MARGARET ANDREW (d1349)
The College gives pride of place in its list of benefactors to Margaret Andrew of Chesterton who, by her deathbed will of 7 May 1349, gave lands to both the gild of St Mary and the gild of Corpus Christi, which just three years later were to merge into the joint gild in which Corpus Christi College has its origins. About Margaret we know very little: she had a small amount of land –she gave one and a half acres in Chesterton fields to Corpus Christi gild and a tenement ‘in St Andrews parish next to that of St Radegund, and abutting on the King’s way’, to St Mary’s gild. The gift to the Corpus Christi gild is significant because it is the very earliest documentary evidence of its existence. Apart from that, Margaret left a collection of domestic goods that suggest that she’d had oversight of a relatively large household, including fourteen bowls and basins of various sizes.
Gilds were a key part of the lives of medieval men and women. The gilds which founded our College were what is know as religious gilds and they provided mutual social and religious support for their members. In return for gifts of cash, goods, or rents or land, members received the support of other members and the guarantee that after their deaths, their souls would be aided on their way to heaven by prayers and masses paid for by the gild. Gilds kept lists of their deceased members and we are fortunate that in our College archives we not only have a copy of Margaret Andrew’s will but also a list of the people that the gild of St Mary kept in their prayers and memories. If Margaret’s motive for her charitable bequest was to be remembered, then she has had her wish granted.
Our corporate life has been made possible by the collective good will of previous generations of men and women who for nearly seven hundred years have not only joined together to support the scholarly endeavours of College members of their own times but who have also had an eye to supporting the work of the future College and its members.
In the 40th anniversary year of the matriculation of undergraduate women to study at Corpus, we are seeking your help to raise the profile of Margaret Andrew in Corpus’ institutional memory by fundraising for a bursary in her name. We aim to raise enough money to endow an annual award, the Margaret Andrew Bursary, with a fundraising target of £110,000. This will generate a £3,500 bursary each year.
The wax seal on Margaret’s will provided the inspiration for the logo for the celebration of 40 years since Corpus became co-educational, Forty Years On • Women of Corpus. Although the seal is quite small and fragile, it clearly shows a figure standing beneath an archway holding a book. The shape of the archway can be seen across the materials for the campaign, linking together influential women of Corpus from the fourteenth century to today.
The wax seal on Margaret’s will provided the inspiration for the logo for the celebration of 40 years since Corpus became co-educational, Forty Years On • Women of Corpus. Although the seal is quite small and fragile, it clearly shows a figure standing beneath an archway holding a book. The shape of the archway can be seen across the materials for the campaign, linking together influential women of Corpus from the fourteenth century to today.
Margaret Andrew's Will
In the name of God, amen. I Margaret Andreu of Cambridge on the Thursday after the Feast of St John before the Latin Gate and the year of our Lord 1349 make my testament thus: First, I leave my soul to Almighty God and the Blessed Mary His Mother and to all His Saints and my body to be buried in the church of St Mary at Cambridge. Also I leave to the high altar and parish chapel of the same church, 12 shillings. Also to the clerk of the said church 6s. Also ot the sacristan of the said church, 4d. Also I leave to Brother William o fTeversham, preacher, of Cambridge, one red blanket and two silver spoons. Also I leave to Clarice, the lady formerly Agnes of Lynn one Persian (?) blanket, two double cloths, a silver spoon, a large brass bowl holding 3 gallons, a small pot holding 1 gallon, and a basin holding 3 pottles. Also I leave ot the said Clarice a mazer such that she pay 10s, viz. 5s to the church of St Andrew the Apostle at Cambridge and 5s to the church of St Mary at Cambridge. Also I leave to Rose my maid a hooded robe of scarlet and a silk kerchief and a brass bowl and two hens. Also I leave to Isabella my niece a kerchief of Wormoys and a brass bowl holding 3 1/2 gallons. Also I leave toRobert of Fulbourn and Lyra his wife a large bowl holding 6 gallons and a basin with a ewer and a flesh dish. Also I leave to the said Clarice a small hutch and ared coverlet. Also I leave to Beatrice Claston a small bowl. Also I leave a small bowl to Matilda wife of Richard of London. Also I leave to the said Lyra a hutch and a tankard. Also I leave to John of Grouchelm a bowl holding 6 gallons. Also I leave to Alice Webbester a brass basin holding 4 gallons. Also I leave a cloth to the chaplain of the Blessed Mary at Cambridge for the service of the high altar for the sake my soul. And as for the residue of my goods not otherwise bequeathed I give and bequeath them to my executors to dispose of as seems to them best for the good of my soul. And as executors ofm y will I appoint John of Grouchelm and Robert of Fulbourn.
Also I give and bequeath to the Alderman and Brethren of the Gild of the Blessed Mary in Cambridge my tenement in the parish of St Andrews in Cambridge between a tenement of the nuns of St Radegund in Cambridge on one side and abutting on the King's highway to have and to hold the said tenement with all its appurtenances to the Alderman and Brethren of the Gild of the Blessed Mary in Cambridge as of their fee for service due to me and by common law in perpetuity.
Also I the said Margaret give the bequeath to the Alderman and Brethren of the Gild of Corpus Christi one half acre of land with its appurtenances lying the in fields of Chesterton to have and to hold the said half acre of land to the said Alderman and
Brethren by tenure of socage without fee by service due to me and by common law in perpetuity.
Built with Shorthand