Vol 1: The Bluets - Lackham Countryside Centre

The Bluets 105
seen that he gave up his right of presenting to St Cyriacs church 451
and
when Sir John Bluet agreed to surrender his share of the
avowson of St Cyriac‘s to the nuns one of the conditions was
that they should build between them a Lady Chapel adjoining
the conventual church in which he should be buried 452
In 1312 this was put in hand and the abbess of Lacock, Joan de
Montfort, was in bond to Sir John for 200 marks 453 ; the abbess and
convent had to complete the chapel by the due date. If this was done
John would assign the money to cover the work, otherwise he would
demand payment. The deadline appears to have been renegotiated,
another agreement was made in 1315 with the same bond amount but
only two thirds of the work had to be completed by 1323 and the final
third by 1327. The chapel was to be built on the side of the Abbey and
two arches made to replace the common wall 454 . It is unknown if the
Chapel was completed on time.
451
Calendar Patent Rolls Edw II vol 1 1307 – 1311 John was granted licence to give
up his avowson to the Nuns, and they were given licence to appropriate St Cyriac‘s
dated March 4 1311. The licence actually cost him 100 solidos - “Johes Bluet finem
fecit cum R p centum solid' p licen' concedendi jus pronat quod het in ecclia Sci
Ciriaci de Lacok abisse et moniabilis de Lacok “ [Rotulorum originalum in Curia
Scacarii (1805) vol 1 Hen III Edw I & Edw II p115]
452
Victoria County History Wiltshire III p305
453
Rogers KH (ed) (1978) Lacock Abbey Charters WRS 15 no 37 pp21-22
payable at All Saints [1st November] in 1319, dated 27 Sept. 1312 .
For the original wording (in French rather than the more usual Latin) see Clark-
Maxwell (1904) On the Appropriation of Lacock Abbey WAM 33 Appendix XI
pp372 – 373. The seal, described as Seal armorial : two headed eagle is that of
the Bluets. The original text, and the translation given in Talbot CH (1876) On
the agreement between the abbess Johanna de Montfort and the convent of
Lacock, and sir John Bluet, Lord of Lackham, concerning the erection of a chapel
of Our Lady adjoining the Abbey Church of Lacock AD1315 WAM XVI pp 35 – 39,
are much longer and more complete
454
Rogers, KH (ed) (1978) ibid p23, no 43 dated 28 August 1315
The conversion factor between marks and pounds at this time can be calculated
from two other agreements, dated September 1315, where John Bluet formally
agreed the bond. From these documents it is seen that 200 marks was equal to
£133 3s, one Edward II mark was therefore equal to just under 13s 4d, which is
exactly the same value as the Tudor mark [Rogers KH (1979) Lacock Abbey
Charters WRS pp22-23, charters 41 & 42 ]