The lost medieval tithe barn of Watnall Hall

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The barn looks curiously church-like. Was it a barn? Was it a church? Or was it both?? We'll look at the clues below...

If the loss of Watnall Hall in 1962 was a tragedy, the loss of its amazing medieval/Tudor tithe barn was absolutely criminal. Had it survived, it would today be classed as of national importance and protected as a listed building. Proper protection³ started in the 1960's so having stood for 400 years it missed protection by a hair. What could the demolition crew have been thinking on that fateful day in August 1962 as they bulldozed it away? In today's "Tale from Watnall Hall" we'll investigate its history. How old is it? Are there any clues in these recently discovered pictures? What are those strange holes in the side? Why was it demolished? Its curiously church-like appearance is also rather intriguing.

Rotted beams
These are the only known pictures of the barn and were taken in 1955 by the National Buildings Record when the estate was up for sale and deemed to be at risk. They dated the barn to the mid-15th century meaning it was older than Watnall Hall itself which was built c.1700. I had no idea the pictures existed until recently when I came across them while researching another project. They'd been mis-labelled as "Greasley" rather than "Watnall". They show a sorry-looking structure, poorly maintained and in need of expensive restoration. Some of the main structural supports of the timber-framing have rotted entirely through.  

When the hall's owner Sir Lancelot Rolleston died in 1941 death duties and the war put a severe hole in estate finances. Requisition of the hall by the RAF meant little maintenance was carried out and quite a lot of damage caused. When his elderly wife Lady Maud died in 1949 there was no direct heir and the estate was inherited by their young niece Miss Elma Dayrell who lived many miles away in Devon. For a few years the hall was rented as dormitory space by a Nottingham girls' school, Hollygirts. In 1954 when the school decided to move elsewhere, the hall, contents, grounds and estate buildings were auctioned off. 

Ominously, a local building contractor, Frank Sisson of Langley Mill, bought the hall and land. There followed years of dispute between local and national government, the National Trust and various preservation societies including the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB). Finally, after a local MP asked questions about the future of the hall in the House of Commons, the fatal judgement came. Mr. Hugh Molsen, Minister of Works, decided not to confirm a previous preservation order for the hall and made the following statement on 17th December 1957...

"I had hoped to acquire and repair Watnall Hall [for the nation], but I have recently been advised that the house is likely to be damaged by mining subsidence and that the estimated cost of the scheme would be higher than was at first thought. I have therefore felt obliged to accept the recommendation of the Historic Buildings Council for England that I should not acquire the property." 

The tithe barn with pig pens behind the
curved wall and Watnall Hall beyond
The mining subsidence mentioned above made a good excuse, but there can be little doubt that the high cost of preserving and restoring the Hall was the main factor in the Minister's decision. Another difficulty was that the National Trust needed the building to have sufficient capital to be self supporting before taking it over, and Watnall Hall had none. Presumably, after no one wanted to buy it, the local planning authority had the final say on the hall's fate. No mention was made of the tithe barn being preserved, it just got bulldozed with everything else. The gardener, Mr Peart said it took two tractors working together to remove the main beam when it was demolished. A local lad who did his paper round by the hall in 1963 remembers... "I saw it as a pile of rubble. The ''young Conservatives'' had a massive bonfire that November the 5th using all the massive timbers."

When I sent the pictures to barn expert Ken Bonham he said... "It's definitely Medieval, probably 15th or 16th century. Some of the wall posts appear to go right down to the ground and have been made from tree trunks which have been inverted to put the wider bole at the top to give more room for the complex joint where the wall plate, tie beam and principal rafters meet. The wall in the first picture looks later, and is possibly 17th century. it would have been relatively easy to rebuild the wall with the wall posts carrying the load of the roof. I suspect some of the purlins have been replaced. The double braces are not that uncommon. Glastonbury Abbey Barn and Pilton Tithe Barn are even more elaborate, not to mention the Tithe Barn at Ter Doest Abbey in Belgium."  
3D computer model of the barn allows analysis of the structure and fly throughs 

Ken has made a 3D computer model of the barn to better understand its use and structure. Expert analysis of the internal roof structure can hold vital clues to a building's true age. Features such as the style of purlin and the king and queen post layout can be key factors. He says...
" I think the barn was originally a timber frame on a fairly high stone plinth wall. The wall lifted the timber above the ground and levelled out the uneven ground to give a level datum for the wall sills. The barn was probably originally timber clad with a thatched roof. At a later date when the cladding and thatch needed repair I think they replaced the cladding with brick and stone, reusing some features from a demolished church or abbey. Then they retiled the roof. 
It's definitely Medieval. From other barns it seems major repairs were necessary after about 100 - 150 years. That would put the build date round about 1500 - 1550, probably just before the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the creation of the Church of England. Lots of pulling down and building up going on at that time. I don't think it's a porch [on the end wall] as the sill appears to be to high for a doorway." 

