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INCIPIT TITULUS QUINTUS DE ECCLESIA DE WHALLEYE.

I. & II. In isto titulo quinto, primo ponitur carta, duplex, Edwardi Regis primi post conquestu de licentia data nobis accipere aduocationem siue ius patronatus ecclesie de Whalleye* de Henrico de Lascy, comite Lincoln.

DWARDUS, Dei gratia, rex Anglie, dñus Hibernie, et dux Aquitanie, omnib; ad quos presentes litere peruenerint salutem. Licet de communi consilio regni nostri puiderimus, quod non liceat viris religionis seu alijs ingredi feodum alicuius. Ita quod ad manum mortuam deueniat sine licentia nostra

* The early history of this church is curious, and so much light is thrown on it. and the general condition of the parish, by the Status de Blackburnshire, that it is inserted here. Dr. Whitaker, indeed, impugns the accuracy of the Status in one only particular, and contends that for Augustine should be read Paullinus; but the point is not of much consequence to the present purpose; and when it is known that the Status is undoubtedly of the same age, and most probably from the same hand, as the Coucher Book, even such doubts must be received with hesitation. When the difference is between Abbot Lyndelay and Dr. Whitaker, a layman may well hesitate to pronounce a decision.

The Status says, "In the time of King Ethelbert, who began to reign A.D. 596, the blessed Augustine, the apostle of the Angles, was sent by the blessed pope Gregory at the instance of the said king, and preached the gospel in England. Then was there a parish church at Whalley in Blagborneshire, constructed in honour of All Saints. In the cemetery of which church certain stone crosses were then erected, and called by the people St. Augustine's crosses,

et capitalis dñi, de quo res illa immediate tenetur.

Volentes tamen

dilecto et fideli nostro Henr. de Lascy, com. Linc. constab. nostro Cestrie, gratiam facere specialem, dedimus ei licentiam quantum in nobis est, quod aduocationem ecclesie de Whalley et capellarum eiusdem ecclesie dare possit et assignare dilectis nobis in Cristo Abbati et conuentui Loci Benedicti de Stanlawe. Tenend. et habend. sibi et successorib3 suis imppetuum, et eisdem Abbati et conuentui

which, under that name, remain till this day, the church itself being called the White church under Legh. Within the limits of this church, all Blagborneshire, and all Boland were contained, and so they remained for many years. But then the devotion of the faithful and the number of the believers increasing in those parts, three other parish churches were erected within Blagborneshire, namely the churches of Blagborne, Chepyn, and Ribblechester. At this time there was not at Clyderhou or elsewhere in Blagborneshire any castle or any chapel besides these churches, nor did any lord claim the right of patronage to these churches, but each rector held and possessed the land and township, in which the church was situated, as in right of his church, and governed the church so endowed as his own patrimony, and substituted a successor from his sons or friends, only requiring acceptance or institution by the bishop of Lichfield; and the rectors of Whalley and Blagborn were married men and the lords of the townships. And at Whalley, they were called dean, not parson. The reason whereof was supposed to be, that at the time of the foundation of that church, and for a long time afterwards, the population was so thin, so untamed and rude, (sylvestris,) and above all, so great was the number of foxes and wild animals, that the place was as it were inaccessible; and the bishops and their officials devolved the ordinary jurisdiction of common deans (communium decanorum) upon the rectors, reserving only the more difficult cases for the bishop.

"And in this manner the churches were governed until the time of William the Conqueror, namely for four hundred and seventy years, and afterwards to the council of Lateran; as appears from ancient and true chronicles. But it is uncertain who held the lordship of Blagborneshire before the Conquest. The common opinion is, that as many townships, or manors, so many were the lords, not only in Blagborneshire, but also in Rachedale, Tottington, and Boland, who all held in capite of the king, not of any other.

"Memorandum, that the rectors of Whalley were, of old, married men, and called deans, and held the church, and the church of Rachedale, by hereditary right; so that the son always succeeded to the father, or the brother to the brother. So that on the death of a dean, his son, &c., offered himself to the lord of Blagborneshire,

quod aduocationem illam ab eodem Comite recipere possint, tenore presentium similiter licentiam dedimus specialem. Nolentes quod predicti Abbas et conuentus vel eorum successores ratione statuti predicti inde p nos vel p heredes nostros occasionentur in aliquo seu grauentur. Saluis tamen capitalib; dñis feodi illius seruicijs inde debitis et consuetis. In cuius rei testimonium has literas nostras fieri fecimus patentes. Teste meipso apud Rothelan xxiiij. die Decembris anno regni nostri duodecimo.

as the next heir of those churches, to receive letters testimonial from him to the bishop. And he transmitted some priests to serve in those churches and their chapels with his own letters and the letters of the lord to the same bishop to have the cure of the parish, or at least for licence to minister the sacraments of the church in those churches and chapels. And in this manner those churches were governed until the council of Lateran.

"And be it known that the first rector, or dean of Whalley, of whom mention is made in the registry at Lichfield, or whose name appears in the chronicles, was called Spartlingus, to whom succeeded Liwulphus the dean, who was succeeded by Cutwolphus the dean, who was succeeded by Henry his heir, who was succeeded by his son Robert the dean, who was succeeded by his son and heir, Henry the dean. After him William the dean, then Geoffrey the elder, the dean, who married the daughter of Roger de Lascy, lord of Blagborneshire, and was succeeded by his son and heir, Geoffrey the dean, who was succeeded by his son and heir, Roger, the last dean; for the council of Lateran forbade hereditary succession in a deanery.

"This Roger lived in continence, and considering that ecclesiastical benefices ought not to pass by hereditary grant, and wishing to please his relative, John de Lascy, earl of Lincoln and lord of Blagborneshire, and to transfer the right of patronage in the said church and chapels to him and his heirs, ceded the rectory and deanery, only retaining to himself, by the assent of the bishop, the vicarage of that church; and the earl presented Peter de Cestria, his clerk, to the parsonage of the church of Whalley. This Peter was the first parson named to the said church, and was admitted and inducted on the presentation of the earl. He held the church for the whole of his life, namely for fifty-nine years and more; but, during the life of Roger, he had only fifty marks per annum, while Roger held the rest of the church as a vicarage during his life, as appears in the letters of presentation and institution of Peter, and the ordination of the bishop. The abbot and convent of Stanlawe succeeded Peter in the parsonage, and entered on the manor of Whalley on the seventh ides of April A.D. 1296, and during the abbacy of Gregory de Northbury."