Corpus Christi college Febr. 3 an. 1352, consecrat. suæ octavo. So that either our accounts from Benet college, or this register' is mistaken. The register cannot easily mistake, having fixed both the year of our Lord, as well as the year of the consecration.

5

The house was yet growing and its revenues increased in this long reign and under the succeeding bishops, for they had two mortmains granted by king Edward the Third in the 21st and 36th years of his reign, and began to spread into the neighbouring counties by the bounty 10 and charity of good men, having lands granted them in Clavering and Langley in Essex. They held a friendly correspondence and very good understanding with their new neighbours at King's hall, and being resolved to redeem their credit for the ill treatment of their brethren at 15 Peterhouse, they treated their neighbours here with much greater humanity. Many good offices passed between them; they gave leave to the students of that hall to pull down an old wall and to build upon their ground, and for the conveniency of that hall they parted with 20 some ground upon very small and unequal considerations.

This hall confined upon St John's from the street to the river, being situated on the north side of the present college of the Holy Trinity. It was then much the greatest foundation in Cambridge, consisting of a warden2 25 and thirty-two clerks or students, for so many they were at the foundation', and they were so many at the dissolution, as appears by a survey taken of the state of that college* by Matthew Parker then vice-chancellor, John Redman afterwards master of Trinity college, and William Mey 30 master of Queens', commissionated by the king the same year it was dissolved. These thirty-two were all fellows; it does not appear they had any scholars, but being a society of grave and learned men, they were usually taken from other colleges. And in an old draught of bishop 35 Fisher's statutes given to St John's every fellow there

1 Regrum Elien. ad an. 1349, 135%. 1352.

2 Regr. Montacut. ad an. 1343. Chart. fundat. nter archiva coll.

Trinit.

4 Ex MS. Colleg. Corp. Chr. Cant. Titulo Stat. Coll.

• Statuta vetera dat. an. 1524.

upon his election obliges himself not to accept of a fellowship in any other college, unless he should happen to be elected to King's hall.

But these large endowments, as generally supposed. 5 (though the original foundation was not very opulent), had no happy consequences in their beginnings; for in the very next reign complaints being made, the king, then Richard the Second, as hereditary patron, in the seventh year of his reign issued out his commission to Thomas Arundell' 10 bishop of Ely to visit the college. The commission sets forth that the king had been informed of many defects, as well in the buildings as government of the college, by neglect of the present warden, that the number of students. had been diminished and their rights infringed by the 15 warden, and several lands, rents and possessions granted them by king Edward the Third had been wasted and destroyed, their charters, books, jewels and other monuments, goods and chattels had been alienated and sold by the warden and his ministers or servants, whereby divers 20 debates, dissensions and discords did arise betwixt the master and students, so that the students led a desolate life, and could by no means attend to learning and study, to the danger of the subversion and final destruction of the college, as well as of the scholars and students there. 25 There is no further account of this visitation or commission: no doubt it was executed, but proceeding herein by the king's authority (for the bishop was limited by his commission to do nothing by his ordinary power) it might not be thought so proper to be entered upon his register. 30 One other service was done this hall by the bishops of Ely, by appropriating to the college St Mary's church, then in the patronage of the king their founder, an. 1343.

John Fordham was translated from Durham to Ely in the twelfth year of Richard the Second', and had the 35 temporalities of that see restored him Septembr. 27 by the king at Barnwell, where the king had taken up his lodgings during the parliament at Cambridge: a parliament

1 Regrum Arundell. fol. 106.
2 Regr. Arund.

3 Regr. Montacut. an. 1343.

4

Regrum Fordham, ad an,

which the printed books have placed at Canterbury, herein sufficiently confuted by MSS. collections, particularly by a very ancient one at St John's college, which concluding in this reign with the parliament at Cambridge, may be supposed to have been taken about this time. This par- 5 liament was held at the house of the Carmelites, situated on the ground betwixt the present King's and Queens' colleges, next the river'; the convocation by the summons was to be at St Mary's church or elsewhere; the place of entertainment was at King's hall, which proved an advan- 10 tage to that hall by improving their buildings, as it did to the university and town by cleansing their streets, by the king's particular order to the chancellor of Cambridge to that purpose.

