The history and antiquities of Boston, and the villages of Skirbeck, Fishtoft, Freiston, Butterwick, Benington, Leverton, Leake, and Wrangle; comprising the hundred of Skirbeck, in the county of Lincoln. Including also a history of the East, West, and Wildmore fens, and copious notices of the Holland or Haut-Huntre fen ... sketches of the geology, natural history, botany, and agriculture of the district; a very extensive collection of archaisms and provincial words, local dialect, phrases, proverbs, omens, superstitions, etc. By Pishey Thompson. Illustrated with one hundred engravings.

ST. JA7MES'S PRIORY. 511
dissolution, were EUSEBIUS upon " Ecclesiasticus," and BEDE on 6" The Site of
the Holy Land, and the Places there." 1
JoHN ToMrsON gave, by will, dated 26th April, 1537, 21. 13s. 4d., to be paid
annually out of his lands in Butterwick and Freiston, to the Chapel of the
Blessed Trinity in Freiston Church, "as the wages and salary of an honest
priest, to sing and pray for the souls of my father and mother, and all Christian souls."'
In the Angmentation Office are several proceedings, in the 32 Henry VIII.,
on the part of the tenants of the late Prior of Freiston and Abbot of
Croyland, at Stotby and Hogsthorpe, to be exempt from the payment of
King's tax, for which their cattle had been distrained. The bills and answers
are on file in the Court of Augmentation; but whether any decree was
made, does not appear. The ground of the exemption, as stated in the
bills, was, that the sum of 501. sterling was paid by the abbot for the dismes
of the monastery of Croyland, and for the temporalities and spiritualities of the
Priory of Freiston.3
The compotus or valuation of the Cell at Freiston, as made in 1542, amounted
to 1051. 15s. 9d., and was rented for that amount to Edward Watson, gentleman,
for ninety-one years.4 This was the first survey after the dissolution. Some
time afterwards it was valued as follows:
~ s. d.
Revenue of the free tenants.4 15 8
C,, ustomary tenants............ 19 2 5
Tenants by indenture.......... 49 11 8
Tenants at will............ 14 14 9, SSustentation of the Ladies' light...... 1 12 6
s89 17 0
It was stated that since the first valuation, lands had been sold out of the
lease then granted, to the yearly value of 151. 8s. ld.,'"with allowance of
extinguishment of rent out of the same lease, 10s. 8d., and so remaineth to be
answered at this day, 891. 17s." as above stated.5 This lease to Watson was,
however, forfeited or cancelled; since.in 1556, the Cell at Freiston, with the
manor, and all land belonging to it, were leased to Richard Bolles for the term
of seventy-nine years.6 The rent is not stated. There is a curious, but unfortunately a mutilated MS., in the British Museumn,7 relating to this priory; the
date and title are destroyed, but it was taken some time between the 30th of
Henry VIII. (1538) and 1556. A portion of the income of the priory is then
stated as follow:
IN FREISTON.
X S.. s. cl.
Freeholders' rents........... 2 0 3
Tenants holding by copy of Court Roll........ 5 10 8
Tenants at will.. 11 5 10
A cock and two cockerills.............. 0 6
18 17 3
1 HarZ. additional MSS., No. 6413, p. 193; 3 /onasticon, new edition, vol. iii. p. 124.
being a volume written in the reign of Henry VII. 4 Augmentation Office Roll, 34 Henry VIII.
Cotton MSS., Tiberius, E. iii. p. 96.
This John Tomson resided in Freiston 1515; 5 Cotton MSS., Tiberius, E. iii. (a fragment).
he was Chamberlain of Corpus Christi Guild in 6 Monasticon, new edition, vol. iii. p. 125.
1522, and taxed to the subsidy in 1523. The Thom- 7 Cotton MSS., Tiberius, E. iii. p. 165 to 168.
sons were a numerous family at that time, residing
in Freiston, Leake, Wyberton, and Frampton.