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 Practical Sql
Microsoft Sql Server T-SQL
for Beginners
2nd Edition
By
Mark O'Donovan
Copyright © 2019 Mark O’Donovan
All rights reserved.
 Contents

Software and Sample data

Overview
Section 1. Sql Server Install and Tour
Section 2. Starting Sql Development
Section 3. Advanced Queries
Section 4. Sql Beyond the Basics
Conclusion
Quiz Answers
Useful Websites
 Copyright

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or

by any means without written permission from the author.

Disclaimer
Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the
information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do
not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage,
or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions
result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

Information sold in this book is sold without warranty, either expressed or

implied.

Title: Practical Sql - Microsoft Sql Server T-SQL for Beginners – Second
Edition

Version: 2.0
Software and Sample Data
The examples in this book used Sql Server 2017 Express which is as of
writing this book a free version of sql server available for download from
Microsoft.

You can download all the sample data and examples for this book from

https://github.com/techstuffy/Practical-Sq

There should be no problem with running these exercises on later versions of

Sql Server but we cannot give a 100% guarantee.

Most examples will run on previous versions of Microsoft Sql Server but
some functions might differ or not exist on previous versions such as the format
function.

If you have problems accessing the sample data please contact me using
techstuffy.com.
Overview
A brief overview of the different sections contained within this book :

Section 1. Sql Server Install and Tour

This Section takes the reader from downloading and installing sql server to
creating a sql table and performing basic queries on the data within the table.

Chapter 1

This chapter introduces the book , how to use the book and where to get
downloads.

Chapter 2

Here we cover how to get a free copy of sql server express and the
installation of the software.

Chapter 3

Once sql server has been installed this chapter will take you on a brief tour of
the software and how to login to the sql server for the first time.

Section 2. Starting Sql Development

Section 2 introduces the basics of sql development namely how to create
databases, tables and fields and the fundamental statements that perform the
basic operations on your data.

Chapter 1

This chapter will show you how to create your first sql server database and
the various properties of sql server databases.

Chapter 2

Once you have created your database this chapter will explain and give
examples of creating sql server tables to store your data.

Chapter 3
 In the final chapter of this section with introduce the basic sql statements to
insert, query, update and delete data from a sql table.
Section 3. Advanced Queries

Section 3 goes into sql development in more detail cover ways of grouping
data, creating conditional statements and joining tables of data together.

Chapter 1

This chapter covers how to perform calculations on groups of data such as

how to sum all the numbers in a field or count the number of rows in a table.

Chapter 2

Next we cover various functions that allow us to manipulate string fields in

various ways.

Chapter 3

Conditional statements allow us to return different values depending on the

value of another of another expression. For example you might want to return a
different value depending on the time of day or the month it ways when the
query was executed.

Chapter 4

When developing sql databases more often than not the data you need to
return will be in more than one table. This chapter covers the various ways you
can combine the data in 2 or more tables.
Section 4. Sql Beyond the Basics
Now that the basics of sql development have been covered Section 4 carries
on by introducing more development techniques such as using Stored
Procedures, Functions and Views, Triggers, database design rules and much
more.

Chapter 1

The sql developer can add rules to the check that the data being added to the
table is valid, this chapter will show you ways to create various constraints.

Chapter 2

Templates are a useful sql server feature. We will show you how to use
Templates to speed up your sql development to save you time and create
consistency and also how to create your own sql server templates.

Chapter 3

When you start to develop more complex queries you can add them to stored
procedures so that they can be saved in the database and executed with a single 1
line statement at a later date.

We will cover to create stored procedures and pass parameters to the stored
procedures.

Chapter 4

Views allow you to hide complex SELECT statements so you only need to
run a simple select statements. Using View can save you copying and pasting
large chunks of code and make it easier to read the sql that you have developed.

Chapter 5

Next we will cover different types of functions that can be created and how
they compare to stored procedures.

Chapter 6
 Synonyms are aliases for tables and are especially useful when you start to
develop code that uses references to multiple databases.

We will show you how to create and manage synonyms within your
database.

Chapter 7

Triggers allow you to execute some tsql when an action is taken on the
database or table. We will cover how to create various triggers and use them for
various purposes such as auditing and preventing users from creating tables.

Chapter 8

When you start to develop sql for large amounts of data the design of the
database will be increasingly more important. We will cover the fundamental
rules of database design called normal forms.

Chapter 9

As a sql developer you can be expected to predict every possible problem

that might occur while your code is running. Sql Exceptions allow the developer
to define a course of action to take when an unexpected error occurs.

Chapter 10

Finally we cover Transactions. Transactions are the 'all or nothing' in the sql
world. You might have a number of changes to tables within your stored
procedure but want all the changes to be saved as long as there has been no
errors executing any of the statements, transactions will allow to do this.
Section 1. Sql Server Install and Tour

1. Introduction

“Knowledge isn’t power until it is applied.” – Dale Carnegie

The purpose of this book is to teach the user sql database development.

More precisely you will learn sql development on Microsoft Sql Server using
the version of Sql from Microsoft called T-SQL (T-SQL stands for Transact
SQL).

When starting to learn anything new there often appears to be an

overwhelming amount to learn.

With the Practical Series of books and 'Practical Sql' in this case you will be
guided from the basics to more advanced techniques.

The instructions are kept concise with the focus being on useful examples.
The aim here is that you will be more likely to remember what is said about a
topic and can always refer back to the examples at a later date if required.

Practical Sql
'Practical Sql' will cover the tsql development language used on the
Microsoft Sql Server Database system.

Sql Server Development is a topic that many IT Professionals avoid but there
really is no need as the basics and even more advanced techniques can be
acquired easily.

In other words Sql development is not a skill that will be of use to just DBA's
and developers.

There are many applications that rely on sql server databases so some
knowledge of databases it becoming a common requirement.
2. Sql Server Installation

The installation of Sql Server Express is straightforward, should not cause

any problems and free.

You can download the current version of Sql Server Express from the
following location:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/sql-server/sql-server-editions-express

Click download now to get ‘sql server express 2017’.

System Requirements for Microsoft® SQL Server® 2017 Express

Supported Operating System

Windows 10 , Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, Windows

Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016

Processor

Intel - compatible processor with a minimum speed of 1 GHz or a faster

processor

RAM

Minimum 512MB

Hard Disk Space

4.2 GB of Disk Space

Limitations : Microsoft SQL Server Express supports 1 physical processor,

1 GB memory, and 10 GB storage
1. Once the download has completed double click on the file to start the
installation.
2. Click the Installation menu option on the left hand side of the screen
and then select
3. Select the Basic installation type.
1. Click Accept .

2. Click Install and wait for the installation files to be downloaded and
installed.

3. Once the installation has completed you will be presented with details
about your sql server. In particular make a note of your instance name
as this might be different from the screenshot below if you already
have a version of sql express on your machine:
4. To test your installation you can click the connect now button to
connect to the server as shown below:

5. Click Install SSMS and download the current version of the SSMS.
6. Once the download has completed, click the install and then click
install.
7. Click restart to complete the setup. Once your computer has restarted
you should be able to find the installed Sql Server Management Studio
by searching from the Start Menu:
3. Sql Server Tour
Before we get started learning sql server development we will give a brief
tour of the sql server environment itself.

This chapter will not turn you into a sql server database administrator but the
aim (especially if you are completely new to sql server) is to familiarise yourself
with some of the features, services and basic configuration of sql server.

The main sql server tool that your will be using for the configuration and
development tasks is called the 'Sql Server Management Studio' from now on
this will be referred to as SSMS.

SQL Server Services

Services are basically programs that run in the background of your computer.

The sql server runs using services, you can view these services in several
ways for example if you go to the Start Menu and search for Sql Server 2017
Configuration Manager.

Click on the Sql Server Services option and you will see the services that are
running

Sql Server (SQLEXPRESS)

The main service for sql server. You will not be able to access sql server if
this service is not running.

Sql Server Agent (SQLEXPRESS)

This service allows you to perform various tasks including the scheduling of
jobs for example to backup your sql server databases or execute tsql at a
particular time.

Sql Server Browser

The sql server browser provides information that is required when

connecting to a sql server on a server which has multiple installations of sql
server and viewing a list of available sql servers when logging onto a sql server.
 To follow the examples in this book you should not need to start this service.

From the sql server configuration manager you can configure each of these
services, for example if the start automatically and the account that is used to
run the service.

The default account for the Sql Server Service is NT

Service\MSSQL$SQLEXPRESS

The account that is used to run services is important when the sql server
needs to access the filesystem for example when doing backup and restore tasks.
SQL Server Network Configuration
Within the Sql Server Network Configuration you can configure which
protocols can access your sql server.

The protocols are just different ways in which in which messages are sent to
and from your sql server installation.

The 3 protocols which we will cover next are Shared Memory, Named Pipes
and TCP/IP.

Shared Memory - default enabled

This protocol allows users running on the same computer to connect to the
sql server.

Named Pipes - default disabled

Named pipes are often used to allow applications and systems that do not use
TCP/IP to connect to the sql server

default named pipe: \\.\pipe\MSSQL$SQLEXPRESS\sql\query

To test connecting to the sql server using named pipes:

1. Right click on the 'Named Pipes' protocol and select Properties.

2. Change the pipe to:

\\.\pipe\mytest
 3. Go to Sql Server Services , right click on the SQL Server and select
restart.
4. Open SSMS and select Connect - Database Engine.

Instead of the server name enter the pipe :

\\.\pipe\mytest

The reason for using named pipes is so that systems that do not use TCP/IP
can connect to your database.

TCP/IP - default disabled

This is the protocol that you will need to configure to allow your sql server
to be accessed from other machines on your network.

Protocol tab

Enabled - set this to Yes to enable the protocol.

Keep Alive (milliseconds) - This is how often the connection to the sql server
check - leave this at the default 30000 (30 seconds).
Listen All - IPAll settings used for all ip addresses (default setting).

IP Addresses tab

Used to configure the ports and individual ip addresses.

For example if you need your sql server to be accessed by another machine,
you would need to add the ip address and make sure it was set to active and
enabled, for example:
 The default port for sql server is 1433, sql server express uses dynamic ports
by default

TCP Dynamic Ports - leave blank to use static ports.

When using dynamic ports the port that the sql server uses changes when sql
server restarts.

TCP Port - if you wish to set a port that doesn't change you can enter the
port in the TCP Port field. No change is required here to follow the examples in
this book.
Sql Server Properties
There are various properties of the sql server that can be set using the SSMS.

