-^""^" MJr' '^^
 
 L I E) RARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 U N IVE.R5 ITY 
 
 or ILLINOIS

 
 THE COLLEGIATE CHAPTER 
 
 THE ROYAL HOSPITAL OR FREE CHAPEL 
 
 mi ^atljarine near t\t €n[mx 
 
 IN ITS RELATION TO 
 
 THE CHURCH IN THE EAST OF LONDON. 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION.
 
 LONDON: 
 PRINTED BY R. CLAY, SON, AND TAYLOR, 
 BREAD STREET HILL.
 
 At a Meeting of the Clergy of the Deanery 
 of Stepney, held at the Rectory, Limehouse, 
 on^ Tuesday, January 17th, 1865, 
 
 It was Resolved unanimously, 
 
 "That a Committee be appointed to inquire whether 
 " any steps can be taken for repairing the loss sus- 
 " tained by the Church in East London in the 
 " removal of the Ancient Hospital of St. Katharine 
 " near the Tower." 
 
 The following Clergymen were elected to serve 
 on the Committee : — 
 
 The Rev. E. R. Jones, Rector of Limehouse, and Rural Dean. 
 G. H. McGiLL, Incumbent of Christ Church, 
 
 St. George's in the East. 
 R. H. Atherton, Incumbent of St. James's, 
 
 RatclifFe. 
 Brenchley Kingsford, Rector of Shadwell. 
 T. Richardson, Incumbent of St. Matthew's, 
 
 St. George's in the East. 
 C. R. Holmes, Incumbent of St. Michael's, Bromley. 
 r. SiMCOX Lea, Incumbent of Trinity Church, 
 
 Stepney, Secretary, 
 
 At a Meeting of the Committee, held 
 at the Rectory, Limehouse, on Thursday, 
 Pebruary 9th, 1865, the following Preliminary 
 Statement was read and adopted: —
 
 The principal Authorities from which the facts contained 
 in this Statement have been derived are : — 
 
 Newcourt's Repertorium. 
 
 Dugdale's Monasticon. 
 
 Malcolm's London. 
 
 Dr. Ducarel's Account of St. Katharine's Hospital, published in Nichols' 
 
 Collection, *' Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica." 
 Nichols' (J. B.) Account of St. Katharine's Hospital, 1824. 
 The St. Katharine's Docks Act, 1825. 
 Hutchinson's History of Durham. 
 The Times Newspaper, 1824 and 1825. 
 
 To the courtesy of Thomas Diiffus Hardy, Esq., and 
 Alfred Kingston, Esq., of the Public Eecord Office, the 
 Committee are indebted for much valuable assistance and 
 information. 
 
 %* Additional particulars have been obtained, since the statement of 
 the Committee was in type, from the Report of the C'harity Commissioners 
 on St. Katharine's Hospital. (Reports, 32— Part II. pp. 860—878.) See 
 Appendix A. 

 
 THE 
 
 EOYAL HOSPITAL OE FEEE CHAPEL 
 
 OP 
 
 ST. KATHARINE NEAR THE TOWER. 
 
 St. Katharine's Hospital, in the Eegent's 
 Park, is supposed by many persons to be a 
 coHege of noble charity, differing only from 
 Hampton Court in a certain clerical tinge be- 
 longing to it. It is thought, in fact, to be a 
 kind of aristocratic Almshouse for the -support 
 by Royal bounty of certain well-born persons 
 of narrow means. 
 
 It is indeed generally known that this Hospital 
 was removed from the neighbourhood of the 
 Tower in the reign of George IV. and that its 
 ancient site is now covered by the St. Katharine's 
 Docks ; but beyond this the popular knowledge 
 of the subject does not extend. 
 
 The buildings in the Eegent's Park consist of 
 a Chapel, with small schools and Chapter-house 
 annexed, on the eastern side of an open quad- 
 rangle, of which the northern and southern, sides 
 are formed by two blocks of residentiary houses,
 
 6 
 
 three in each, with two lodges. On the western 
 side, separated by the road, is a good house, 
 Avith a garden and shrubbery, known till lately 
 as Sir Herbert Taylor's Villa, but now called 
 St. Katharine's Lodge. This house is the Resi- 
 dentiary House of the Master, who lets it ; the 
 other houses are those of the three Brothers and 
 the three Sisters; and some of these also are let. 
 The Chapter also let some of the pews in the 
 Chapel of the Hospital; but they profess only 
 to let enough to defray the expenses of Divine 
 Worship. It will be seen that in the old Col- 
 legiate Church the expenses of Divine Worship 
 were defrayed (p. 28) out of the revenues of the 
 foundation. The Beadswomen do not now, as 
 the Charter of Eoundation directs, reside in the 
 Hospital. 
 
 The ancient Hospital which these buildings 
 represent has passed almost entirely out of mind 
 and memory. Very few persons know that the 
 foundation is really an important and venerable 
 Beligious House, and that its members form 
 *' the oldest Ecclesiastical Community now ex- 
 " isting in England." (Nichols' Account, Preface 
 and p. 34.) 
 
 Under the head of *' Collegiate Chapters " in 
 the Clergy List for 1865 (p. 276), are contained 
 the names of the following Corporations : — 
 
 1. Brecon. 
 
 2. Middleham. 
 
 3. St. Katharine's Hospital.
 
 4. Southwell. 
 
 5. Westminster. 
 
 6. Her Majesty's Eree Chapel of St. George 
 at Windsor. 
 
 7. Heytesbury. 
 
 To which in the Clergy List for 1841 were 
 added Manchester, which is now a Cathedral 
 Establishment, and Wolverhampton, of which 
 the Deanery has been merged in tlie E^ectory of 
 the Collegiate Church. We subjoin the particu- 
 lars given of the Chapter of St. Katharine's 
 Hospital in the Clergy Lists of 1865 and 1841. 
 
 1865. 
 
 Visitor, The Queen. 
 
 Master, Hon. William Ashley. 
 
 i Rev. G. T. Hudson, M.A. 
 Brethren, > £ev. J. H. Glover, M.A. 
 / Rev. J. G. H. Hill, M.A. 
 ( Miss Wilson. 
 listers, \ Miss Northey. 
 
 ( Miss S. A. Hildyard. 
 Chaplain, Rev. William Hayes, M.A. 
 Chapter Clerk, John Seeker, Esq. 
 
 1841. 
 
 Visitor, The Queen Dowager. 
 Master, Hon. William Ashley Cowper. 
 
 ( Rev. R. W. Baxter, B.D. 
 Brethren, < Rev. Geo. F. L. Nicolay, M.A. 
 
 (Rev. John Wightman, M.A. 
 Chaplain, Rev. — Parker. 
 Chapter Clerk, John Seeker^ jun., Esq. 
 Commissary,
 
 8 
 
 The Ecclesiastical Patronage of the Chapter 
 (Clergy List, 1865) is— 
 
 Kingsthorpe, P.C. Northampton .£700 
 
 St. Peter, R. with Upton, C. Northampton . 375 
 Quarley, R. Hants 289 
 
 all these Benefices having Houses of Eesidence. 
 
 The Senior Brother, the Bev. G. T. Hudson, is 
 Bector of Harthill, Yorkshire, value 620/. with 
 House of Besidence. 
 
 The Second Brother, the Bev. J. H. Glover, 
 holds the Chapter Living of Kingsthorpe, North- 
 amptonshire. 
 
 The Junior Brother, the Bev. J. G. H. Hill, is 
 British Consular Chaplain at Dieppe. 
 
 The Brothers are required by the Statutes of 
 the Hospital to be in residence during a certain 
 period in every year. 
 
 " The business of this House is transacted in 
 *' Chapter by the Masters, Brothers, and Sisters, 
 " and it is singularly remarkable that the Sisters 
 *' have therein a vote equally with the Brothers ; 
 " and that no business can be done there without 
 *' the votes of four of the members, one at least of 
 ** which must be a Sister. The other officers of 
 *' this house are elected by a majority of votes, 
 *' and their patents confirmed under the Chapter- 
 " seal." (Nichols, p. 36.) The Beadswomen are 
 usually nominated by the Master. 
 
 Prom the public sources of information open 
 to us we have been enabled to ascertain, beyond
 
 9 
 
 doubt, the distinctly Ecclesiastical character of 
 this Chapter, and of the purposes for which the 
 Hospital was founded and endowed. In the 
 words of a petition presented to Cecil, Secretary 
 of State to Queen Elizabeth, by the inhabitants 
 of the Precinct of St. Katharine, at a time when 
 the revenues of the Hospital were in serious 
 danger of alienation by the existing Master : — 
 
 " We say that the true use of the gift of the 
 ^* same Hospital was to the Divine Service of 
 '' God, a free, pure, and perpetual alms." 
 
 St. Katharine's Hospital was originally founded 
 and endowed by Matilda, wife of King Stephen, 
 in 1148, for a Master, Brethren and Sisters, and 
 Almspeople, in pure and perpetual alms, to secure 
 the repose of two of her children, Baldwin and 
 Matilda, who were buried either in the Church 
 of the Hospital (Nichols), or more probably (see 
 Hucarel) in that of the Priory of the Holy Trinity, 
 Aldgate. Erom this Priory the Queen pur- 
 chased the site ; and she gave to it the perpetual 
 custody of the Hospital. The custody appears 
 to have been abused by the Priory, one of the 
 Canons of which held the Mastership of the 
 Hospital in the reign of Henry III. 
 
 Queen Eleanor, as Queen Consort, was then 
 Patroness ; and she, with the advice and assist- 
 ance of Eulke Basset, Bishop of London, and his 
 successor in the See, alienated the custody of 
 the Hospital. But the Prior and Convent did 
 not yield until after a long and obstinate contest j
 
 10 
 
 in whicli they were powerfully supported by Pope 
 Urban IV. 
 
 The suit against the Priory was commenced in 
 1255 ; and in 1273, Queen Eleanor, then a widow, 
 refounded the Hospital and established it on its 
 present basis. Her Charter of Poundation is for 
 a Master, Three Brethren, and Three Sisters, 
 Ten Beadswomen, and Six poor Scholars. The 
 Queens of England were to nominate the Master, 
 Brothers, and Sisters, on all vacancies; the Beads- 
 women were to be maintained by the Hospital, 
 to lodge within it, and to pray for the Poundress, 
 &c. ; the Scholars were to be maintained and 
 to assist in Divine Service ; and the Poundation 
 was for the repose of the souls of King Henry III. 
 the Poundress, her ancestors, and the faithful. 
 
 In successive reigns endowments were given to 
 the Hospital, advowsons bestowed on it, and 
 Chantries founded by Boyal and other benefac- 
 tors ; and it was known as " The Royal Hospital 
 '* or Pree Chapel of St. Katharine near the Tower 
 " of London." 
 
 *' The Queens Consorts of England are by law 
 '' the perpetual Patronesses of this Hospital, 
 '' which is considered as part of their dower. 
 '' They nominate the Master, Brothers, and 
 " Sisters : and may increase or lessen their 
 *' number, remove them, alter any statutes, or 
 '' make new ones, at pleasure : for their power 
 " here is unlimited. 
 
 " When there is no Queen Consort, the King
 
 11 
 
 " nominates the Master, Brothers, &c. pro Jidc 
 *' vice. But the Queen Dowager hath no power 
 '' or jurisdiction when there is a Queen Consort." 
 (Nichols, p. 35.) 
 
 The authority of the Queen Dowager, however, 
 continues when there is no Queen Consort ; as is 
 shown by the fact that Queen Adelaide retained 
 the patronage till her death during the present 
 reign. 
 
 Queen Philippa, wife of Edward III. gave to 
 the Hospital a new and important Charter, which 
 remains in force. In this Charter it is distinctly 
 provided that the Master and all the Brethren 
 must be in Priest's Orders; and a Charter 
 of Henry YI. recited in one given by Queen 
 Elizabeth, recognises them all as spiritual persons. 
 The Hospital acquired Ecclesiastical Jurisdic- 
 tion within its Precinct. This Precinct became 
 very populous, and was inhabited chiefly by 
 seafaring men, and by refugees from Calais and 
 Elanders. The jurisdiction was exempt and 
 peculiar, and the Hospital was in no way subject 
 to the Bishops of London. 
 
