St. Mildred’s was a small parish occupying the present site of Exeter College, and about half of the site of Jesus College; its church was sadly out of repair, and had no funds for its maintenance; and the ordinary parish population had given place to Academical students with their Halls and Schools. Fleming therefore planned to build his college on the site of this church and its churchyard, increasing the area by the purchase, on 4th April, 1430, of Craunford Hall, which stood south of the churchyard, and, on the 20th June, 1430, by the purchase of Little Deep Hall, which stood on the east of the churchyard. The ground-plot so formed is represented by the present outer quadrangle of the College.
The two churches of All Saints and St. Michael were to provide the endowment of the College. The lands and houses originally belonging to them had already been taken away when they had been reduced from rectories to vicarages, before they came to the patronage of the bishops of Lincoln. Their only revenues now were therefore the offerings in church, the fees at burials, etc., and the petty tithe (called “Sunday pence,” being a penny per week from every house of over twenty shillings annual value in the parish, doubled at the four great festivals, viz. Christmas, Easter, Ascension, Whitsuntide).[159] These revenues, together with the income of the chantry of St. Anne, seem to have amounted to about £30; and out of them, when the College was founded, £12 was to be paid for the maintenance of divine service in the two churches and the chantry.
With these revenues Fleming proposed to endow a college consisting of a Warden and seven Fellows, who should, (1) study Theology, the queen and empress of all the faculties (omnium imperatrix et domina facultatum); (2) pray for the welfare of the founder during his life and for the health of his soul after his death, as also for the souls of his kindred and of his benefactors and of all faithful deceased.
Fleming’s charter, uniting the churches and erecting the College, is dated 19th Dec., 1429. He did not live to see his project accomplished, for he died suddenly on 25th January, 1430-1.
In what condition was the College when the founder died? The following points may be noted:—
(1) The College was founded, and had received its charter of incorporation, together with certain “ordinances” for its government, which Rotheram says he imitated in framing the 1480 statutes;
(2) The buildings of the College had been begun, namely, the present tower, with the rooms over the gateway, in which, according to usual custom, the Head of the College was to reside, and control the comings in and goings out of its members;
(3) MSS. had been given to the library;[160] the Catalogue of 1474 specifying twenty-five “books” as given by the founder, chiefly theological (among these, Walden against Wycliffe), but one or two historical;
(4) A small annual revenue had been provided for, but this would probably not become available till the deaths, or cessions, of the vicars of All Saints’ and St. Michael’s, and the chaplain of St. Anne;
(5) A rector (William Chamberleyn) had been named by the founder, but no Fellows; so that when Chamberleyn died (7th March, 1433-4) Fleming’s successor, Bishop William Grey, finding it impossible to supply the vacancy by election, according to Fleming’s ordinances, himself nominated (on 7th May, 1434) Dr. John Beke.