As this is a beginners guide to sql server development we will cover a few of

the useful properties you may wish to change here.

To view the properties for your sql server installation right click on the Sql
server icon in the object explorer as shown and select Properties:

On the left hand side of the 'Server Properties' dialog that is displayed you
will see that the properties are divided into the following pages:

General
The general settings display various read-only properties such as the version
of the sql server and the version of the windows operating system.

You can also display the properties such tsql commands such as the
following:

SELECT
 CONVERT(sysname, SERVERPROPERTY('servername')),

SERVERPROPERTY('ProductVersion') AS ProductVersion,

SERVERPROPERTY('ProductLevel') AS ProductLevel,

SERVERPROPERTY('Edition') AS Edition,

SERVERPROPERTY('EngineEdition') AS EngineEdition,

SERVERPROPERTY('Collation') AS Collation;

The result from this query should look similar to the following screenshot:

Memory
This page shows the sql server memory options, such as the minimum and
maximum amount of memory allowed to be used by the sql server.

Security
This page allows you to set whether Sql Authentication is allowed to be used
to login to the sql server. Windows authentication mode is the default setting.

Connections
The 'Allow remote connections to this server' is the most important option on
this page, especially if you have an application running on another server that
need to access your sql server database.

Database Settings
Here is where you set the default locations for the data (the sql server
database files), Log (sql server logs) and backups:

Data

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL

Server\MSSQL14.SQLEXPRESS\MSSQL\DATA\

Log
C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL
Server\MSSQL14.SQLEXPRESS\MSSQL\DATA\

Backup

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL

Server\MSSQL14.SQLEXPRESS\MSSQL\Backup

Advanced
There are many options on this page. The most important to note at the
moment are:

Default language - make sure this correct for your country and be aware of
the differences between English (US) and British English. The default language
setting is used when creating new logins.

Permissions
The permissions page shows the commands various logins can execute on
the server.

For now if you select the login that you used to connect to the sql server,
then select the 'Effective' tab at the bottom of the page you will see a list of
permissions which are basically a list of things that this login can do while
connected to the sql server, for example:

CREATE ANY DATABASE

Means that the login can create a sql server database.

If you select the login 'NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM' you will see that the list
of effective permissions is more restricted that your login.

When allowing applications to connect to your sql server it is better to have

logins that are as restrictive as possible and only give the permissions they
actually require.

System databases

When you first install sql server there are 4 databases already created.
 To view these 4 system databases expand the Databases folder in the Object
explorer, and then expand the 'System Databases' folder.

Next we will briefly cover the function of each of these databases.

master
Various pieces of information such as logins and configuration settings.

msdb
Backup, restore history and all details of schedules, operators and jobs.

model
Used as a template for creating new databases.

tempdb
Storage while process queries ie: sorts.

Storage area for temporary tables.

Temporary tables
Temporary tables can be used when you only require a table for a short
period of time when executing some tsql.

You can prove that the tempdb database is used to store temporary fields by
creating a table executing the following tsql:

CREATE TABLE #mytest (

test_field varchar(20)
)
 The '#' in front of the table name means that it is a local temporary table.

A local temporary table can only be accessed by the session in which it was
created

If you prefix table name with '##', it is called a global temporary table which
means the table will be able to be accessed by all sessions not just the one where
the table was created.

Expand the tempdb database, then the 'Temporary tables' folder and you will
see the temporary table you have just created.

You may need to refresh the view by right clicking on the 'Temporary Tables'
folder or the tempdb database and selecting the refresh option.

If you close the query window and refresh the view again you will see the
temporary table has now disappeared.

Because the tempdb table is recreated each time the server is started you can
check the last time the sql server was restarted by right clicking on the tempdb
database, selecting properties and checking the 'Date Created' field.
First Login to Sql Server

1. Open the sql server management studio by going to the start menu and
searching for SSMS.
2. Enter the following details into the dialog box:

Server type: Database Engine

Server name: .\SQLEXPRESS

Authentication: Windows Authentication

3. Click Connect. You should now be connected to the installation of sql

server.
4. To Disconnect from sql server right click on the icon .\SQLEXPRESS
in the object explorer and select disconnect.

5. Select Connect- Database Engine from the object explorer to connect

to the sql server again.
Sql Server Log files
To check the sql server log files using the SSMS within the Object Explorer
expand the Management folder, then the SQL Server Logs and click on one of
the log files.

The most recent log file which has the prefix of 'Current' if the problem you
are investigating happened recently.

As with all systems that keep log files it is important to manage them so that
you do not run out of disk space.

If you expand the Management folder and right click on the 'SQL Server
Logs' folder and select Configure you will see the option to limit the number of
log files that are kept before they are recycled as shown. In the example below I
have set the limit of 6 log files.

Sql Server in the filesystem

1. Open windows explorer and navigate to the following folder:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL14.SQLEXPRESS\MSSQL

2. Within this folder you will find the default folder for the Backup files
(Backup) and Database files (DATA).
Quiz

This is a simply quiz based on the contents of section 1. Just reading an IT

book can get boring this is why we try to keep the text concise with lots of
examples to try.

Install and Tour

Section topics - Introduction, Download and Installation of Sql Server, Sql

Server Tour.

Question 1

What is the default port that sql server uses ?

Question 2

What are the names of the 4 system databases ?

Question 3

What is the difference between "Windows Authentication" and "Sql

Authentication" ?
Section 2. Starting Sql Development
Section 2 introduces the basics of sql development namely how to:

create databases
tables and fields
fundamental statements that perform the basic operations on your data.

This is an important section to get right before moving on too quickly.

Once you are comfortable creating a database, tables and performing the
basic insert, select, update and delete statements on a table of data the following
sections should not cause any problems.
1. Create a database

1. Right click on the 'Databases' folder in the Object explorer and select
the 'New Database...' :

2. Enter a name for your database in the 'Database name' field, in this
case 'first_db'.

3. Notice as you enter the database name the logical name in the
'Database files' table is automatically generated.
4. The 2 files that will be created are called:

first_db.mdf

first_db_log.ldf

The default location of the data files is:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL

Server\MSSQL14.SQLEXPRESS\MSSQL\DATA

5. Click on the Options menu item. 3 options to take note of are:

Collation - the collation settings effects the sort order , case and accent
sensitivity of the information in your tables.

Recovery Model - This option determines the type of backups that can
be performed on the database.

Compatibility level is set to SQL Server 2017(140). Setting the

Compatibility level of the database determines which tsql commands can
be used in that database.
 Filegroups

The default filegroup name is PRIMARY.

Extra filegroups can be created for various uses such as :

Separating different types of data, for example data you wish to

archive.
Splitting data for very large tables.

For this book all files will be added to the default PRIMARY filegroup.

6. Click on the OK button to create the database, then you will see the
database listed under the databases folder.
2. Create Sql Tables

1. The table we are going to create will consist of the following 3 fields
and data types.

2. For each row all fields will have to be filled in.

FIELD NAME DATA TYPE

CREATED_DATEdate

CATEGORY varchar(20)

AMOUNTnumeric(5,2)

There are 2 ways that you can create this table. You can either create the
table in the gui or type in the tsql.

3. In the Management Studio expand the database you created and right
click on the Tables folder and select the Table… option.
4. Enter the Column Name , Data Type and check the tickbox if NULL
values are allowed for this field. A NULL value is an empty field.
5. A null value means that you do not have to fill in the field.
6. Once you have entered all the fields press Ctrl+S to save the table and
enter a table name of spending_initial.
Create the table using tsql

1. To create the table using tsql click on the 'New Query' button in the
toolbar or press Ctrl+N to open a new query window.
2. Enter the text below and press Alt+X or the Execute button in the
toolbar to execute the statement.
 use first_db

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[spending_initial](

[created_date] [date] NOT NULL,

[category] [varchar](20) NOT NULL,

[amount] [numeric](5,2) NOT NULL

3. In the tsql about the USE statement changes the database to first_db.
If you have called your database a different name you will need to
change it here.
4. The CREATE TABLE statement consists of the table name in the
format:

schema.tablename

The default schema is 'dbo'.

Schemas are used to group objects such as tables and views. In this book we
will always be using the dbo schema.

5. Next within brackets are a list of the fields in the table.

The three fields we have created are :

(The 'NOT NULL' option means that when creating a row you need to enter
a value in each field, otherwise you would just enter the text 'NULL')

6. Create a field called created_date with a data type of date:

[created_date] [date] NOT NULL

 Create a field called category where each field will contain a string of 20
characters or less:

[category] [varchar](20) NOT NULL

Create field called amount which is the numeric , the value will have 5 digits
in total with 2 after the decimal point, for example 123.45 :

[amount] [numeric](5,2) NOT NULL

7. When you execute the statement the following message will be

returned if there are no errors:
Commands completed successfully.
8. Right click on the Tables folder in the Object explorer and select
Refresh to see the table you have just created, for example:

9. If you need to remove a table from your database you can either right
click on the table and select the Delete option, then click OK to
confirm the deletion or run the follow DROP command:

DROP TABLE <your table name>

10. Next we will look at creating the basic queries to insert, update and
delete rows in this table.
Convert - your data
Sometimes you need to change the data type of an expression.
The CONVERT function is useful also for changing the format of the date\time
field using predefined codes for different formats of date fields.

1. Next we will cover how you can use the CONVERT function to
change expressions such as a datetime returned from a GETDATE()
function into a varchar data type.
2. The format for the CONVERT function is:

CONVERT ( data_type , field_to_convert, code )

date_type = this is the target data type ie: varchar(32).

field_to_convert = the field you want to convert ie: GETDATE().

code = an optional parameter to set a predefined style.

Some examples of styles you can use:

Default date format if no code parameter is used:

mon dd yyyy hh:miAM (or PM)

US

1 = mm/dd/yy

101 = mm/dd/yyyy

10 = mm-dd-yy

110 = mm-dd-yyyy

British/French
 3 = dd/mm/yy

103 = dd/mm/yyyy

German

4 = dd.mm.yy

104 = dd.mm.yyyy

If you cannot find the style you require for your country or the format for the
date you require listed here you can find the full list of codes here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms187928.aspx

3. Execute the following CONVERT to see how changing the code

parameter changes the result returned:

British date format example, the result is: 14/04/2019

4. select CONVERT(varchar(10), GETDATE(), 103)

US date format example, the result is: 04/14/2019

select CONVERT(varchar(10), GETDATE(), 101)

If you omit the code parameter the field will be returned using the
default date format. Note we have increased the length of the data type we
are using so that the full datetime field is displayed:

select CONVERT(varchar(20), GETDATE())

The result is: Apr 14 2019 11:50AM
Format - your data

The format command returns a formatted result based on the format string
and optional culture parameter that is passed to it.

