St. Mary’s Medieval Church, New Ross

St. Mary’s Medieval Church, New Ross

Niall C.E.J. O’Brien

The medieval town church of St. Mary in New Ross is one of the finest surviving medieval churches. The walls of the chancel along with the north and south transepts are still standing though roofless.[1] In 1813 a new Church of Ireland church was built on the site of the nave as far as the chancel arch.[2] But St. Mary’s church was not the original parish church of New Ross.

Church of St. Michael

The original parish church of New Ross was the Church of St. Michael. This was built on Michael Street by the town’s people and was ministered by Canons Regular. At the dissolution of the monasteries the church was part of the property of Dunbrody abbey. Queen Elizabeth granted the church ‘to the Trinity poor for the maintenance of a secular priest to say Divine Service’.[3] Late in the reign of Queen Elizabeth or early in that of King James the church of St. Michael ceased to be used as a parish church and was used as a warehouse. In the 1640s a few Jesuits reopened the building as a church and it stayed open until 1670 when the Jesuits left New Ross. In 1700 the church site was given over for the building of an army barracks.[4]

Church of St. Mary

The foundation of the church of St. Mary is traditionally ascribed to William Marshal (d.1219) but there is no supporting evidence for this. In about 1227 William Marshal the younger granted the St. Mary’s chapel and the church of St. Evin’s (also in New Ross) to the Priory of St. John the Baptist at Kilkenny. The priory was a house of Regular Canons of St. Augustine and they ministered at St. Mary’s until the dissolution of the priory in 1541.[5] The priory was then granted to Kilkenny Corporation.[6] The tithes of the rectory of New Ross, formerly attached to St. Mary’s, were also granted to Kilkenny Corporation.[7]

The church of St. Mary was a finer and larger building (one of the largest medieval town churches) than St. Michael’s. The parishioners of New Ross asked for St. Mary’s to be made it into the parish church, dedicated to St. Mary and St. Michael. In 1684 Robert Leigh described the church as ‘one of the largest parish churches in Ireland, having a high steeple, crowned with lead, a ring of five bells and a fair pair of organs’.[8] The Norman tower fell in 1763 and damaged part of the nave.[9] By 1792 the whole church was in a ‘most wretched’ condition. In 1800 New Ross Corporation voted £500 for repairs and more money in 1806. In 1813 it was decided to rebuild the church. The new church occupied the nave of the medieval church and was partly financed by a loan of £2.400 from the Board of First Fruits.[10]

The east wall of the medieval chancel has three elegant lancet windows. The gables of the north and south transepts also have three lancet windows with another set of three on the south wall of the chancel. The dressing stone for the windows was Dundry stone, imported from the Bristol area.[11]

The south transept may have been built later than other parts of the church. In the fifteenth century Patrick Barrett, Bishop of Ferns, established St. Mary’s as the diocesan church as the old diocesan seat at Ferns was under attack from the Irish. Bishop Barrett rebuilt the south transept.[12]

St. Mary’s has a good selection of medieval tombstones and effigies, many dating from the thirteenth and early fourteenth century.[13]

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The series of photos below follows around the church in a clockwise direction from the west front of the nineteenth century church.

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West front of 19th century church

19th century church on right 

north transept of medieval church in background

West wall of north transept

Site map on gate in the doorway of west wall of north transept

Sculptured head on west doorway of north transept 

Grave slabs inside the north transept

Grave slabs and windows on east wall of north transept

Grave slab in doorway in east wall of north transept

Lancet windows on gable of north transept

North wall of chancel

Junction of chancel (left) with north transept (right)

Inside south wall of chancel

East window of chancel

South-east corner of chancel

South wall of chancel with three lancet windows

East wall of south transept with two side chapels

Two side chapels on east wall of south transept

Doorways to the under-croft beneath the south transept 

Inside the south transept, looking eastwards

Inside the south transept

Inside the south transept

Inside south transept

Inside the south transept

South-west corner of south transept

West wall of south transept

View over New Ross and the River Barrow from churchyard

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[1] Tom Dunne (ed.), New Ross-Rosponte-Ros Mhic Treoin: An Anthology Celebrating 800 years (Wexford County Library Service, 2007), p. 43