The SPAB/National Trust architect who inspected it in 1955 noted... "a large mid-15th century barn of timber framing encased in 18th century brickwork but it was, unfortunately, in poor condition."
Another inspection in 1959 said... "The buildings (including barn) are to be demolished by 1961... a large farm building, of brick with much stonework, some rebuilt. 4 large timber trusses, of derived Queen-post type, represent the C15 timber framing mentioned above. They are formed from massive timbers and rest on irregularly coursed stone walling probably of the original barn. The building is derelict."
The barn's official Heritage Gateway classification says... "BARN (mid C15 - 1961, Medieval to Mid-20th Century - 1450 AD to 1961 AD)". 
Dr. Oliver Rackham, a leading historian of the British landscape, suggests that such a great barn was “not just a workaday shed, but was a work of grandeur… it will have seen not merely storage and threshing of corn, but church ales, theatricals, wedding feasts and all manner of rustic festivities.”

Lady Maud's watercolour is the first known image of the barn. The caption says... "Watnall Tythe Barn. May 1935. Finished in August". She used to hold her famous Sunday school in the buildings next to the barn. She had a weekly attendance of over 40 and it was rare indeed for another teacher to be needed to help her in her class. The local scouts used to come round regularly too. Colonel Rolleston was boy scout leader in Nottinghamshire and remained so well into his 90s! Sadly, Sir Lancelot and Lady Maud never had any children of their own.
The building with the steps leading to it is the Generator Room and in some of the pictures you can see the antiquated electrical cables snaking their way around the walls towards the hall. When it was installed it created quite an upheaval but in spite of his great age, Colonel Rolleston retained his sense of humour about it. When the electrician told him the installation was good for about 25 years, the Colonel exclaimed, "What have I got to go through all this again in twenty-five years time?"

How do we explain the uncanny church-like appearance of the barn? The purpose of medieval tithe barns was to store farm produce as a tax for the local church. "Tithe" means "one tenth" so one tenth of the produce was set aside for the church. The holes in the side were for ventilation. If you look carefully, on both sides you can also see the bricked-up arches of the original massive barn door openings. These allowed horse-drawn haycarts to drive in one side, deposit the crop and drive straight out the other side. They also let the wind blow through to help separate the grain from the chaff in the winnowing and threshing process.

The similarly church-like tithe
barn at Glastonbury Abbey 
A lot of tithe barns have a vaguely church-like appearance but this one is particularly so. Large, ornate, ecclesiastical-looking barns often belonged to a correspondingly wealthy church or religious order. The obvious one locally is Beauvale Priory which was still active in the area until its dissolution in 1539. In fact the priory owned half of the land in Watnall. However after the death of their main patron Nicholas de Cantelupe of Greasley Castle in 1356 the Priory struggled for money and was often reported to be in a parlous state¹. Lenton Priory is another local candidate which was a far more wealthy order, its tithes being gathered from far and wide².

The 1639 tapestry map showing the old part
of Watnall Hall and a mysterious church
Another clue to the barn's provenance is on the 1639 Rampton tapestry map of Nottinghamshire. The original Watnall Hall is shown (before its late 17th century extension) alongside a mysterious church. It is not Greasley St.Mary's church which is shown separately next to Greasley Castle and there's never been a church recorded in Watnall certainly not as recently as 1639. Maybe the tapestry makers mistook the church-like gable end and depicted it as a real church. The pictures on the tapestry in general are fairly accurate if a little stylized. The gable end of the barn that faces the hall has three infilled, pointed gothic-style arched windows and a porch with a doorway. It is not clear from the pictures if they are fake and made to beautify the end of the barn or if they're real. However on the side wall opposite the barnyard is another window that looks to have a stone mullioned frame. It is certainly a lot of trouble to go to just for appearance's sake. Perhaps the barn was originally a church later repurposed as a barn. Most churches are aligned east-west, this one is more northeast-southwest so the argument for a purpose-built church suffers. 

Ken Bonham has suggested that when the original barn needed repairs, after 100-150 years (c.1650), the remains of a demolished church could have been used to rebuild the outer walls. The timer frame is self supporting so the outer walls, originally probably timber cladding, would have been removed and the stone and brick walls we see in the picture constructed from the church debris. This reuse of building material was common. Nearby Greasley Castle was plundered for building stone. It is even feasible that some of the Greasley Castle stone could have been used in the barn. More likely though is the theory that stone from the church seen in the 1639 tapestry map was used.

