The Middleton Accounts of 1526: #51
The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated 9th September. It was described as a payment to Toll, on the commandment of Sir Henry, when Toll went on pilgrimage to the sweet rood of Garendon in Leicestershire. The amount was 12 pence, which was the equivalent of about £22.06 today.
In the Middleton Manuscripts, from the time of Sir Henry to his grandson Sir Francis I Willoughby, there are multiple entries that make mention of servants and workers on the Willoughby estates with the surname Toll. Unfortunately, most do not have a forename provided. In the majority of these entries, Toll was based at Wollaton Hall.
The sweet rood of Garendon refers to a highly venerated crucifix, also called the Holy Cross, at Garendon Abbey. It is believed that this was acquired by the Abbey in the 16th century and it became an object of local pilgrimage afterwards. Garendon Abbey was a Cistercian abbey located near Loughborough. It was founded in 1133 by Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester. The Abbey is believed to have been quite a large complex that occupied an area about 70m x 80m.
It appears that the Abbey lost its way. One of the abbots was actually married, another reportedly was Jewish, another was grievously attacked by a lay-brother and another had to resign because he allowed the lay-brothers to have a habit of drinking beer, which was forbidden. By the 14th century, Garendon Abbey began to have financial difficulties, which it never managed to recover from. In 1535, it was reported that “the large old monastery was partly ruinous”. In 1536, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Abbey church was completely destroyed and the remaining decaying monastic buildings were left to fall into total ruin. It is unknown what happened to the Holy Cross, but it is likely that it was destroyed.
Toll’s pilgrimage to Garendon would have been an act of pilgrimage by proxy. In medieval times, wealthy, aging or unwell individuals often paid their servants or others to travel to make a pilgrimage to a shrine on their behalf. Toll would have walked to Garendon Abbey and prayed before the Holy Cross for Sir Henry’s intentions and delivered the financial offering as commanded by his master.
Further Reading:
W. H. Stevenson, Report on the Manuscripts of Lord Middleton, Historical Manuscripts Commission, 1911. p.384.
“Garendon”, The Cistercians in Yorkshire, https://www.dhi.ac.uk/blogs/cistercians/abbeys/garendon/
“Garendon Abbey”, Historic England Research Records, https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=919643&resourceID=19191
Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.
Comments