Arthur Francis Leach

“ Indeed, All Souls was more of a lay foundation than its model. For while at New College only twenty out of seventy fellows were to study law instead of arts, philosophy and theology, at All Souls College sixteen were to be “jurists” and only twenty-four “artists”; and while at New College there were ten chaplains and three clerks necessarily, at All Souls the number was not defined but left optional ”

“ A papal bull for the college was obtained on the 21st of June 1439; and further patents for endowments from the 11th of May 1441 to the 28th of January 1443, when a general confirmation charter was obtained, for which £1000 (£30,000 at least of our money) was paid. It is commonly represented that the endowment was wholly derived from alien priories bought by Chicheley from the crown. In truth, not so large a proportion of the endowment of All Souls was derived from this source as was that of New College. ”

“ Moreover parliament was so far from pressing disendowment that on the petition of the Commons it passed a savage act against the heresies “commonly called Lollardry” which “aimed at the destruction of the king and all temporal estates,” making Lollards felons and ordering every justice of the peace to hunt down their schools, conventicles, congregations and confederacies. ”

“ This was St Bernard’s College, founded by Chicheley under licence in mortmain in 1437 for Cistercian monks, on the model of Gloucester Hall and Durham College for the southern and northern Benedictines. Nothing more than a site and building was required by way of endowment, as the young monks, who were sent there to study under a provisor, were supported by the houses of the order to which they belonged. ”

“ On the 7th of May 1404, Pope Boniface IX. provided him to a prebend at Lincoln, notwithstanding he already held prebends at Salisbury, Lichfield, St Martin’s-le-Grand and Abergwyly, and the living of Brington. On the 9th of January 1405 he found time to attend a court at Higham Ferrers and be admitted to a burgage there. In July 1405 Chicheley began a diplomatic career by a mission to the new Roman pope Innocent VII., who was professing his desire to end the schism in the papacy by resignation, if his French rival at Avignon would do likewise. ”

“ CHICHELEY, HENRY (1364–1443) , English archbishop, founder of All Souls College, Oxford, was born at Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, in 1363 or 1364. Chicheley told the pope in 1443, in asking leave to retire from the archbishopric, that he was in his eightieth year. ”