A HISTORY OF NORFOLK and two brethren, who would all worship in their own chapel.' The preceptories of this order were occasion- ally called Hospitals, in cases where the inmates had no other hospitality to discharge than that of relieving wayfarers or cases of special distress ; but the foundation of Carbrooke specially entitled them to the name hospital, as they had the charge of twelve poor persons. Blomefield states that Sir Alexander de Mit- cham was master or preceptor from 1307 to 13 1 5, and he occurs in 1308 as witness to a grant by Richard de Carbrook.^ The only other pre- ceptors he names are Elias, 1256 ; Robert de Heugham, 1 285 ; and John Halligate, 1424. The general return of the Knights Hospital- lers in England made by Philip de Thame, the English prior, in 1338, gives ;£i92 2s. 4^^. as the annual value of Carbrooke Preceptory. In addition to many acres of land and pasture at Carbrooke, Costessy, and Bamburgh, which they farmed themselves, the preceptory had large rents both in money and kind, the latter being paid in barley, oats, or poultry, as well as autumn ser- vices from villeins. The court fees and perqui- sites averaged ^^4. ; two windmills brought in 40;., and the dovecote 65. 8d. The rectories of the churches of Great and Little Carbrooke pro- duced an annual income of £4.0, whilst the free- will offering collected in the neighbourhood, possibly throughout the whole county, averaged 130 marks. The list of expenses (which amounted to £ji I2J. 7 1(/.) shows that those who had their daily board in the house were the preceptor, two brethren, the vicar of Great Carbrooke and his servant, two secular chaplains, who celebrated for the soul of the founder, four clerks who col- lected the offerings of the district, twelve poor persons, one of whom had a loaf of bread weigh- ing sixty ounces, eight servants of the houses, and also those who were occasionally hospitably entertained. The stipends of the two chaplains celebrating in the chapel were 4.0s. A robe for the steward of their courts and his fee amounted to 4.6s. Sd., the robe and stipend of the precep- tor's squire 20s., and those of the chamberlain, bailiff, cook, baker, porter, warrener, carpenter, and gardener, 6s. Sd. each. Two boys of the preceptor had 35. ^d. each, and the stable boy and kitchen boy 5;. each. The washerwoman was paid 4.5. a year, and the prior's three davs' visitation cost them 6o5. The handsome balance of about ^120, after paying all expenses, went to the English Prior-General at Clerkenwell. Sir Alan Macy was at this time preceptor ; the two brethren were Thomas de Hinton (chaplain) and William de Boyton.' ' Blomefield, Hist. ofNorf. ii, 335. ' Anct. D. (P.R.O.), A. 2964. ' The Knights Hospitallers in Engl. (Camd. Soc. 18S7). The most distinguishing feature of the accounts of Carbrooke is the large sum of ;^86 13;. jfd. entered under fraria ad voluntatem contrihuen- tium. The confrarioy fraria, or collecta, as it was diversely termed, was a highly important item of the accounts of the commanderies or preceptories of the Knights Hospitallers. Volun- tary collections were made by clerks specially deputed for the purpose from churches and. the faithful in general. The total collected in England and Wales in this way, in the year 1338, was ;^888 41. T^d. Carbrooke Preceptory actually contributed nearly a tenth of the whole amount. There can be little doubt that they gathered from the whole county of Norfolk, as theirs was the only preceptory within its bounds ; and this would account for their keeping the ex- ceptional number of four clerks for the purpose. Innocent VI issued his mandate in 1353 to the prior and archdeacon of Norwich and to the precentor of Hereford to carry out the ordinances touching apostates in regard to William de Boyton, Hospitaller, who left the hospital of Carbrooke, in the diocese of Norwich, and then desired to be reconciled to it. At some time before the Valor of 1535 was taken this preceptory had become amalgamated with that of Chippenham, Cambridge ; they were both under the same preceptor. Sir Thomas Copledyke. The rectory of Carbrooke then pro- duced j^6 os. The vicar had a pension of ^^4, which was probably in addition to his board at the preceptory. Two prie^ts had ^^5 each for celebrating. The temporalities of Carbrooke (without Chippenham) realized ;^36 s. d. Six boys are entered as maintained according to the foundation charter at a cost of ^^12, but this apparently refers to Chippenham : there is no reference to the twelve poor persons sustained at Carbrooke in the fourteenth century. An inventory was made of the goods and chattels of the late commandery of Carbrooke on 21 November, i54i,bySir Richard Southwell and Thomas Mildmay, as King's commissioners. The contents of the chapel were poor, namely, a chalice, a mass-book, two cruets, a sacring bell, an old surplice, two corporas-cases, two old rent altar-cloths, a covering on the altar of black buckram, ' a cloth before the altar with the pycture of seynt Ihu olde,' an old psalter, two latten candlesticks, and a bell weighing 20 lb. The total value of the goods and chattels, in- cluding corn in the barn, corn and hay in stacks, and ten acres of sown wheat, was estimated at £^i) igj. 4/^., exclusive of the silver chalice. There was allowed to Sir Thomas Copledyke, as preceptor, ' accordynge to the statut ' a sixth part of this value. The annual value of the vicarage of Carbrooke is stated to be j^S,' but a much corrected Valor of the possessions of this
- Cal. Papal Reg. iii, 5 i 5.
» Ch. Gds. L.R. Norf. ^. 424