 In the Ecclesiastical changes under Henry 
 VIII. the revenues of the Hospital were pre- 
 served. It was valued with other Beligious 
 Houses for suppression, but it was not sup- 
 pressed, owing, it is supposed, to the influence 
 of Anne Boleyn, who, as Queen Consort, was 
 Patroness at the time. 
 
 And as the Hospital retained its revenues, so
 
 12 
 
 also it retained, as a Royal Peculiar, its Ec- 
 clesiastical Jurisdiction and its Spiritual Court. 
 This Court continued in existence till the removal 
 of the Hospital in 1825, and the rights of the 
 Commissary who presided in it were carefully 
 preserved in the Act which authorized the sale 
 of the Hospital property. There is nothing in 
 the Act to show that the Ecclesiastical Juris- 
 diction was destroyed ; nor does it appear to have 
 formally ceased to exist till all Peculiars in the 
 Diocese of London were aholished from January 
 1st, 1846, by an Order in Council made under 
 6 and 7 William lY. c. 77, s. 10. 
 
 The Judge of the Court was a Commissary and 
 Official Principal. His style and title in 1780 
 was that of " Commissary and Official of the 
 " peculiar and exempt Jurisdiction of the Col- 
 " legiate Church or Eree Chapel of St. Katharine 
 '' near the Tower of London." . From the sentence 
 of this Court there was no appeal, except to the 
 King in Chancery. The Commissary and other 
 Officers of the Court were elected by the Chapter : 
 it had a Uegistrar, ten Proctors, and an Apparitor; 
 and in it were granted probates of wills, marriage 
 licences, &c. as in other Ecclesiastical Courts. 
 
 The Masters of the Hospital were always 
 Priests till the death of Henry YIII. In 1 
 Edward VI. 1547, Katharine Parr, the Queen 
 Dowager, gave the Mastership to Sir Thomas 
 Seymour, Lord Admiral of England, whom she 
 afterwards married. He was succeeded in 1549
 
 13 
 
 by Sir Prancis Eleming, Lieutenant-General of 
 the King's Ordnance, who was appointed by 
 Edward VI. and who surrendered his Patent in 
 1557. 
 
 But in 1554 Queen Mary had appointed to 
 the Mastership Erancis Mallet, D.D. her Lord 
 High Almoner. He surrendered his Patent in 
 3 Elizabeth, 1560 or 1561 ; and in connexion 
 with this surrender two important documents 
 are in existence. 
 
 One of these is an Injunction by the Queen to 
 Sir Edward Warner, Lieutenant of the Tower, for 
 the annexation of the Mastership of the Hospital, 
 on the ground that Dr. Mallet's Patent was 
 illegal, since Sir Erancis Eleming had a good 
 Patent for his life given him by Edward YI. 
 
 The other is a Petition from Dr. Mallet to the 
 Queen, in which he sets forth the great injury that 
 had been done to the Hospital under the Master- 
 ships of Sir Thomas Seymour and Sir Erancis 
 Eleming, whom he describes as " mere temporal 
 men," and not Priests according to the Charter. 
 Under Sir Thomas Seymour, he says, the statutes 
 and records had been destroyed ; and under the 
 two, all the plate and jewels of the Hospital 
 had been taken away, together with all the 
 moveable property of value, so that he found the 
 Hospital destitute and bare, and had been at 
 great expense himself in restoring it. An aged 
 Sister of the Hospital, who had been in residence 
 for forty years, had furnished him with informa-
 
 14 
 
 tion as to the former rules and management of 
 the Eoundation, which otherwise he could not 
 have ohtained. He concludes by submitting 
 himself to Her Majesty. 
 
 On Dr. Mallet's surrender, Thomas Wilson, 
 Doctor of Law, afterwards a Knight, who was 
 a layman, and Secretary to the Queen, was by 
 her made Master, in 1561. He found however 
 that his Patent was void, because he was not 
 a Priest, according to Queen Philippa's Charter ; 
 and he therefore surrendered it, and obtained in 
 1563 a new Patent, with a clause non obstante ; 
 after which, being established in the Mastership, 
 he proceeded so to deal with the revenues of the 
 Hospital as to call forth from the inhabitants 
 of the Precinct the spirited petition to which we 
 have already referred. 
 
 This petition sets forth the nature and purpose 
 of the Poundation, which it shows to have been for 
 Divine Service and for the benefit of the poor, and 
 not for the private emolument of members of the 
 Chapter. It affords the most clear and emphatic 
 contradiction to the popular opinion now current 
 as to the object of the Hospital. The petition 
 succeeded in restraining the Master from further 
 acts of spoliation ; and a few years later he, 
 though still a layman, obtained a grant from the 
 Crown of the Deanery of Durham, which he 
 held till his death in 1581. He was buried in 
 St. Katharine's Church. 
 
 The appointments to the Deanery of Durham
 
 15 
 
 at this period afford direct evidence that when 
 the Mastership of St. Katharine's Hospital fell 
 into lay hands, another benefice, undoubtedly 
 spiritual, was by Royal authority conferred on 
 laymen. Wilson's predecessor in the Deanery of 
 Durham had been William Whittingham, a man 
 whose name is well known in the ecclesiastical 
 history of the time. His right to the Deanery 
 under the Toundation of Henry VIII. had been 
 disputed on account of the alleged invalidity of 
 his Orders; but Wilson's right as a layman 
 passed unchallenged, although the Charter re- 
 quired the Dean to be a Priest, of the degree of 
 Doctor or Bachelor of Divinity, or Doctor of Law, 
 and ordered canonical obedience to be paid to him. 
 Sir Thomas Wilson was succeeded in the 
 Deanery by Dr. Tobias Mathew and Dr. William 
 James, both in Holy Orders, and both subse- 
 quently Bishops of Durham. The successor of 
 Dr. James was Adam Newton, a layman and a 
 Scotchman, who obtained from James I. a dis- 
 pensation to hold the Deanery and a grant of 
 the office, September 27, 1606. He retained 
 the Deanery till 1620, when in consideration of 
 a large sum of money he resigned it, and was 
 about the same time created a Knight and a 
 Baronet. All his successors in the Deanery have 
 been clergymen. 
 
 Three years previously to Adam Newton's 
 appointment to the Deanery of Durham, a Patent 
 had been given by James I. confirming the 
 grant of the Mastership of St. Katharine's
 
 16 
 
 Hospital to Julius Caesar, LL.D. a layman, who 
 having obtained from Queen Elizabeth a Patent 
 of reversion in 1591, had become Master in 1596. 
 On the accession of James I. he had been 
 knighted : and the Queen Consort had given to 
 Sir Julius Csesar a new Patent of Mastership, 
 July 12, 1603, which was confirmed by the 
 King, August 13, with a non obstante clause on 
 account of his not being in Orders. 
 
 A clause of exactly the same character is found 
 in the Patent of Mastership granted by George 
 III. in 1819 to Major General Sir Herbert Taylor, 
 who was Master of the Hospital at the time of 
 its removal in 1825. 
 
 , A copy of this Patent is printed in the Appen- 
 dix, together with copies of the Patents granted 
 by Queen Elizabeth to Dr. Wilson for the 
 Mastership of St. Katharine's and the Deanery 
 of Durham, and of the Patents of James I. 
 already mentioned. A dispensation to hold the 
 Deanery seems to have been granted to Sir Thomas 
 Wilson by a separate Patent, which we have not 
 seen : but the non obstante clause in his Patent 
 of Mastership is very strongly worded : — 
 
 " Licet ipse idem Thomas Wilson laicus sit, ac 
 " clericali ordine minime insignitus, sed uxoratus, 
 '' et conjugatus, ac etiam bigamus, ac alias bene- 
 " ficiatus, et non sacerdos.'' 
 
 We think therefore that it is plain from the 
 Charters, from the Patents of Mastership, and 
 from the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Hos- 
 pital, that the Master and Brothers are by law
 
 17 
 
 spiritual persons as distinctly as are the Dean 
 and Chapter of any other Collegiate Church. 
 We think that the patronage vested in the Queens 
 Consorts of England for the nomination of the 
 Master, Brothers, and Sisters belongs to them for 
 the same purposes only, and subject to the same 
 limitations, as other Ecclesiastical patronage 
 vested in Royal or in private hands ; and although 
 this Chapter presents the peculiarity of containing 
 female members who have no recognised Ecclesi- 
 astical position in the English Church, it must 
 be remembered that the Eoundation is a solitary 
 instance of an ancient Religious House which 
 has survived the dissolution of the rest, and is a 
 relic of a time when communities of women had 
 an Ecclesiastical position in England : and also 
 that all the female members of this community 
 were required to devote their time to religious 
 and charitable offices, whether they were Sisters 
 and members of the Chapter, or Beadswomen 
 maintained by the alms of the Hospital. 
 
 At the time when the St. Katharine's Docks 
 Bill was first introduced into Parliament, the 
 Master of the Hospital was non-resident, and 
 his house was occupied by the Treasurer and 
 Solicitor, John Virgo, Esq. The Sisters were 
 also non-resident. Of the Brothers we have the 
 following account'^ furnished privately to us by 
 the Bev. Plumpton Wilson, Bector of Knaptoft- 
 with-Mowsby, who then held a curacy or chap- 
 laincy in the Hospital : — 
 
 B
 
 18 
 
 "Mr. Nicolay, in constant residence, a most 
 '' kindhearted man, was truly liberal to all who 
 "sought his aid, if he found them deserving. 
 "Mr. Wightman, the next younger Brother, 
 " no less earnest for good and considerate of 
 " distress, gave me means of help and sympathy, 
 " especially to those who received Holy Com- 
 " munion in the Church. The eldest of the 
 "Brothers was I think far advanced in years, 
 " and took little part in affairs or benefactions." 
 
 The Senior Brother mentioned in the above 
 notice was the Bev. B. W. Baxter, B.D. who 
 was made a Brother in 1792. His father, the 
 Bev. George Baxter, who had been a Brother 
 from 1768 to 1801, is described in his epitaph 
 as having been for "many years a diligent 
 "minister of this Precinct, and a valuable 
 " member of this Ecclesiastical Society." 
 
 It appears therefore that the Brothers of the 
 Hospital were, up to the time of its removal, 
 and had been for many years previously, per- 
 forming efficiently their Pastoral functions as 
 the parochial clergy of St. Katharine's Precinct. 
 
 The first introduction of the Docks Bill was 
 in the Session of 1824. On April 2d in that 
 year the Second Beading was carried in the 
 House of Commons by 74 votes against 59 : but 
 the Bill was withdrawn in Committee in con- 
 sequence of the strong opposition offered by the 
 Chapter of the Hospital and the inhabitants of 
 the Precinct, who on its withdrawal illuminated
 
 19 
 
 their houses, June 1, 1824. Mr. Wilson writes, 
 <c There was a most strong and strongly expressed 
 '' feeling against the removal of the Church. By 
 "desire of the Master, Mr. Byng, and the 
 " Brothers and principal attendants upon the 
 "' Church, I wrote a letter of remonstrance, which 
 " the Master enclosed to several members of the 
 " House of Commons." 
 
 In the debate on the Second Beading of the 
 Bill in the House of Commons, Sir J. Yorke said 
 that Queen Charlotte had had an interest in 
 the Hospital : and that had she still been living 
 the Dock Company could not have asked for the 
 property. 
 
 This statement is confirmed by the following 
 passage, taken from a pamphlet published at 
 Oxford in 1825, in the interest of the London 
 Dock Company : — " Bight Honourable and 
 " Honourable Members are respectfully requested 
 ''to bear in mind that the original projectors 
 " of the London Docks were deterred from 
 "efiPecting the purchase of the St. Katharine 
 
 " district principally on account of the 
 
 " very great objection which then existed with 
 " an Illustrious Personage to the destruction of 
 *' a sacred edifice, and the appropriation of con- 
 '' secrated ground to mercantile purposes." — In- 
 expediency and Impolicy^ pp. 12, 13. 
 
 And the strength of feeling among the op- 
 ponents of the removal may be seen in a letter 
 inserted (as an advertisement) in The Times of 
 
 B 2 ^
 
 20 
 
 April 9th, 1824, the writer of which speaks of 
 the proposed Dock as '' now commonly called the 
 " E/Csurrection Dock." Those who remember or 
 have heard of the horror in which the "resur- 
 "rection men" of that time were held will be 
 able to appreciate the force of this expression. 
 
