I. Carta Rogeri de Lascy de ecclesia de Rachedale facta nobis.*

NIUERSIS sanete matris ecclesie filijs tam presen- tib} quam futuris, Rog. de Lascy, constab. Cestrie, salutem. Nouerit uniuersitas vestre me dedisse et hac presenti carta mea confirmasse Deo et beate Marie et Abbati et

* This is the third instance of an appropriation of a benefice to the convent at Stanlawe, and apology for the insertion of the clear account by Dr. Whitaker of the steps taken to legalize the appropriation, would be at least superfluous. It ought to be premised, that it was not merely necessary for that purpose to obtain the patron's grant; but a license from the king, and a confirmation by the ordinary, and sometimes from the supreme pontiff, were requisite, as both the king and the ordinary had an interest in the benefice by the contingency of a lapse; an event which could not happen if the benefice were appropriated to a corporation. The royal license will appear hereafter.

Dr. Whitaker says, " The following analysis will prove, as at Whalley, the here ditary though subordinate patronage of the Deans, the existence of a vicarage before the appropriation of the rectory, and the paramount rights of the Lascies; and it will also discover another circumstance in the constitution of this benefice, which was neither found in that of Whalley nor Blackburn, namely, that the mesne lords, еo nomine, had some conjunctive claim upon the patronage, and were to be made parties to the alienation. This last circumstance evidently arose from the compara tive lateness of the foundation, and from the manor being already in other and independent hands.

"The nature of these several rights will be explained by the steps which it was necessary to take in order to procure surrenders of them previous to the appropria tion of the benefice to the Abbey of Stanlawe.

136 ¿Tit. De iladjeDale,

monachis meis Loci Benedicti de Stanlawe ecclesiam de Rached. cum omnib} ptinentijs suis in puram et ppetuam elemosynaim p salute anime mee et uxoris mee et omnium heredum meorum, neenon p salute anime patris mei et matris mee et p anima Roberti de Lascy et omnium antecessorum meorum, libere et quiete, sicut ulla elemo- syna liberius et quietius dari potest. Et ideo volo et firmiter pcipio omnib} heredib} et balliuis meis ut hanc eandem elemosynam meam

"Roger de Lascy gave the chureh of Rochdale to that convent, after the death of Geoffrey the dean, whom he describes as having been in possession of it before he succeeded to the honor of Pontefract, which was in 1193. This is the first notice I have met with of the church. The dean here mentioned I suppose to have been Geoffrey the elder, and that ho held the rectory, properly so called, as a member of the deanery of AVhalley, and in his own proper patronage. But Geoffrey had a younger son, Robert, the first and only parson of Alvetham, to whom he had given the rectory of Rochdale al=o. Now as the rectory was by this grant to determine with the life of Geoffrey the elder, it seems a necessary conclusion, that Robert died before his father, who, after the son's death, presented himself to the benefice.

"The date of this last transaction is nearly fixed by the confirmation of William de Cornhull, bishop of Lichfield, who sat in that see from 1214 to 1223.

"But, at the same time, there was an ancient vicarage in this church, of the species referred to under Whalley, and this was held by Geoffrey the younger. The next step, therefore, in order to procure a complete appropriation, which the monks aimed at, was to obtain a resignation from him, in which having succeeded, Alex ander de Stavenby, who succeeded Cornhull, (A.D. 1224,) reciting the surrender of the first vicarage by Geoffrey, consolidates once more the rectory and vicarage, and appropriates the whole to the abbey of Stanlaw, saving, however, the ordinary vicarage. This was very indefinite.

"Previously, however, to this transaction, or perhaps even to the former, three other parties were to be taken into the account. John de Eland and John de Lascy de Cromwelbotham; these being coparceners of the mesne manor of Roch dale, seem to have had some claim upon the advowson, as regardant to the manor; therefore both gave in their resignation, the first of all his rights, as well in the patronage as glebe lands of the church of Rochdale; the second, of his rights in the patronage of the church of Castleton in Rochdale.

"Another party yet remained to be disposed of, and that was Geoffrey de Buckley, who by the bounty of his uncle Geoffrey, the dean, was possessed of a third part of the benefice, 'tam in garbis quam in minutis.' But he was equally complaisant with the rest, and by his cession, the object of the monks was finally accom plished.

2Tíй. Ъe »arijeoalc. 137

sicut pprium dñicum meuiu in omnib} manuteneant, warantizcnt, ct contra omnes defendant. Et quia decanus Whalleye, Galfridus nomine, hanc eandem ecclesiam tenuit, quando ego honorem de Pon- tefracto, post decessum Roberti de Lascy, antecessoris mei, iure hereditario suscepi, post decessum eius Abbas et prefati monachi mei Loci Benedicti de Stanlawe eandem ecclesiam ex integro possi- debunt. Hijs testib}, Ric. de Cestria, Eustachio de Cestria, fratrib] meis, Rob. Wallensi tune senesc., Willo de Lunguillers tune senesc. hospitij mei, Hug. Dispensatore, Thom. Dispensatore, Hug. de Dutton, Ad. de Dutton, Galfr. fratre eorum, Hendone dc Lunguillers, Henr. Wallensi, Galfr. Pincerna, magistro Waltero medico, Rie. clerico de Metheleya, Roberto clerico qui haue cartam scripsit, et multis alijs.