I certify that I have read this thesis and have ... - Bilkent University

secular collegiate church of Hoxne. By 1166, Rumburgh was a cell St Mary’s York,
there were two more Benedictine cells at Dunwich and Snape, and the only
substantial religious houses in the area were Blythburgh and Sibton, though it is
worth pointing out that both of these belonged to new orders, the Augustinians and
the Cistercians.
The years from 1066 to 1166 were important ones for the bishopric of
East Anglia, starting with its cathedral at North Elmham, moving to Thetford
and then finally to Norwich. The bishopric, which of course included Suffolk,
inevitably had many contacts with the new tenants-in-chief and even the
subtenants after the Conquest. Between 1135 and 1141 Bishop Everard of
Norwich confirmed the gifts of Roger Bigod and his son to Thetford Priory. 251
Between 1136 and 1145 the bishop confirmed the grant by Alan earl of
Richmond, successor to Domesday Count Alan, of the subjection of the cell of
Rumburgh to St Mary’s York. 252 Between 1146 and 1174, William bishop of
Norwich confirmed the possessions of Eye Priory. 253
There were numerous reasons for the nobility to be donors to monastic
houses: such as piety, locality, family, and most probably for political reasons. 254
Some of the main religious houses which benefited from the donations of prominent
1086 tenants-in-chief in eastern Suffolk were outside of eastern Suffolk. Just as
Roger Bigod was the founder and patron of Thetford Priory, Robert Malet was the
founder and patron of Eye Priory. In the foundation charter granted by Robert Malet,
it was written:
250 Ibid., pp. 68, 83, 425.
251 Norwich Episcopal Acta, no. 48.
252 Ibid., no. 51.
253 Ibid., nos. 89-93.
254 Cownie, Religious Patronage, pp. 15-6.
88