 Eut in 1825 the bill was brought forward 
 again : and, to use Mr. Wilson's words, " the 
 '^ immense mercantile influence, and its bearing 
 " upon political issues at a time when parties 
 " came to a near division, prevailed against 
 " ancient and sacred rights." On Tuesday, 
 Feb. 22d, the Docks Bill was read a second 
 time in the House of Commons by a majority 
 of 118 votes against 30, and it received the 
 Eoyal assent on June 10th, 1825. 
 
 We have found that much misapprehension 
 exists as to the contents of this Act, 6 Geo. lY. 
 c. 105. It is supposed that all the arrangements 
 for the re-establishment of the Hospital in the 
 liegent's Park were made under its provisions : 
 whereas the constitution of the HosjDital places 
 it under the personal jurisdiction of the Queen 
 Consort, and beyond the control of Parliament 
 as regards its administration. 
 
 All that this Act did in connexion with the 
 Hospital was (1) to empower incapacitated per- 
 sons, including Ecclesiastical and Collegiate 
 bodies, to sell certain properties described in 
 the schedules, and (2) to make certain arrange- 
 ments for the disposal and management of the
 
 21 
 
 property so sold and purchased : a few saving 
 clauses being added in respect of existing rights. 
 
 The Act authorized the purchase by the St. 
 Katharine's Dock Company of the whole of the 
 Precinct; it provided for the removal of the 
 dead from the Church and Churchyards at the 
 expense of the Company ; it transferred the 
 office of Overseer of the Poor for the Precinct 
 to the Secretary of the Company; and it also 
 transferred the pastoral charge of the few re- 
 maining inhabitants of the Precinct, as regards 
 the performance of all rites and offices of the 
 Church, to the Perpetual Curate of Aldgate, to 
 whom the Dock Company were to pay £50 per 
 annum in perpetuity, such payment to be in 
 lieu of all fees for such offices. 
 
 The last-named provision is made by section 
 148 of the Act : and the preamble of this 
 section is important, as reciting the relation 
 then existing between the Clergy of the Hos- 
 pital and the inhabitants of the Precinct. It 
 is as follows : — 
 
 '' And whereas Divine Worship has been here- 
 " tofore solemnized in the Collegiate Church and 
 " Hospital of Saint Katharine according to the 
 " form established by the law of England, and 
 " all religious offices, rites, and ceremonies 
 " administered and performed to the inhabitants 
 '' of the Precinct of Saint Katharine by the 
 " Brethren of the said Hospital, such Precinct 
 '' having from time immemorial l3een considered
 
 22 
 
 " and deemed extraparochial : and whereas by 
 " reason of the removal of the said Collegiate 
 " Church for the purpose of constructing the 
 " Docks and Works aforesaid, the few remaining 
 " inhabitants of the said Precinct can no longer 
 " have such offices, rites, and ceremonies ad- 
 " ministered and performed to them within the 
 '' said Precinct as heretofore : and whereas it is 
 " requisite," &c. &c. 
 
 It is also important to notice here that by 
 section 152 of the Act, the rights and privileges 
 of the Kings and Queens of England, of the 
 Visitor, of the Master, Brothers and Sisters, 
 Commissary, and other members or officers of 
 the Hospital, are carefully and expressly pre- 
 served. And it is clear that the rights of the 
 Commissary are those of the Judge of the 
 Spiritual Court belonging to the Hospital as an 
 exempt and peculiar Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction. 
 It is therefore probable that the Ecclesiastical 
 relation between the Hospital and its Precinct 
 has only ceased by the operation of subsequent 
 public and general acts of the Legislature. 
 
 In October, 1825, Divine Service was held, for 
 the last time, in the fine old Collegiate Church. 
 In November, the materials of the Church and 
 of the Hospital and other buildings of the 
 Precinct were advertised for sale, and the work 
 of demolition began at once. 
 
 On December 18th, 1825, the first removal of 
 the dead from the Church and Church vards of
 
 23 
 
 St. Katharine to the Churchyard of St. Dun- 
 stan. Stepney, for reinterment, took place. 
 Other removals were made at subsequent times : 
 and the latest appears to have been about the 
 year 1842. 
 
 The beautiful tomb of the Duke of Exeter 
 (1447) was removed from St. Katharine's Church, 
 and placed, after restoration, in the new Chapel 
 in the Regent's Park. On its base, below the 
 monumental inscription, is engraved — 
 
 " These remains, having been carefully re- 
 " moved from the original place of interment, 
 '' were deposited in this Chapel ; as were those 
 '^ of the other persons whose monuments and 
 '' gravestones were transferred to it from the 
 " Collegiate Church aforesaid." 
 
 With these exceptions, it is probable that 
 nearly, if not quite, the whole of the St. Katha- 
 rine's dead were reinterred at Stepney; for we 
 are informed that the amount of fees received 
 by the Elector and Churchwardens of Stepney in 
 respect of these interments " may, as a general 
 " statement, be estimated at £1,000." 
 
 Prom the schedule to the Docks Act, the 
 census returns, and other sources, we have col- 
 lected various particulars relating to the popu- 
 lation of the Precinct. 
 
 In 1801, the number of inhabitants was 2,652 ; 
 in 1811, 2,706 ; in 1821, 2,624 in 465 houses ; 
 and in 1831, 72 in 12 houses. In 1841 the 
 return was 96 persons, and in 1851 and 1861,
 
 24 
 
 517 and 208, the last numbers probably repre- 
 senting sailors and others on board vessels in the 
 Docks. In 1864, ten voters for the Tower 
 Hamlets held qualifications within the Pre- 
 cinct. 
 
 The whole of the Precinct was the property of 
 the Hospital, and the houses were let on leases, 
 for the renewal of which fines were paid. They 
 were to a great extent sublet by the lessees of 
 the Hospital, and many of the occupiers were of 
 the lowest and most profligate class. There were 
 twenty-three public-houses, most of which appear 
 by their signs to have been frequented by sea- 
 faring men, or soldiers from the Tower. 
 
 The account of St. Katharine's given by 
 Malcolm in his "London" opens thus: '* The 
 " situation of this ancient and respectable Poun- 
 " dation is very unpleasant, surrounded by the 
 " lower class of the community, and bounded on 
 " the east by a filthy Dock named from it." This 
 work was published in 1803. Of the social con- 
 dition of the Precinct in 1824 Mr. Wilson says, 
 "The population of the near streets and courts was 
 "of so disreputable a character that those who 
 " might be in the greatest want had an aversion 
 " to religious interference, and would rarely make 
 " application to the Clergy of the Church." He 
 adds that the character of the inhabitants was 
 used as an argument by the promoters of the 
 Docks Bill to persuade the Chapter to consent to 
 the removal of the Hospital and the sale of the
 
 25 
 
 property, " on the plea that the worst female 
 " society was a great evil to seamen so near their 
 "first landing." We are afraid that the mischief 
 has not been removed by the construction of the 
 Docks, and that the Sisters and Beadswomen, who 
 might have done something to remedy the evil, 
 alone are gone, while "the worst female society " 
 remains. 
 
 It is evident, however, that the above descrip- 
 tion applies only to the inhabitants of a portion 
 of the Precinct. The schedule to the Act and 
 the list of monumental inscriptions in the Church 
 and Churchyard show that a considerable num- 
 ber of the inhabitants occupied a good social 
 position, and that there were many families of 
 respectable tradesmen and persons of the same 
 class residing in St. Katharine's. 
 
 The inhabitants of the Precinct had in 1705 
 founded a Charity School. This School was dis- 
 tinct from and independent of the Hospital, and 
 at the time of the passing of the Docks Act 
 was in the hands of George Byng, Esq. M.P. 
 and others as Trustees. The Charity Commis- 
 sioners reported upon it, and their Report is 
 found in their first volume, p. 185. Porty boys 
 and twenty girls were clothed and educated in 
 the school. The Trustees held leases of several 
 houses under the Hospital, which they sublet, 
 and thus obtained part of their income : the 
 School-house itself was let by the Hospital rent 
 free. The remainder of the funds of the School
 
 26 
 
 were raised by voluntary contributions, and 
 various legacies and benefactions had accrued to 
 it. The Charity Commissioners report that it 
 had thus become possessed of £1,650 in Govern- 
 ment Pive per Cent. Securities. This School 
 was one of several in the east of London included 
 in a bequest for the apprenticeship of boys of 
 good character, and for several years past, as at 
 the present time, it has been impossible to 
 comply with the terms of the bequest in this 
 particular case. 
 
 Por the St. Katharine's Charity School un- 
 happily has ceased to exist. The sum of £1,300, 
 less legal expenses, was by order of the Court of 
 Chancery transferred from the St. Katharine's 
 Trustees to the Trustees of the Schools of St. 
 Botolph without Aldgate : and it is believed that 
 this sum represented the whole of the fund 
 existing in 1825. The Schools now in connexion 
 with the Hospital in the Regent's Park are main- 
 tained by the Hospital itself. 
 
 The buildings of the Hospital consisted for- 
 merly of the Collegiate Church, with the Chapter 
 and Court Rooms : of the Cloisters, containing 
 the Master's house and the houses of the three 
 Brothers : and of residences for the Sisters and 
 Beadswomen. The last-named houses were on 
 the south side of the Church, and were rebuilt 
 in 1695 ; but they had been taken down pre- 
 viously to 1824, and it does not appear that 
 either the Sisters or the Beadswomen of the
 
 27 
 
 Hospital were in residence when the schedule 
 to the Docks Act was prepared. 
 
 Of the revenues of the Hospital we have no 
 detailed information later than that which is 
 afforded by the valuation made in the reign 
 of Henry YIII. when they amounted to 
 £315 Us. 2d. In addition to the London pro- 
 perty, the Hospital had manors in Kent, in 
 Hertfordshire, and in other parts of the country; 
 and it had also the advowsons of Quarley, in 
 Hampshire, and of St. Peter's, with Kings- 
 thorpe and Upton, in Northamptonshire. All 
 these manors and advowsons are still the pro- 
 perty of the Hospital, but the estates of all the 
 chantries, guilds, &c. annexed to the Poun- 
 dation passed to the Crown in the reign of 
 Edward YI. 
 
 Besides the revenues arising from these sources, 
 there were in the reign of Henry VIII. certain 
 annual payments made to the Hospital out of 
 the Exchequer. These payments were by way 
 of rent for some of the Hospital land which had 
 been taken in a previous reign for the purpose 
 of widening the Tower Ditch. We are not 
 aware whether any such payments are still 
 continued. 
 
 In the distribution of the revenues of the 
 Hospital, after care had been taken for the 
 maintenance of Divine Service in the Church, 
 provision was made in the Charters of Eoun- 
 dation and in the Statutes —
 
 2S 
 
 1. Por the stipends of the Master, Brothers, 
 and Sisters. 
 
 2. Por the support of the Beadswomen and 
 Scholars. 
 
 3. Por alms to the poor. 
 
 In Ducarel's Appendix, p. 119, a statement of 
 the expenditure is given. It is without date, 
 but belongs to the reign of Elizabeth : — 
 
 <£ s. d. 
 
 The clear yearly value is 352 10 1 
 
 Payments : — 
 
 For two Priests to serve the cure 
 
 three Sisters at <£8 ... 
 
 ten poor Women at £2 5s. M. 
 
 ' petances' (pittances) to poor ] 
 Women ^ 
 
 a Clerk to serve the Church 
 
 Bailiff, yearly . . . 
 
 Under-Steward, yearly 
 
 High-Steward, yearly 
 
 Receiver-General, yearly 
 
 Tenths to the Queen . 
 
 Reparations .... 
 
 Reparations and 
 Church .... 
 
 a Learned Counsellor 
 
 Charges of 
 
 So remaineth clear 212 
 
 Whereof is left to the Master to 
 bear out and supply the wants 
 of former charges 12 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 cL 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 35 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 4 5 
 
 The remain clear 200
 
 29 
 
 According to the foregoing statement, the 
 income of the Mastership amounted, after pay- 
 ment of tenths, to four-sevenths of the entire 
 revenues of the Hospital. Assuming the same 
 proportion with reference to the valuation in 
 the King's Books, where the total revenues of 
 the Hospital are given as £315 Us, 2d, and 
 adding the amount of tenths payable to the 
 King, we are enabled to compare the income 
 attached to the Mastership of St. Katharine's 
 with that of other Ecclesiastical o£Q.ces as 
 follows : — 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 Mastership of St. Katharine's .... 200 8 11 
 
 Deanery of St. Paul's (Liber Regis) . . 210 12 1 
 
 Deanery of Westminster (Liber Eegis) . 232 10 
 
 Deanery of Durham (Liber Regis) . . 266 12 1 
 
 The Deanery of Durham, however, was exempt 
 from payment of tenths or first-fruits to the 
 Crown. 
 
