For the houses founded before 1216, no name has been found for this period for Bridge End, Dunstall (or Tunstall), Marlborough, Marmont or Mattersey (for Dunstall, see Haverholme, p. 202 n. 5).

For the Masters of the Order, see under Sempringham.

It is noticeable that in the Gilbertine lists, so far as they can be reconstructed, a few names recur in two or three or more lists; and that these include three exceptionally rare names, Cyprian, Gamel and Torphinus. The repetition of these names strongly suggests that it was a common practice to move priors from one house to another. Though this may seem clear in general, it cannot, in the nature of the case, be proved by identity of name alone in any individual instance. Thus, rather than encumber the lists with cross-references of doubtful value, it seems best to provide an index of the names which occur in the lists: a full index, for convenience, of names appearing more than once, but obviously more significance is likely to attach to Cyprian, Torphinus, Gamel and Vivian and possibly to Adam, Eudo, Martin and Simon, than to the very common names Gilbert, Henry, John and William. In each case only one or two occ. dates have been given: for fuller details, see lists.

Adam: 1164 (Lincoln);1208 (Sempringham); 1214, 1219 (Malton).

Alan:1164 (Haverholme); 1226 (Newstead).

Baldwin: 1219, 1220 (York).

Bartholomew:1201Χ10, 1208 (York).

Cf. B.:1197Χ9, –c. 1200 (Catley).

Cyprian: 1197Χ9,1177Χ1212 (Sixhills);1201, 1204Χ7 (Malton).

Eudo: 1176Χ1203 (Sixhills); 1195, –1201 (Sempringham).

Gamel: 1202 (Alvingham); 1209 (Bullington).

Geoffrey: 1174 (Alvingham).

*Gilbert: () St Gilbert, the founder, Master of Sempringham 1131c. 1188; (2) Other references:1169 (Malton), 1202 (Lincoln); 1205–25 (Master of Sempringham).

Of the houses founded before 1216, no name has been found for this period for Cammeringham, Charlton, Hornby, Kalendar, *Newbo, Snelshall and West Ravendale.

N. Backmund, O. Praem., Monasticon Praemonstratense,II (Straubing, 1952), has lists for all houses, based on Colvin.

ALNWICK (Northumberland), St Mary f. 1147×8

List in Colvin, p. 392; also by A. M. Oliver in Proc. Soc. of Antiquaries of Newcastle, 3rd series, IX (1919–20), 42ff.

Baldwin 1148–1152 First abb.; d. 1152 (dates as Ch. Melrose, p. 35, f. 19, confirmed by BM Cott. MS Tib. A. X, f. 164). D. 5 Nov. (BM Cott. MS Calig. A. viii, f. 24).

Patrick 1152–1167 Second abb.; d. 1167 (dates as Ch. Melrose, pp. 35, 37, ff. 19–20).

Richard 1167– Prev. pr. Alnwick (Ch. Melrose, p. 37, f. 20). Occ. 1167×84 (EYC, I, no. 268; cf. no. 268).

Gilbert –1208 Occ. (G.) j.d. + 10 May 1197 (Ctl. Guisborough, II, p. 50); d. 1208 – ‘quondam’, and so perhaps res. earlier (Ch. Melrose, p. 53, f. 28).

Adam –1208 Dep. 9 Dec. 1208 (ib., pp. 53–4, f. 28rr–v). The Ch. Melrose reads: ‘Obiit Gilebertus quondam abbas de Alnewic cui successit in anno sequenti Galfridus abbas de Driburc (Dryburgh) … Adam abbas de Alnewic, depositus est V° Id. Decembris’. Occ. 20 Nov. 1208 (Northumberland and Durham F., no. 34).

Geoffrey 1209– Prev. abb. Dryburgh, el. 1209 (see above).

Benedict Occ. 1212 (Colvin, citing C. L. Hugo, Sacrae Antiquitatis Monumenta (Stivagii, 1725), pp. 64ff., ep. lxx of Gervase, abb. Prémontré; on whom see C. R. Cheney in Bull. John Rylands Lib., XXXIII (1950–1), 25ff.).

The purpose and scope of this book

This book aims at providing lists of all the known superiors of the religious houses that existed in England and Wales between 940 and 1216. The term religious house is understood as covering all establishments of monks, regular canons and nuns, whether of abbatial or lower rank and whether autonomous or dependent. Roughly speaking, therefore, it comprises all the houses existing between these dates that are listed in the relevant sections of Medieval Religious Houses: England and Wales – all, that is, save those of whose heads we know nothing – but the military orders are not included, nor are hospitals. Similarly, the groups of nuns staffing hospitals or serving guests or pilgrims on the outskirts of an abbey are not included unless they ranked as a religious community possessed of an income and domestic autonomy.

Four classes of establishment are represented: the autonomous abbey; the autonomous priory; the dependent priory with regular life; and smaller houses, priories or cells, whose exact status it is often difficult to define. Our lists make no claim to classify or divide the last group, as Medieval Religious Houses attempts to do; our concern is solely with the heads of all houses (save hospitals and the like) who are called in the documents abbots and priors. The exact distinction, in terms of authority and prestige, between the classes of abbots and priors, and the raison d'être of the status of a given house, are by no means as easy to define as might be expected.

WITHAM (Soms), St Mary f. 1178×9

List in VCH Soms, II, 128. Basis in MVH of St Hugh, and Ch. Witham, ed. E. M. Thompson, BJRL, XVI (1932), 482–506, and A. Wilmart, Analecta Praemonstratensia, IX (1933), 215–32 – p. nos. in brackets. The MVH, ii, 1 (1, pp. 46–7, cf. p. XXV) describes the first two prs. without naming them: the first soon res., the second d.; St Hugh was the third from c. 1180.

Narbert c. 1178–c. 1179 For his name see Le Couteulx, Ann., II, 456 (cf. E. M. Thompson (1930), p. 51).

Hamo c. 1179–c. 1180 Named in cht. of c. 1180 (Ctl. Bruton, no. 138), and so presumably the second pr. who d. c. 1180.

St Hugh of Avalon c. 1180–1186 For him as pr. see MVH, bk. ii (1, 47ff.); E. M. Thompson (1930), pp. 54–5; MO, pp. 381ff.; Gir. Camb., VII, 92–3. Res. when el. bp. of Lincoln, May 1186 (consec. 21 Sept.) but retained authority over Witham (Ch. Witham, pp. 506– (231)); d. 1200. Occ. 1181 (MVH, ii, 6, I, 64–8; cf. p. XXV).

Albert de Portes c. 1186– M. of Portes and Witham; dep. by St Hugh (Ch. Witham, pp. 506–6 (231)). Occ. 1191 (Ch. Witham, p. 506).

*Bovo –c. 1201 M. Chartreuse (MVH, ii, 3, 1, 54); res. c. 1200 (Le Couteulx, Ann., II, 280); cf. E. M. Thompson (1930), pp. 70, 74.

Robert I c. 1201– M. and procurator Witham, made pr. +1200 (MVH, v, 16, II, 195; cf. Ch. Witham, p. 502n.); occ. 1205 (Ch. Witham, pp. 501ff. (224ff.)).