Ancient funerall monuments within the vnited monarchie of Great Britaine, Ireland, and the islands adiacent with the dissolued monasteries therein contained: their founders, and what eminent persons haue beene in the same interred. As also the death and buriall of certaine of the bloud royall; the nobilitie and gentrie of these kingdomes entombed in forraine nations. A worke reuiuing the dead memory of the royall progenie, the nobilitie, gentrie, and communaltie, of these his Maiesties dominions. Intermixed and illustrated with variety of historicall obseruations, annotations, and briefe notes, extracted out of approued authors ... Whereunto is prefixed a discourse of funerall monuments ... Composed by the studie and trauels of Iohn Weeuer.

The Priory of Clerkenwell.

This Priory was likewise so called of a Well not farre from the West end of the Church of the said Priory. Which Well tooke name of the Parish Clarkes in London, who of old time (saith Stow in his Suruay of the said Citie) were accustomed there yearely to assemble, and to play some large history of holy Scripture.

This Priory was founded in the yeare of our redemption, one thousand one hundred, or thereabouts, by Iordan Briset, a wealthy and deuout Ba∣ron, the sonne of Rause, the sonne of Brian Briset, who gaue foureteene acres of ground lying in the field neare vnto the said Clarkes well, to build there∣upon an house for religious Votaries, blacke Nunnes. Which donation I haue read depensild vpon a table in the Church, which by the fall of the

Steeple (which tooke downe with it a great part of the Church) was bat∣tered all to peeces. The said Iordan with Muriell his wife (for shee is set downe to be co-foundresse with him) dedicated this their sacred structure to the honour of God, and the Assumption of the blessed Virgine Mary.

Richard Beauveyes Bishop of London, about the yeare 1112. gaue cer¦taine Lands at Muswell hill to the said Nunnery, now in the possession of Sir Nicholas Roe knight,* 1.1 confirmed by the Cartulary of king Stephen; as it is in the Lieger booke of the said house. Sciatis me confirmasse, &c. locum suum, &c. et quicquid Ricardus Episcopus London et Iordanus fil••us Bricij, et alij Barones mei rationabiliter in Elemosinam dederunt. Henry the second, he confirmes the scite of the house and land thereunto adioyning, thus. Sci∣atis me concessisse, &c. Ecclesie beate Marie de fonte Clericorum, et Moniali∣bus ibidem deo seruientibus omnia subscripta, &c. scilicet ex dono Iordanis de Briseta et Murielis vxoris eius locum in quo habitant, infra ambitum muri earum, et terram quam extra habent circa muros earum in eodem cam∣po, &c.

The names of the Prioresses of this house from the foundation vnto the dissolution, as they are set downe in the same booke, were these. First Chri∣stiana. 2. Ermegard. 3. Hawisia. 4. Eleonora. 5. Alesia. 6. Cecilia. 7. Mar∣gerie Whatvile. 8. Isabell. 9. Alice Oxeney. 10. Amice Marcy. 11 Denys Bras. 12. Margery Bray. 13. Ioan Lewkenor. 14. Ioan Fulham. 15. Kathe∣rine Braybroke. 16. Luce Attewood. 17. Ioan Viene. 18. Margaret Bakwell. 19. Isabell Wentworth. 20. Margaret Bull. 21. Agnes Clifford. 22. Kathe∣rine Greene. 23. Isabell Hussey. And the last Lady Prioresse of this house was Isabell Sackvile, of the right honourable Familie of the Sackviles, the Ancestors of Sir Edward Sackvile, now Baron of Buckhurst, and Earle of Dorset. She lieth buried vnder a marble stone in the Church of the Nun∣nery neare vnto the high Altar, whereupon this Inscription, or Epitaph, is engrauen in brasse.

Hic iacet Isabella Sackvile,* 1.2 quae fuit Priorissa nuper Prioratus de Clerk∣enwel, tempore dissolutionis eiusdem Prioratus, quae fuit 21. Octobris, Ann. Dom. Millesimo quingentesimo septuagesimo: et Ann. Reg. Regin. Elisab. Dei gra. &c. duodecimo.

She made her last Will and Testament (as I finde it in the Prerogatiue office) the nineteenth day of February, in the said twelfth yeare of Queene Elizabeth, wherein she bequeathes her body to be buried in Clarkenwell Church, and ordaines the right honourable the Lord of Buckhurst her Cosin, the ouerseer of this her Will, if it shall please his Lordship to take the paines:

She liued many yeares in the various dayes of diuers Princes: for I finde in the pedegree of the Earle of Dorset, that one William Sackevyle, by his Will and Testament, dated the tenth day of August, in the 21. yeare of King Henry the seuenth, gaue to his Neece Isabell Sackvyle a certaine Le∣gacie, she being as then a Nunne in the Priory of Clerkenwell.

Iordan Briset the foresaid Founder,* 1.3 died the 17. of September, about the yeare of our Lord, 1124. and Muriell his wife, the first of May next fol∣lowing: they were buried both together in the Chapter-house of this Church, now called the old Vestrie.

In the 〈…〉〈…〉 the Chancell is a faire marble Tombe, with the 〈◊〉〈◊〉 of a dead man lying vpon his shroud:* 1.4 the most artificially cut ••n stone that euer man beheld; all the plates of brasse are stolne away, onely some few peeces remaining, containing these words.

..... Hospitalitate inclytus, genere preclarus...... Hanc Vrnam offcij causa....... Ecce quem cernis tuo nomini semper deuotum Suscipe in sinum Virgo Maria tuum. Spes me non fallat quam in te semper habebam Virgo da facilem..........

This Monument was erected to the memory of Sir William Weston knight, Lord Prior of Saint Iohns Ierusalem, at the time of the dissolution of the said Priory, to whom Henry the eight for his maintenance had allow∣ed one thousand pound of yearely pension during his life. Of which summe he receiued neuer a penny: for so it fortuned, that vpon the seuenth day of May, 1540. being Ascention day, and the same day of the dissolution of the house, he was dissolued by death, which strooke him to the heart, at the first time when he heard of the dissolution of his order.

All the Funerall Monuments of Antiquitie in this Church (which were many) as you may reade in Stowes Suruay, are quite defaced.

This Priory was valued at the suppression to be possest of 282. l. 16. s. 5. d. of yearely reuenues.

Within the close of this Nunnery is a faire spatious house, built of late by Sir Thomas Challoner knight deceased: vpon the Frontispice whereof these verses were depensild, now altogether obliterated.

Casta fides superest, velatae tecta sorores Ista relegatae desuruere licet: Nam venerandus Hymen hic vota ingalia seruat Vestalemque focum mente fouere studet.

The Nunnery (now the inheritance of the right honourable Sir William Cauendish knight, Lord Ogle, Viscount Mansfield, and Earle of Newcastle) being opposite to this new braue building, ministred (belike) occasion and matter for the making of this said Inscription.

This Hexamiter following is painted vnder a Sunne diall in the entrance vnto the Nunnery.

Non aliter pereo species quam futilis Vmbrae.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Lib in lib. C••ll
• * 1.2

  Isabell Sackvile Prioresse of S. Maries Clerken∣well.
• * 1.3

  Iordan Briset & Muriell his wife.
• * 1.4

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