 The Mastership of St. Katharine's Hospital 
 is thus shown to have been, as a preferment, 
 but little inferior in value to the Deanery of 
 St. Paul's Cathedral or of Westminster Abbey. 
 
 The payments to the Brothers and Sisters 
 never seem to have been large. In 1780 it 
 appears, from Dr. Ducarel's account, that '' the 
 " Brothers had £40 each, the Sisters £20, and 
 " the Beadswomen £8 a year ;" and these 
 amounts are given by Nichols as the stipends 
 payable in 1824.
 
 30 
 
 The statement, however, is placed in Dr. 
 Ducarel's Appendix under the date of 1661, 
 and has subjoined to it the sentence follow- 
 ing : — " The rest of the revenues and profits 
 '' of the estates being known only to the 
 " Masters, Brothers, and Sisters, they divided 
 '' them amongst themselves." We have already 
 noticed that the revenues of the Hospital con- 
 sisted partly of annual rents paid by the lessees, 
 and partly of fines payable on the renewal of 
 the leases. 
 
 But there is no doubt that the chief emolu- 
 ments of the Hospital have been annexed to 
 the Mastership. Stow, in his " Survey of Lon- 
 don," remarks, " The Masters of this Hospital 
 '' have formerly been of the Clergy, and so 
 " the foundation seems to require it ; but the 
 " considerable benefit accruing to the Masters 
 " hath made it desired and sought for by per- 
 " sons of quality of the Laity ; and such have 
 '' of latter times enjoyed it." Mr. Wilson 
 estimates the income of the Master in 1824 at 
 about £2,000 a year. 
 
 The only officer of the Chapter whose name 
 now appears in the Clergy List is the Chapter 
 Clerk. All the other offices anciently connected 
 with the foundation seem to have become 
 extinct. 
 
 A very distinctive part of the original design 
 of the Hospital was the distribution of alms to 
 the poor. In Queen Eleanor's Charter it is
 
 31 
 
 ordered that, among other annual gifts, one 
 thousand poor people should receive one half- 
 penny each on St. Edmund's Day in every 
 year. 
 
 Some such distribution of alms was continued 
 till 1824. Mr. Wilson writes,—" I know that 
 " Mr. Virgo, the Solicitor and Treasurer of the 
 " Hospital, bestowed alms at certain times 
 " beyond the circle of the retainers of the 
 " charity." These retainers, Mr. Wilson thinks, 
 included six Beadsmen as well as the Beads- 
 women. 
 
 The whole of the alms of the Hospital have 
 been lost to the East of London. On whom 
 they are now bestowed we have no means of 
 knowing. We do not advocate the periodical 
 distribution of gifts in money to a privileged 
 set of applicants, but we deeply regret the loss 
 of so valuable a fund for supplying the pressing 
 needs of the deserving East London poor. 
 
 Our object in drawing up this paper has been 
 simply to show the relation in which the Eoun- 
 dation of St. Katharine's Hospital has stood 
 in past time to the Church in the East of 
 London. We think that the removal of the 
 Hospital has been a serious loss to the Church, 
 and that had the proposal to construct the 
 Docks been delayed only for twenty years, a 
 new Hospital would at least not have been 
 established in a position so entirely separated 
 from the ancient site. And though we do not
 
 32 
 
 wish, or think ourselves able, to make any 
 suggestions for the reparation of the loss, we 
 would remark in conclusion that at a time 
 when the value of Parochial Mission Women, 
 working under the superintendence of highly- 
 educated ladies, is being so widely recognised 
 in the Church, no small interest attaches to 
 a Religious Community which has retained in 
 their integrity, through so many centuries, the 
 venerable Ecclesiastical ofiS.ces of the Sisters and 
 Beadswomen of St. Katharine's Hospital. 
 
 E. R. JONES. 
 GEO. H. M'GILL. 
 ROBERT H. ATHERTOK 
 BRENCHLEY KINGSFORD. 
 THOS. RICHARDSON. 
 
 C. R. HOLMES. 
 
 F. SIMCOX LEA.
 
 33 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 FROM THE EPORTS OF THE CHARITY COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 In the year 1837, Henry Bertram Gunning, 
 Esq. made a Report to the Charity Commis- 
 sioners upon the Royal Hospital of St. Katharine 
 in the Regent's Park. The Inquiry was held in 
 April. The Report appears in the Commis- 
 sioners' Volume XXXII. part II. pp. 860—878, 
 under the date of June 30th, 1837. 
 
 After giving a historical account of the Foun- 
 dation, Mr. Gunning writes, p. 867 : — 
 
 "The preceding account of this ancient and 
 " interesting Charity has been principally taken 
 " from a work published in 1782 by Andrew 
 " Cottee Ducarel, LL.D. the then Commissary of 
 " the Peculiar and Exempt Jurisdiction of the 
 " Eree Chapel of St. Katharine. The most im- 
 " portant of the charters and documents have 
 " been since compared with the originals, and 
 " examined copies preserved in the Chapter-room 
 '* in the Regent's Park."
 
 M 
 
 Removal of the Hospital, 
 
 Upon this subject Mr. Gunning says : — 
 
 " In consequence of the Act of Parliament, 6th 
 " George lY. c. 105, obtained for this purpose, 
 " the Church and all the buildings in the pos- 
 " session of the Charity were removed, and the 
 '' ancient and valuable monuments, the accu- 
 ** mulations of centuries, were transported, at 
 *' the expense of the Dock Company, to the 
 " Regent's Park, where they have been restored 
 "at an enormous expense. Large sums of 
 " money have been expended by the Chapter 
 '' in restoring these monuments, and upon cer- 
 " tain ornamental works and improvements 
 " about the grounds and buildings, in addition 
 " to the large grant by the Company mentioned 
 '' elsewhere." (P. 867.) 
 
 " Early in the year 1824, the Chapter of St. 
 " Katharine received intimation that certain 
 " merchants and shipowners in the City had 
 " obtained the sanction of His Majesty's Govern- 
 " ment to apply to Parliament for an Act to 
 " empower them to construct wet Docks between 
 " the Tower and the London Docks, a space 
 " which would include the site of the Chapel, 
 '' Hospital, and entire Precinct of St. Katharine, 
 '' and the whole of the Chapter Estate in that 
 " neighbourhood. 
 
 " The Act of Parliament, however, did not 
 ** pass till the year 1825, when the Chapter,
 
 35 
 
 " under the direction of Lord Eldon, then 
 " Chancellor, entered into agreement with the 
 " Directors of the Dock Company for the sale 
 ^' of the Hospital and Precinct Estate, upon the 
 " receipt under the authority of the Act of the 
 " following sums by way of consideration for 
 " the same, viz. — 
 
 '' £125,000 as value of the Precinct Estate. 
 
 "£36,600 to be laid out in building a new 
 " Hospital. 
 
 "£2,000 for the purchase of a site; and 
 " various minor sums as permanent or personal 
 " compensation to certain members and officers 
 " of the Hospital for the loss of fees and emo- 
 " luments which would not arise at a new site." 
 (Pp. 867— 8). 
 
 - ' " The compensations to the Master, &c. and 
 " officers of the Hospital, mentioned in the 
 " above agreement, are stated in the Schedule 
 ^* (p. 868) as follows, viz. — 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 The Brothers 2,500 O" 
 
 The Chapel Clerk .... 2,000 
 
 The Sexton 1,400 
 
 The Bedes women . . . . 6b^ 6 8 
 
 Sealers and Servants (p. 869) . 105 OJ 
 
 The Chapter Clerk. . . O t . r. , -r^ / ^.^x .« ^^^ 
 rp. Tg -1.^ IJohn Seeker, Esq. (p. 869) £2,700 
 
 .^, ^^^^^ ,* ' * ' I sterling. 
 
 The Steward J ^ 
 
 This agreement was dated Oct. 17, 1825. 
 "The pulpit, font, organ, clock, bells, stalls, 
 ♦* altar railing, monuments, tombstones, &c. 
 
 c 2 
 
 ^ Three per Cent. 
 Consols.
 
 36 
 
 ^* in the old Churcli/* were excepted in the 
 sale of the Hospital ; " and the said Directors 
 " further agreed to remove and place in the new 
 '* Chapel to be erected the said pulpit, monu- 
 '' ments, &c/' (P. 868). 
 
 The Directors further agreed to pay all the 
 " expenses reasonably expended in surveying, 
 " mapping, valuing, and obtaining " the site 
 for the new Hospital, and all lands to be pur- 
 chased with the £125,000 above-named : to bear 
 all the legal expenses of conveyance, &c. and 
 if necessary to procure at their own cost an Act 
 or Acts of Parliament for establishing the 
 Hospital in its new position. (P. 868). 
 
 " By warrant, dated the 10th of June, 1829, 
 " under the E^oyal Sign Manual and the hands of 
 "three of the Commissioners of the Treasury. . . . 
 "the said three Commissioners granted to the 
 " Master, Brothers, and Sisters '' of the Hospital 
 all the land on which the Chapel and other 
 buildings of the Hospital, on the east side of the 
 carriage drive in the Regent's Park, had been 
 erected and now stand, and also part of the land 
 on the west side of the drive. (P. 871). 
 
 By certificate of the Commissioners of Woods 
 and Porests, dated also on the 10th of June, 
 1829, another part of the land on the west side 
 of the drive, where the Master's house had been 
 erected, passed into the hands of the Hospital. 
 Por this land, containing by estimation one acre, 
 an agreement had been made between the Hospital
 
 37 
 
 and the Commissioners that £2,000 should be 
 paid (pp. 871 — 2) : but it appears that this pay- 
 ment was remitted by the Treasury. Por Mr. 
 Gunning's Eeport proceeds as follows : — 
 
 " In the erection of the Chapel and the rest of 
 " the buildings, and in their fitting-up and 
 " completion, considerably more than the sum 
 '' granted for the purpose by the Dock Company 
 " has been expended. This was in part unavoid- 
 " able : their estimates were formed in utter 
 " ignorance of the site intended for them. Doubt- 
 " less under other circumstances, and as the 
 " Dock Company was also at the expense of re- 
 '' moving all the monuments and materials, the 
 " large sum granted would have been found 
 " sufficient. But the spot chosen required a style 
 " of building much more expensive ; and much 
 " ornamental work was introduced in order to 
 " harmonize with the surrounding objects ; and 
 " this was also one of the conditions on which the 
 " Lords of the Treasury remitted the sum of 
 '^ £2,000 before mentioned. 
 
 " It is said that great difficulties arose in con- 
 " sequence of the nature of the soil : this does 
 " not seem to have been calculated upon suffi- 
 " ciently by those whose duty it was to have 
 " foreseen and guarded against such accidents. 
 " It has been found necessary to expend immense 
 " sums in repairing the foundations, which gave 
 " way, as was said, in consequence of their im- 
 " perfect construction in the first instance. The
 
 38 
 
 ** dry-rot has also made considerable progress in 
 " the Master's house and those of the Brothers : 
 " which has already caused a large additional 
 '^ outlay. It was necessary to purchase large 
 '* quantities of gravel and rubbish to endeavour 
 " to ameliorate the soil, without much apparent 
 " success. The expenditure upon the interior of 
 " the Chapel has been profuse. The Exeter 
 " monument alone, it was said, cost more than 
 " £1,000 to restore and set up again. The well 
 " and an ornamental pump were constructed at 
 " an expense of many hundred pounds; and when 
 " completed it was discovered that the water was 
 " totally unfit for use. Purniture for the Chapel 
 " cost £700 and upwards. Refitting and tuning 
 " the organ, £200. Large sums were expended 
 " for the iron railings and walls round the pre- 
 " mises, trees and shrubs, the heraldic painter 
 " for stained glass, expenses of conveyance and 
 " fees to the Crown offices, fees for consecration, 
 " and to the Lord Chancellor's Secretary, &c. 
 " These and other expenses of minor importance, 
 " and not enumerated, amounted to about 
 " £15,000 down to the middle of the year 1833, 
 *' subsequent to which time, with the exception 
 " of some heavy expenses incurred in 1836, on 
 " account of the dry-rot, nothing of any magni- 
 " tude has occurred in the expenditure. 
 