The format command is only available on sql server from version 2012, if
you try to run this command on previous versions of sql server you will get the
following error:
Msg 195, Level 15, State 10, Line 1
'format' is not a recognized built-in function name.

It is important to remember this just in case there is the possibility that the
code you are developing will at some point run on a previous version of sql
server such as sql server 2008 R2.

Obviously you will not have this problem while learning using 1 sql server
but might encounter it when you start using sql server in a company.

The syntax of the FORMAT function is:

FORMAT ( Expression,Format_to_return[ ,Culture])

Expression = this is the value that needs to be formatted, ie: GETDATE().

Format_to_return = the format_to_return parameter is either a predefined

code such as:

N - Numeric

G - General

C - Currency

Or a format that the users passes for example to format a date string ‘dd-
MM-yy’.

Culture = optional parameter, example of cultures are :

'en-US'= US English
'en-gb'= British English

'de-de' = German
 This option defaults to the current language of the session. Next we will
cover an example of how to use the format function.

1. Execute the following statement using the format function:

select format(getdate(),'dd-MM-yy','en-gb')

You should get a result returned in this format (obviously the date will
be different)

14-04-19

Some other fields that you can use for format string when using dates
are:

Code Format
MM Month Number 01-12
MMM Short Month ie: Jan,Feb etc…
ss\s Second
t AM\PM
yy\yyyy Year
Mm Minute
hh 12 hour
HH 24 hour
dd Day
ddd Short day ie: Mon,Tue,Wed etc…
dddd Full name of day

When working with dates the first thing you need to check is that you are
using the correct date format for your country.

You can see a list of the possible languages available on your system using
the following statement: select * from syslanguages
Get the current DATEFORMAT
The DATEFORMAT setting will determine the default format for dates.

1. Execute the following command :

DBCC USEROPTIONS

2. A number of rows will be returned, if you look at the row where the
‘Set Option’ field is ‘dateformat’ you will see the current dateformat
setting,for example it might be:

mdy

This defines the order as month day then year. You can change the
dateformat setting using the ‘set dateformat’ command.

For example if you wanted to change the order of the day and month so
that the day is first you would use the following command:
set dateformat dmy

3. Open a 'New Query' window and check the dateformat using the
DBCC USEROPTIONS command.
4. You will see it is mdy and the dateformat does not change for all
sessions.
5. If you change the default language of the login that date format will
change for all sessions.
6. Open the security folder, logins , right click on your login and select
properties.
7. Select the General option on the left side of the dialog and change the
Default Language to British English or English if it is already set to
‘British English’.
8. Open a new query window and execute the DBCC USEROPTIONS
command. You will see the following settings have changed:
 languageBritish

dateformatdmy

Set the default language back to English:

languageus_english

dateformatmdy

Date functions
In some way or another most tables you will be developing will probably
have a date field, for example the date\time field is often used to show when the
row was created.

Next we will cover the more useful date functions that are available on sql
server.

GETDATE

The GETDATE function simply returns the current date\time in the

following default format:

YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss[.nnn]

For example:
select GETDATE()

Will return something in the following format:

2019-04-14 12:00:12.510

CAST
Format: CAST(<expression> as <data type>)

Here are 2 examples of using the CAST function to either return just the date
or time from the GETDATE function.
 The default format of the date data type is YYYY-MM-DD, execute the
following statement:
select cast(GETDATE() as date)

The result should be:

2019-04-14

The default format of the time data type is hh:mm:ss[.nnnnnnn] , execute the
following statement:

select cast(GETDATE() as time)

The result should be: 12:01:11.6600000

DATEPART

With the DATEPART function you can obtain certain parts of the datetime
field returned from the GETDATE function .

The format of the DATEPART function is:

DATEPART(<part_of_date>,date_expression)

< part_of_date > = a keyword representing the part of the date you require
for example using DAY , MONTH, or YEAR returns the different parts of the
date as you would expect.

Date_expression = the expression containing the date ie: GETDATE

function.

