Chapter II - The Medieval College

Summary

The first sixty years of the history of the College provide but a scanty record. Though the royal charter allowed thirty or more scholars, of whom twenty-four were to be Fellows and six Scholars, tradition records that the Foundress herself only provided for six Fellows and two Scholars. Down to the year 1400 less than forty names of members of the College can be traced, and most of these are but names. Even the succession of the Masters is uncertain. In 1354 Robert de Thorpe is named as Master in a receipt for “first fruits” paid for Saxthorpe to the Pope's collector. He was certainly not the famous Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor under Edward III, often wrongly called the first Master of Pembroke. In the fourteenth century a man's place of birth often did duty for his surname, and there are many places called Thorpe in England. Our Robert de Thorpe was probably a Suffolk man, who had held a living in the gift of our Foundress, and had played some part in the endowment of Denny Abbey. In 1363 or 1364 he resigned the Mastership of the College and was succeeded by Thomas de Bingham, who had been Proctor of the University in 1363. The change may mark a certain step in the independence of the College, for among the College deeds is a note that the papal bull for the foundation of the College, hitherto kept by the Foundress, “en la garde madame”, was on November 25, 1365, handed over in London to “Maistre Thomas”.