[2] Rev. James Leslie, Ferns Clergy and Parishes (Author, 1936), p. 228

[3] Rev. James Leslie, Ferns Clergy and Parishes, p. 227

[4] Tom Dunne (ed.), New Ross-Rosponte-Ros Mhic Treoin, p. 48

[5] Tom Dunne (ed.), New Ross-Rosponte-Ros Mhic Treoin, p. 43

[6] A. Gwynn & R.N. Hadcock, Medieval Religious Houses Ireland (Irish Academic Press, Blackrock, 1988), p. 182

[7] Rev. James Leslie, Ferns Clergy and Parishes, p. 228

[8] Rev. James Leslie, Ferns Clergy and Parishes, pp. 227, 228

[9] Tom Dunne (ed.), New Ross-Rosponte-Ros Mhic Treoin, p. 43

[10] Rev. James Leslie, Ferns Clergy and Parishes, p. 228

[11] Tom Dunne (ed.), New Ross-Rosponte-Ros Mhic Treoin, p. 43

[12] Peter Harbison, Guide to National & Historic Monuments of Ireland (Gill & Macmillan, Dublin, 1992), p. 337

[13] Tom Dunne (ed.), New Ross-Rosponte-Ros Mhic Treoin, p. 43

Gloucestershire Inquisitions Post mortem, Henry III, selective index

Gloucestershire Inquisitions Post mortem, Henry III, selective index

Niall C.E.J. O’Brien

In 1903 the British Record Society published the Inquisitions Post Mortem for Gloucestershire, covering the years 1236 to 1300 and edited by Sidney J. Madge.[1] The publication had no index except for a table of contents. This table had a reference number for the inquisition, the name of the person, or the institution concerned, the place of the writ, date of same, regal year, the reference number in the Chancery Series of inquisitions at the Public Record Office and the page number in the Record Society book.

The editor noted that plans were in place in 1903 for an index of names and places once all the inquisitions from the reign of Henry III to Edward III were published. The index below is a selective list that may aid historians and others who are interested in the research of buildings and events rather than following the great and the good.

View over Gloucester

Index

Church enlargement, 8

Dovecots, 7, 20, 21, 40 (2), 41, 42, 50, 53, 55

Fishing, 20, 21, 55

Fruit trees, 9

Gloucester castle construction, 37, 45, 46

Gloucester built houses, 15

Grants from the sick bed, 44

Great War, 51

Lewes, Battle of, 36

Llanthony priory, 35, 37, 38, 45, 46

Mills, 3, 7, 9, 11, 17, 18, 20, 21, 27, 29, 33, 40, 45, 50, 52 (2), 55, 56, 58

No stock on manor, 52, 53, 57

Oats in custody, 24

Poor land, 10, 11

Sandy wastes, 26

Ship, 39

Shop pulled down, 36

Soldiers for the Forest of Dene, 24

Weirs, 7, 13, 37, 38, 45

Wheat in a cemetery, 24

Wood destroyed, 5

Work services, 31, 32, 54

Work services, value of, 20, 21, 27, 41, 42, 48

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[1] Sidney J. Madge (ed.), Abstracts of Inquisitions Post Mortem for Gloucestershire, Part IV, 20 Henry III to 29 Edward 1, 1236-1300 (British Record Society, 1903), pp. i-xvi, 1-241  

Edmund Mortimer and the treasurership of York

Edmund Mortimer and the treasurership of York

Niall C.E.J. O’Brien

On 13^th November 1263 King Henry III promised to Edmund Mortimer (Mortuo Mari) that he would provide him with an ecclesiastical benefice as soon as one became available.[1] Edmund Mortimer was the second, but eventually first surviving son of Roger Mortimer, Lord of Wigmore.[2]

But before the king could carry out his promise the Battle of Lewis intervened. This battle (14^th May 1264) was part of the ongoing struggle between Simon de Montfort (Monte Forti), Earl of Leicester, and Henry III on who should be the chief advisers of the king; English nobles or nobles from the English areas of France. The King lost the Battle of Lewis and was taken captured by Simon de Montfort.