The following statement returns the number of the current month ie: 4 for
April:
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
 CHAPTER II
PRECEDENTS FOR SUPPRESSION
The Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII is popularly
represented as an isolated act, standing alone in the nation’s history.
Except that it was on an exceptionally large scale, such is very far
from being the fact. It was, indeed, only the last stage in a process
which had long been in progress. The Suppression, in 1312, of the
Knights Templars, who had a Preceptory in Staffordshire at Keele,
was the first great destruction of a Religious Order, and it must not
be forgotten that it was the work of the Papacy. A century later
Henry V, for financial and political reasons, suppressed the Alien
Priories, Lapley, in Staffordshire, among them. During the following
hundred years, which intervene before we arrive at the time with
which we are more immediately concerned, such great ecclesiastics
as Wykeham, Chichele, Waynflete, Fisher, and Alcock, had all laid
hands on monastic wealth for educational purposes. Even the great
Dissolution of the sixteenth century was no idea suddenly conceived
at the moment. It was itself, again, the last phase of a movement
which naturally developed. It was one of the Acts of a great drama.
The suppressions of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries had
fatally weakened the idea that property devoted to religious
purposes was for ever inviolable. The intentions of Founders could
no longer be sacrosanct. The tendency was, not even to ask whether
the monasteries were fulfilling the objects for which they had been
founded, but rather, whether they were needed. The New Learning
had little respect for old foundations, and Staffordshire had an early
example of the way it would deal with endowments.
William Smythe was Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry from 1493
to 1496. As Lord President of the Welsh Marches he was mainly
employed in unepiscopal work, Thomas Fort, Prior of Stone, acting
as his suffragan. He founded Brasenose College, at Oxford, and
boldly diverted monastic endowments into new channels. In 1495 he
suppressed the Austin Priory of St. John at Lichfield, and used the
site and property for a Grammar School and Almshouses. Such
action obviously indicates that at Lichfield, at any rate, there was
neglect of charity and education by the “religious,” otherwise Bishop
Smythe would have had no need to suppress St. John’s Priory.
Bishop Smythe was an early Wolsey, on a small scale. The
Cardinal, like the Bishop, was a politician rather than an ecclesiastic,
and he, too, laid bold hands on monastic endowments for
educational purposes.
Of course Wolsey’s work was much more important than Bishop
Smythe’s, and the history of Staffordshire shows in some measure
how it was accomplished. He became Chancellor in 1515 and sought
from the Pope visitatorial powers over the English monasteries. Such
authority for a royal official was little of a novelty. The King had
always claimed to have considerable power in the religious houses,
and had often exercised it. The royal license was necessary before a
new Superior could be elected, and during the vacancy the
temporalities were taken over and administered by royal officials.
The election, when made, required the royal assent. In all sorts of
ways the royal power made itself felt in the religious houses. It was
continually interfering in their internal affairs, as we shall see fully
when we approach the time of the General Dissolution. It was able
to bring such considerable influence to bear in elections that
requests were made for headships just as for other appointments
which were properly in the gift of the Government.[15] The right of
nominating to corrodies, always claimed and constantly exercised,
would of itself ensure the presence of representatives of the King
and his opinions in the religious houses. How widely the right was
interpreted in the sixteenth century may be gathered from the claim
made by the Duke of Richmond, Henry VIII’s illegitimate son, in
1532. In that year he wrote from Calais to the Prior of Tutbury,
informing him that he had been sent on a mission to France and that
the King’s pleasure was that such of his servants as remained behind
in England should be established in religious houses, “of whom,” the
letter says, “Robert Amyas, clerk of my jewel house, is appointed to
abide at your monastery.”[16] Even so recently as 1490 the King had
exercised the powers which Wolsey desired, and by papal
authorisation.
Wolsey, therefore, knew he was on safe ground in making his
request to the Pope. After some delay, Leo X granted the desired
authority (1518), and Wolsey issued statutes for the Austin Canons
next year.
He soon began his splendid educational schemes. With some
difficulty he obtained the Pope’s consent (April, 1524) to use the
revenues of St. Frideswide’s at Oxford (where Reginald Pole, a
Staffordshire man, while a student at Oxford, had had a pension,
though he was of Royal lineage) towards the endowment of the
college he was founding.[17] This, of course, was quite insufficient
for the splendid scheme he had in mind, and many further
negotiations with the Pope resulted in a series of grudgingly granted
Bulls during several years. Meanwhile, Wolsey proceeded with his
work. The single house he had obtained was by no means all he
intended to appropriate, and he had already drawn up the draft of a
license for incorporating for the use of his college at Oxford twenty-
one other houses, including those at Canwell and Sandwell,[18] in
Staffordshire. It is a Latin document of eleven pages, and is in
Wriothesley’s handwriting.
In 1514 there had been but a single inmate at Canwell available
for appointment to the office of Prior. As a Cluniac house it had
never received adequate supervision, and had often been
unsatisfactory: long ago one of its canons had become a murderer.
[19] Sandwell had been on the verge of bankruptcy, with
discreditable canons, wasteful and unbusiness-like management,
violent altercations with neighbours and armed “religious” rivals. Its
buildings were in bad repair. Both houses were ripe for dissolution.
 The deed for the dissolution of St. Mary’s, Sandwell, by William
Burbank, LL.D., is dated February, 1524.[20] It is a Latin document of
twenty-three pages, written on vellum, signed by Prior John and
sealed by Burbank. The witnesses are Thomas Cromwell, John
Clifton (chaplain), Roland Rokyn, and John Lupton. The house was
not absolutely closed; provision was made for the religious services
to be maintained, and the servants and inmates who were dismissed
were recompensed. The yearly value was £12 in spiritualities and
£26 8s. 7d. in temporalities.[21]
Clement VII’s Bull authorising this did not issue till six months
later. It permitted the suppression of monasteries to the value of
3,000 ducats, and was dated September 11th. It received the royal
assent on October 1st.[22] It included Sandwell and, obviously,
Canwell, though the writing is partly defaced. On the 13th of
January, 1526, Letters Patent were signed at Greenwich, and
delivered at Westminster on January 20th, granting to Wolsey the
sites, etc., of St. Mary’s, Sandwell, and St. Giles’s, Canwell,[23] with
lands in Staffordshire at Sandwell, West Bromwich, Dudley, Tipton,
Magna and Parva Bar, Harborne, Wernell, Coston, Wombourn,
Wednesbury, Feccham, Canwell, Drayton, Hyns, Wyfford, Packington,
Bittertone, Tamworth, Whittington, Elford, and Farysley. Canwell was
worth £10 in spiritualities and £15 0s. 3d. in temporalities. No time
was lost. On February 10th the houses were transferred to John
Higden, dean of Cardinal’s College, the grant being sealed with
Wolsey’s seal, which, enclosed in an iron case at the foot of the
vellum, remains to this day a splendid impression.[24] The records of
the estates were put into excellent order. William Brabazon surveyed
the Manor of Canwell, and has left a full and detailed description of
church, manor-house, ou-buildings, and land, with full details,
measurements, rental, amount of timber, etc. The church was 84
feet long and 23 feet wide, with a tiled roof. It had a ruinous Lady
Chapel on the north side 42 feet long and 14 feet wide, and bells
worth £33 6s. 8d. The manor-house was 69 feet long by 15 feet
wide, with one side tiled and the other thatched, and three rooms
above and below, but its timber was in a bad state. There was a hall
and kitchen, the latter also ruinous, a three-roomed stable, a kiln,
bolting house, and chamber for corn, dove-house, and a large barn
112 feet by 28 feet. We have also a detailed list of the cottagers by
name, with their rents (1d. per annum per cottage), dated the 13th
of March, 1526.[25] A præcipe for a fine relating to the possessions
of Canwell, and a lease and a conveyance of Sandwell, show that
the former had been dissolved by the year 1527.[26] Its founder,
Lord Lisle, had released his title by fine. The latter was “given” by
Edward, Lord Dudley.
The same business-like procedure was followed in making over
the endowments to the College. The estates having been carefully
and fully surveyed, a complete “Register” of all the documents was
delivered to Dr. Higden, under date 21st of June, 1527. The Dean
himself was a keen business man, like all the men who enjoyed
Wolsey’s favour, and at once set about improving the revenues,
visiting the estates, and raising the rents where it was possible to do
so.[27]
The suppression of the monasteries formed part of the charges
laid against Wolsey on his impeachment. Dean Higden’s raising of
the rents was charged against the Cardinal, who was also accused of
“shamefully slandering many good religious houses and good
virtuous men living in them,” as well as often forcing suppressions by
“crafty persuasions.” The houses alleged to be so wrongfully
suppressed were, however, by no means restored on his fall. Full
details of them were obtained by Commissions of local gentry: Sir
John Gifford, Sir Edward Aston, Edward Lyttleton, and John Vernon,
acted in Staffordshire. Then, whatever still remained was sold.
William Burbank and Thomas Cromwell did this work at Canwell and
Sandwell.[28] The sale at the former reached £8 and at the latter
£21. The bells at Sandwell were worth £33 6s. 8d., and at Canwell
£13 6s. 8d., and debts and rents due at Lady-day amounted to £189
10s. On the other hand, there were the costs of Burbank and
Cromwell for their journey from Tickford to Sandwell, and for their
five days’ stay at Sandwell and three days’ at Canwell. The fees of
the “Praysors” were 3s. 4d.; and one of the monks at Canwell was
paid £1 in wages, and another 6s. 8d. The Prior’s father and the
servants also received payments. The work was done thoroughly.
The establishment evidently had been leniently dealt with, and
indeed to a considerable extent maintained, so long as Wolsey lived,
but now the religious life, at least, ceased, for we may conclude that
the sale of the bells implies that the churches were closed or put to
secular uses.
In the re-arrangement of the endowments of Wolsey’s College,
Canwell was spared for it, and so was Sandwell, but the rectories
belonging to the latter and the manor at the former were assigned
to the College at Windsor. The Prior of Shene also received some of
the lands at Sandwell, and John Voysey, alias Harmon, Bishop of
Exeter, made purchases at Canwell. The “total issues” from the
Staffordshire houses are set down in the Account Book of the
College for 1530 as £31 7s. from Sandwell and £14 6s. from
Canwell.[29]
Bishop Geoffrey Blythe was another of the products of the New
Learning: a suspect by reason of his advanced opinions, yet a burner
of heretics; the ordainer of Colet and the rejector as indoctus et
indignus of a Canon of Ronton nominated to a vicarage in 1530; the
acceptor so early as 1530 of Henry VIII’s refusal to allow an appeal
to Rome which the Bishops of the Province of Canterbury made
against Archbishop Warham in regard to probate.
While Wolsey was appropriating monastic endowments for the
benefit of learning, Bishop Blythe was engaged in similar work, and
he obtained Wolsey’s help in suppressing the Benedictine Nunnery at
Fairwell.
In 1526 the diocese had received a visit from the Cardinal in
person. In March he came to the Cathedral in his capacity of Legate
a latere, formally to investigate a complaint of the vicars. It did not
contribute to his popularity, and was met by a protest on the part of
the Great Chapter. However, he examined and ratified the Cathedral
statutes; and probably during the Visitation, which lasted from
March 5th to April 4th, Bishop Blythe discussed the condition of
Fairwell with the Cardinal, and received from him advice and
encouragement.
Fairwell Nunnery had been founded by Bishop Roger de Clinton
(1129–1148), a few miles from Lichfield. Bishop Norbury, on a