In conclusion, the newly-discovered pictures offer a tantalising glimpse of the long-lost tithe barn of Watnall Hall. Further expert historical analysis of the building and the estate records is needed to unpick the threads of the rich tapestry of Watnall history that the barn is a major part of. 

Stone-built gable end wall, the original arched barn doorway, ventilation holes, antique electrical cables and a mullioned window perhaps another church relic?


Outbuildings in the barnyard. The Sunday school, saddle room and garage where the Colonel's chauffeur kept his car


The barnyard with pig pens and livestock behind the curved wall and Watnall Hall in the background

The barn's replacement, a 1970's housing estate. Same view as the previous picture but taken in 2008

Watnall local Winston Syson remembers barn owls nesting in the rafters.
Key features which help to date the barn are visible - 4 main roof trusses made of massive horizontal tie beams,
clasped/butted purlins, curious lower king post with double queen posts, curved wind braces and double side braces.

Floor-standing wooden main support posts are made from single tree trunks turned upside down so the thicker wood can be used in the complex roof joints


The beautiful roof structure. It is a box frame barn but has unusual double braces. Note also the elegantly curved wind braces supporting the purlins. The cross-shaped holes in the wall are for ventilation.



The old map superimposed on the today's housing estate that was built over the top. The tithe barn is to the north of the hall next to the letter "P"

There are plenty more stories from the rich history of Watnall Hall and neighbouring Greasley Castle in my "Tales from Watnall Hall" blog here... 



Sources : National Building Record archives; The Nottingham Archives; "Watnall Hall and the Rollestons" by RA Horton 2000; "Managing Tithes in the Late Middle Ages" by Ben Dodds; "A Brief History of Watnall" by JM Lee; Emails and correspondence from various locals and medieval barn expert Ken Bonham of greatbarns.org.uk; Medieval Buildings Facebook group; National Library of Scotland Georeferenced maps; Scott-Dalgleish family archive; Triskele Heritage - correct dating of historic buildings article; Hansard;

Notes
1 - From Historic England website 
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1002920?section=official-list-entry

Beauvale Priory was founded in 1343 by Sir Nicholas de Cantilupe, who was given permission by Edward III to establish a priory for the Carthusian Order at Beauvale to accommodate a prior and twelve monks. The foundation charter was signed in 1343 granting the priory 300 acres of land, properties and further land in the nearby villages of Greasley and Selston, and an endowment of £100 yearly. This was to secure the construction of ‘a fit church and houses sufficient for a prior and twelve monks’ with permission to quarry stone for the buildings and to dig marl for enriching the farmland.

The priory was centred on the priory church, the first permanent building to be erected on the site, with a chapter house, prior’s house, cloister and twelve cells, refectory, lay brothers quarters and cloister, gatehouse and lodgings and a precinct wall enclosing the priory. Sir Nicholas died in 1356, only 13 years after the foundation and by 1375, with the death of his grandchildren without heirs, the annual endowment ceased. By this time, the priory was already in a parlous state. The Etwall Charter of 1370 refers to the plight of the monks and the condition of the site, aid being needed for ‘their sustentation and of the reparation of their priory which is said to be ruinous’.

A far greater threat to the site was posed by the Reformation, with Beauvale finding itself in the forefront of the confrontation between Henry VIII and the Papacy. Following the Act of Succession in 1534, and Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn, the king assumed the title of Supreme Head on earth of the English Church. In 1535 it became high treason to deny that the king held this title and accompanying authority in ecclesiastical matters. Soon after the passing of the Act of Succession, the Carthusian Order fell under scrutiny by royal commissioners and was required to confirm adherence to the new law which legitimised the succession to the throne of children born to Boleyn. John Houghton, who had been prior of Beauvale before becoming prior of the London charterhouse, and Robert Lawrence, his successor at Beauvale, were tried and executed for treason in 1535. From that moment Beauvale was increasingly at risk, with a layman installed to replace Prior Lawrence. As the dissolution of monastic holdings gathered pace, Beauvale was surrendered to the Royal Commissioners on 18th July 1539.[see London's letter below which appears to be written 27 July 1538 having just done Beauvale's surrender]

In 1539, Beauvale was granted to Sir William Hussey of Kneesall Park in Nottinghamshire, but almost immediately, he too was tried and executed for treason, and Beauvale then passed to his son, William, in 1541. From that date onwards, Beauvale passed through a succession of owners. A description of the Beauvale estate in 1707 refers to ‘repairing, upholding supporting and maintaining the said monastery, Grange house and other houses’ together with other buildings and ‘a water mill with appurtenances’. This description suggests that at the time, a substantial remnant of the monastic site remained in use. From 1805 until 1915, the estate was owned by the Cowper family and remained a tenanted farm holding until the late 1990’s when it was sold to the present owners.