 '' The sum of £3G,600, paid by the Dock Com- 
 '^ pany for these purposes, was placed in the 
 '' bank of Goslings and Sharp, and laid out in
 
 39 
 
 " Exchequer Bills : which, with the profits, 
 " produced £39,643 Is, 7d. 
 
 " Mr. Amhrose Pointer was the Architect em- 
 " ployed under the direction of the Board of 
 " Works, and he was paid from time to time by 
 " the joint order of the Chapter and the Dock 
 " Company, upon certificates given quarterly by 
 '' the- Surveyor General. - 
 
 "The additional expenses above recited, 
 " amounting to upwards of £15,000, were met 
 " by the sum of £2,000 remitted by the Treasury, 
 *' by an accumulation of surplus income, and by 
 " the Chapter proportion of the renewal fines, 
 " (which is one third of the fines, and which 
 " amounted to £3,000 and upwards, accrued 
 '* since the removal of the Hospital.)" (P. 872): 
 
 The sum of £2,000 above mentioned was 
 (p. 869) the purchase money agreed to be paid for 
 a site by the Dock Company : and , thu^ Mr, 
 Gunning's Beport appears to show that the whole 
 of the site occupied by the Hospital in the 
 Begent's Park was given to the Hospital in 1829 
 as a free grant by the Treasury. The entire site 
 contains about 3i acres, and the value, according 
 to the price above named, must have been ^bout 
 £7,500. 
 
 Property of the Hospital. . , 
 
 Mr. Gunning states (p. 869) that— 
 « " The £125,000," paid by the Dock Company, 
 " was laid out in the purchase of £158,837 ll^. Td.
 
 40 
 
 *^ Three per Cent. Consols. ... making the 
 " annual income of the Hospital as follows : — 
 
 Dividends on Stock Money . . . , .£4,765 2 6 
 Rents of country and other estates . . 370 16 8 
 
 ^5,135 19 2 
 
 This amount is exclusive of renewal-fines, and 
 also exclusive of a sum of £196 ISs. Od. paid 
 annually as compensation to the Brothers, 
 Chapel-Clerk, Sexton, Resident Beadswoman, 
 Sealers and Servants, for loss of fees. (P. 869.) 
 
 The Hospital property, after the sale to the 
 Dock Company, consisted, independently of the 
 Stock, of certain houses in London, and eight 
 estates in the country. There was also a remain- 
 ing interest in some land in the Isle of Dogs, 
 which had been sold, and the purchase money in- 
 vested in certain lands at Boughton Mallard, in 
 Kent. (P. 867.) 
 
 Of the £158,837 lis. Id. Stock, two sums of 
 £30,559 7s. Od. Stock and £56,881 Stock respec- 
 tively were sold out in 1835 and 1836, and in- 
 vested in the purchase of land at Bythorn, Hun- 
 tingdonshire, and at Sporle with Palgrave, Nor- 
 folk ; leaving the sum of £71,397 4^s. Id. Stock 
 standing in Consols, belonging to the Hospital. 
 (Pp. 872—874..) 
 
 Of the rental of the Hospital property Mr. 
 Gunning writes — 
 
 " The yearly rental of the Hospital in 1825 . . . 
 " amoimted to £611 13^. 4id. with uncertain
 
 41 
 
 " fines produced by about ninety leases, subject 
 " to renewal on falling in of lives. This mode is 
 " still acted upon with respect to the ancient 
 " possessions of the Hospital. The rentals are in 
 '* many instances the same as at the time of the 
 " survey ordered in the reign of King Henry 
 '' yill. the increase being in the amount of fines 
 " received upon renewals." (P. 875.) He adds 
 some severe strictures upon this mode of letting 
 estates. 
 
 " The following is a statement of the income of 
 " the Hospital at the period of the inquiry in 
 '' 1837 " : with " a summary of the fines received 
 " on renewals of existing leases .... for 43 
 " years/'— 1794— 1837. (Pp. 874, 875.) 
 
 Tower Hill, Harris 
 ,, Lucas 
 East India Company- 
 Elbow Lane. . 
 Isle of Dogs . . 
 
 Queenbury, Herts 
 Queendown, Kent 
 Beryngrave, Kent 
 Ruslaenden, Kent 
 Danby, Kent . 
 Quarley, Hants 
 GoUards, Hants 
 Chesingbury, Wilts 
 Bythorn .... 
 Sporle with Palgrave 
 
 COUNTRY. 
 
 227 acres 
 
 30 „ 
 
 483 „ 
 
 411 „ 
 
 232 „ 
 
 1676 „ 
 
 174 „ 
 
 220 „ 
 
 616 „ 
 
 1300 „ 
 
 5369 acres 
 Dividends upon £71,397 4 7 Stock 
 Total . . . 
 
 2 
 
 40 
 100 
 55 
 23 
 7 
 20 
 
 1000 
 2010 
 
 1010 
 140 
 800 
 
 3525 
 
 1600 
 
 2800 
 
 1610 
 
 IN LONDON. 
 
 
 
 Description. 
 
 Rent. 
 
 Fines in 43 
 years. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 £> s. d. 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 20 houses 
 
 15 
 
 643 5 
 
 
 House 
 
 4 
 
 328 2 6 
 
 
 Warehouse 
 
 70 
 
 1500 
 
 
 4 houses = 
 
 - 16 
 10 
 
 840 
 
 
 3363 14106 7 6 
 2141 18 4 
 
 7 6 8 rent 
 (p. 862.) 
 
 Poor land, 
 (p. 863. 
 
 £5504 18 4
 
 42 
 
 The acreage is taken from the Report, pp. 861, 
 &c. ; and that of the estate of Boughton Mallard, 
 in Kent, 77 acres (p. 867), has now to* he added 
 to the landed property of the Hospital. 
 
 Expenditure of the Hospital. 
 
 After the sale to the Dock Company in 1825, 
 " the annual charge on the Chapter income, to 
 " pay the salaries of and allowances to the 
 " Master, Brothers, Sisters, and Officers of the 
 " establishment, including compensation for the 
 " loss of fines for renewals of the Precinct Estate 
 " calculated on the average receipts of twenty- 
 '' one years, amounted to £2,029 135. M. leaving 
 " an annual surplus of £3,106 5^. lOd. 
 
 " The regular income of the Master, Brothers, 
 " and Sisters (excluding the compensation to the 
 " Brothers for their loss of surplice-fees, £25 
 " each) amounted as follows :— 
 
 £ s d. 
 To the Master ......... 881 5 
 
 „ Brothers, each 103 10 
 
 „ Sisters, each 83 10 
 
 „ Receiver and Chapter Clerk . . 16 13 4" 
 
 (Pp. 869, 870.) 
 
 The estimate which has been quoted {supra 
 p. 30) of £2,000 a year as the income of the 
 Mastership in 1824 was apparently based on the 
 profits of exceptional years under the system of 
 fines for renewals ; a system of which Mr. Gun- 
 ning says (p. 875), —
 
 43 
 
 " The mode is bad, leaving the incomes un- 
 " certain in amonnt, and unequal in distribution 
 " as regards the past, the present, and the future : 
 " withheld, perhaps, for a period of most incon- 
 " venient duration, and then divided in sums 
 " sufficiently large to promote extravagance or 
 " improvidence. One generation may pass away 
 " without participating in the benefits derivable 
 " from such a source, and the next may receive 
 " sums of unreasonable amount." 
 
 A scheme for disposing of the surplus income 
 of the Hospital was suggested (pp. 870, 871) to 
 Lord Chancellor Lyndhurst in 1829, and received 
 his sanction ; and a statement of the expenditure 
 at the time of the Inquiry in 1837 is given by 
 Mr. Gunning (p. 875) as follows : — 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 To the Master . . 1,200 
 
 Brothers. 900 
 
 Sisters ........ 600 - 
 
 Eeceiver . 100 
 
 Eeader ........ 100 
 
 Organist ........ 50 
 
 Forty Beadsmen and women . 400 
 
 Schoolmaster ...... 60 
 
 Schoolmistress ...... . 30 ' 
 
 Messenger of the Chapter . . 10 
 
 Clothing for School Children . 105 ^ 
 
 "Weekly dinner for ditto ... 80 
 
 Apprentice Fees, and Rewards . 72 
 
 Other specified items .... 750 4 3 
 
 £4,457 4 3
 
 u 
 
 To which an estimated amount of about £660 
 had to be added for repairs, surveying, &e. 
 making a total expenditure of about £5,100. 
 
 The incomes given above for the Master, 
 Brothers, and Sisters, did not include fines on 
 the existing estates, or compensation for loss 
 of fees. 
 
 By direction of Lord Chancellor Somers, who 
 had drawn np rules for the Hospital in 1698 
 (p. 876), one third of the fines was given to 
 the Master, one third was divided equally among 
 the Brothers and Sisters, and the other third 
 was appropriated to the Domus or Chapter Eund 
 for repairs and other expenses. This rule was 
 still observed in 1837. 
 
 Lord Somers' rules were submitted to Lords 
 Chancellors Eldon and Lyndhurst, and the 
 management of the Hospital was carried on in 
 1837 upon a plan founded upon the orders of 
 Lord Lyndhurst conjointly with those of Lord 
 Somers. (Pp. 870, 871.) 
 
 Under these rules and orders the number of 
 Beadswomen was increased to 20, and 20 Beads- 
 men were added, at an annual expenditure, in 
 all, of £400. A school for 24 boys and 12 girls 
 was established, of which the rules are given at 
 length in the Eeport. (Pp. 877, 878.)
 
 m 
 
 Residence oe the Chapter, &c. 
 
 Mr. Gunning writes : — ■ 
 
 " The Master resides in the house on the west 
 '' side of the carriage road ; the Brothers occupy 
 '' each a House on one side of the Chapel, and 
 '' the Sisters are entitled to the others. One 
 ''Brother is required to be in residence con- 
 '' stantly, in order to conduct the service in the 
 '' Chapel : he is there assisted by a gentleman 
 " called the Beader, who has a salary of £100 
 " a year, paid from the Hospital funds. It was 
 " not said how long such had been the custom, 
 "nor by whom, or in what way, he had been 
 "selected and appointed; but it was said to be 
 " absolutely necessary to the well performance 
 " of the seryice, for the Brother to receive such 
 " assistance. If so, there can be no possible 
 ^' objection offered. 
 
 " The Sisters do not in general reside, in con- 
 " sequence of a privilege, or rather of an in- 
 " dulgence, sanctioned only by custom. 
 
 " They are allowed to let their houses : at the 
 " period of this inquiry in April, 1837, two of 
 " them were such lessors, and enjoyed the rents 
 " of the houses (£90 a year each), in addition 
 " to their other emoluments and privileges. It 
 "is believed, however, that if residence can be 
 "held compatible with the other engagements 
 " of the ladies so appointed, it will be beneficial 
 " to the interests of the institution, and conform-
 
 4.6 
 
 ** able to the rules and regulations of Lord Chan- 
 *' cellor Somers, mentioned elsewhere." (P.876.) 
 
 " The original number of ten Eedeswomen has 
 " been increased to twenty, and an addition 
 *'made of twenty Bedesmen. These persons 
 ** are appointed solely by the Master, from no 
 " particular neighbourhood, or class of persons : 
 '' decayed small tradespeople, old servants of 
 '' good character, and infirm aged people, are 
 " usually selected. They have no residence : 
 "their salary is £10 a year each, paid them 
 " by the Receiver half yearly, at Christmas and 
 '^ Midsummer : they remain upon the list during 
 " life, provided they continue proper objects of 
 " charity. One of these women has a large 
 " addition to her annual stipend from the * Com- 
 '* pensation ' Fund before alluded to. They are 
 " still called by their ancient style of Bedesmen 
 " and women ; they have no duties to perform." 
 (P. 877.) 
 