visitation, had found various delinquencies which caused him to
issue a series of detailed injunctions in 1331.[30] They had to be
translated into French as the nuns did not understand Latin. In 1367
Bishop Stretton again exercised his authority and in the same way.
From the orders he issued[31] we are able to gather the nature of
the things complained of. The laudable practice of going for walks in
common was commended, but none were to go out without two
others for company, and then only by leave of the Prioress. The
threefold vow was to be observed, and also the periods of silence.
Such secular women, except necessary servants, as were living
within the nunnery were to obtain the Bishop’s license or to be
dismissed, and the same order was issued with regard to male
children. The accounts were to be laid before the whole Convent
yearly at least, and grants of land were to require the Bishop’s
authorization. There had been too much luxury, and all were ordered
to take their meals in the Guest Hall, where, alone, except in cases
of sickness or other reasonable cause, a fire was permissible.
In March, 1527, a Commission was sealed by Wolsey at Hampton
Court empowering Richard Strete, B.D., Archdeacon of Salop and
Canon of Lichfield, and William Clayborough, LL.D., Canon of York,
to complete the suppression of Fairwell.[32] The nuns and chaplains
were to be translated to other houses, and the goods of the house
were to go to the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield for the support of
the choristers. The formal grant to the Dean and Chapter, of the
Nunnery and all its possessions, was made on August 28th following.
[33] In return they bound themselves to say an annual Obit for the
Bishop.
 Such work as that which has been described—work on a small
scale by Bishops Smythe and Blythe, and on a larger scale by Wolsey
—became of very great historical importance. It revived the memory
of the destruction of the Knights Templars and the confiscation of
the Alien Priories, and familiarised public opinion in the earlier years
of the sixteenth century with the idea of monastic dissolutions. That
no suspicion of personal cupidity or of self-interest could be laid
against any of the authors was in itself of great value to the men
who afterwards followed in their footsteps with very different
motives. The genuine disinterestedness of purpose which prompted
these earlier “reformers” went far to blind the public to the real
objects of the later. And Wolsey’s dissolutions did much more. They
not only supplied contemporary examples and revived old
precedents; they not only gave practical effect to the tendency of
the New Learning to disparage old forms of religious life; they
actually trained up experts in the work of suppressing religious
houses. Thomas Cromwell made, as Wolsey’s secretary, his first
essays in the art which was afterwards to gain for him the name of
the “Hammer of the Monks.” We have seen him busy in the case of
both the Staffordshire houses which were dissolved by the Cardinal.
Richard Strete, too, we shall soon meet again.
Cromwell, even at this early stage of his career, earned a
reputation for unscrupulous harshness, and susceptibility to bribery;
but on the whole it is evident that these suppressions were
accomplished with the least possible friction. The interests of all who
were involved—patrons, monks, servants, tenants, were considered
and recognised. And the general results to learning were
undoubtedly good.
 CHAPTER III
AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL SUPPRESSION
When the assembly, which has gained for itself the name of the
Reformation Parliament, met, the air was full of rumours of attacks
upon the clergy. The French Ambassador reported: “it is the
intention, when Wolsey is dead or destroyed, to get rid of the
Church and spoil the goods of both.” Parliament assembled on
November 3rd, 1530, and to the Convocation which was called at
the same time the heads of the following religious houses in
Staffordshire were summoned: Burton, Rocester, Dieulacres, Hulton,
Croxden, Tutbury, Stone, St. Thomas (Stafford), Trentham, Ronton,
Calwich, and Dudley. Sandwell and Canwell had, of course,
disappeared recently. The Bishop of the diocese was Geoffrey Blythe.
Archdeacon Strete was one of the Proctors for the clergy.
The Prior of Calwich, who was summoned, died just at this
juncture, and the dispute which arose as to the appointment of a
successor enabled the Crown to assert its supremacy at the expense
of all parties concerned.
Calwich had originally been a hermitage, and had been given by
Nicholas de Gresley Fitz Nigel in the twelfth century to the Priory of
Kenilworth. It had thus become a cell of that house, and came under
the rules of the Austin Canons. A considerable amount of building
had been done at Calwich in the latter part of the fourteenth
century: in 1391 the Pope granted Indulgences to those who visited
the place and made contributions to the fabric on the feast of St.
Margaret and certain other days. The history of Calwich illustrates
how the dependent “cells” were a source of weakness to the
monastic system. Such houses were often unsatisfactory. They were
sometimes looked upon as places of banishment for brethren who
deserved punishment: a method of discipline akin to the later
system of penal settlements like Botany Bay, and as likely to be
productive of the very worst results. The very men who needed
supervision would be freed from it, and the remedy would intensify
the evil. In any case, such small communities would easily become
engrossed in secular pursuits: their interests were narrowed, and
their occupation small.
Disputes arose between the dependent cells and the parent
house, and the inmates of the cells often became unpopular with
their neighbours. In 1293 the dependence of Calwich on Kenilworth
was made the excuse for depriving its Prior of pasture rights in the
Wootton Woods, it being asserted that he was removable at the will
of the Prior of Kenilworth. This, indeed, was strikingly shown to be
the case in 1334, when the Prior, although duly instituted, was
recalled by the Prior of Kenilworth. The Prior of Calwich in 1293
denied that he held such a dependent position, but the local jury, to
whom the case was referred, decided against him. Local feeling was
hostile to the Canons, much as it was afterwards against the Alien
Priories, and Calwich had to forego further rights of gallows and free
warren, etc., in the manor of Ellastone. The parent house did not
relax its hold or lessen its claims at the bidding of a Staffordshire
jury. In 1334 the Bishop inquired into the matter and decided in
favour of Kenilworth. This apparently brought matters to a crisis, for
in 1349 the four resident Canons pleaded that they could no longer
endure the uncertainty of their position and the unpopularity they
experienced. They succeeded in having their house declared
independent, under the patronage of the original founders, who
undertook to pay yearly a sum of sixty shillings to Kenilworth in
acknowledgment of its rights.
The house gained nothing by its independence, but rather the
reverse. The Prior found his subjection to the lay-patron involved
him in litigation, without gaining him protection from the jealousy of
neighbours. The house shared in the general decline in wealth and
numbers after the Black Death. In 1384 Bishop Robert de Stretton
appointed the Prior and Canons of Calwich to be the collectors in the
Archdeaconry of Stafford of the Convocation grant, but they
petitioned to be excused on the plea of infirmity, poverty, and
smallness of numbers (there were only two Canons besides the
Prior).
It sank lower and lower. In 1438 the Prior was charged with the
forcible detention of ten oxen and eight cows, for which damages to
the amount of £20 were claimed. Twenty years after he was troubled
by neighbours breaking into his close, cutting down his underwood
and letting loose their cattle to graze upon his pastures.
Accordingly, when the Prior died in 1530, the house was a poor
place with a bad record. In accordance with the usual practice, the
Priory was taken into the royal hands during the vacancy; and the
subsequent story affords an interesting illustration of the way in
which the attack on clerical privileges which was carried on in the
early years of the Reformation Parliament, was supported by
irregular movements in detail. It also helps us to see how the great
work of the Suppression of the Monasteries was the independent
work of the Government. They made use of Parliamentary support
and sanction when it was convenient or wise, but the work was in
reality their own. The suppression of Calwich was never referred to
Parliament. It aroused no feeling and evoked no protest from
anyone. It was evidently looked upon as quite a natural exercise of
the royal power.
On the Prior’s death there was but one remaining canon, Dr.
David Pole, or Powle;[34] and the representative of the original
founder of the Priory, Ralf Longford, claimed the right of
presentation, and sent an agent, furnished with means, to London to
press his claim. Dr. Roland Lee was one of the King’s Chaplains, and
Chancellor of Lichfield. Richard Strete, the Archdeacon of Salop,
Cromwell’s agent in the district, wrote to Lee in London informing
him of the position of affairs at Calwich, on April 6th, 1530, adding
that he could find no record of such a right as Longford claimed, and
arguing that it should not be allowed. It was convenient now to
assert the Bishop’s right of appointment. Lord Shrewsbury also put
forward claims in virtue of donations to the house by past members
of his family. There were other claimants, and the result was that
various persons were recommended for the preferment. All this
helped to play into the hands of the enemy. Strete’s conclusion was
that it would be well to consult with Cromwell as to what should be
done. Later, Strete wrote fully to Cromwell himself, repeating the
same information and giving in detail an account of the spoil that
might be expected from the house.[35]
“My duty done, according to your lettres datyd penultimo die
Aprilis, I have ben at Calwich, and takyn an inventary of the goodes of
that house by indenture and committyd the keping and garding of all
thinges ther to thabbott of Rowceter ij myles thens, and on of his
brethren abidith at Calwich to overse them who hath kept the
sequestre syns the departur of the late prior. The valour of the goodes
and laundes foloith.
Inprimis, household very course, as doith appere by xvli. xiijs. ijd.
particlars in the inventary
Item, in catall, as oxen, kye, horses, mares, shepe old and lxxixli. xvs. iiijd.
yonge
Item, in corne, apon the grounde xjli. vjs. viijd.
Item, stuff for the church, as chales and vestmentes, etc. xli. ixs. viijd.
Summa cxvijli. iiijs. xd.
Item, the demeanes lyen roundabowt the house, and ben xxiijli. xijs.
worth yerely
Item, other tenthes yerely xvijli. viijs. jd.ob.
Item, the paroch church of Ellaston to that monastery xiijli. vjs. viiijd.
appropriat, besyde the Vicar indoment
“In these is no harde peneworth: the house and other byldinges
be in mean good state of reparacion. I have dischargyd and put forth
such persons as were not mete to be ther, and laft such as be
husbaundes, and I have made sure the convent saill, and the
evidence.
“The first founder ther was Nich. Gresley, in whose title now
claymyth Mr. Longford (as men here report). Ther be diverse
benefactours that hath gyffyn landes to that house, as it doith appere,
viz., my lord Stuard, sir Henrie Saucheverell, Mr. Oker, and other thair
ansetors. And thus ye may partly perceyve, and what I can do ferther
shalbe redy by God his grace.... Lich. xijo, Maij.
“Yours,
“Richard Strete, preist.”
 Wolsey died on November 29th, 1530. Bishop Blythe soon
followed him. The exact date does not appear in his Act Books, but it
was apparently not long before January 21st, as on that date the
Archbishop’s Commission was issued to the Vicar-General to act
during the vacancy. Archdeacon Strete was appointed in May “to
receive the rents and profits of the same [Bishopric] to the King’s
use” during the vacancy. At the same time he received the following
letter from Cromwell:[36]
“Mr. Strete after most hertie commendacions these shalbe to
advertise you that by the berers hereof ye shall receyve the Kinge’s
comission and warraunte gevyng you auctoryte to Survey the londes
of the bisshopriche of Coventre and Licheld and to receyve the rentes
and profites of the same to the Kinges use. And also ye shall receyve
his gracious letteres directed to the Eschetor of the Countie palentyne
of Chester uppon the sight whereof I doubte not but he will not onelie
Surcease to medle any Ferther with the receipt of any rentes there,
but also in case he have receyved any, will repay the same unto your
handes accordinglie. Not dowbting but ye will diligentlie, effectuallie,
