ences', that had again broke out betwixt them and the nuns; as well as by procuring for them an exemption from taxing, at his instance with Hugo de Hottun, chancellor of the university of Cambridge an. 1246, for two 5 of their houses near St Peter's church, now part of the site of St Peter's college; which I do not mention as any remarkable favour, but as an ancient precedent of the university's power and privilege of taxing houses, and as the first instance of a chancellor' of Cambridge, that yet 10 appears from any authentic account.

3

Bishop Norwold's immediate successor was William de Kilkenny, who continued his patronage to the hospital, and though he had not time to shew any particular instances of his affection to it, having sat only one year in 15 that see, yet deserves to be remembered for his benefaction to the university of Cambridge. He left 200 marks to the priory of Bernwell, for the maintenance of two chaplains students in divinity in that university, who were to pray for his soul, and to receive annually ten marks from the 20 priory: but because the annual charge was rather more than the gift or bequest would allow, the prior there, Iolanus de Thorley, begged the church of All Saints near the castle in Cambridge of the succeeding bishop, to be appropriated to the priory, which he obtained upon the 25 resignation of Adam de Buden, the last rector of that church; and so the annual pension of ten marks was to be paid to the two clerks students at Cambridge out of the revenue of that church, with some other security for the payment: which benefaction was one of the first endow30 ments or exhibitions granted to this university, and that at large, there being no particular endowed college then founded; for the which our good bishop was anciently prayed for, in the ancient formulary of prayer or mass for our benefactors".

1 Ex archivis.

And yet this last particular is taken from a transcript, for I never could meet with the original.

3 Regrum Bernwell., apud Hare Collect. Vol. I. I have since seen

and copied out a great part of this
ancient and very valuable Barnwell
book, now in possession of the
Haggars of Bourne.

4 Ex formula prec. seu missa pro
benefactoribus.

I have insisted the more upon this particular, because though it may be somewhat foreign to the business I am upon, yet it probably led to that which follows.

The next in order was Hugh Balsham, a name well known, and as well deserving of the university of Cam-5 bridge. His predecessor having given a hint to the bringing learning and religion together by endowing students upon the canons of Bernwell, it was pretty natural to improve the design by bringing them yet nearer and closer together in the same place; and being now 10 patron here and acting with a fundatorial power, it was easy for him to effect his design.

However he proceeded in a regular manner, and having first obtained the king's licence' and the consent of the brethren, he brought in and engrafted secular scholars 15 upon the old stock, endowing them in common with the religious brethren, as well with the revenues of the old house, as with additional revenues, granted with regard to, and in contemplation of his new foundation: and so the regular canons and secular scholars became unum 20 corpus et unum collegium2, and were the first endowed college in this university, and possibly in any other university whatsoever.

The precise time when this was done, or how long they continued together, does not so clearly appear; for 25 though the licences to this purpose was obtained from Edward the First an. regn. nono, Decembr. 27, and there might be no full and thorough settlement till this time, yet I am apt to believe they were placed here (though not fully settled) much sooner, and my reason is this, 30 because they are said by Simon Montacute (who knew very well) to have continued here per longa tempora, which in no construction of words can be understood otherwise, than that they were placed here very early,

1 Ex charta orig. sive licentia regia inter munimenta veteris hospitii.

2 Regrum Montacut. fol. 17. V. instrument. orig. de divisione facta per Hug. Epum. inter fratres et scho

lares dat. apud Dunham prid. Cal.
Apr. 1284.

3 Licentia original. inter muni-
menta veteris hospitii.

Regrum Montacut. fol. 17.

1

:

and towards the beginning of Hugh Balsham's prelacy at Ely for that they were here before he was bishop, I can hardly imagine, he having nothing to do with the government of the house before he was bishop.

5 If this be not allowed, I have nothing more to say, for it is evident from the king's licence, the original whereof is amongst our archives, that their first legal settlement here was no ancienter than the ninth of Edward the First, an. 1280, Decembr. 27. Dr Caius and Mr Wharton' (I 10 suppose from Caius, with some little correction in the date) have found a grant to these scholars, an. 1273 Maii 15, according to the first, an. 1274, according to the latter: if any such were, it must have been made to them whilst they were yet in the old house; for it is very certain, 15 both from the original instrument of partition by Hugh Balsham, as well as from the instruments of submission to his arbitrement both by the brethren and scholars, that they were not removed to Peterhouse till the year 1284. But I cannot but suspect there is some mistake, for that 20 which Dr Caius speaks of was for annexing the house of the brethren de pœnitentia Jesu to these scholars an. 1273, in the second year of Edward the First. It is true, there were such friars, situated against the Gilbertines, or White Canons, and St Edmund's chapel, at or near 25 the place where St Peter's college now stands; where having built themselves apartments and erected a chapel, this made it very convenient for founding a college. But then I meet with these friars here in the third year of Edward the First; nor were they suppressed till an. 1274, 30 at the second council of Lyons (the first session whereof was held in May, and was not up, nor anything concluded, till a long time after) which limited the number of friars to the four great established orders of Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustins and Carmelites, and suppressed all the 35 other strolling sects. And yet these brethren seem to

