The founding charter

The founding document of the Hull Charterhouse

Translated by John Cook, 1882

To all and singular the faithful people of Christ, Michael de la Pole, knight, lord of Wyngefeld, wisheth eternal salvation in the Lord. Forasmuch as human frailty or power sufficeth not to worthily repay for all the benefits received from Him, the Lord who giveth liberally, yet He of grace permits to be returned to Him what he hath bestowed, so that human virtue cannot more fitly thank the Creator than by restoring to Him something of what He hath plentifully given, and bestowing in charity upon His members part of one’s earthly goods; and forasmuch as we bear in mind that our most dear and memorable lord and father, Sir William de la Pole, knight, lately, whilst he lived, moved of divine clemency, did purpose to found and establish near Kingston-upon-Hull, firstly a hospital for Minor priests, and poor people, then, altering subsequently his intention out of increased devoutness, a religious house for nuns or sisters, Minoresses Regular of the Order of St. Clare, and for certain poor people, but died before he could complete this his devout purpose; therefore, We, desiring to fully effectuate the same as in his lifetime he requested us, yet changing in part his plan, with the license of our lord Richard, King of England and France, and Edward, late King, and of all others whose consent, in this behalf is requisite, have founded and made near the said town of Kingston, in the place first ordained by our said father, a religious house for monks of the Carthusian Order, instead of the said nuns, or sisters, and have so endowed the same, that God willing, it shall endure throughout all ages: And we being willing, moreover, to establish there a number of poor people according to the first intention of our said father, have, to the honour of God, the most glorious Virgin Mary his mother, the blessed Michael the Archangel, all Archangels, and holy spirits, the blessed Thomas the Martyr, late Archbishop of Canterbury, and other holy ones of God, by the license and consent aforesaid, founded and built, and by these presents do found, make, and set up in two messuages of ours called the Maisondieu, in Miton, next the priory of the said Carthusian house on the east part, near the said town of Kingston-upon-Hull, containing an acre and a half of ground, a certain house or hospital for thirteen poor men and thirteen poor women, feeble or old; which house or hospital we will to be called God’s House of Hull, and, like the Carthusian house, to last forever: And we place, establish, constitute and ordain, in the said house or hospital, under the rules and limitations below written, thirteen poor men and thirteen poor women, brothers and sisters of the same house, so long as they are necessitous; over whom we make, and by the tenor of these presents appoint Sir Richard de Killum, priest, master and warden from now; Willing and decreeing that every person who shall become master there after him, shall also have taken priest’s orders, and be of the age of thirty years and more, and there continually keep personal residence, under obedience to whom the rest of the poor people as well brothers and sisters shall continue and be in perpetuity: That the said master have a dwelling by himself within or near the said house, and that by the prudence and discretion of the master for the time being, all things to be done both within and without, as well for ruling and increasing the possessions, as for directing and teaching the brothers and sisters, shall be regulated; which master immediately after that by us or our heirs, or in case of the negligence of us or our heirs by the several persons in the order hereinafter nominated, he has by our or their letters patent been appointed to the rule of the said hospital, shall, without any other admission or question of any ordinary, have the administration of all the goods of the said hospital, and them lawfully administer, distribute and control, according to the rules and regulations hereinafter written, and shall receive of the said house for the keeping up of his position, as well for food as clothing, £10 sterling every year at the terms of St. Michael, the Birth of Our Lord, Easter, and the nativity of St. John the Baptist; and when absent on the necessary business of the house he shall be allowed reasonable expenses for a moderate time; and he shall be bound to celebrate mass every day in one of the chapels of the said house, when thereto able, and not absent on arduous affairs of the house, or otherwise legitimately hindered, in which cases he shall provide at the expense of the house for the same to be celebrated during his absence by another proper chaplain: We also ordain that each one of the said poor people, as far as conveniently possible, have leisure to attend every day before dinner in the church for prayer and service, and after dinner resort to some honest occupation; and that the said poor people do, in all their prayers and services, specially recommend the state of our said lord King Richard and this kingdom, and our own state, and the state of our children, Michael, John, Thomas, William, Richard, Anne and Margaret, and of our brother Edmund de la Pole, knight, and of our sister Margaret de Nevill, and of Sir John de Waltham, clerk, and of Robert and John, and of all our benefactors, and of all others to whom we be bound, whilst we live: And that the said poor people do daily specially pray for the soul of our said lord King Richard, and for our own soul when we are departed this life, and for the souls of Sir William de la Pole, our father, Katherine, our mother, Katherine, our wife, Walter and Thomas, our brothers, Katherine and Blanche, our sisters, and also John, and John, and the souls of all faithful ones departed: And the said master shall pay to each one of the said poor people forty shillings annually for all their necessaries as well food as clothing, namely to every one of them 8d. per week, and the rest of the said forty shillings to each one yearly at the four terms aforesaid