and trewly put in execucion the teanour and effecte of your saide
Commyssion in suche wise as shalbe most for your honestie to the
Kinges most profite and advantage. And for your paynes and diligence
alredy taken and susteyned aboute his affayres there his highnes
hathe commaunded me to geve unto you his most hertie thankes.
And trustith that ye will so indevour your self in the receipt of the said
rentes and revenues as before the feaste of the Natyvyte of Saynt
John Baptist next ye will bryng or send up the hole half-yeres rent or
the most parte of the same and that ye will have good awayte and
regarde to his haukes in the Cauke there wherein ye shall do and
admynister unto his highnes right good and acceptable servyce.
“And as touching the Catell at the pryorie of Calliche the kinges
gracious pleasure is that ye shall suffer the berers hereof named
Fyndern and Curson to have the preferrement in the byeng of the
same uppon suche reasonable prises as they may convenyently lyve
on taking of them som money in hande and such sufficient bonde and
suertie for the residue as the king may be trewly answered of the
same. And so Fare ye well &c.
“Your mastership.”
An agreement was made between the King and Longford. The
Patron surrendered his claim of presentation, and agreed to the
suppression of the house in 1532. He was to hold the lands in farm
from the King, and the rent was to be fixed by a local jury. Strete
recommended the Abbot of Rocester, Sir William Bassett, Sir John
Gifford, and himself, but the Sheriff refused to “affirm” the panel by
reason of its manifest partiality.[37] Strete’s inclusion was in itself
sufficient to condemn it: in the long letter in which he suggested it
he maligned Longford for “slackness,” and recommended Cromwell
to press him for £60 which was owing on account of Calwich.
Another claimant to the lands, or part of them, was the Earl of
Shrewsbury, and the Sheriff’s panel consisted of the Earl’s tenants. It
was, therefore, as little impartial as Strete’s, but it met with the
approval of Brabazon,[38] one of Cromwell’s emissaries, who was
sent down to Lichfield to help in the business; and evidently no idea
of fairness entered the minds of any of the officials. There were
other claimants, too, apparently Sir Henry Sacheverell and Mr. Oker
(Okeover), but they could be disregarded. Strete and Brabazon used
their powers of persuasion, and the members of the jury, having
served their lord’s ends by deciding in favour of the Earl’s claim to “a
small portion” of the property, were ready to give their decision as
the Crown required. Yet they judged it wiser to save appearances by
a show of hesitation; they insisted on an adjournment, though at the
same time they promised the requisite verdict. This was in the third
week in August, 1532. Of course Strete was able to write to
Cromwell in due course (October 21st, 1532):[39] “The Office of
Calwich is passed for the King.” At that time Longford owed £46 5s.
2d. He had also in his possession the tithes (£13 3s. 4d.) and the
last Michaelmas rents (£11 16s.). These he undertook to deliver to
Cromwell. An escheator was appointed to receive the dues on the
King’s behalf, and on March 11th of the next year we have a note of
Cromwell’s (11th March, 1533) that £30 had been received from
Strete on the Calwich account. By April 26th the legal formalities
were completed, and Strete was able to report to Cromwell: “The
Priory of Calwich, now void, rests in the King’s pleasure.”[40] This
was the year in which the Act was passed giving to the King the
rights of visitation of the religious houses, and, of course,
considerably before any Act was passed for their dissolution.
But all was not plain sailing for Longford. In 1534 among the
“bills to be signed” was still that of “Sir Ralf Longford for the late
Priory of Calwiche.” Moreover, Strete was instructed that Mr.
Fitzherbert, Longford’s father-in-law, was to have the tithes and the
growing corn “at such prices as may be deemed sufficient,” and
Findern and Curson, already mentioned, were repudiated in his
favour.
The letter, dated June 14th, 1533, which Cromwell wrote to
Archdeacon Strete is as follows:[41]
“Maister Strete as hertelye as I Can I commend me unto you, and
whereas by my last letteres I wrott unto you in the Favors of Curson
and Fyndern to be prefferyd unto the Catell and Corn of late
belongyng to the priorye of Colwyche, and Sythyn that tyme I wrotte
unto you on the behalf of Mr. longford for his prefferment unto the
demaynes of the sayd pryorye so hit ys that now the sayd maister
longford by his Fatherinlaw, Mr. Fyzherbert moche desyryth to have
the Tythys and also suche Corn as at thys tyme ys Sown uppon the
demaynes of the sayd late pryorye for this yere whych tythe and corn
sown uppon the demaynes I require yow that he may haffe at such
prysys as ye shall thinke convenyent and in such wyse as the kynge’s
highnes may be Substauncyallye answeryd of the proftyttes growing
of the same without any Favour to be born to anye othre partye and
wher as I wrott in myn other letter that Curson and Fyndern shold
have the preffermentt of the Catell and Corn I dyd not wrytt for anye
Corne growing on the grownde ne yet for any tythys which in no wyse
ye shall Suffer them to have but to order hyt as ys afforsayd most to
the kynge’s proffytte advauntage. I well persayve who grauntyth
suchemen an Inche they wyll take an ell. I am Infformyd they avaunte
them selfs to have Commyssyons and graunttes of the kyng which ys
untrew I praye yew advyse them to use no such Facyons. Syr, the
kynges highnes trustyth that ye with all spede will bryng up the
halfyere’s Ferme and Renttes of the Busshopryche which I praye yow
may be here before his gracyous departyng in progresse, and as to
the Chanon off Colwyche ye may translate hym unto Sum good howse
of that relygyon being nere unto yow and to gyve hym sumthing after
your discrecyon suche as may stand with the kynges honour and also
to his honest Contentacyon, and thus trustyng in your approvyd
 wysdom and experyence Commytt all the premysses unto your
discrecyon trustyng ever that ye wyll have respect to your dew and
charge and also that I may have short answer of thes and other my
letteres, and so Fare ye well at London, the xiiiith daye of June.”
Where Dr. David Pole was placed we are not told, but in 1535 a
David Pole is found as Prebendary of Tachebroke, in receipt of a
stipend of £10 a year.[42]
On February 12th, 1534, Richard Harecourt became the
escheator for the year, and remained till November 18th, when
another was appointed, who proved to lack the necessary property
qualification, so Longford had to pay the King’s dues direct. Next
year (November 24th, 1535) Thomas Skrymsher was appointed.
The King now made one of those “exchanges” which became so
frequent later. The manor of East Molesey was pleasantly situated on
the southern bank of the Thames, in Surrey, and had obvious
advantages over the remote estate in North Staffordshire. It
belonged to the old and historic priory of Merton, where Becket had
been educated, where the Parliament had sat which enacted the
statutes of Merton, and which had provided a refuge for the patriot
Hubert de Burgh in his days of adversity. Its past fame and present
wealth seemed to warrant its inmates in a confident assurance of
security, and they agreed to give the King their riverside manor of
East Molesey in exchange for the distant and forlorn cell of their
Order at Calwich. No doubt they hoped eventually to retrieve its
fortunes and to re-establish it as a religious house, though for the
present they had to acquiesce in the arrangements regarding it
which had just been made. The exchange appears to have been
made in 1535–6, and Merton renewed the lease to Longford for £43,
with the obligation to discharge the pension of sixty shillings to “the
late priory of Kelyngworth.”
Almost immediately the process of squeezing the larger houses
began, and Merton Abbey soon succumbed. The date of its
surrender, with Abbot and fourteen monks, is April 16th, 1538. The
lease of Calwich to Longford was renewed in the same year. In 1540
he obtained an acknowledgment that he had paid all his dues to
Cromwell and Gostwick, and was empowered to receive from the
various escheators “tayles” (tallies, i.e., receipts) for them. The
Augmentation Book in 1543 has a record of his twenty-one years’
lease, but the reversion was sold to John Fleetwood.
Longford soon found himself in financial difficulties. In spite of
the grant of Calwich, for which Sir Anthony Fitzherbert wrote to
thank Cromwell on April 18th, 1537, he could not pay the rent due.
The royal escheators were hard taskmasters, exacting the uttermost
farthing, and Fitzherbert’s letter shows Longford had been some
time in debt. In 1541 they levied a distraint, and ejected from the
estate the tenants to whom Longford had sublet it. He had to enter
into a bond of £200 to settle the matter, and this only added to his
embarrassments. In 1543 he was in the Fleet, the debtors’ prison,
writing piteous appeals for loans wherewith to discharge his
indebtedness to the King.
Ralf Longford, his successor in Elizabeth’s reign, on the expiration
of the lease made an effort to retain the property, but without
success, and Calwich passed to the Fleetwoods. The way they
treated the buildings is well known from Erdeswicke’s oft-quoted
description. Writing about 1593, he noted how the new owner “hath
made a parlour of the chancel, a hall of the church, and a kitchen of
the steeple.” It is strange to find the Fleetwoods of Calwich in the
lists of Recusants in later years.[43]
 CHAPTER IV
PRELIMINARIES TO THE GENERAL SUPPRESSION
For the sake of following up the story of the downfall of Calwich in a
connected form it has been necessary to omit the mention of much that
meanwhile had been happening. Bishop Blythe’s loyalty would have been
severely strained had he lived a few weeks longer. Before the end of January
(1531) the Convocation of Canterbury had been compelled to vote the
enormous sum of £100,000 in atonement for the fault which had been
committed in acknowledging Wolsey’s legatine authority. The Abbot of Croxden
was too ill to attend the Session. The Northern Convocation subsequently
voted an additional £18,840. The ease with which these huge amounts were
raised was to have unsuspected effects. The clergy were also compelled to
acknowledge the King “their singular protector, only and supreme lord, and, as
far as the law of Christ allows, even Supreme Head,” though it must be
remembered that Henry took pains to explain that he understood the
expression in no blasphemous sense. Next, it was required that the
Convocations should enact no new Canons without royal license. They made a
vain attempt to retain some of their powers. On May 8th (1532) a deputation
was appointed to wait upon the King to try to induce him to retain clerical
immunities. The constitution of the deputation did not augur well for its
success. It consisted of Roland Lee, already called Bishop of Lichfield, though
he was not consecrated till April 19th next year, the Abbot of Burton-on-Trent,
and four others.
The Abbot of Burton-on-Trent was Dr. William Boston. He had been
originally a monk of Peterborough, and became Abbot of Burton in 1531. He
was one of Cromwell’s satellites, and there are many notes in Cromwell’s
“Remembrances” which show that the two were in frequent consultation. It
was probably through Cromwell’s influence, and against the wishes of the
Convent, that Boston was elected Abbot, for at the next vacancy a strong party
still adhered to the monk who ought to have been previously advanced.
Roland Lee is a personage who needs no introduction, and we shall have
sufficient of him before long.[44]
The deputation failed, if it was intended to preserve any semblance of
initiative for Convocation. On May 10th the famous “Submission of the Clergy”
was introduced, and on May 15th it was accepted.
 At the same time Henry’s passion for Anne Boleyn was driving him further
and further from the Pope. The Annates Bill, empowering the King to deprive
the Pope of his revenues from England, was passed, for diplomatic reasons, on
March 19th. It was at once a threat and a bribe to the Papacy, and its object
was to secure the annulling of Katherine’s marriage. A post was sent to Rome
“to frighten the Pope about the Annates,”[45] but it failed in achieving its
object. Clement VII stood firm; but early in 1533, as was afterwards alleged,
the King went through a form of marriage with Anne Boleyn. Among those
who were variously stated to have performed the ceremony was Roland Lee.
The alienation from the Papacy became much more pronounced as the news
of the marriage leaked out, and the passing of the Annates Bill into law
became inevitable. The Royal Letters Patent, which made it effective, were
issued on July 9th.
