A HISTORY OF LONDON lifts his right hand in benediction, while in his left he holds a long cross. On each side there is a long candle in a candlestick. In the base, under the arch of a bridge, the prow of a boat is seen on the water. Legend : — SIGILL BEATI : THOM PONTE : LON RTIRIS 37. THE COLLEGE OF ST. LAU- RENCE POUNTNEY John Poultney, mayor of London, added to the church of St. Lawrence, ' Candelwyk Street,' ' a beautiful chapel in honour of Corpus Christi and St. John Baptist, and in it established a chantry of a master and six other secular priests,^ apparently in augmentation of an earlier founda- tion of two chaplains ^ by Thomas Cole. This must have occurred at the beginning of the rei^n of Edward III, since from the terms of the kind's petition to the pope on Poultney's behalf in July, 1332, it is evident that the chantry was then in existence.* As endowment Poultney gave the rectory of St. Laurence, the advowson of which he obtained from Westminster Abbey in 1334 ; * a messuage in that parish in 1336;' messuacjes and rents in the parishes of St. Martin Orgar St. Bride, St. Margaret Bridge Street, and" in seven other London parishes,' and the manor of Catford*in Kent in 1338; the advowsons of the churches of West Tilbury, co. Essex, Speld- hurst, CO. Kent, Cheveley, co. Cambridge, Shen- ley, CO. Herts, and Napton, co. Warwick, in 1345 ; ' and the manor of Speldhurst in 1346.^" Poultney's care for his foundation was unremit- ting : he used the king's interest with the pope on more than one occasion," and the result may be seen in the many papal concessions he re- ceived, among them being a relaxation of penance granted in 1337 ^^ and 1345" to those who assisted the chapel with their alms. The scheme appears to have been of gradual development, for the college did not take its final form until 1344, when the number of chaplains was increased from seven to thirteen,'* and the statutes were not ■ The chantry is said to be founded near the church of St. Laurence. Rymer, Toed. (Rec. Com ii (2), 841. ■^' 'Ibid. Seven priests, ii, 536. A royal grant of Jan. 1334 mentions the master and chaplains. Cal. of Pat. 1334-8, p. 60. ' Stow, 5urv. of Lond. (ed. Strype), ii, 1 89.
- Rymer, Feed, ii (2), 841.
' Doc. of D. and C. of Westm., Lond. L. (1)
Cal. of Pat. 1334-8, p. 262.
' Ibid. 1338-40, p. I. 8 jijjj pp jQ^^ ^^^ • He had obtained the royal licence for the ap- propriation of these churches to the college. Ibid •343-S.P-489- "Ibid. 1345-8, p. 64; Hasted, Hist, of Kent, , 428 " Cal. of Pap. Letters, ii, 383, C4.2. " Ibid, ii, 536. " Ibid, iii, 175.^'^^ " Cal. of Pap. Petitions, i, 37. 574 drawn up before 1347." These provided " that on the death of the first master the chaplains should choose another from among themselves and present him to the bishop of London ; a sub-master," appointed and removable by the master, was to have the custody of the books and ornaments and oversight of divine service, and also administration of the college during a vacancy ; he was to receive 53;. 4^. a year, the other chaplains 40J. each, and out of these salaries they were to find their clothes, which were to be of the same kind ; the chaplains and the four choristers were to reside in the house provided for this purpose near the church, to have their meals in the common refectory, and to sleep in the dormitory ; the chaplains were to be always resident ; they were never to enter a tavern, they were not to go out without leave of the master nor to walk about the City without a companion assigned by him, and they were to be within the gates before nightfall. As regards services, they were to observe the use of Sarum ; each priest was to have cure of souls amoncr members of the college and parishioners for a week in turn ; all the priests were required to be present at mattins, vespers, and compline and to remain in the choir until the service was ended. A few rules were made concerning the college property : a tripartite inventory of goods was to be made every year, the three parts being kept by the master, the sub-master, and the chaplains, and shown to the bishop of London at least once a year ; the master was to apply any surplus in- come to the benefit of the college, and he was forbidden, even with the consent of the chap- lains, to grant a corrody or pension out of the revenues ; there was never to be a common seal. The endowment of the college at that time may be presumed to have been ample, and to this must be added the property bequeathed to it for the maintenance of chantries in the church during the next half-century ; yet for some unex- " They are undated, but John de Stratford, who died in 1346, is called the late archbishop of Canter- bury. Wilson, Hist, of Parish of St. Laurence Pountne-i, 53; "Ibid. 53-7. A bequest of a chalice and paten was made to Sir John Norwiche, sub-m.nster, by Idonia Salesbury in 1386. Sharpe, Cal. oflVills, ii, 274. " For this they had special leave from the pope. Cal. Pap. Petitions, i, 39. " Idonia, formerly wife of Robert Salesbur)-, left for this purpose lands and tenements in the parishes of Allhallows the Less, St. Michael Crooked Lane, and St. Olave Hart Street. Sharpe, CaL of irills,, 274. Edelena Atte Legh ordered the sale of lands for the endowment of a chantry. Ibid, ii, 179. Gilbert Marion in I 391 left to the master and parishioners his tenement at the corner of the churchyard. Ihid. ii, 290. Margaret, widow of William Wotton, left to the master and wardens in 1404 part of a tenement in the parish of St. Magnus. Ibid ii, 361.
