The New Guide to Peterborough Cathedral | Page 5

had been forfeited by his predecessors. He
was, according to Gunton, a very learned man, and possessed great

strength of mind and decision of character. He showed his energy by
the prompt measures which he took to rebuild the abbey after its
destruction, and to get all those lands, manors, and fees confirmed to it
which it had so long enjoyed, and which continued daily to increase. It
was a very long time, however, before the new monastery was built.
John de Sais superintended it during his abbacy, but he lived only nine
years after he had laid the foundation-stone (which ceremony he
performed in the month of March, 1117), and the building was not
completed at his death; nor did he succeed in securing to the monastery
all its former possessions, although he exerted himself very assiduously
to obtain them.
John de Sais was succeeded by Henri de Angeli, in 1128, of whom
nothing of moment is recorded. He was a man of no character, and tried
to injure the monastery in the estimation of the king, by speaking
falsely of the brotherhood. Some writers say that he was detected in his
villany by the king, who obliged him to resign his chair, and leave the
country; others assert that he quitted England on account of other
crimes. All historians agree, however, that he was a very bad man.
The appointment of the next abbot devolved upon the king, and Martin
de Vecti was chosen by him to govern the monastery, in 1133. The
monks received him with every expression of respect, as he was
reported to be a man of profound erudition and good moral character.
He began his rule by forwarding the erection of the new monastery, and
it was during his abbacy that it was completed and re-dedicated--which
latter ceremony was conducted with great pomp, and all the abbots of
the neighbouring monasteries, with numbers of the barons and gentry,
were present [1140]. It appears that De Vecti was very zealous in the
work of improvement, and that he not only built a new gate to the
monastery, but formed a new village on the western side of it; altered
the place of wharfage, erected a new bridge, planted the present
vineyard, and built many new houses near the abbey. He is also said to
have re-built the parish church, then situate in St. John's close, in the
precincts. The destruction of the castle, which stood near this church, is
likewise attributed to this abbot. It is probable that it was situate upon
Mount Thorold, or Tout Hill, as it is now called. This hill may yet be

seen in a close on the north-western side of the cathedral.
De Vecti ruled twenty-two years, and died in 1155.
After the death of De Vecti, the monks resolved to maintain the right
which they possessed of choosing their own abbot, and William de
Waterville was elected by them to the government of the monastery:
their choice was afterwards ratified by the king. Waterville was
formerly a chaplain to Henry II., and having some influence with him,
he regained for his abbey "the eight hundreds of that part of the country
which had formerly been granted by the king's predecessors;" and,
being firmly established in the monastery, he turned his attention to the
improvement of the town. He founded a hospital for the sick in
Spitalfield; built St. Martin's church and St. Michael's nunnery, at
Stamford--besides settling a yearly sum upon the church of St. John
Baptist,[7] Peterburgh--covering the monastery with lead, and
founding the chapel of Thomas à Becket.
It is stated by Gunton, that this chapel is in "the middle of the arch of
the church porch," but this is an error which it will be well to correct.
The present school-house near the minster gateway is found to be the
chancel of the chapel; and it is thus described by Kennel--"The chapel
of the blessed Thomas the Martyr, near the outer gate of the abbey
there."
After a government of 20 years, Waterville was deposed, at the
instigation of the monks, by the Archbishop of Canterbury. No positive
crime was alleged against him--at least the monks have not mentioned
any in their accounts of the monastery.
The next abbot of whom we read is Benedict, a man of great learning,
who was appointed to the rule of the monastery by the king in 1177,
after he had held it in his possession two years. The abbot brought
several relics to the monastery, and finished the chapel of Thomas à
Becket. He was very zealous likewise in his endeavours to re-obtain the
abbey lands which had been forfeited or seized during the rule of his
predecessors; nor was he scrupulous of the means which he took to
effect