In the same Session the Act in Restraint of Appeals to Rome was passed,
springing from the same unsavoury origin, and requiring more management in
Parliament. Exceptional steps were taken to make sure that the King’s party
should be well represented. William Boston had lately been in frequent
consultation with Cromwell: he could be depended upon to speed the
ecclesiastical legislation then in progress, and in his person the Abbot of
Burton for the first time sat in Parliament. His admission is entered on the Rolls
as being “by virtue of a writ of summons, dated the 30th of April, 24 Henry
VIII.”[46] It may be recalled that meanwhile the house at Calwich was in the
last throes of dissolution. It was on October 21st following that Strete
reported: “the Office of Calwich is passed for the King.”
But Calwich was not the only Staffordshire house which was receiving
Cromwell’s attention at this time. William Boston was speedily rewarded for his
support of the royal policy in Parliament by being promoted to the high honour
of the Abbacy of Westminster.[47] It was part of Cromwell’s policy to secure
the election of complacent nominees to the headships of the religious houses
as vacancies occurred. A writer of Elizabeth’s reign, who had been cognisant of
the whole history of the period, averred that he deliberately promoted such
men as would afterwards further his schemes of confiscation: “He placed
abbottes and ffriers in divers great housses, divers lerned men, and perswaded
against these superstitiens, which men were readie to make surrender of their
houses at the kinges commaundement.”[48]
We have already seen that pressure had been probably brought to bear
upon the community at Burton-on-Trent when Boston had been elected. The
facts about the election of his successor admit of no dispute. The whole story
appears in full in the State papers.
 No sooner had William Boston been promoted than Cromwell set about
securing the election of a successor of the same type. He sent to the Abbey
three men like-minded with himself, Roland Lee, Richard Strete, and Pole.
Roland Lee and he had already been companions in much work of an
unsavoury nature, of which the business at Burton was comparatively
innocent. Strete’s character has already been seen in the matter of the
dissolution of Calwich. Pole was Vicar-General. The three were to secure the
election of Cromwell’s nominee. But there was much opposition. The majority
of the brethren desired to elect one whom ancient custom marked out for the
promotion, and it was hoped that the King or the Queen would save them
from interference. Cromwell’s nominee was strongly objected to. The plausible
Lee, however, assured the monks that in these virtuous days the Court had
abjured all undue interference with the freedom of elections, and easily
convinced them they had nothing to hope in that quarter. That accomplished,
he was confident of success. On June 25th, 1533, he wrote from Burton a
report to Cromwell in these words:[49] “This day, with the assistance of Mr.
Strete and Mr. Pole, I have travailed with the convent of Burton, but as yet I
have no promise, as one part trusts to have from the King, the Queen, and
you, a command contrary to that I have from you. I had never so much to do
about such matters because the beryn (? bearing—i.e., demeanour, fashion) in
the Court hath been that no man durst mell; and those matters were shortly
sped. There is one here that by election should have had the Abbey before,
and yet by the same shall have it according to the ancient order of the law. I
beg you to wait for further knowledge from me. Your furtherance of justice
shall not be undeserved. I beg your favour to Master Dutton, Sir Piers,[50]
whose only trust is in you. It is better for a man to lose his right arm than sue,
but only for your good help, and he will keep his promise to you.”
Two days afterwards he had succeeded in persuading the monks to leave
the nomination of their Abbot to him and Strete. He wrote to Cromwell on
June 27th: “I sped the election at Burton, and the compromission is in me and
Mr. Strete to nominate one of the Convent before the 1st of August.”[51] He
apparently had failed to secure the election of Cromwell’s original nominee, but
it may be taken for granted that the man appointed by Lee and Strete would
be sufficiently amenable for all practical purposes. The monks made a
submission, and chose the third Prior, whose name was William Edie. Before
August was out the royal assent had been given to his “election.” It was
confirmed on 13th April, 1334.[52] He was subsequently summoned to
Parliament, when the Act for the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries had to
be passed, as will presently be related. Roland Lee was consecrated Bishop of
Lichfield on April 19th.
When we find such men as Boston and Edie summoned to the Reformation
Parliament, from a house which had not previously supplied mitred Abbots, it
is evident that no pains were spared to pack the assembly throughout its
existence. It is not surprising, therefore, that it proved compliant and
obsequious.
In 1534 the Act of Succession was passed. The Oath of Succession appears
to have been taken by all the members of both Houses of Parliament, but it
caused the downfall of Sir Thomas More. Dr. Boston, now Abbot of
Westminster, was one of the Commissioners appointed to administer the oath
of supremacy to Sir Thomas More. On April 13th, 1534, Cranmer pressed the
argument of loyalty, and, when More pleaded the claims of conscience, the
Abbot of Westminster urged that his conscience should not be set above the
opinion of the whole Parliament. More effectively retorted that a general
council of Christendom was superior to a council of England, and repeated that
he was perfectly willing to respect the succession as ordered by Parliament. As
a loyal citizen and as a constitutional statesman he was ready to obey the
Parliament in constitutional questions, but could not agree that it had unlimited
authority in religion. He could “honour the King,” but at the same time he must
“fear God.”
He was committed to the custody of Abbot Boston for four days, probably
in the hope that so plausible and compliant an ecclesiastic would succeed in
removing his scruples. But his constancy stood firm, and he soon found
himself in the Tower, whence he went to the block on June 6th, 1535.
In 1534 further steps were taken to bring the religious houses under royal
authority. The royal supremacy was formally established by Act of Parliament,
and the King thus took over many of the powers which had been previously
claimed by the Pope.
We must be on our guard against attaching too much significance to such
legal enactments. It must be borne in mind that a good deal of this kind of
lawmaking was not much more than giving statutory expression—often with
brutal frankness—to what had long existed in fact. The royal authority had
always been what the royal power had been able to make it, little under weak
or indifferent kings, strong under masterful ones. The novelties after the
period which is called “the Reformation” were in reality much slighter than is
generally supposed. Henry VIII, when he exercised authority over the Church
by virtue of the Act of Supremacy or in virtue of his title of “Supreme Head,”
was not pressing much more hardly on the liberties of his subjects than he had
done before the new title had been invented. The history of the Staffordshire
monasteries in previous centuries shows abundantly that whenever the King
desired he could exercise the most arbitrary control over the religious houses
in all sorts of ways. The only effective check before the Reformation was, not
“Papal authority,” or “ecclesiastical privileges,” or “religious immunities”—all
these could be, and were, overridden and set aside,—but public opinion.
Precisely the same check was influential afterwards and to much the same
extent as formerly. The skill of Henry VIII and his ministers was shown in the
way they won public opinion to their side or crushed it away out of sight.
English history, and continental too, has shown again and again that the civil
power can never be permanently restrained by “immunities” and “concordats.”
The force of circumstances is always liable to be too strong for such artificial
arrangements: the power of Parliament must, as a force majeure, be the final
arbiter. It may, indeed, be argued that the statutes which seemed to place the
English Church beneath the heel of the State, and which for three centuries
have given the enemy occasion to blaspheme, gave her in reality a greater
measure of freedom than many “unestablished” churches have enjoyed. It
may almost be said that modern history has shown that the anxiety of
Parliament to assert itself over a non-established church may be greater than
over an established church, and that its powers may be exercised in the
former case with greater tyranny and offensiveness than in the latter; it has
also shown that the powers and titles claimed by King and Parliament in Tudor
times were, after all, only “stage properties”: the same authority may be
claimed, and the same deeds done, without them.
Henry VIII, having formally taken over the Pope’s authority, was not slow
to exercise it. A royal “Reformator and Inquisitor” of Croxden Abbey and many
other Cistercian houses was appointed. This was Thomas Chard, alias Tybbes.
He is a typical ecclesiastic of the period. He had been a member of St.
Bernard’s, now St. John’s College, Oxford, and received the degree of D.D. in
1505, being styled vir doctrina et virtute clarus. He held a large number of
preferments, vicarages, and rectories, as well as priorships. He became Prior
of Montacute in 1515 (till 1525) and also Prior of Forde in 1521. The latter he
held till the priory was dissolved. Meanwhile he was also a suffragan bishop,
being styled Episcopus Solubriensis. He was consecrated in 1508, when he was
presented to the vicarage of Torrington Parva.[53] The fresh exercise of power
and influence to which we have referred is explained in the following
commission:
“Henry the eyethe by the grace of gode kyng of Ingelande and of Fraunce
defensor of the fayeth and lorde of Yrelande sende gretynge | For as moche as
hytt ys Requysytte and thaweth to be most expedyent thordre and Relygyon of
 Cystercanes to be visyted and Reformyde by Auctorite hade of vs wyrth in thys
or Realme of Ingelande and nott be Auctorite hade from beyende the seys for
dyv’se cosyderacons hade in the same We tenderyng the good cotynewaunce
and mayntaynyg of all man’ catholique Religyon Firmely pceyvyng the
indyfferensy dexterite and goode vertuous qualityes and divine lernyng wyche
manyfestely bathe and dothe appere in owre trusty and welbeloyde Fadre in
gode Thomas Abbott of Forde wherefore we name institute and ordeyne the
sayde Abbott of Forde from hense Forde to be visitor Reformator and inquysitor
of that Religion duryng hys naturall lyffe of all thos monasterys whos namys
Folowyth Any comyssyon or comyssyons here tofore graunted to the contrary
nott wyethstandyng that ys to vnderstande, Forde, Buckefaste, Buckelande,
Dunckewell, Newham, Clyve, Byndon, Tarraunte, Bewley, Quarre, Letteley,
Wav’ley, Rewley, Stanley, Haylys, Bordeley, Kyngewoode, Flaxley, Stratteford,
Boxley, Crokedene, Combremeare, Cockehall, Brewern, Garydon, Bedyllisden,
Combe, Stoneley, Merevalle, and Thame | Farther we wyll and straytely
comande that no other psone or psons of what Estade degre or dygnite so ev’
he or they be but only the sayde Abbott of Forde or his depute do visett
Reforme Inquyre or intermelle in any man’ wyse in any of the sayde monsterys
afore Rehersyd nor wt any Religyous psone or psons of the same And ferther we
wyll [lined through in original] duryng the natrall lyffe of the sayde Abbott of
Forde whon we ordayne and depute visotor Reformator Inquysytor as before
rehersid More ov’ we give and graunte and by thes presente we auctorisatt the
fore sayde Abbott of Forde to destitute and institute any Abbott or Abbotts fro
tyme to tyme wtyn all and ev’y of the Foresayde monsterys as the lawys and
Rewlys of the sayde ordre dothe and wyll pymtte | And for hys Farther
assystence in all and syngler the p’miss and for executyng of the same we wyll
and straytely comaunde by vertew of thes or comyssyon all shreffys Mayrys
baylyffys Constablys Justyce and all other or offycers in all and ev’y shere and
libertie as far as any of thos Abbeys before namyde doth extende and for the
executyng of this or Auctoritye comyttyde and gevyn to the foresayde Abbott of
Ford | they and ev’y of them to Assyste the fore sayde Abbott of Forde att all
tymys and att any tyme that they or any of them shalbe requyred by the sayd
abbott of Forde or his depute in and a boute any of the monstreys before
Rehersyde in advoydyng or hyeth dyspleasure. And this or comyssion and
graunte we wyll to cotynewe in vigour and strengyth.”[54]

