e whole endowment
was in 1535 worth some L200 a year, about a fifth of that of Winchester
College. Unfortunately, All Souls being a later foundation, the college
at Higham Ferrers was not affiliated to it, and so fell with other
colleges not part of the universities. On the 18th of July 1542 it was
surrendered to Henry VIII., and its possessions granted to Robert Dacres
on condition of maintaining the grammar school and paying the master L10
a year, the same salary as the headmasters of Winchester and Eton, and
maintaining the almshouse. Both still exist, but the school has been
deprived of its house, and the Fitzwilliam family, who now own the
lands, still continue to pay only L10 a year.

All Souls College was considerably later. The patent for it, dated 20th
of May 1438, is for a warden and 20 scholars, to be called "the Warden
and College of the souls of all the faithful departed," to study and
pray "for the soul of King Henry VI. and the souls of Henry V., Thomas,
duke of Clarence, and all the dukes, earls, barons, knights, squires and
other nobles and subjects of our father who during the time and in the
service of our father and ourselves ended their lives in the wars of the
kingdom of France, and for the souls of all the faithful departed." For
this, the king granted Berford's Hall, formerly Charleston's Inn, which
Chicheley's trustees had granted to him so as to obtain a royal grant
and indefeasible title. Richard Andrews, the king's secretary, like
Chicheley himself a scholar of Winchester and fellow of New College, was
named as first warden. A papal bull for the college was obtained on the
21st of June 1439; and further patents for endowments from the 11th of
May 1441 to the 28th of January 1443, when a general confirmation
charter was obtained, for which L1000 (L30,000 at least of our money)
was paid. It is commonly represented that the endowment was wholly
derived from alien priories bought by Chicheley from the crown. In
truth, not so large a proportion of the endowment of All Souls was
derived from this source as was that of New College. The only alien
priories granted were Abberbury in Oxfordshire, Wedon Pinkney in
Northamptonshire, Romney in Kent, and St Clare and Llangenith in Wales,
all very small affairs, single manors and rectories, and these did not
form a quarter of the whole endowment. The rest, particularly the manor
of Edgware, which made the fortune of the college, was bought from
private owne