This John Fordham did some little things for the 15 house; being no lasting services, they need not be mentioned; but under him the hospital revenues were still improving, and it was about this time they received another mortmain from king Richard the Second in the sixteenth year of his reign. This was for a chantry at St 20 Botolph's church, founded by John Morice (who in the catalogue of benefactors is styled Sir John Morice knight), and was to be discharged by a brother of the house, for the which, that is, for praying and celebrating daily at St Botolph's church for the soul of Sir John Morice and 25 some of his relations, they had lands granted them in Cambridge, Coton and Chesterton. This chantry (with the other at St Sepulchre's) was kept up after the dissolution under the new foundation, and one of these chantries was usually in the hands of the college sacrist. These 30 chantries were little things, and not subsisting separately by themselves, were usually annexed to some church or religious house, who maintained a priest to pray for the souls of the particular founder, his family, or relations: and so these two already mentioned were annexed to and 35 planted upon the hospital, though the duties were to be

1 Hare Collect. ad an. 12 Rici. secundi.

2 Catalogus fundatorum et aliorum benefactorum hujus domus,

pro quorum animabus magistri et confratres hujus domus in perpetuum specialiter orare tenentur. Inter archiv. coll.

discharged at the two several churches, having been the parochial churches of the two particular benefactors, and probably the place where they were interred.

To Peterhouse this bishop was a more considerable 5 benefactor by appropriating to the college the church of Hinton' Mar. 20 an. 1395, which had been granted them before by Simon Langham; but he being removed to Canterbury before the church became vacant, upon the death of the incumbent John Barnet, his successor at Ely, 10 nulled his grant, and a new incumbent was invested in that living. But the scholars there setting forth anew their great wants to this bishop, and that though their college had been founded by Hugh Balsham, yet it was not yet sufficiently endowed, nor their buildings finished, nor suf15 ficiently furnished with other necessary offices, and that the revenues were so very lean and small as not to be sufficient to maintain and support a master and fourteen fellows according to the ordinances of his predecessors: he having compassion of their case and a tender regard to ao their notorious indigence, as likewise with regard to their celebrated virtues, as well as continued and unwearied exercise in discipline and study, and as an inexpugnable bulwark against the perverse and sacrilegious doctrines then prevailing, did effectually invest them with this church (whereof they had been patrons before), which by his grant they have ever since enjoyed, and for that reason I have here put down the uses.

25

Whatever other offices they wanted, it seems their celebrated virtues had put them upon building a chapel3; 30 for an. 1388 Octobr. 12 the bishop grants licence to the master and fellows of St Peter's house to hear divine service and exercise other divine offices in their chapel within the same house, which I suppose were performed before in St Mary's church.

35

And because two of the masters of this house under this bishop seem to be forgot, and one of them ought never to be forgot, I will put them down in this place. The

1 Regrum Fordham. fol. 215.
Regr. Fordham. ibid.
3 Regr. Fordham. an. 1388.

2

first was William Cavendish A.M., who (upon the resig nation of John de Newton) being nominated and presented by the college with Stephen Shyppewyth, the bishop elected and admitted William Cavendish April 11 an. 1397'. And he holding that preferment a very short time, the 5 bishop elected and admitted John Botkelsham August 27 the same year, being nominated and presented by the college together with William Irby, upon the resignation or cession of William Cavendish. This is that John de Botlisham eximia scientia vir, who upon his promotion makes 10 way for Thomas de Castro Bernardi rector of Cotenham, who was presented by the college (and afterward admitted) with William Irby June 7th an. 14002, upon John de Botlisham's being elected and confirmed in the see of Rochester. And this is that John de Botkisham, who in 15 the missa pro benefactoribus stands thus recorded; Item pro anima magistri Johannis de Botkisham Episcopi Roffensis, qui dedit communi cista universitatis 20 lib., dedit insuper cuilibet collegio 20 lib. et præter hæc contulit collegio sancti Petri omnes libros suos juris canonici et 20 civilis, et multa alia bona fecit et fieri procuravit.

Having been so large upon a particular college, I shall say the less of the affairs of the university. I have already said the exemption of the chancellor from the confirmation of the bishop and the oath of canonical obedience there- 25 upon was now obtained. From the conduct of that affair it is obvious to observe, how dangerous a thing it is to make any compliments where privilege is concerned; one would almost suspect the university had laid a train for this bishop. It had been usual to choose their chancellor 30 out of the heads or some noted members of any society, and it suited very well with such persons to pay all deference and submission to the bishop of Elys. In the year 1396 they chose one Eudo la Zouch, a man of great preferments and greater quality, and so a compliment being 35 made at Ely, the bishop was willing with regard to his state and degree and noble birth to excuse his oath of obe

1 Regrum Fordham. an. 1397.

2 Regr. Fordham. an. 1400.

3 Regium Fordham. passim.