Very few of the monks ventured to follow More’s example in regard to the
Oath of Succession, but the friars generally refused.
As they did most of the preaching in the parish churches, for the wholesale
appropriation of tithes by the monasteries had so impoverished livings that few
educated men held them, it was necessary that they should be silenced.
Commissioners were accordingly appointed, to whom Roland Lee was
afterwards added, to visit all the friaries, take an inventory of their goods, and
examine each inmate separately.[55] In this way most of the friars in the
provinces were reduced to submission, though Lee harried to death some
honourable exceptions in London.
 It is no wonder the monks, as a rule, proved amenable, for already it was
common rumour that a vast scheme of spoliation was being planned, and they
dared not precipitate matters by a bold refusal. The rumour was justified, for
Cromwell was privately proposing to hand over all monasteries with less than
thirteen inmates “for the maintenance of the royal estate,” though at the same
time he publicly assured the monks that there was no such intention.
But the visitatorial powers in regard to them were now transferred to the
King, and the first fruits and tenths which had been recently taken from the
Pope were also revived as a fresh source of royal revenue. The statute which
enacted the latter was entitled “The Bill for the First Fruits,[56] with the yearly
pension to the King.” It slightly lessens the offensiveness of the King’s new
title, by styling him “the only Supreme Head on Earth, next, and immediately
under God, of the Church of England,” and basing even this on the facts of
history—“as he always, indeed, hath heretofore been.” Every person
nominated to any ecclesiastical preferment, “religious” or “secular,” was to pay
to the King “the first-fruits, revenues, and profits, for the year,” and also the
tenth part annually. Commissioners were to be appointed to “examine and
search for the just and true value of the said first-fruits and profits,” and first-
fruits were allowed to no one but the King: it appears that in the Diocese of
Norwich they had gone to the Bishop, and in the Archdeaconry of Richmond to
the Archdeacon. Priors of dependent cells were exempted from the payment of
first-fruits, but not of tenths. “And forasmuch as divers Abbots and Priors been
charged to pay great pensions to sundry their Predecessors yet living, to the
great Decay of their Hospitalities and Housekeeping; be it enacted by Authority
aforesaid, That every such Predecessor of such Abbots or Priors, having any
Pensions made sure unto them, or to any to their use, during their Lives,
amounting above the yearly value of xlli. shall from henceforth be defalked and
abated of the moiety and Halfdeal of every such Pension” (Art. 23). Article 24
expressly includes “the Lord Prior of Saint John’s of Jerusalem in England, and
his Brethren” within the scope of the Act.[57] Article 28 “allows” the King to
remit what remained as yet unpaid of the Præmunire Fine “in Consideration
that the said yearly Pension and annual Rent shall be yearly from henceforth
duly paid and satisfied.”
Immediate steps were taken to ensure the due and accurate payment of
the new income. In January, 1535, Cromwell procured a Royal Commission
appointing himself Vicar-General and Visitor-General of all churches and
monasteries, with authority to delegate agents. He set to work in the exercise
of his new power with characteristic promptness. On January 30th
commissions were issued for each county, to make the necessary
investigations for discovering the whole amount of ecclesiastical property for
the purpose of levying the tenths. The Staffordshire Commissioners[58] had
Bishop Roland Lee for chairman, but he was the only ecclesiastic among them.
The others were Sir John Talbot, Sir John Gifford, George Audeley, John
Vernon, Walter Wrottesley, George Gresley, William Bassett, Edward Lyttleton,
Thomas Gifford, Thomas Holte, Walter Blounte, John Grosvenor, and Thomas
Moreton. They are the usual names which appear among the lists of officials.
For example, John Gifford, Edward Lyttleton, and John Vernon had been the
Commissioners appointed to investigate the matter of Wolsey’s dissolutions;
and the Commissioners for Musters in 1539 included John Gifford, John
Vernon, Walter Wrottesley, George Gresley, William Bassett, Edward Lyttleton,
and Thomas Gifford.[59] John Vernon was Sheriff in the nineteenth, twenty-
fourth, and thirtieth years of the reign; John Gifford in the twenty-second and
the thirty-third; Walter Wrottesley in the thirty-eighth; George Gresley in the
twenty-ninth; William Bassett in the thirty-fourth; Edward Lyttleton in the
thirty-first; Thomas Gifford in the twenty-first. They were eminently “men of
affairs,” well acquainted with public and official work.
Detailed instructions were given them.[60] Dividing themselves into sub-
commissions, with three members as a quorum, they were to examine upon
oath all persons concerned, and to inspect the necessary books and
documents. Only certain specified deductions were to be allowed, and names
and full details were in all cases to be given.
We know from the Returns of the Commissioners which of them
investigated the Rural Deanery of Lapey and Trysull: Sir John Talbot, John
Gifford, Walter Wrottesley, and John Grosvenor.[61] When the work had been
completed in detail all the Commissioners for each diocese were to meet
together and draw up a General Diocesan Return. The result of their work has
been published by royal authority as Valor Ecclesiasticus.[62]
It is a document of very great interest and importance. If the readiness
with which the clergy raised the enormous fine of £100,000 from the Province
of Canterbury and £18,840 0s. lOd. from York, for having acquiesced in
Wolsey’s legatine authority, first opened Henry VIII’s eyes to the financial
possibilities of the clergy, as may well have been the case, it is probable that
the data supplied by Valor Ecclesiasticus showed him how to proceed to
further supplies from the same source. To confiscate the whole of the clerical
wealth was out of the question, but the Returns, by giving it in detail, made it
possible to proceed piecemeal. That the Returns did thus suggest the
suppression of monasteries seems to be indicated by the seventh article of the
Act for the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries, which points out that those
which came within its scope could be ascertained from the Returns which had
just been made.
In various ways Valor Ecclesiasticus is the most satisfactory record we have
of the economy of the religious houses at the time of their dissolution, in spite
of very serious drawbacks which we shall mention. It is, as a rule, plain and
definite, and it is the only document we have which professes to give a
statement of the monastic economy with any approach to completeness. In
both of these respects it is superior to other sources of information. The
“Particulars for Grants” relate, of course, only to such portions of the monastic
lands as were desired by the applicant who supplied them, and the Computi
Ministrorum which are printed at the end of the information about many of the
religious houses in Monasticon are also incomplete. They are the first accounts
of the possessions of the several monasteries as rendered to the Augmentation
Office immediately after the Dissolution by the King’s Ministers and Receivers;
but they show that already some of the property had changed hands. They
supplement the particulars of Valor Ecclesiasticus, and afford a certain amount
of basis for comparison and criticism, but they are drawn up on a different
plan and with a different object, and so a complete comparison by means of
them is difficult. It is also difficult in some places to understand the method of
reckoning which is adopted in them.
It is easy to point out the deficiencies of Valor Ecclesiasticus.
That the Commissioners did not always succeed in ascertaining the whole
income of the monasteries was by no means the fault of the Government.
They kept in touch with their agents throughout the work; indeed, constant
supervision and stimulus was wise, for the work was difficult and had to be
done in a short time. It was ordered to be accomplished by the octave of
Trinity following the issue of the Commissions, and it was actually finished
soon afterwards. The Staffordshire Commissioners, under the guidance of the
obsequious Bishop Lee, who was well experienced in official work, were the
first, with a single exception, to send in their returns. Lee wrote to Cromwell
on September 22nd (1535): “Your comfortable letters have made me strong
and whole, and able to return to the King’s service. We delivered by Thomas
Moreton, one of my assistants in the Commission, the taxation of the churches
in Staffordshire in the course of last term, when there was not one except Kent
that so did. The Court of Exchequer was well satisfied.”[63]
To carry out so huge a task in so short a time was to ensure much
superficial work. It is true that the business habits of Englishmen and the
bureaucratic nature of the Tudor administration, and the large number of lay
officials, bailiffs, stewards, collectors, etc., in the employ of the monasteries,
made the investigation easier than might otherwise have been the case. But
even so there must have been many difficulties. We find in the returns ample
evidence that through haste but little was done in the way of checking entries
and balancing accounts. In the returns from Rocester Abbey the expenditure is
given in four groups, each with its correct total. But the addition of the four
totals is £1 too little. In the case of Stone Priory the “spiritual” balance is given
as £68, etc., whereas it should be £59, etc., a difference of £9. But the tithe
paid is correct for £119 14s. 11¼d., which is exactly £9 more than the real
sum of the temporal and spiritual balances as these are shown. The official
probably intended to write the spiritual balance as £lviiii, but when he came to
make his final addition he read it as £lxviii, a mistake not difficult to make.
Other mistakes of a similar nature will be noticed. No doubt it was difficult to
compare and check the returns from different dioceses, as they came in at
different times; and the omissions, from the stated incomes of monasteries, of
items which elsewhere are noted as being paid to them, are probably due
rather to deliberate concealment on the part of the monks than to any grave
slackness on the part of the Commissioners. For instance, £2 3s. is noted in
the valuation of the churches of Berkswick, Bushbury and Weston, as being
paid to Stone Priory, but no trace of it appears in the monastic return. But it is
remarkable that in the valuation of Dudley Priory no mention is made of the
10s. from Dudley Vicarage, or in that of Trentham Priory of the 6s. 8d. from
Hulton Abbey, a few miles away, and the valuation of which immediately
precedes it. The £4 6s. 8d. given in the valuation of Rocester Abbey as being
paid to a chantry at Lichfield does not appear in the Cathedral valuation. The
remarkable omissions in the Burton investigation will be dealt with fully later
on.
Again, many of the valuations could only be approximations: such were the
returns made of offerings and payments in kind, and of the demesnes. It is,
indeed, distinctly stated, as a rule, that the value of the demesne is given
“according to the valuation of the Commissioners” or of one of them: Walter
Wrottesley estimated the demesne at Dudley. Sometimes they called in
assistance, possibly that of experts, or perhaps of local men, as happened at
Rocester.
The Valor Ecclesiasticus, therefore, cannot be regarded as a complete
statement of the monastic income. Its deficiencies as regards expenditure are
still more grave. Only certain disbursements were allowed to be taken into
account—regular pensions, rents, endowed doles, and fees to bailiffs,
collectors of rents, etc., auditors, and stewards, episcopal visitation fees,
synodals and proxies. The statute had allowed other fees also to be deducted,
such as those to the Chancellor and Judges, but the instructions to the
Commissioners omitted these, and they are usually disallowed. The object of
the investigation being to show as large a net balance of income as possible,
disbursements were reduced to a minimum. Only those which could not be
avoided were shown, and because any particular item of expenditure is not
shown in any particular return we cannot assert with confidence that it was
actually not incurred. Only two corrodies are recorded in the whole of
Staffordshire, and alms at Burton, Rocester and Tutbury only, yet we know that
Dieulacres maintained eight poor bedeswomen.
The investigation was a contest between the two parties—the
Commissioners, whose primary object was to make the income as large and
the expenditure as small as possible, and the monks who naturally desired to
reverse the proportion. The result was that there were serious omissions on
both sides of the account, and the Valor Ecclesiasticus is, accordingly, a very
incomplete statement of the accounts of the religious houses. The omissions
as regards income are many, but the information as to expenditure can only be
described as altogether inadequate and incomplete. The Commissioners were
not allowed to show much expenditure, even if they wished to do so: it was
easy for them to allow little if they so desired. Under the direction of Bishop
Lee it may safely be assumed that in Staffordshire they allowed the barest
minimum.
The fictitious character of the expenditure side of the account is well
illustrated by the case of Burton-on-Trent. When, as will be described later,[64]
the valuation sent in by the Commissioners was found to be hopelessly
erroneous, and a revised statement was drawn up by the order of the
Chancellor, Sir Thomas Audley, which increased the revenue from £356 16s.
3½d. to £501 7s. 0½d., the expenditure was, apparently, not re-investigated.
In face of the enormous increase of income which had been shown the
Chancellor could well afford to spare himself the trouble of enquiring whether
the statement of expenses needed revising: he treated it with scornful
indifference and passed it with the contemptuous remark at the foot of the
more profitable survey: “Mem. to deducte owte of thys boke ye allowaunces
accordinge to ye olde boke.”
Yet, in spite of these deficiencies, the Valor Ecclesiasticus may tell us much,
if we bear in mind its limitations. The valuations made after the Dissolution
were expressly ordered to be compared with the Valor Ecclesiasticus and, as
has been mentioned, they afford useful data for comparison. It is not
surprising that they are usually higher in amount. The Surveyors had gained
experience, and they had the previous survey for a guide. No source of income
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