hugh de LeitonStephen PhilipRichard le TyperWilliam HicchekynThomas de SuttonRobert de WestkyrkebyWilliam de TameJohn CayThomas le VernonJohn le GrenePhilip de EgertonThomas de la MalpasRoger de le MalpasHenry de Cholmundeley

Total .................. 4s

2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2s2v2s2s2s2s

2s

14s

2s2s2s2s2s2s

2s2s2s

Us

4d

4d4d4d4d4d4d4d4d4d4d4d4d4d4d

4d

1379 CLERGY 27

Names of beneficed clergy (beneficiatorum)

t Abbot of Whalley, with twenty-three monks ..................... £6 16. Sd+ Prior of Burscough. with six canons ................................. £1 10. Od+ Prior of Holland, with four monks ....................................... 17s 4dRector of Wigan, 00 value 200 marks. Thence ........................ £1 10. OdRector of Aughton,'" value 20 marks. Thence ........................... 55 OdRector of Halsall,8 - value 80 marks. Thence ........................... 13.? 4dRector of Standish, 03 value £80. Thence ... ............................£1 0. OdRector of Eccleston, 1 ' 4 value 40 marks. Thence ........................ 10s QdRector of Buryl; \ value 40 marks. Thence .............................. 10s OdRector of Prestwich. 1"1 value 40 marks. Thence ........................... 10s OdRector of Ashton, 07 value 25 marks .......................................... 5s OdVicar of Huyton,118 value 30 marks. Thence .............................. 5s OdtTwo monks of Penwortham .............. ................................. 6s SdtMonk at Kersal ..................................................................... 3s 4d

Total .......................................... £5 8s 4d

Names of beneficed clergy (promotoriim) at 2s.

Rector of Radcliffe. value 11 marks ....................................... 2s OdRector of the church of Middleton, 70 value 10 marks .................. 2s OdRector of the church of Meols, 71 value 10 marks ........................ Is OdVicar of the church of Ormskirk, 72 value 12 marks ..................... 2s OdVicar of the church of Walton. 73 value 10 marks ........................ 2s QdVicar of the church of Childwall, 74 value £8 ..... ........................ 2s OdVicar of the church of Blackburn. 7 'value £8 .............................. 2s OdVicar of the church of Rochdale, 76 value £6 .............................. 2s OdVicar of the church of Eccles, 77 value £8 .................................... 2s OdVicar of the church of Bolton, 78 value £9 ................................. 2s Od

Total ....................................... £1 0. Od

Names of priests, each at 2s in the Deanery of Warrington

William Derlyng 2s John de Legh 2sHugh le Strynger 2s John Maunton 2sJohn Carles 2s Thomas del Shagh 2sHugh le Hare 2s Adam del Scoles 2sJohn Perpoint 2s Richard le Stronge 2sJohn Lyster 2s William de Man 2sJohn de Neuton 2s William le Ferour 2sRobert de Blakborn 2s Richard de Hassall 2sRoger de Thornton 2s Richard de Derwynd 2sAdam de Heghfelde 2s Thomas de Harbergh 2s Thomas de Walton 2sWilliam le Jwe 2s Total .................. £2 4s

Names of priests living in the county of Lancaster, each at 2s

Adam de Kekewik 2s Robert Fox 2sJohn del Wode 2s Richard del More 2sThomas Scharpe 2s John de Lunt 2*John Eign 2s Richard Mun 2sElias del Heth 2s Thomas Curteys 2sJohn de Walton 2s John Broun 2sWilliam de Derby 2s Thomas Bonke 2sThomas del Acres 2s John Brydde 2sJohn Lytherpole 2s Robert Bacon 2s

28William Qwitfeld Richard Poghdene John de Mulne John Morsolles John Baynbrig Richard de Lauton Thomas del Cauce John de Burton John Claviger Adam Brekale Richard de Standisch Richard de Smalschagh John de Holande Thomas le Warde Henry del Cauce John Culhody Richard le Couper Thomas de Clayton John de Preston Thomas de Horneby Thomas de Chorley John de Dukworth Thomas de Seliford Henry de Danmer John Seriaunt William le Mercer John de Alston John de Doglis John de Graunton senior John de Graunton junior Walter de Bromley John de Rowehurst John de Toppecliffe John de Curnn'e Adam de Ridlegh Richard de Twistefeld Robert de Colayn Peter de Manchester

1379 CLERGY

2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s

John le Fycheler John le Cupper John le Smyth John Markelonde Robert de Brotherton William del Mersshe William del Crosse Henry le Herdmon John del Scoles Richard Braybon Roger le Cok Robert del Schore William del Knoll John de Howorth Richard Banaster John le Archer Richard de Hulton

Is2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s 2s

Total ................

