Prebendal Stalls

     Original prebendal stalls placed in the medieval cathedral were burnt in the Civil War. 48 new prebendal stalls at a cost of £600 were added during the restoration in 1660s.[1] Each stall had the location of the prebend’s name attached above the seat. They are a reminder of how canons and prebendary priests[2] of the cathedral were financially supported in the past.

Prebendal stalls for Cancellarius (seat of the Chancellor), Freeford, Pipa Minor, Ryton, Dasset Parva, Flixton, Stotfold and Bobenhull. The shields were drawn by the architect, George Pace.

 

The stipend was known as a praebenda. The prebendary was considered to have a spiritual right to receive certain profits for taking part in divine service in the cathedral. Each prebendary could only hold prebends in one church, but some held several prebends in their church and some, known as pluralists, flouted these rules. Today the office of prebendary at Lichfield is an honorary title with no income. They are given to senior parish priests usually for long service to the diocese.[3] Many cathedrals have rescinded this tradition.

          The Domesday Book, 1086, shows the church of St Chad (it was no longer a cathedral with the bishop moving to Chester) had five canons and they were supported by produce and profit, called commons, from cathedral estates, located mainly around Lichfield.[4] This was either an early prebendal arrangement or something similar. The most quoted origin for Lichfield’s prebendal system was by Bishop Roger de Clinton in the 1130s when he reorganized the cathedral, but historians now think this applied to the associated Coventry priory and has little to do with Lichfield.[5] William of Malmesbury (1095-1143) in his Gesta Pontificum Anglorum in 1125 wrote Athelwold in 822 appointed prebendaries, but this must be another misinterpretation. He said at the time of writing his book there were 19 prebends given to 11 priests and 8 deacons.

Prebendal stalls for Longdon, Weeford, Gaia Minor, Eccleshall, Ufton Decani, Whittington, Bishopshull and Hansacre.

 

    Sometime early in the 12th century, 1109-17 has been mentioned, the endowed prebend was developed, though a precise date when it started at Lichfield is not known. If Bishop Clinton is doubted, then 7 bishops from the beginning of the 12th-century were involved in arranging the prebends. It appears that poor cathedrals like Lichfield (also Chichester and Hereford) failed to give regular payments to prebends and its beginnings was spasmodic. Archbishop Hubert Walter's statute of 1195 for Lichfield stipulated that each canon should serve a minimum period of three months continuous residence a year and this suggests early on Lichfield could offer almost nothing.[6] By the 13th-century it is understood each prebendary had a fixed and independent income, but this was not always certain. This allowed cathedral canons and prebendaries to be self-supporting. Lucrative prebends created posts that attracted the younger sons of the nobility. Part of the endowment was retained in a common fund used to provide bread and money for the prebendary in residence. Camden, 1586, described the prebendal houses around the Close as ‘faire’.

 

  Lichfield had two types of prebends, one consisting of rentals from estates of various sizes that were leased for farming, industrial or residential purposes, and a second consisting of the income from specific church foundations. Confirmation in 1255 by Bishop Weseham of all its existing prebendal endowments appears to mark the end of founding new prebends. In 1255, there were 26 prebends with endowments of churches or land, and an additional 3 'bursarial' prebends.[7] In 1322, some prebends were split which increased the number to 32.[8] Eight of the first type were based around specific land allocations and twenty-four of the second type were based on the income from various churches in the diocese.[9] Many clergy were only required to be in Lichfield for a few months a year, but this requirement proved impossible for some.

In 1535, the combined value of all existing prebends was under £400; a total much less than in other larger cathedrals and suggesting at Lichfield it was losing its importance. Most prebends disappeared in 1547, when nearly all collegiate churches in England and Wales were dissolved by the Act for the Dissolution of Collegiate Churches and Chantries as part of Reformation. Savage described two bishops selling off the prebends and ends his distaste with stating ‘how gravely the interests of the cathedral were compromised’.[10] The holders of a prebend attached to a dissolved collegiate church were made redundant. If the prebendary quietly gave up his prebend he sometimes got a state pension. There is evidence at Lichfield some redundant prebendaries suddenly became poor.

Prebendal stalls for Wellington, Tervin, Tachbrook, Gaia Major, Dernford and Curborough.

 

One significant aspect of the prebendal system was it was mostly independent of the bishop and subject only to the dean and chapter.[11] Yet it was the bishop who usually arranged for the prebend from a church or estate in the diocese to be attached like a gift to the cathedral. Popular bishops arranged more prebends. Many prebendaries had to attend the cathedral on fixed occasions, but there is much evidence that many found excuses. Bishops tried to stop this absenteeism, but appear to have had little success. Another aspect was the prebendary and associated canon had to provide spiritual guidance to the church and its estate that provided the prebend. There is evidence this was not always followed and it often led to a visitation, litigation and sometimes termination of the prebend. Some churches withered and could not provide a reasonable prebend, which left the prebendary poor and wanting to not complete their office. Some prebends were substantial and it is known elsewhere the excess was given to the fabric fund of the cathedral. The substantial tithes from many of the larger and more important parishes were appropriated to the general fund of the Dean and Chapter. Such places as Bakewell, Tideswell, Harborne, Edgbaston, Rugeley and Cannock were among these.[12]

The following is a list of prebendal stalls collated by Baylis.[13]

Adbaston and Brewood. Early prebends annexed to the Deanery.