Henry III and de Montfort claim the treasurership of York

While in captivity Simon de Montfort used the presence of the King to issued letters purporting to be sanctioned and agreed by Henry III. In one such letter, Henry III later recalled, Simon de Montfort affixed the king’s seal to a letter granting the treasury-ship of York to Amaury de Montfort, his son, against the will Henry III.[3]

The treasurer’s position in York cathedral was seen for many years as a rich reward for political favourites. In January 1256 John Mansell was made treasurer of York. John Mansell was a close friend and trusted adviser of King Henry III.[4] John Mansell was also a noted pluralist holding many church positions across the country. In 1262 John Mansell was still treasurer at York.[5] But by 1263 he had fled the country and never returned to England.[6] Simon de Montfort was therefore attempting to change not just the government but the top positions in the church that were still loyal to the king.

On 28^th May 1265 Henry III escaped from his captors, assisted by Roger Mortimer of Wigmore.[7] On 7^th August 1265 King Henry was a Worcester when he addressed a letter to the chapter of York informing them that the king had resumed full power and therefore revoked and annulled the grant made to Amaury de Montfort of the treasury-ship of York.[8]

Edmund becomes Treasurer of York

On 17^th September 1265 Henry III granted the treasurership position to Edmund de Mortimer and the chapter at York were to assign Edmund a stall in the choir and a place in the chapter.[9] Edmund de Mortimer was still a minor in 1265 when made treasurer. In 1282 he was said to be thirty years old and more (born 1252) and in 1301 was said to be forty years or more (born 1261). In 1268 Edmund Mortimer was at Oxford, studying theology at the university, when the constable of the castle was instructed to pay £20 towards Mortimer’s expenses.[10] Presumingly he didn’t get much money from York or the king had desired to endow Edmund Mortimer with special favour. Following his appointment as treasurer there was a protract dispute with Amaury de Montfort of the office and this may help restricted Edmund’s income from York.[11] In 1268 the case was at the Roman curia.[12]

It would appear that Rome had favoured Edmund, or not seriously object to him as in 1270 Edmund Mortimer was still listed as treasurer of York. He was a late teenager at that time. It is presumed that he didn’t do much in the way of actually accounting at York cathedral. The cartulary of the treasurership does not mention his name. The office of treasurer was created in 1218 with the prebend of Newthorp as endowment and the office received further endowments in 1242. Although the treasurership was the least of the four major dignities in York cathedral, the office was the next richest after the deanery. In 1291 it was valued at £233 10s 8d.[13]

York Cathedral 

In 1276 he was living at the king’s houses in Oxford, presumingly still studying at the university.[14] In the 1270s Edmund Mortimer had acquired a canonry and an unnamed prebendary at Hereford which he resigned in 1276 for the prebend of Huntington. By 1282 he had resigned Huntington and acquired the prebend of Hunderton.[15] Edmund Mortimer had also acquired a prebend in the Diocese of Salisbury which he neglected. In 1284 a letter of summons was sent to him by way of his vicar because the cathedral officials didn’t know where Edmund was living.[16]

Edmund become 2^nd lord Wigmore

In 1282 Edmund’s father died and Edmund succeeded to the family estates as 2^nd Baron Wigmore. As the second son, Edmund Mortimer had plans of a clerical career, may be end up as a bishop or archbishop. His elder brother, Ralph Mortimer was the initially heir to the family estates and was one time sheriff of Shropshire and Staffordshire in the area of family influence. But Ralph died before October 1274 and so Edmund became the heir and his clerical career was all but finished.[17] Shortly after succeeding to the family estates Edmund Mortimer resigned the treasurer of York and was succeeded there in 1285 by royal provision, by Bogo de Clare.[18]

Llewelyn ap Gruffurd

A few weeks after succeeding to the family estates Edmund Mortimer successively defeated Llewelyn ap Gruffudd, King of Wales, in an ambush. Llewelyn was separated from his army in the battle near Orewin Bridge and was killed later that day, 11^th December 1282, in a wood near Aberedw.[19] Edmund’s father had first acquired his mortal illness while on campaign against Llewelyn.[20]

Treasurership of York returns

The treasurership of York comes into the story of Llewelyn ap Gruffurd and Edmund Mortimer. After the battle of Evesham in 1265 Amaury de Montfort fled to France and pursued his clerical career there. In 1275 Amaury sailed to Wales with his sister, Eleanor de Montfort as she went to become wife of Llewelyn ap Gruffurd. But they were captured at sea by mercenaries of King Edward I and taken captive. Amaury de Montfort had a difficult imprisonment in Corfu castle until April 1282 when he agreed to never return to England without the invitation of the king, if released.

