ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY On the other hand, however, these letters also record several instances of assaults in churches and on parsons,' and of churches ransacked - in the private civil war which convulsed Norfolk for so large a part of the fifteenth century, with the possession of Sir John Fastolf's estates for its object, and the authenticity of his will for its pretext, and which resulted in the frustration of his scheme for the foundation of a college at Caister, and the substitution for it of a foundation for seven priests and seven poor scholars in Magdalen Hall, Oxford." By the time that it was brought to a con- clusion in 1470,* much Paston property had been destroyed, and Caister had stood more than one siege. No learned dissertation could make so clear what the little intimate touches of these letters tell of the ecclesiastical life of the day, whether it is Margaret Paston's description ^ of what her son, William, calls a living of but small value ;" the reasons she gives for her urgent desire for a licence to have ' In 1452 Norfolk was in a state of uproar, and one Charles Nowell seems to have been keeping the county east of Norwich in alarm by raids with his band of followers, who met at the house of one Robert Ledeham, and who seem to have generally chosen the vicinity of a church for their frays. They made an attempt to break open the White Friars' doors at Norwich, and assaulted John Wylton in Plumstead Church- yard (i, 237) ; assaulted the parson of Hasyngham and broke his head in his own chancel (i, 239) ; and Nicholas Church got himself beaten by Robert Dallyng at Stromshaw Church (i, 241). Another of the gang, Roger Church, contrived to be made bailiff of the hundred of Blofield, and then turned king's evidence and accused the leading gentry of taking part in an unlawful assembly at Postwick to stir up insurrection. John Paston writes on 25 April, 1452 (i, 232): 'Charles Nowell with odir hath in this cuntre mad many riots and sautes ; and among othir, he and v of his felachip set upon me and mo of my servants at the Chathedrall Church of Norwich, he smyting at me, whiles on of his felawes held myn armes at my bak . . ,' and later (i, 237). 'On Mydlent Sunday, certeyn of the seid felechip in the chyrche of Byrlyngham made a fray upon tweyne of the servauntes of the reverent fadyr in Godde, Bysschope of Norwiche, the seid servauntes at that tyme knelyng to see the usyng of the Masse, and there and then the said fela- chep would have killed the said two servaunts at the prestis bakke, ne they had be letted, as it semed.' ' The duke of Suffolk, Lord Scales, and the duke of Norfolk all in turn tried to oust John Paston from some portion of the property. In a regular assault and siege laid to Hellesden by the duke of Suffolk's men, the place was destroyed, and John Paston in Letter 534, dated 27 October, 1465, thus describes the treat- ment accorded to the church there : ' The Duckys men ransacked the church, and bare away all the gode that was lefte ther, both of ours and of the tenants, and lefte not so much but that they stode uppon the hey awter and ransacked the ymages, and took away such as they might fynd, and put away the parson out of the church till they had don.' ' Nos. 645, 650, 661. * No. 657. ' No. 819, iii, 231, 31 July, 1478. 'The comodytys off the parsonage and the valew off the benefyce offOxned. My new parson off O.xned, when he is instute and inducte, at the first entre into the church and benefyce off Oxned, must off awncyent custom long contynued with in the dyosesse of Norwyche, pay to the byssciiop of Norwyche, for the first frutes off the seyd benefyce, xiiij marke ; for wyche xiiij marke, iff the new parson be wytty and have favour a bowt the bysschops offycers, he schall have days off payment to pay the seid xiiij marke in xiiij yeare, that is a marke a yere, till it be payd ; so that he can find suffycent mene to be bownd to the Bischopp be obligacion to kepe his days off payment. And the chyrch is but litill, and is reasonable plesaunt and reparyd. [And the] dwelling place of the parsonage is ajoyning to the d, well howsyd and rep.iryd, hall, chamberes, barn, doffhouse, and all howsys of ofiice. And it hath a doffhouse worth a yere, xiiij/ iiija'. And it hath ij large gardens with frute, and is yonynge to the place and chyrchyard, wher off the frute is worth yerly xxvj/ viij*/. And there longeth to the seid parsonage in fre lond, arable, pasture, and meadow ayoynyng to the seid parsonage, xxij " acre ore more, wher off every acre is worth ij/, to latyn iij /( iiij<J'. And William Paston, Justice, qwan he cam fyrst to dwell in the maner of Oxned, paid to the parson that was then, for the come growyng on the parsonage londys and for the tythynges, ondely but in come when it was inned in to the barn, xxiiij li. And the same yere the parson had all the awterage and oder profytes be syde the seyd xxiiij //'. It is yearly worth, as the world goth now, x/;. And it is but an esy cure to kepe, ffor ther ar nat past xx " persons to be yerly howselyd. The parsonage stant be a fresh ryver syde. And ther is a good market town called Aylsham, within ij myle off the parsonage. And the cyte of Norwych is within vj myle off the parsonage. And the see is within x myle off the parsonage. And it a parson cam now, and warr presentydd, institute and inducte, he should have by the law all the cropp that is now growyng, that was eryd and sowyn off the old parson's cost, growyng on the parson.ige landes now, as his own good, and all the tyth off all maner graynys off the maner londes, and tenants londes, towardes hys charges off the fiyrst frutes. He that hath this benefyce and he were a pore man, myght have lycens to have service be side.' " No. 822, iii, 236. In a letter to the bishop dated 9 Oct. 1478, concerning a clerk presented by his mother and not admitted. 251