A Ire. An early group of prebends annexed to the Chancellor. Included Bromley, Pipe Ridware, Edingale, Fradley and Orgreave.

Bishopshull. An early prebend centred on Hints.

Bishops Itchington.  An early prebend centred on chapels in Warwickshire.

Bobenhull. Founded 1248 and centred in Warwickshire.

Bolton le Moor. An early rich prebend in Lancashire which later was joined to the Chester diocese.

Colwich. Founded 1241. It included surrounding manors.

Curborough. An early prebend of which little is known.

Dasset Parva. An early poor prebend in Warwickshire. It was recorded in 1255.

Dernford. Another poor prebend in existence by 1255. Local to Lichfield.

Eccleshall. A very early prebend. It was rich and later annexed to the bishopric.

Flixton. Founded c. 1280 and the parish was in Lancashire near the border with Cheshire.

Freeford. Said to be one of the earliest foundations. It was linked with St John’s hospital.

Gaia Major. Founded before 1279 and connected to properties in Gay (Gaia) Lane.

Gaia Minor. Again, formed before 1279 and connected to properties off Gay (Gaia) Lane and around the ‘greater pool.’

Hansacre. An early prebend with a date of 1140 mentioned. Includes Armitage.

Longdon. An early prebend in which little is known. Probably annexed by the bishopric at Beaudesert.

Offley. Not known until 1534. It is 3 miles southwest of Eccleshall.

Pipa Parva. Founded c. 1280 and includes Pipe Hill, Farewell, Burntwood, Hammerwich and Wall.

Pipa Minor. Founded c. 1235 and linked to Prees and surrounding villages in north Shropshire.

Ryton. Founded 1248 and centred on chapels in Warwickshire.

Sandiacre. Founded in 13^th-century and also recorded in 1342. It is in Derbyshire.

Sawley. An early prebend in Derbyshire.

Stotfold or Statfold. An early prebend located 10 miles southeast of Lichfield. When it ceased the funds went to the repair fund of the cathedral in 1803.

Tachbrook. An early prebend centre in Warwickshire.

Tarvin. Founded c. 1226 and centred in Cheshire. It became a poor stipend. In 1803 the funds were allocated for repair of the cathedral.

Ufton Decani. An early prebend located in Warwickshire.

Ufton Cantoris. Again, early and in Warwickshire.

Weeford. An early prebend which included Swinfen, Packington, Edial and Woodhouses.

Wellington. Founded 1232 and in Shropshire. Included Hadley, Lawley and Ketley.

Whittington. An early prebend which later included tithes from around Berkswich or Baswich.

Wolvey. An early 13^th-century prebend centred in Warwickshire.

 

[1] J. B. Stone, A history of Lichfield Cathedral, (London: 1870), 33 and 57. The stalls have since been changed during the Wyatt and Scott restorations.

[2] There are a few cases of members of the Vicars Choral sitting in the prebendal stalls.

[3] By July 2024 there were 28 prebendal stalls allocated to priests.

[4] A 16^th-century document names these prebends that supported the five canons of Lichfield as Freeford, Handsacre, Longdon, Stotfold and Weeford. See C. Baker, A study of the ancient prebends of Lichfield Cathedral – Engineering, history and ecclesiology https://profchrisbaker.com/2020/08/12/a-study-of-the-ancient-prebends-of-lichfield-cathedral/comment-page-1/

[5] M. W. Greenslade and R. B. Pugh, ‘'House of secular canons - Lichfield cathedral: To the Reformation', in A History of the County of Stafford, Volume 3, (London, 1970), 140-166. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/staffs/vol3/pp140-166. Clinton’s eight new prebends all consisted of the churches and tithes of manors in Warwickshire which had been granted to Coventry Priory on its foundation in 1043 and the administration of which had been taken over by Bishop Clinton. Most of these stipends had to be given back later,

[6] J. Barrow, ‘Cathedrals, Provosts and Prebends: a Comparison of Twelfth-Century German and English Practice.’  Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 37, Mo. 4, October.

[7] M. W. Greenslade and R.B. Pugh (1970). See note 5.

[8] The normal practice was each cathedral official, (dean, chancellor, precentor and treasurer, had a prebend and each canon had a prebend. Clearly a total of 32 suggests a surfeit of prebendaries or many could not be relied on.

[9] C. Baker (2020), see note 4.

[10] H. E. Savage, ‘The Cathedral and the Chapter 1530-1553’. Unpublished article in the Cathedral Library (1927), 9.

[11] W. Beresford, ‘Diocesan histories. Lichfield.’ London society for promoting Christian knowledge. 1888.

[12] H. Baylis, ‘Prebends in the Cathedral church of Saints Mary and Chad in Lichfield’, Lichfield Archaeological and Historical Society Transactions, (1960-1), 2, 38-53.

[13] Ibid. 42-51.