In spite, however, of the undercurrent of heresy and the low standard of life and duty amongst the clergy in the county, there is evidence enough that the shrines of the saints and other centres of popular devotion were still frequented by worshippers. It was one of the special objects of the gild at Buckingham to do honour to the relics of St. Rumwald, [1] whose shrine stood in the parish church, with a lamp burning before it night and day [2] : and another favourite place of pilgrimage was the monastery of Ashridge, where a phial was trea- sured, containing a few drops of what was believed to be the Precious Bloodobtained at the same time and from the same source as the more famous relic at Hailes. [3] We hear of the rood of Wendover,[4] and of images of Our Lady at Missenden,[5] at Bradwell,[6] at High Wycombe, [7] to which frequent resort was made. The little chapel of Blessed Mary at Caversham, just over the border in Oxfordshire, but served by canons of Nutley Abbey in this county, was quite a storehouse of relics, for there might be seen the holy halter wherewith Judas was hanged (perhaps we may be permitted to wonder how it could ever convey a blessing to any one), the dagger that killed King Henry VI., the knife that slew King Edward the Martyr so many centuries before, and the image of ' an aungell with oon wyng that browght to Caversham the spere hedde that percyd our Saviour is syde upon the crosse ' ; besides an image of our Lady plated with silver, draped, after the manner of the time, with costly robes. Dr. London, who may in this respect be looked upon as an unprejudiced witness, testifies that there was great pilgrimage to this chapel, and that even during the few hours of his stay there came in more than a dozen people bringing offerings. From the same source we hear of the pilgrimage made to the image of Sir John Schorne in North Marston church, where he stood ' blessing a bote, whereunto they do say he conveyd the devill.' Lights, shrouds, crutches and images of wax hung about these shrines, just as they may be seen in continental churches of to-day. [8]
It is probable that only the more celebrated (and more valuable) of the images were removed by London ; he only spoke of removing the ' botyd ymage ' from North Marston and of having ' thoroughly
- ↑ Browne Willis, History of Buckingham, 63 (from the Patent Roll of 28 Henry VI.).
- ↑ Ibid. 84. John Barton, who founded the chantry called by his name in 1431, left money in his will or a lamp to burn before St. Rumwald night and day.
- ↑ See account of the monastery of Ashridge.
- ↑ Foxe, Acts and Monuments, iv. 580.
- ↑ Ibid. iv. 225.
- ↑ L. and P. Henry VIII. iv. 2217.
- ↑ For the chapel and image of Blessed Mary at Wycombe see a paper by W. H. St. John Hope in Records of Bucks, viii. 104-145.
- ↑ Wright, Dissolution of Monasteries, 221, 223, 225.
in it. It is not necessary to suppose that he compiled them merely on hearsay evidence, and added the page-references to give them a greater air of accuracy. It is far more probable that he used the word ' register ' in a looser sense than we do, and may have been referring to an Administration Act Book of Longland's for the year 1521. There is such a book extant, for the year 1544, to which allusion will be made later ; and in it delinquents are named successively, with their places of residence, their pleas, and their penances in very similar form to the accounts of the heresy trials in Ac ts and Monuments, iv. 220-240. There are also in existence some visitation reports of Bishop Longland's of great importance, to which no allusion is made in the Memoranda : so that the fact that the latter book^contains no account of heresy trials in 1521 is no proof that such trials did not take place.
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