Names of clerks, each at

William de MiddwallHugh le SpenserRoger OliverRandolt CowystonJohn BlaunchardThomas LaythwaiteRichard de NeutonRichard ChokesRobert del Platteclerk ('clericus') of BuryJohn del PlatteThomas de ChokesThomas de Manchester

£7 Ss

4d

4d4d4d4d4d4d4d4d4d4d4d4d4d

Total 4.v 4d

NOTESt Items marked thus are crossed through in the original, and 'cancelled,

as above' appears in the margin alongside.1 John de Wodehouse. dean of St. John's Chester, occurs 1370-95. Jones,

Church in Chester, p. 125.2 John de Halghton, rector of St. Peter's Chester, 1377-1402. Ibid. p. 167.3 John Altcar, rector of St. Mary's-on-the-hill Chester, occurs 1381-9. Ibid,

p. 174.4 John de Middleton, rector of Holy Trinity Chester, 1378-84. Ibid. p. 170.5 William de Kekwyk, rector of Thornton, 1375-1405. Ormerod, Hist.

Cheshire, II, p. 19.6 William de Mere, rector of Waverton, occurs 1361. Ibid. II, p. 789.7 Roger Davenport, rector of Christleton, 1378-86. Ibid. II, p. 781.8 John son of Nicholas de Winnington, rector of Dodleston. 1379-83. Ibid.

II, p. 849.9 Master John Laas, rector of Plemstall, occurs 1374-84. Bishop Stretton's

Register, part one, pp. 68 and 87.10 William le Minour, vicar of Weaverham, occurs 1382. Ormerod, Hist.

Cheshire, II, p. 117.11 Thomas Wemme, vicar of Great Budworth, occurs 1376-1400. Ibid. 1,

p. 611.

1379 CLERGY 29

12 Thomas Budenhale, rector of Rostherne, 1368-96. Ibid. I, p. 437.13 Richard de Wever, vicar of Bowdon, 1362-96. Ibid. I, p. 519.14 The rectory of Lymm was divided into two moieties, one held by John

Mascy, 1363-90, and the other by Peter del Shaw, 1367-91. It is unclear which of the rectors is omitted trom the assessment. Ibid. I, p. 593.

15 John de Aston, vicar of Runcorn, probably 1346-99. Ibid. I, p. 679.16 William Totygreve, vicar of Acton, occurs 1361. Ibid. Ill, p. 347.17 Alexander de Bayton, vicar of Audlem, occurs 1377. Ibid. Ill, p. 469.18 Thomas de Coppenhall, vicar of Wybunbury, 1376-96. Ibid. Ill, p. 485.19 Ihomas de Cholmondeley, rector of Barthomley, 1369-1402, Ibid. Ill, p.

304.20 John le Grey, rector of Astbury, 1368-89. Ibid. Ill, p. 26.21 Reginald de Sandbach, rector of Brereton, occurs 1361. Ibid. Ill, p. 94.22 Robert Rosumgreve, vicar of Over. 1379-85. Ibid. II, p. 184.23 Walter Dammory, rector of Davenham, 1363-80. Ibid. Ill, p. 240.24 Roger de Knyghteley, rector of Tattenhall. 1368-81. Ibid. II, p. 719.25 Alan de Gavley, rector of Coddington, 1356-81. Ibid. II, p. 735.26 William Bromborough, rector of Aldford, occurs 1377-1400. Ibid. II,

p. 759. For another parson of the same name see the rector of St. Olaf's Chester.

27 Nicholas Penne, rector of Tilston, 1361-1405. Ibid. II, p. 696.28 No evidence relating to the rector of Bangor (Flintshire) in this period.29 No evidence relating to the rector of Hanmer (Flintshire) in this period.30 Peter de Bulkeley, rector of Cheadle, occurs 1371-86. Earwaker. East

Cheshire, I, p. 218.31 John Fitton, rector of Wilmslow, 1349-80. Ibid. I, p. 87.32 John del Shagh, vicar of Prestbury, 1377-1416. Ibid. II, p. 206.33 John de Brunstath, rector of Mobberley, occurs 1378-1407. 36th

D.K.R. p. 346.34 John Caton, rector of Gawsworth, 1359-83. Earwaker, East Cheshire, II,

p. 587.35 John le Palmer, vicar of Neston, occurs 1374. Ormerod, Hist. Cheshire,

II, p. 536.36 Robert Kelyng, rector of the unappropriated moiety of Wallasey, occurs