by equal portions: We enact also that on the master or any of the brothers or sisters dying or leaving or being removed from the house at any future time, we, during our life, and, after our death, our heirs, lords of the manor of Miton, if they be of full age, shall put another suitable person in the place of the one so dying, leaving or being removed: And if we, our heirs aforesaid, being negligent or slack in this matter, do in the future fail for one month after the decease, departure or removal of the master, or of any of the brothers or sisters aforesaid, to appoint or substitute another in his or her place, or if our heirs be under the age of 21 years, the prior for the time being of our Carthusian house of Kingston-upon-Hull within fifteen days after the lapse of such month, and after the lapse of those fifteen days the mayor for the time being of the town of Hull within other fifteen days thence immediately following, and, after the lapse, without the vacancy being supplied by any of the foregoing, then, within another fifteen days immediately following, the Archdeacon of the East Riding, in the church of York, or, in his absence, his officer, shall successively, each one in his proper turn, by his letter patent only without question of any ordinary or superior, or any further form or process of law, substitute and appoint suitable persons in the places of those so dead, departed or removed as aforesaid, against which appointment there shall be no appeal; yet all this shall be without prejudice to us or our heirs, when, on any future occasion, we shall not be negligent nor they negligent nor within age. And for securing proper care of things, the master of the said house shall every year, if it be needful, show the state of the house, and the receipts and expenses thereof, carefully computed calculated and accounted for upon his oath, before four of the maturer and more experienced persons of the said house, annually selected for such purpose by all the brethren and sisters of the said house, in the presence of some one by us or our heirs, or in the case our heirs are negligent or under age, by the prior, mayor or archdeacon aforesaid specially delegated for that duty; and if anything beyond the necessary expenses of the said house, and of the master, brethren and sisters aforesaid, shall remain in the hands of the master at the end of any year, such surplus shall be securely placed in the treasury of the said house for the general benefit of all the said brethren and sisters for use in any emergency. Provided that if the master be absent fifteen days from the said house or hospital and not upon its business, or shall not make payment to the said poor people as herein-before required, but, on the contrary, shall fail in making payment for three days after that he has been asked so to do by the said poor or any of them; or has openly violated that statutes of the said house or hospital, or committed any other grave fault, thereof being convicted upon the evidence of three or four of the brethren or other trustworthy persons; or otherwise be insufficient or incapable in the administration of the goods or government of the hospital, he may thereupon by us or our heirs, or in default of us or our heirs, or if our heirs be minors, then by the prior, mayor, and archdeacon aforesaid in order as above given them, be wholly removed from his said office and administration without need of any process in law; and let the same be observed amongst the said poor people offending in any way against our present ordinances, saving that the master for the time being shall always have the first right to punish or remove the poor people. We enact, moreover, that every master, brother and sister of the said house or hospital shall, on admission, make corporal oath to faithfully observe to the utmost of his or her ability these statutes and ordinances: We also ordain and provide that against the sudden necessities or unprosperous times that may happen, a chest be made and kept in the treasury of the said priory wherein we wish to be and have verily placed One hundred pounds of money, under the care and written acknowledgement of the said master, prior and mayor, for the common benefit of the said master and poor in any emergency; until when such sum may be lent out on sufficient security in the discretion of the said prior and mayor, but we ordain that whenever the principal shall come in, it shall be at once replaced in the said chest: We have given and granted, and with the license and consent of our said lord king Richard, and of all others whom it may concern, Do give and grant, and by these letters confirm unto the said master, brethren and sisters, the aforesaid messuages for their dwelling or foundation or endowment, and five other messuages with the appurtenances in the aforesaid town of Kyngeston-upon-Hull, and one messuage and four oxgangs of arable land, four acres of meadow, and ten acres of pasture, with their appurtenances, in Cotyngham, to have and to hold unto the said master, brethren and sisters, and their successors, of the chief lords of the fees by the services therefor due and accustomed for ever: And we, the aforesaid Michael and our heirs, will for ever warrant and defend unto the said master, brethren and sisters, the aforesaid messuages, land, meadow and pasture, with their appurtenances, against all people whomsoever: We especially reserve to ourselves and our heirs power to increase or lessen this ordinance, and to make any new ordinance as often as necessary for the better rule and greater stability or security of the said house or hospital: In witness whereof we have caused these our letters patent to be made, These being witnesses, the venerable prelate, Alexander, Archbishop of York, primate of England; Henry de Percy, earl of Northumberland; Thomas de Sutton, Robert de Hilton, Walter de Fauconbergh, knights; John de Demylton, mayor of the said town of Hull; Walter Frost, Robert de Selby, Robert del Cross, and others; Given at Hull on the first day of March in the seventh year of the reign of the said king Richard.