Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Saint Albans / With an Account of the Fabric & a Short History of the Abbey

by Rev. Thomas Perkins

33. John of Wheathampstead (1420-1440 and 1451-1464). The Abbot's surname was Bostock, and it is supposed, as on his mother's grave in Wheathampstead Church a shield bearing the Heyworth arms is found, that John was a kinsman of his predecessor. To increase the revenue he admitted many gentlemen and ladies of high rank to the confraternity; this admission was a mere honour, conferring indeed the right to vote in the chapter, but not imposing any duties or monastic restrictions on those thus admitted. Among the names of those admitted in 1423 we find those of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and Jaqueline his wife, whom he subsequently divorced; in 1431 his new wife, Eleanor, was admitted. John procured by royal grant lands in various quarters, and also, in order that he might secure himself against any charges which might be made against him, a pardon for diverse offences, of none of which was he in all probability guilty—treason, murder, rape, rebellion, conspiracy, etc. A strange light is thrown by this upon monkish morals of the day; one would have thought no abbot would ever have been supposed possible of committing such offences. These were disturbed times, for the King, Henry VI., was imbecile and various nobles were intriguing against each other for power. The star of Humphrey of Gloucester, the Abbot's friend, was setting, and other troubles threatened the nation, so Abbot John resigned in 1440.

34. John Stokes (1440-1451). This Abbot ruled for eleven years, and then either died or resigned. During his rule Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester, was tried for witchcraft, was imprisoned in the Tower, and did penance in the streets of London. Her husband died, or more probably was murdered, in 1447, and was buried in the Abbey on the south side of St. Alban's shrine.

33. In 1451 Abbot John of Wheathampstead, though over eighty years of age, was re-elected. Soon after his election he gave his church a "pair of organs," surpassing all others in England in size, tone, and workmanship.

In 1455 the Wars of the Roses began with the first battle of St. Albans (May 23rd), fought to the east of the town. In this the White Rose party were victorious; the King was taken prisoner and lodged for the night in the Abbey. The victorious army plundered the town, but the Abbot by sending out plenty of wine and food saved his monastery.

In 1459 King Henry was again at the Abbey and spent Easter there, ordering his best robe to be given to the Prior when he left.

Another battle was fought, this time to the north of the town, on February 17th, 1461. Henry was at this time in the hands of the Yorkists and at St. Albans. The Queen, having defeated and slain the Duke of York at Wakefield, marched southward at the head of an undisciplined horde of 18,000 men—Scotch, Irish, Welsh, and English—to rescue her husband. The Earl of Warwick at first drove the Queen's troops out of St. Peter's Street to Barnard's Heath with great slaughter, but, owing to treachery on the part of one of the Yorkist leaders, the fortunes of the day changed, and Margaret drove Warwick before her towards the town. He, however, rallied his forces and retreated in good order to London, though he had to leave Henry behind him. The royal party went to the Abbey, where they were enthusiastically received by the monks, who chanted thanksgivings for the victory; they were led to the high altar and to the shrine of St. Alban. But the victorious troops, being little better than barbarians, flushed with unexpected victory, committed fearful excesses in the town, and even plundered the Abbey. Hitherto Abbot John had been a strong partisan of the Lancastrians, but the treatment he received turned him into a staunch Yorkist. Edward IV. when he came to the throne granted the Abbot the right to hear and try all causes, even treason, with full power of sentencing to death. The Abbots continued to exercise these powers till 1533. In 1462 the Abbot presented a petition to the King, setting forth the impoverished state of the Abbey; this led to further powers being granted to the Abbot. Wheathampstead had been ordained in 1382 and, according to canon law, must have been twenty-five years of age, so he must have been over a hundred and five when he died in 1463. He, as we have seen (Chap. I.), made many changes for the worse in the fabric of the church; the character of the work was partly due to the time in which he lived, for the age of great architecture was over, and partly to lack of funds.

35. William Alban (1464-1476).

36. William of Wallingford (1476-1484). This Abbot's name will be remembered because the high altar screen was his work, and is generally called Wallingford's screen. It is said that his management of the revenues of the Abbey was prudent, and that he was energetic in defending his rights; but it would seem that he was not equally energetic in repressing irregularities within its walls. During the interregnum that followed his tenure of office things went on from bad to worse, so that the Archbishop sent a monition to the Abbey reciting a bull which had been sent to him as legate. This bull directed the Archbishop to visit all the larger monasteries in which he had reason to suspect that evil practices prevailed, and the Archbishop threatens to visit St. Albans because he has heard of cases of simony, usury, lavish expenditure, and immorality. He says unless within sixty days things are reduced to order, not only in the monastery but also in the nunneries of Pré and Sopwell and other cells, he will visit personally or by commission to inquire into matters and set things in order. The Abbot died in 1484, but his successor was not appointed until 1492.