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In 1357 June 17, Abbas de Sancto Albano (Abbot Delamare; Thomas de la Mare) were granted, by Edward III, (In year 31 of his reign) a Royal licence to crenellate Sancto Albano (St Albans Abbey)
Licence for the abbot and convent of St. Albans to crenellate the dwelling-place of their abbey. (CPR)

Abbas de Sancto Albano ... mansum Abbatiae sive eandem Abbatiam ... St Albans. (Turner and Parker)

Granted at Woodstock.

Original source is;

(In fact, the original source given is usually a transcription/translation of what are precious medieval documents not readily availably. It should be noted that these transcription/translations often date to the nineteenth or early twentieth centuries and that unwitting bias of transcribers may affect the translation. Care should also be taken to avoid giving modern meaning to the medieval use of certain stock words and terms. Licentia is best translated as 'freedom to' not 'permission'.)

Significant later sources are;

Mare, Thomas de la (c.1309–1396)
Mare, Thomas de la (c.1309–1396), abbot of St Albans, was perhaps born in Northumberland, where he is known to have had family connections. He was related to several noble families: through his father, John de la Mare, and his mother, Joanna (both c.1275–c.1340), daughter of Sir John Harpsfield, he claimed kinship with William Montagu, earl of Salisbury, William, Lord Zouche, and John Grandison, the distinguished bishop of Exeter. (Clark)

In his defence of his own house and of his order as a whole de la Mare benefited from close relations with the crown—he seems to have been on intimate terms with Edward III almost from the time of his election. Walsingham recalls the ‘great love’ shown to the abbot by the king, and makes uncorroborated claims that the king appointed de la Mare a member of his privy council. Edward was certainly a frequent visitor to St Albans and a considerable benefactor, but the evidence suggests de la Mare actually enjoyed closer relations with his son Edward, the Black Prince, who intervened on several occasions to defend de la Mare and protect the interests of St Albans. (Clark)

Biographical source include;

More information about licences to crenellate can be found here.

Please do inform Gatehouse if you see any errors, can add information or can otherwise help to improve this resource. Please contact Gatehouse.

Record created by Philip Davis. This record last updated on Sunday, October 4, 2015.


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