1 Angl. Sacr. Vol. 1. p. 637. In a MS. of bishop Wren sometime master of Peterhouse are these words: Sane chartam regiam vidi datam custodi et scholaribus domus Sti. Petri

Maii 15 Reg. Edw. I. secundo, quod incidit in annum 1273. This is great authority, if there be no mistake.

2 V. Concil. Lugd. apud Labbe. Tom. XI. [p. 990].

have held their ground some time longer, which makes
me suspect they were not taken into the college' till some
time after the foundation, wherein I am the more con-
firmed, because Hugh Balsham in his settlement takes no
notice of any such place, only of the two hostels belonging 5
to St John's, (unless we will say they were tenants to
that house). This will correct another mistake in Dr
Caius, who has discovered an hostel of secular brethren
of St John, whereto he allots a share in the site of this
college; whereas it could be no distinct hostel from these 10
two belonging to the regulars, who in our old deeds and
instruments are frequently styled fratres et clerici secu-
lares, and seem to have been so in their original foun-
dation, and might have continued so, had not Innocent the
Fourth given them (what he indeed says they had before) 15
the more honourable style and title of canons according to
the order of St Austin.

Hugh Balsham most probably (for it might be Hugh
Norwold, there being no date) gave them an additional
rule to the rule of St Austin. But the scholars were 20
left by the king to be governed by another rule3, secundum
regulam scholarium, qui de Merton cognominantur, as the
words are in the king's original licence. For that the
statutes of Merton were older than the king's licence to
Hugh Balsham will sufficiently appear from very im- 25
partial evidence, that will not lie, the register at Durham*,
there being a copy of them (possibly as old as the original,
it being entered upon the oldest book in that church) bear-
ing date an. 1274.

I shall only add upon this partition, that the division 30 was made upon the disagreement and heats of the two different parties, which though sometimes composed, yet always broke out into new flames upon fresh occasions (the scholars being too wise, and the brethren possibly

over good) which grew at last to that height, that after neither the good offices nor the authority of their patron could allay them, he was forced at last to give way to a division, and place them at a greater distance: wherein, as 5 the students seem to have been more to blame, so the brethren were the more eager of the two to part, and out of this eagerness they seem to have had the worse share in the division or exchange, whereof they afterwards complained. For as they gave up the impropriation of St 10 Peter's church (now Little St Mary's) with the two adjoining hostels, so they received only as a compensation from the bishop out of the students' revenues an hostel over against the Dominicans (now Emmanuel college), afterwards styled Rudd's hostel, with an annual rent 15 charge bought of Isabella Wombe, the value whereof being not specified, I will suppose to have been very small, with some old houses formerly belonging to the rector of Eyworth and to Robert Aunger adjoining to the hospital. Yet they had the less reason to complain, the bishop hav20 ing formerly been a benefactor by conferring on them the vicarage' of Horningsey in the tenth year of his pontificate, and so that living became a curacy, and was after served by any member of their body: though it cost them much trouble and expense, for notwithstanding this grant, the 25 archbishop in his metropolitical visitation instituted a perpetual vicar, one Reginald de Lenma, who could not be ejected without appealing to the pope, then Nicholas the Third; who upon a hearing by upon a hearing by a delegation to the prior of Huntingdon, adjudged the vicarage to the house.

30

And thus I have done with this noted transaction, wherein we may see and admire the providence of God, in bringing so much good out of discord and division, and in making the scattering of these Levites to become a

1 Ex Instrumento Simonis Epi. Elien. dat. an. 1344. Ex charta originali. Bishop Alcock's register places this under Hugh Norwold, but this must be a mistake, for both John Balsham archdeacon of Ely signs as a witness, and the confirmation of the prior and convent of Ely is

dated an. 1267.

From the taxation in the Codex Bernwell., p. 66, 67, under Walter bishop of Norwich, who died the same year that Hugh Balsham was consecrated bishop, it appears that Horningsey was yet a vicarage.