 " It did not appear on the inquiry that so 
 " much money had been expended in appren- 
 '* ticing the boys, and placing girls out at ser- 
 " vice, as is recommended by the School Ordi- 
 " nances. This may have arisen from two causes : 
 " the enormous expenses attending the comple- 
 " tion and repairs of the buildings, and from the 
 " system not having come into full operation, 
 " Eor instance, the rewards to the boys are due 
 " only on the expiration of their apprenticeship : 
 '* and those to the girls are doubtless intended
 
 ^7 
 
 " for them after a certain time spent in service; 
 "and there will, probably, be some variation 
 " annually in the numbers properly qualified to 
 " be put out. It is hoped, however, that the 
 " number, on an average, will not be less than 
 "is directed, as before mentioned, and that 
 " nothing will be allowed to interfere with this 
 " beneficial and excellent application of so small 
 " a part of the extensive funds of this Hospital; 
 " but, on the contrary, that there will be found 
 " every inclination, on the part of those possess- 
 " ing the power, to carry out this interesting 
 " branch of the Charity to its fallest extent. 
 " With respect to the increased annual expen- 
 " diture of £300, sanctioned by Lord Chancellor 
 " Lyndhurst, for the creation of thirty additional 
 " Bedespeople, it, does certainly appear useless, in 
 " comparison with the benefits which would pro- 
 " bably have resulted from the application of a 
 " similar sum to the purposes of education, by 
 " extending the School ; and in any future 
 " scheme for applying the surplus income of 
 " the Charity, it will be most desirable that this 
 "important subject should have due consider- 
 " ation, and the utmost encouragement." (P. 878.) 
 
 The Secretary to the Charity Commissioners 
 writes, March 8th, 1865 :— 
 
 " The Commissioners have no notice of any 
 " scheme for the regulation of this Hospital 
 " having been obtained since the date of the 
 " printed Eeport."
 
 48 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 In the foregoing extracts from the Eeport oi 
 the Charity Commissioners, the present position 
 of this singularly interesting and venerable 
 Ecclesiastical Community is clearly shown. 
 Its income, even at the low valuation given 
 above, is annually — 
 
 Trom Eents and Dividends (p. 874) 5,504 18 4 
 „ Eents at Boughton Mallard 
 
 (p, 867) ...... 60 
 
 . „ Eents at Queenbury (p. 862) 7 6 8 
 
 „ Six Eesidentiary Houses (p. 876) 540 
 
 „ Master's House, at least . . 180 
 „ Compensation Dividends 
 
 (p. 869) 196 18 
 
 . „ Eines, calculated in 1837 (p. 876) 330 
 
 6,819 3 
 
 The fulfilment of its original purpose, "for 
 "the Divine Service of God, a free, pure, and 
 " perpetual alms," is represented by 
 
 1. The Services in a Chapel holding 300 people, 
 in which additional income is obtained from 
 pew-rents. 
 
 2. The maintenance of a small Charity School. 
 
 3. An annuity of £10 to each of 40 poor per- 
 sons. 
 
 F. SIMCOX LEA.
 
 49 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 FROM MSS. m THE PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE. 
 
 I. 
 
 MASTERSHIP OF ST. KATHARINE'S HOSPITAL. 
 
 PATENT ajRANTED BY QUEEN ELIZABETH TO THOMAS WILSON, DOOTOii 
 OP LAW, A LAYMAN, DECEMBER 7, 1563. 
 
 Patent Roll, 6 Elizabeth, p. 13, m. 8. 
 
 Be cmicessione ad vitam pro Thoma Wilson. — Regina omnibus ad, 
 quos, &c. salutem. Cum nos nuper per litter as nostras patentes 
 gerentes datum apud Westmonasterium septimo die Novembris 
 anno regni nostri tertio de industria fidelitate et circumspectione 
 dilecti nobis Thome Wilson legum doctoris quamplurimum confi- 
 dentes pro diversis causis et considerationibus in eisdem litteris 
 patentibus expressis et specificatis de gratia nostra speciali ac ex certa 
 scientia et mero motu nostris dederimus et concesserimus pro nobis 
 heredibus et successoribus nostris eidem Thome Wilson officium et 
 locum Magistri Custodis et Gubernatoris Hospitalis sive libere Capelle 
 Sancte Katherine prope Turrim nostram Londonie in comitatu 
 nostro Middelsexie ac omnium Maneriorum rectoriarum capellarum 
 mesuagiorum terrarum tenementorum possessionum reventionum 
 proficuorum et hereditamentorum ac privilegiorum quorumcumque 
 ejusdem hospitalis sive libere capelle aut eidem Hospitali sive libere 
 Capelle Sancte Katherine predicte unitorum annexorum spectantium 
 vel pertinentium cum suis juribus et pertinentiis universis. Ac 
 ipsum Thomam Wilson Magistrum Custodem et Gubernatorem 
 hospitalis sive libere capelle illius ac omnium maneriorum recto- 
 riarum ecclesiarum capellarum mesuagiorum terrarum tenementorum 
 possessionum reventionum proficuorum hereditamentorum et privi- 
 legiorum ejusdem hospitalis sive libere capelle aut eidem hospitali 
 sive libere capelle unitorum annexorum spectantium vel pertinentium 
 pro nobis heredibus et successoribus nostris fecerimus ordinaverimus 
 
 D
 
 50 
 
 et constituerimus per easdem. Habendum tenendum possidendum et 
 gaudendum predictum officium et locum Magistri Custodis et Guber- 
 natoris hospitalis sive libere capelle predicte et ceterorum premis- 
 sorumcum suis juribus jurisdictionibus pre-eminentiis auctoritatibus 
 et privilegiis quibuscumque eidem Thome Wilson durante tota vita 
 sua naturali adeo plene libere et integre ac in tarn amplis modo et 
 forma prout Gilbertus Lathome artium magister aut Franciscus 
 Mallett adtunc nuper Gustos Magister si veGubernator hospitalis sive 
 libere capelle predicte seu eorum alter aut aliquis alius Magister 
 Gustos vel Gubernator ejusdem hospitalis sive libere capelle officium 
 et locum Magistri Custodis et Gubernatoris hospitalis sive libere 
 capelle predicte et ceterorum premissorum tunc antea unquam 
 habuit tenuit vel gavisus fuit aut habere tenere vel gaudere debuit 
 ullo modo. Ita tamen quod divinus cultus eleemosine et alia 
 pietatis opera in eodem hospitali sive libera capella predicta debite 
 fienda nullatenus defraudarentur sed in omnibus laudabihter deser- 
 virentur et observarentur ac omnia onera hospitalis sive libere capelle 
 illius consueta debite de tempore in tempus supportarentur prout 
 per easdem litteras patentes inter alia plenius liquet et apparet. 
 Quas quidem litteras patentes ac totum jus statum et interesse sua 
 in eisdem litteris patentibus contenta idem Thomas Wilson nobis in 
 Cancellaria nostra sursum reddidit et restituit cancellandas ea tamen 
 intentione ut nos alias litteras nostras patentes de officio predicto 
 eidem Thome pro termino vite sue in forma sequenti ampliores 
 facere et concedere dignaremur quam quidem sursum redditionem 
 acceptamus et approbamus per presentes. Sciatis igitur quod nos 
 de industria fidelitate et provida circumspectione ejusdem Thome 
 Wilson legum doctoris quamplurimum confidentes ac summam 
 utramque potestatem regularem videlicet et ecclesiasticam nobis 
 celitus creditam simul exercentes de gratia nostra speciali ac ex certa 
 scientia et mero motu nostris dedimus et concessimus ac per pre- 
 sentes pro nobis heredibus et successoribus nostris damus et conce- 
 dimus prefato Thome Wilson officium et locum Magistri Custodis 
 et Gubernatoris hospitalis sive libere capeJle Sancte Katherine 
 prope Turrim nostram Londonie in comitatu nostro Middelsexie 
 ac omnium maneriorum rectoriarum capellarum mesuagiorum 
 terrarum tenementorum possessionum reventionum proficuorum 
 necnon arreragiorum et hereditamentorum ac privilegiorum quo- 
 rumcumque ejusdem hospitahs sive libere capelle aut eidem hos- 
 pitali sive libere capelle Sancte Katherine predicte unitorum 
 annexorum spectantium vel pertinentium cum suis juribus et 
 pertinentiis universis. Ac ipsum Thomam Wilson Magistrum 
 Custodem et Gubernatorem hospitalis sive hbere capelle ilHus ac 
 omnium maneriorum rectoriarum eeclesiarum capellarum mesua-
 
 51 
 
 giorum terrarum tenementorum possessionum reventiouum pro- 
 ficuorum hereditamentorum necnon arreragiorum et privilegiorum 
 ejusdem hospitalis sive libere capelle aut eidem hospitali sive libere 
 capelle unitorum annexorum spectantium vel pertinentium pro 
 uobis et heredibus et successoribus nostris facimus ordinamus et 
 constituimus per presentes habendum tenendum possidendum et 
 gaudendum predictum officium et locum Magistri custodis et 
 gubernatoris hospitalia sive libere capelle predicte ac maneriorum 
 terrarum tenementorum predictorum et ceterorum premissorum 
 cum suis juribus jurisdictionibus pre-eminentiis auctoritatibus 
 privilegiis et pertinentiia quibuscumque eidem Ihome Wilson 
 durante tota vita sua naturali adeo plene libere et integre ac in tam 
 amplis modo et forma prout predictus Gilbertus Lathome artium 
 magister aut Franciscus Mallett sacre theologie professor aut 
 Franciscus Flemyng Miles seu eorum aliquis aut aliquis alius custos 
 vel gubernator hospitalis sive libere capelle antedicte ofi&cium et 
 locum Magistri custodis vel gubernatoris hospitalis sive libere 
 capelle predicte et ceterorum premissorum antehac umquam habuit 
 vel gavisus fuit aut habere tenere vel gaudere debuit quovismodo. 
 Volumus etiam et concedimus per presentes ex mero motu et certa 
 scientia nostris pro nobis heredibus et successoribus nostris pre- 
 dictis pro consideratione predicta prefato Thome Wilson officium 
 et locum Magistri et custodis hospitalis sive libere capelle predicte 
 et ceterorum premissorum durante vita sua naturali. Et quod ipse 
 idem Thomas officium et locum predictum capere et habere tenere 
 et possidere pro termino vite sue virtute et vigore harum litte- 
 rarum nostrarum patentium valeat et possit licet ipse idem Thomas 
 Wilson laicus sit ac clericali ordine minime insignitus sed uxoratus 
 et conjugatus ac etiam bigamus ac alias beneficiatus et non sacerdos. 
 Et hoc libere licite et absque impedimento seu molestatione qua- 
 cumque atque cum eodem Thoma in hac parte pro nobis heredibus 
 et successoribus nostris tenore presentium gratiose dispensamus 
 quibuscumque legibus actibus statutis consuetudinibus ordina- 
 tionibus fundationibus erectionibus provisionibus prohibitionibus 
 sive restrictionibus incontrarium antehac per aliquem vel aliquam 
 regum vel reginarum predecessorum nostrorum editis ordinatis vel 
 provisis aut aliqua aha re causa vel materia quacumque in aliquo 
 uon obstantibus. Ita tamen quod divinus cultus elemosine et alia 
 pietatis opera in eodem hospitali sive libera capella* predicta debite 
 fienda nullatenus defraudentur sed in omnibus laudabiliter deser- 
 viantur et observentur ac omnia onera hospitalis sive libere capelle 
 illius consueta debite de tempore in tempus supportentur. Et hoc 
 absque compoto seu ahquo alio proinde nobis heredibus vel suc- 
 
 ' Libere capcUo, MS,
 
 52 
 
 cessoribus nostris quoquomodo reddendo solvendo vel faciendo 
 aliquo statuto dicti hospitalis fundationeve quacumque aut pro eo 
 quod talis concessio ante hac per nos seu progenitores nostros facta 
 non fiierit aut aliquo statuto in parliamento nostro vel progeni- 
 torum nostrorum antehac incontrarium edito aut aliqua alia re 
 causa vel materia in aliquo non obstantibus. Prohibemus insuper 
 auctoritate predicta ne quisquam quavis auctoritate quicquam in 
 prejudicium hujus coUationis sive concessionis nostre quovis quesito 
 colore faciat seu attemptet et si secus per quemcumque factum seu 
 attemptatum faerit id irritum decrevimus et inane. Eo quod 
 expressa mentio, &c. In cujus rei, &c. Teste Regina apud Windesor 
 vij. die Decembris per ipsam Reginam, &c. 
 
 II. 
 DEANERY OF DURHAM. 
 
 PATENT GRANTED BY QUEEN ELIZABETH TO SIR THOMAS WILSON, KNIGHT, 
 DOCTOR OP LAW, A LAYMAN, FEBRUARY 4, 1579. 
 
 Patent Roll, 22 Elkabefh, p, 1, m. 32. 
 