1380-1403. Ibid. II, p. 477.37 Master John de Wetefield, rector of Bebington, 1355-81. Ibid. II, p. 438.38 John de Tytteley, rector of Woodchurch, 1376-86. Ibid. II, p. 523.39 Ralph Gentyl, rector of West Kirby, 1368-87. Ibid, II, p. 487.40 Henry de Bechynton, rector of Heswall, 1369-95. Ibid. II, p. 515.41 Thomas de Bunbury, vicar of Eastham, occurs 1362-1401. Ibid. II, p. 406.42 James de Baggeley, rector of Stockport. 1376-1404. Earwaker, East

Cheshire, I, p. 381.43 The rectory of Newhall cannot be identified.44 John de Eccleston, rector of Wistaston, 1361-88. Ormerod, Hist.

Cheshire, III, p. 334.45 William de Salghton, rector of Pulford, 1361-93. Ibid, II, p. 859.46 Robert de Crowton, rector of Thurstaston, occurs 1381. Ibid. II, p. 509.47 William Steresacre, rector of Grappenhall, 1377-1423. Ibid. I, p. 600.48 John Mascy of Sale, rector of Ashlon-on-Mersey, occurs 1364. Ibid. I,

p. 561.49 John Shalcross, rector of Taxal, 1365-83. Earwaker, East Cheshire, II,

p. 544.50 John Hallum. rector of Lawton, 1377-1402. Ormerod. Hist. Cheshire,

III. p. 18.51 Thomas de Helegh, rector of Swettenham, 1371-93. Ibid. III. p. 7652 Thomas de Schifford, rector of Baddiley, instituted 1373. Ibid. Ill, p.

458.53 John de Houdon, rector of Handley, occurs 1380. Ibid. II, p. 725.54 Henry de Molynton, vicar of Backford, 1349-96. Ibid. II, p. 370.55 Richard de Swanlowe, vicar of Frodsham. 1374-87. Ibid. II, p. 57.56 Randolf del Ford, vicar of Sandbach, 1372-1401. Ibid. Ill, p. 105.57 Thomas de Belew, rector of Harthill, 1349-83. Ibid. II, p. 714.

30 1379 CLERGY

58 Thomas Graume. vicar of St. Oswald's Chester, occurs 1374-92. Jones, Church in Chester, p. 178.

59 William Bromborough, rector of St. Olafs Chester, 1377-92. Ibid. p. 177.

60 James de Langton, rector of Wigan, 1370-1415. V.C.H. Lanes. IV, p. 62.61 John son of Richard le Waleys. rector of Aughton. 1369-82. Ibid. III.

p. 289.62 Master Roger Mulnegate, rector of Halsall, 1365-95. Ibid. Ill, p. 189.63 Gilbert de Standish, rector of Standish, 1357-95. Ibid. VI. p. 188.64 William de Hexham, rector of Eccleston, 1369-99. Ibid. VI, p. 159.65 John de Pilkington, rector of Bury, 1367-1406. Ibid. V, p. 125.66 Richard de Pilkington. rector of Prestwich, occurs 1362. Ibid. p. 72.67 Henry Nettleworth, rector of Ashton-under-Lyme, occurs 1374. Ibid. IV,

p. 349.68 John de Formby. vicar of Huyton, occurs 1378. Ibid. Ill, p. 154.69 Richard de Radcliffe, rector of Radcliffe, 1368-89. Ibid. V. p. 65.70 William de Langley. rector of Middleton, 1351-86. Ibid. V, p. 158.71 Thomas de Seynesbury, rector of North Meols, 1369-89. Ibid. Ill, p. 228.72 Fr. Robert de Bechinton, vicar of Ormskirk, occurs 1379. Bishop Stret-

ton's Register, part one, p. 78.73 Master Richard de Winwick, vicar of Walton, 1356-1409. V.C.H. Lanes.

III. p. 7.74 Roger de Poghden. vicar of Childwall. 1353-86. Ibid. III. p. 106.75 Fr. William Wetherby. vicar of Blackburn, 1369-1419. Ibid. VI, p. 241.76 Roger son of William de Manchester, vicar of Rochdale, 1369-89. Ibid.

V, p. 198.77 Robert de Monton, vicar of Eccles, 1372-83. Ibid. IV, p. 359.78 Henry de Smetheley, vicar of Bolton, occurs 1373. Ibid. V, p. 239.