In 1278 Eleanor de Montfort married Llewelyn and died in child birth in 1282 a few months before her husband was killed. A few years later Amaury de Montfort left the church and became a knight and in 1301 was killed on campaign in Italy.[21]

Edmund Mortimer at Wigmore

In about 1285 Edmund Mortimer married Margaret, daughter of Sir William de Fiennes, second cousin of Queen Eleanor of Castile. Edmund Mortimer engaged himself fully in the administration and military duties of the estates and was called to Parliament on a number of occasions. On 17^th July 1304 Edmund Mortimer died and was buried at Wigmore.[22] He was succeeded by his son Roger Mortimer who in 1328 was created Earl of March.[23]

Edmund Mortimer the son

In the fourteenth century another son of Edmund and Margaret Mortimer, also called Edmund Mortimer, became rector of Hodnet in Shropshire and, as is said, treasurer of York cathedral.[24] Whatever about Hodnet rectory, Edmund’s name does not appear among the treasurers of York in the fourteenth century.[25] It would seem that Edmund the younger is confused with his father in this regard.

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[1] Calendar of Patent Rolls, Henry III, 1258-1266, p. 298

[2] A.B. Emden, A Biographical Register of the University of Oxford (Oxford University Press, 1989), p. 1316

[3] Calendar of Patent Rolls, Henry III, 1258-1266, p. 436

[4] Janet E. Burton (ed.), The Cartulary of the Treasurer of York Minster: And Related Documents (University of York, 1978), p. 27

[5] W.H. Bliss & J.A. Twemlow (eds.), Calendar of Papal Registers, volume V, 1398-1404 (Stationery Office, London, 1904), p. 383

[6] Janet E. Burton (ed.), The Cartulary of the Treasurer of York Minster: And Related Documents, p. 27

[7] Thomas F. Tout, ‘Mortimer, Roger’, in Dictionary of National Biography, Vo. 39, p. 133

[8] Calendar of Patent Rolls, Henry III, 1258-1266, p. 436

[9] A.B. Emden, A Biographical Register of the University of Oxford, p. 1316

[10] A.B. Emden, A Biographical Register of the University of Oxford, p. 1316

[11] G.E. Cockeye, The Complete Peerage (Alan Sutton, Gloucester, 1987), vol. IX, p. 281, note (f)

[12] Diana E. Greenway (ed.), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 6, York (London, 1999), p. 25

[13] Janet E. Burton (ed.), The Cartulary of the Treasurer of York Minster: And Related Documents, pp. v, 91

[14] A.B. Emden, A Biographical Register of the University of Oxford, p. 1316

[15] J.S. Barrow (ed.), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 8, Hereford (London, 2002), pp. 43, 44, 159

[16] Diana E. Greenway (ed.), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 4, Salisbury (London, 1991), p. 84

[17] G.E. Cockeye, The Complete Peerage, vol. IX, p. 281

[18] Diana E. Greenway (ed.), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 6, York (London, 1999), p. 109

[19] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llywelyn_ap_Gruffudd accessed on 15 May 2016

[20] Thomas F. Tout, ‘Mortimer, Roger’, in Dictionary of National Biography, Vo. 39, p. 134

[21] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaury_de_Montfort,_Canon_of_York accessed on 15 May 2016

[22] A.B. Emden, A Biographical Register of the University of Oxford, p. 1316

[23] G.E. Cockeye, The Complete Peerage, vol. VIII, p. 433

[24] http://whipplephoto.com/Genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I9541&tree=tree1 accessed on 15 May 2016

[25] B. Jones (ed.), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300-1541: Volume 6, Northern Province (London, 1963), pp. 12-15