 De coticessione presentationis pro Thoma Wilson. — Regina, &c. 
 Reverendo in Christo patri et Domino Ricardo Dunelmensi 
 Episcopo ejusve vicario in spiritualibus generali salutem. Ad 
 decanatum ecclesie nostre Cathedralis Dunelmensis modo per 
 mortem ultimi decani ibidem vacantem ac ad nostram donationem 
 pleno jure spectantem dilectum ac fidelem Consiliarium nostrum 
 Thomam Wilson juris doctorem unum Principalium Secretariorum 
 nostrorum nominavimus et elegimus ac vobis presentium tenore 
 in hac parte nominamus et presentamus mandantes et requirantes 
 quatenus eundem Thomam Wilson ad decanatum predictum 
 admittere ipsumque decanum ejusdem ecclesie nostre Cathedralis 
 Dunelmensis predicte cum omnibus et singulis preeminentiis juris- 
 dictionibus titulis quotidianis distributionibus dividentiis excre- 
 scentiis mansionibus hortis pomariis damariis clasturis pasturis 
 et terris refectionibus ac omnibus et omnimodis aliis juribus proficuis 
 commoditatibus emolumentis et advantagiis quibuscumque eidem 
 decanatui spectantibus sive uUo modo pertinentibus instituere ac 
 investire et installari facere ceteraque omnia et singula peragere 
 et perimplere que vestro in hac parte incumbunt officio pastorali 
 velitis cum favore. In cujus rei, &c. Teste Regina apud West- 
 monasterium quarto die Februarii per ipsam Reginam.
 
 53 
 
 No Patent of Dispensation enabling Sir Thomas 
 Wilson, as a layman, to hold this Deanery, exists 
 in the Public Hecord Office. A letter is preserved 
 from K/alph Lever, one of the Prebendaries of 
 Durham, to Lord Burghley, on the subject of the 
 appointment. 
 
 It is as follows : — 
 
 state Papers^ Domestic, Eliz. Vol. 136. No. 18. Jan. i679/o 
 
 To the right honorable and his singular 
 good L. my L. Burghlie L, highe 
 Tresorer of England. 
 
 I am requested (right honorable) by my L. grace of Yorke and by r^j^g bishop's 
 my L. of Durham, to preach, to govern, and to kepe such residensye request. 
 within our Cathedrall church of Durham for Mr, Secretarie WiUson 
 whiles his H. shalbe our deane, as by the expresse wordes of our 
 Statutes is required. I have shewed also unto Mr. Secretarie that 2. 
 your L. willed me to repaire unto his H. and to signifie to him that 
 your L. thought hir Ma"® wold bestowe the deanery upon him and 
 that his H. must of force provide one of the prebendaries to be 
 vicedeane under him w*=^ wold see better government used in that 
 Societie then hath bene heretofore. 
 
 I did also (uppon my better remembrance) further signifie unto t^^q Yioe.- 
 his H. that he w*'^ must govern for him in his absence cold not be ^®^^^ <^^^ 
 the vicedeane nor any other officer w^'^ had a kaye of our Tresure 
 and common seale for the kayes of sundry officers may not by our 
 Statutes be in y® kepeing of one man at one tyme. 
 
 Other wayse an other vicedeane had bene chosen this yeare, and 
 that not without my L. of Durhams advice. 
 
 Mr. Secretarie hath bene dealte withall (as his H. telleth me) by *• 
 those that are much my betters, to thinke hardly of me, and it hath 
 bene said to his H. that I have bene agaynst him in this sewte : yet 
 his H. is now mynded that I shall deale for him. Srys^SiJSd. 
 
 Ffor my parte (that with your H. favoure I may saie the 5 
 trueth) I do confesse, I did labor and wishe to have such a one 
 deane, as was qualified according to our Statutes and wold have bene 
 resident amongst us. And now that I larn, hir Ma"®^ pleasure is, to 
 have his H. to be deane and yet to imploy his H. service to more
 
 54 
 
 weightie affares in the 'common wealtlie : I do seeke now, that his 
 government by an other, may be profitable, or with as httle harm and 
 ^ unconvenience to our church as may be. 
 
 dispensation ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ Statutes do dispence with our deanes absence 
 whiles he is in hir Ma"«'^ domesticall service : I will not refuse to 
 do any thing, that your L. shall thinke, may tend to the benefite 
 of our church, if your H. thinke it good, that I take this charge 
 upon me. 
 7- And that those prebendaries w''^ have joyned with the late 
 
 deane in his ill government, may the better conform them selves 
 hereafter and cease by sinister meanes to procure theire betters to 
 thinke hardly of me without cause : and be without hope easely to 
 procure Mr. Secretarie to change me and to place an other : 
 during hir ^ ^^ make my most humble suete, that I may govern for his 
 highnesplea- H. duringe hir Ma"^'' pleasure. 
 
 And that an authenticall instrument may be made thereof in 
 Mr. Secretaries name such as to hir highnes shalbe thought con- 
 venient and meete by th' advice of your H. and my L. grace of 
 Yorke. 
 Expedition. And for the better expedition herein : and for that our Colledge 
 standeth in present neede of a deane : or one that may govern for 
 him : I most humbly request, that tow drawghtes of a publique in- 
 strumente may be drawn (now whiles I am here) by the advice of 
 larned councell one by Mr. Secretaries lawers : and another by 
 myn : that choise may be made of either : or a third devised such 
 as hir Ma*'*' shall beast lyke of. The same to be sealed and delivered 
 after Mr. Secretarie shalbe in reall and full possession of our 
 deanerye. 
 9. And for that I am to geave tow voyces in our chapter, the 
 
 Mr ^s' vovce ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^J ^^^ • ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ *° J^l*^ ^^ accounte to god, and to 
 hir Ma^'® for my government : myn humble suete is, that I be not 
 forced to geave Mr. Secretaries voyce, otherwayse then I geave myn 
 own, w*^^ must be doun upon my othe : or upon a conscience suffi- 
 ciently warranted by Law. 
 
 And that Mr. Secretarie shuld not thinke that I do this, for that 1 
 desire to have his full authoritie, not myndying to follow his H. 
 direction in any particular case, so far as it shall agree with our 
 Statutes ?isque ad Aras : I thinke it very necessarie, that there be a 
 speciall proviso in the said instrument that if I shall refuse to follow 
 any such particular direction : that in such a case his H. may reserve 
 authoritie to make a letter of a (sic) tournye, or a proxis to any one 
 of our chapter, who will do his H. direction : and yet the first and 
 generall proxis, or letter of a tournye may stand in force still, to all 
 other intentes and purposes.
 
 Thus disireing most humbly to have your H. advice in the .1 
 premisses and promising to follow your L. direction in all thinges, p?titi^ 
 v.sque ad Aras : I commite your L. to the tuition of the Almightie. 
 
 your L. most humble 
 
 to commauude 
 
 RAPHE LEVER. 
 
 IIT. 
 MASTERSHIP OF ST. KATHARINE'S HOSPITAL, 
 
 PATENT OF CONFIRMATION GEANTED BY JAMES I, TO SIR JULIUS 
 CiESAR, LL.D. AUGUST 13, 1603. 
 
 Patent Roll. 1 Jac.Lp. 12. 
 
 Be concessione officii pro Julio Cesaro Milite. — Jacobus Dei gratia, &c. 
 Omnibus ad quos presentes littere pervenerint salutem. Cum 
 preclarissima consors nostra Domina Anna Anglie Scotie Francie 
 et Hibernie Regina cui de jure pertinent et spectant nominatio 
 appunctuatio presentatio et donatio hospitalis sive libere capelle 
 Sancte Katerine Virginis juxta Turrim nostram Londonie in 
 Comitatu Middelsexie per litteras suas patentes datas undecimo 
 die Julii nunc ultimo preterito dedit et concessit dilecto et fideli 
 servienti nostro Julio Cesar legum doctori supreme curie nostre 
 Admiralitatis Anglie judici presidenti et officiali principali et 
 nobis a supplicum libellis magistrorum uni, custodiam et guberna- 
 tionem hospitalis sive libere capelle jDredicte cum omnibus et sin- 
 gulis redditibus reventionibus exitibus et proficuis quibuscumque 
 omnium et singulorum dominiorum maneriorum rectoriarum 
 capellarum mesuagiorum tenementorum tenarum possessionum 
 et hereditamentorum quorumcumque tarn spiritualium quam 
 temporalium quibuscumque nominibus sive additionibus nominum 
 censeantur nuncupentur vel cognoscantur ac ubicumque jacent sive 
 existunt dicto hospitali sive libere capelle quoquo modo spectan- 
 tium vel pertinentium. Ac prefatum Julium Cesar Magistrum 
 Custodem et Gubernatorem hospitalis sive libere capelle predicte 
 pro termino vite sue fecit ordinavit et constituit habendam tenendam 
 et gaudendam custodiam et gubernationem hospitalis sive libere 
 capelle predicte et ceterorum omnium et singulorum premissorum
 
 56 
 
 prefato Julio Cesar durante vita ac pro termino vite ipsius Julii 
 Cesar prout per easdem litteras patentes plenius liquet et apparet, 
 Sciatis quod nos volentes statum possessionem interesse et occu- 
 pationem que prefatus Julius Cesar nunc habet seu unquam habuit 
 in hospitali sive libera capella predicta vigore concessionis predicte 
 seu aliquo alio modo assistere providere et manutenere pro nobis 
 heredibus et successoribus nostris quantum in nobis est eadem 
 statum possessionem interesse et occupationem dicti Julii de 
 gratia nostra speciali ac ex certa scientia et mero motu nostris 
 acceptamus et approbamus ratificamus et eundem Julium durante 
 tota vita sua magistrum custodem et gubernatorem hospitalis sive 
 libere capelle predicte fecimus et constituimus ac per presentes 
 confirmavimus. Nolentes quovismodo quod ipse durante vita sua 
 predicta de aut super statu possessione interesse et occupatione 
 supradictis ratione alicujus juris vel tituli que nobis competunt 
 aut quovismodo nobis vel heredibus nostris competere poterint in 
 premissis vel aliquo premissorum per nos vel heredes nostros aut 
 aliquos alios nomine nostro quoscumque impetatur molestetur in 
 aliquo seu gravetur. Volumus etiam et concedimus per presentes 
 de gratia nostra speciali ac ex certa scientia et mero motu nostris 
 prefato Julio Cesar officium et locum Magistri Custodis et Guber- 
 natoris hospitalis sive libere capelle predicte ac ceterorum premis- 
 sorum durante vita natural! ipsius Julii Cesar eb quod ipse prefatus 
 Julius Cesar officium et locum predictum capere habere tenere et 
 possidere pro termino vite sue naturalis vigore et juxta tenorem 
 effectum et veram intentionem harum litterarum nostrarum paten- 
 tium valeat et possit licet ipse Julius Cesar sacerdotali aut aliquo 
 alio sacro ordine non sit insignitus. Et hoc libere licite et absque 
 impedimento seu molestatione quacumque. Atque cum eodem 
 Julio Cesar auctoritate nostra regia et suprema qua fungimur pro 
 nobis heredibus et successoribus nostris in hac parte gratiose 
 dispensamus quibuscumque legibus statutis constitutionibus 
 ordinationibus erectionibus prohibitionibus sive restrictionibus 
 incontrarium antehac per aliquem vel aliquam regem vel 
 reginam predecessorum nostrorum editis ordinatis vel provisis 
 aut aliqua alia re causa vel materia quacumque in ahquo non 
 obstante. Volentes tamen quod divinus cultus elemosine et alia 
 pietatis opera in eodem hospitali sive libera capella debite fienda 
 nullatenus defraudentur sed in omnibus laudabiliter deserviantur 
 et observentur ac omnia onera hospitalis sive libere capelle illius 
 consueta debite de tempore in tempus supportentur. Et insuper 
 volumus et concedimus pro nobis heredibus et successoribus nostris 
 quod he littere nostre patentes confecte eisdem {sic) Julio Cesar 
 firme aufficientes et effectuales in lege sint et existant et plenum
 
 57 
 
 robur in omnibus et per omnia juxta effectum et intentionem 
 earundem habeant et retineant. Et hoc absque compoto seu aliquo 
 alio proinde nobis heredibus vel successoribus nostris quoquo modo 
 reddendo solvendo seu faciendo aliquo statuto dicti hospitalis 
 fundatione quacumque aut pro eo quod talis concessio antehac per 
 nos seu progenitores nostros facta non fuit aut aliquo statuto in 
 parliamento nostro vel progenitorum nostrorum antehac in contra- 
 rium edito aut aliqua alia re causa vel materia quacumque in aliquo 
 non obstante. Prohibemus insuper auctoritate nostra regali et 
 suprema ne quisquam quavis auctoritate quidquam in prejudicium 
 hujus collationis sive concessionis nostre quovis quesito colore faciat 
 seu attemptet et si secus per quemcumque factum sive attemptatum 
 fuit (sic) ad irritum decrevimus et inane. Eo quod expressa mentio 
 de vero valore annuo aut de certitudine premissorum sive eorum 
 alicujus aut de aliis donis sive concessionibus per nos seu per 
 aliquem progenitorum nostrorum prefato JuHo Cesar ante hec 
 tempora factis in presentibus minime facta existit aut aliquo 
 statuto actu ordinatione provisione proclamatione sive restrictione 
 incontrarium inde ante hac habito facto edito ordinate seu proviso 
 aut aliqua alia re causa vel materia quacumque in aliquo non 
 obstante. In cujus rei, &c. Teste Kege apud Harfeild xiij die 
 Augusti. Per breve de private sigillo &c. 
 
