Hulton Abbey
The Cistercian Abbey of Hulton had annexed the parish church in 1368, when it was stipulated that a suitable proportion of the profits should be reserved for a resident vicar. It had been prosperous in the golden days of the wool trade, and in 1310 had given Edward II’s army as much in the way of supplies as Burton Abbey; but its wealth had seriously declined. In later years it had possessed a pottery. The Abbot’s name when the Commissioners visited Hulton was John, but his rule ended shortly afterwards.
In the summary given in Valor Ecclesiasticus[99] the income is given in detail from each manor and parish. The same arrangement is followed in the case of Trentham, Stafford, Stone, and Ronton.
The following are the particulars relating to the several manors:
| Demesne | Rents of tenements | Chief rents | Court perquisites | Water-mills | |||||||||
| £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | s. | d. | s. | d. | |
| Hulton Manor | 6 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 0 | |
| Normacot Manor | 5 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 8 | ||||||
| Bradnop Manor | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 4 | ||
| Cambryngham Manor (Lincs.) | 3 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 1½ | 3 | 4 | |||||
At Hulton the rent came from twelve tenements held “ad voluntatem,” and in each case the demesne comprised arable, meadow, and pasture. At Rushton Grange there was also arable, meadow, and pasture, worth £4.
The remaining property was all in Lincolnshire: Fillingham (5 tenements and a cottage), £2 4s. 4d.; Coots (lands), 4s. 4d.; Willingham (part of a meadow), 16d.; and Lincoln (one cottage), 1s.
The temporal disbursements comprised payments to the Abbot of Dieulacres, the Prior of Trentham, and the Prior of Torksey; to the King for Fillingham; to Philip Dreycote, miles, chief steward of the Staffordshire manors (£1 6s. 8d.), and Richard Sutton, Kt., chief steward of Cambringham; and to the bailiffs—£1 to Thomas Leer (Hulton), 10s. to Laurence Ratclyffe (Bradnop), 10s. to Robert Asten (Normacot), £1 to William Rede (Cambringham). The Under Steward, Sir Richard’s deputy, was paid 13s. 4d.
The spiritual income consisted of tithes (£18 10s.) and glebe (£2), from the parishes of Audley (£11) and Byddell (£4 10s.) in Staffordshire, and Cambringham (£2 10s.) in Lincolnshire.
The spiritual outgoings included £1 13s. 4d. to the Bishop of Lichfield, “extra ecclesias de Audeley and Byddell predictas per idempnitate sua,” and 6s. 8d. every third year for visitation fees; 10s. 4d. to the Archdeacon of Stafford for procurations; 7s. 6d. to the Archdeacon of Stowe (Lincs.); 6s. 8d. to the Bishop of Lincoln for synodals; 5s. 4d. to “the ... of Blessed Mary of Lincoln” as a pension. 3s. 4d. is also paid to the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield “pro idempnitate,” and 3s. 4d. to the Priory of Coventry for the same purpose.
There was a change of Abbots between the valuation in 1535 and October 1st, 1536, for on the latter date the Abbot who received a grant of exemption from the Act suppressing the Lesser Monasteries was Edward Wilkyns. The payment he had to make was £66 13s. 4d.[100]
In the valuation given in Monasticon (v. 716) the rents at Hulton Manor only amounted to £1 16s., but additions were made of rents at Stoke, 6s.; Burdeslyme and Sneyd, £18 18s. 3d.; More, £1 18s., and Myxton Heyes (pastures), £5 16s. 8d., as well as at Northwich, 10s., and Bridgeworth, 2s. The water-mill at Hulton was omitted, but one was mentioned at More worth 14s. Rushton Grange had risen in value to £7 5s., but Normacot Manor had fallen to £2 1s., and the water-mill is not mentioned. The demesne at Bradnop Manor is not mentioned, nor are Cambryngham, Fillingham, Coots, Willingham, or Lincoln. No “perquisites of Courts” are mentioned. The valuation amounted to £67 3s. 4d.