 IV. 
 
 DEANERY OF DUEHAM. 
 
 PATENT OF DISPENSATION GRANTED BY JAMES I. TO ADAM NEWTON, ESQ. 
 SEPTEMBER 15, 1606. 
 
 Fatent Rollj 4 Jac. I. p. 18. m. 
 
 De concessione dispensationis pro Adamo Newton Decano Dunelmensi. — 
 Rex &c. dilecto et fideli subdito nostro Adamo Newton charissimi 
 filii nostri Henrici Principis in litteris institutori salutem. Littera- 
 rum que in te est cognitione vite atque morum integritate operaque 
 in primogenito filio nostro Henrico Principe bonis moribus ac artibus 
 informando fideliter impensis et imposterum impendendis adducti 
 ac persone tue pro merita favore prosequi gratiose cupientes Decana- 
 tum ecclesie nostre Cathedralis Dunolmensis {sic) per promotionem
 
 58 
 
 Willelmi James sacre Theologie professoris ultimi incumbentis seu 
 decani ibidem ad Episcopatum Dunelmensem jam vacantem et ad 
 nostram coUationem et liberam dispositionem pleno jure spectantem 
 unacum omnibus juribus et pertinentiis universis tibi conferendum 
 duximus adeoque te Decanum ecclesie cathedralis Dunolmensis pre- 
 dicte cum omnibus et singulis suis juribus et pertinentiis universis 
 durante vita sua naturali per presentes facimus et ordinamus et con- 
 stituimus cum omnibus proficuis et commoditatibus quibuscumque 
 a tempore promotionis ultimi incumbentis ibidem. Et quoniam in 
 predicto Decanatu consequendo et ejusdem emolumenta percipiendo 
 grave tibi prejudicium inferri posse intelligimus quia neque in sacris 
 constitus neque predicator existis imo propter assiduum tuum juxta 
 charissimi filii nostri personam tam in presenti quam imposterum 
 servicium ordinarie quam dicte ecclesie Dunolmensis statuta a 
 Decano exigunt residentie vacare non potes idcirco nos premissa 
 considerantes ac meritis tuis permoti munificentiam nostram regiam 
 tibi in hac parte prestare volentes de gratia nostra speciali ac ex 
 certa scientia et mero [motu*] nostris et ex auctoritate regia nobis 
 et successoribus nostris in dictis statutis reservata tecum tam super 
 defectibus ordinis aut gradus quam de non residendo in dicta ecclesia 
 cathedrali tenore presentium graciose dispensamus. Quatenus tibi 
 Decanatum predicte ecclesie cum suis juribus et pertinentiis universis 
 liceat adipisci et te possis ad eundem institui et admitti curare ac 
 durante vita tua naturali retinere et absentia tua non obstante toto 
 vite tue tempore per unum ex ecclesie predicte prebendariis procu- 
 ratorem tuum legittimum in causis etiam quibuscumque gravioribus 
 vices tuas ad munus tuum in omnibus exercere omnes fructus emolu- 
 menta et beneficia que alioqui de jure aut statute dicte ecclesie 
 Decano ejusdem competere possunt percipere et habere in tam amplis 
 modo et forma ac si in sacris esses et continuam residentiam in 
 eadem ecclesia exerceres quacumque clausula membro re vel materia 
 in statutis ordinationibus constitutionibus tam nostris quam dicte 
 ecclesie contenta in aliquo non obstante. Quibus omnibus quantum 
 pertinet ad personam tuam et quoad effectum presentium ex pleni- 
 tudine potestatis nostre per presentes derogamus. In cujus rei 
 testimonium has litteras nostras fieri fecimus patentes quas etiam in 
 acta capituli dicte ecclesie referri volumus et mandamus per pre- 
 sentes. Teste Eege apud Westmonasterium quinto decimo die 
 Septembris. Per breve de private sigillo, &c, 
 
 * Omitted by error of Scribe.
 
 59 
 
 V. 
 DEANERY OF DURHAM. 
 
 PAfENT OF PRESENTATION GRANTED BY JAMES I. TO ADAM 
 NEWTON, ESQ. SEPTEMBER 16, 1606.* 
 
 Patent Roll, 4 Jac. I. p. 18. 
 
 De co?icessione presentandi pro Adamo Newton Armigero. — Rex, &c. 
 reverendo in Christo patri Domino Willelmo permissione divina 
 Dunolmensi Episcopo ejusve vicario in spiritualibus generali aut alii 
 cuicumque potestatem et auctoritatem in hac parte sufficientem 
 habenti et habituro salutem. Ad Decanatum sive dignitatem Deca- 
 natus ecclesie nostre cathedralis Dunolmensis per promotionem 
 vestri ultimi Decani ejusdem ecclesie ad Episcopatum Dunolmensem 
 vacantem et ad nostram donationem pleno jure spectantem dilectum 
 et fidelem nostrum Adamum Newton Armigerum dilectissimi filii 
 nostri primogeniti Henrici Principis Pedagogum nominavimus et 
 eligimus ac vobis presentium tenore nominamus et presentamus man- 
 dantes et requirentes quatenus eundem Adamum Newton ad dictum 
 Decanatum sive dignitatem Decanatus ecclesie Cathedralis predicte 
 admittere ipsumque Decanum ejusdem ecclesie nostre cathedralis 
 Dunolmensis predicte cum omnibus et singulis pre-eminentiis juris- 
 dictionibus titulis quotidianis distributionibus dividentiis excre- 
 scentiis mancionibus hortis pomariis damariis clausuris pasturis et 
 terris refectionibus ac omnibus et omnimodis juribus proficuis com- 
 moditatibus emolumentis et advantagiis quibuscumque eidem Deca- 
 natui spectantibus sive uUo mo do pertinentibus instituere et inves- 
 tire ac installari facere ceteraque omnia et singula peragere et perim- 
 plere que vestro in hac parte incumbunt pastorali officio velitis cum 
 ifeivore et effectu. In cujus rei, &c. Teste Rege apud Westmonas- 
 terium sexto decimo die Septembris. Per breve de privato sigillo. 
 
 * In 1604, Adam Newton, Tutor to the Prince of Wales, had received from James I, 
 a grant of £300 as a gift : and of £200 per annnm, to cease on other prefennent. 
 (Calendar of State Papers.)
 
 60 
 
 VI. 
 MASTERSHIP OF ST. KATHARINE'S HOSPITAL. 
 
 PATENT GRANTED BY GEORGE III. TO MAJOR-GENERAL SIR HERBERT 
 TAYLOR, K.G.H. JANUARY 20, 1819. 
 
 Patent Roll, 59 George III. part 5, No. 1. 
 
 Major General Herbert 
 Taylor Master of St 
 Catherine's for life 
 
 GEORGE THE THIRD by the Grace of God &c To all to whom 
 these presents shall come Greeting Know ye that we of our 
 especial grace certain knowledge and mere motion have given and 
 granted and by these presents for us our heirs and successors 
 do give and grant unto our trusty and wellbeloved Herbert Taylor 
 Esquire Major General in our Army the office and place of Master 
 Keeper and Governor of the Hospital or Free Chapel of Saint 
 Catherine near our Tower of London in our County of Middlesex 
 and of all Manors Rectories Chapels Messuages Lands Tenements 
 possessions Revenues and Profits and also of the Arrearages here- 
 ditaments emoluments and privileges whatsoever of the said Hos- 
 pital or Free Chapel or united annexed belonging or appertaining 
 to the same Hospital or Free Chapel of Saint Catherine aforesaid 
 with all their rights members liberties and appurtenances And 
 moreover, we have given and granted and by these Presents for us 
 our heirs and successors do give and grant unto the said Herbert 
 Taylor aU the estate title power and authority in and to the office 
 and place and other the premises aforesaid which now do belong 
 to us or shall hereafter of right belong to us by any means 
 whatsoever and him the said Herbert Taylor Master Keeper and 
 Governor of the said Hospital or Free Chapel and of all the Manors 
 Rectories Chapels Messuages Lands Tenements and Possessions 
 revenues profits and hereditaments and also of the arrearages and 
 privileges of our said Hospital or Free Chapel or united annexed 
 belonging or appertaining to the same Hospital or Free Chapel we 
 do make ordain appoint nominate and constitute by these presents 
 to have hold possess enjoy exercise and occupy the said office and
 
 61 
 
 place of Master Keeper and Governor of our Hospital or Free 
 Chapel aforesaid and of the manors lands tenements and other 
 the premises with all the rights jurisdictions members liberties au- 
 thorities privileges and pre-eminences whatsoever belonging or apper- 
 taining to the same office or place to the said Herbert Taylor by 
 himself or by his sufficient deputy for and during the term of his 
 natural life together with all fees rewards liveries dues rents revenues 
 and profits whatsoever appertaining belonging appendant or incum- 
 bent to the., said office and place and other the premises as fully 
 freely and entirely and in as ample manner and form as Colonel 
 Edward Disbrowe deceased or any other Master or Masters Keeper 
 or Keepers Governor or Governors of our Hospital or Free Chapel 
 aforesaid or other the premises at any time heretofore lawfully hath or 
 have had received used or enjoyed or ought to have received used or 
 enjoyed and therefore we do by these presents command the Brethren 
 and Sisters and all the tenants and men of the same Hospital that 
 they be obedient and attendant unto the said Herbert Taylor as 
 becometh in all things concerning the said Hospital or Free Chapel 
 and other the premises or any of them and further of our more 
 ample especial grace and of our certain knowledge and mere motion 
 we will and by these presents for us our heirs and successors 
 do grant unto the said Herbert Taylor that he the said Herbert 
 Taylor shall and may take have hold and possess the said office and 
 place with other the premises for the term of his natural life ac- 
 cording to the tenor effect and true intent of these our Letters 
 Patent although the said Herbert Taylor be not invested with priest's 
 or any other sacred order and this freely quietly and lawfully without 
 any hindrance or disturbance whatsoever We will notwithstanding 
 that divine worship and alms and other works of piety of right to 
 be done in the said Hospital or Free Chapel should in no manner of 
 wise be neglected or omitted but should in all things be observed 
 and performed in a laudable manner and that all the accustomed 
 charges of that Hospital or Free Chapel should be duly supported 
 from time to time Lastly we will and by these presents for us our 
 heirs and successors grant that these our Letters Patent or the 
 inrolment thereof shall and may be good firm valid sufficient and 
 effectual in the law against and concerning us our heirs and suc- 
 cessors and may have and retain their full force in and by all things 
 according to the effect and true intent of the same and this without 
 account or any other thing therefore in any manner to be rendered 
 paid or done to us our heirs or successors notwithstanding the true 
 annual value or true certainty of the premises or either of them be 
 not expressed and specified and notwithstanding the not reciting 
 or not mentioning any former Grant or Letters Patent of the
 
 62 
 
 premises or either of them heretofore made or granted by any of 
 our Pi-edecessors or Ancestors or any other omission imperfection 
 defect matter cause or thing whatsoever to the contrary thereof in 
 any wise notwithstanding In witness &c Witness &c the twentieth 
 day of January. 
 
 By writ of Privy Seal. 
 
 LOKDOK 
 
 R. CLA.Y, SON, AKD TAYLOR, VRINTEHS.

 
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