Beauvale's dissolution specifics - in July 1538 Beauvale was officially visited by one of Cromwell's most avid commissioners Dr. John London to receive their official surrender to the King and the new religious laws. He wrote to Cromwell on 27th July 1538 to say that he and his team made sure all the monks had stopped wearing their robes and were in "civilian" clothes. Any loot was secured and sent to the king and a local landowner chosen to take over ownership of the monastic estate. In this case Sir John Hussey. In the same letter he talks about the Nuns of Torksay and Cotham some who were professed at 10 or 11 years old being grateful to the king that they could now marry having "lived in imperfect chastity" up til now once they discovered "the fraility of their bodies".
"Three Chapters of Letters Relating to the Suppression of Monasteries, Volume 26" 1843 edited by Thomas Wright Page 215
Dr. John London (1486-1543) Born: 1486 at Hambleden, Buckinghamshire. Royal Commissioner. Died: 1543 at Farringdon, Middlesex. In 1535, he was appointed one of the Commissioners for the Visitation during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and was busily engaged in that work for some three years. He speaks contemptuously of the religious, but his letters prove him to be more anxious to gather spoil for the King than to collect scandal. When he obtained the surrender of a religious house, he stripped it of everything that had a pecuniary value and sent the spoils to London, seized all relics and defaced and destroyed whatever he could not remove, so that the bare walls of buildings were alone left. He was, indeed, the “most terrible of all the monastic spoilers”.

In spite of the energy that he showed in the work of spoliation, his position was insecure and, in 1536, Cromwell heard something to his discredit. For, in July, London, who was visiting religious houses in Northamptonshire, wrote to him to beg him not to believe those who said that he was promoting the Bishop of Rome, purgatory and pilgrimage, and declared that he would always conform to the will of the King's Council and submit to Cromwell and Bishop Latimer. 

One of the church bells of Greasley is poss. from Beauvale, certainly pre reformation as it is an Angelus bell in Latin 
"The Priory of Beauvale, in this county, or, as it was called in Latin, de Pulchra Valle in parco de Gresseley, was founded by Nicholas de Cantelupe in 1342. The last Prior was Thomas Woodcock. Beauvale is in the parish of Greasley, and there is now hanging in the fine tower of Greasley Church a bell which, tradition says, came from Beauvale at the Dissolution. It is a very sweet toned bell, and was probably the "angelus" bell at the Priory, and was rung at sundown to remind people to say their "Ave Maria gratia plena; Dominus tecum; benedicta tu in mulieribus." That was the salutation of the angel Gabriel, and was not a prayer to the Virgin; and it would be well if Christians were reminded by the bell when it rings now, as it still does in some of our parishes, of our Lord's Incarnation—"that He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary." The legend on the Greasley bell is, "Dulcis Sisto Melis, Vocor, Campana Gabrielis," I am of sweet sound; I am called the bell of Gabriel. "  L Lindley, History of Sutton-in-Ashfield or past links with the present, (1907)
Despite its supposed perfect tone it did not stop it being melted down and recast in 1926. List of the the 8 bells and their inscriptions, history and tones is here....
More about the bells is in von Hube's Griselia in a church inventory of Sept 5th 1543...





2 - From 'House of Cluniac monks: The priory of Lenton', in A History of the County of Nottingham: Volume 2, ed. William Page https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/notts/vol2/pp91-100
The Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1534 gives the gross income as £387 10s. 10½d., and the clear annual value £329 15s. 10½d. Of this estimate the Derbyshire tithes and portions (about which great sums of money had been spent in litigation) contributed £70 18s. 11½d., but far the largest share came from Nottinghamshire. The tithes of corn and hay from Beeston, Lenton, St. Mary's Nottingham (with oblations), and Radford realized £48 6s. 8d.; tithe portions from Greasley, Basford, Attenborough, Langar, Stapleford, Ruddington, Sutton, Thorpe in the Glebe, and Bunny, £32 3s. 2d.; pensions from Barton in Fabis, Basford, Costock, Cotgrave, Lenton, Linby, Nottingham St. Nicholas, St. Peter and the hospitals of St. John and St. Mary, and Rempstone, £5 6s. 4d.; demesne lands, rents, mills, fair, &c., at Lenton, Newthorpe, Nottingham, and Radford, £78 13s. 8d.; and rents at Awsworth, Ompton, Barton in Fabis, Bradmore, Costock, Cotgrave, Cropwell Butler, Keyworth, Mansfield, Normanton, Rempstone, and Watnall, £17 4s. 3d. The remainder of the income came from the counties of Chester, Lancaster, Leicester, Northampton, and York.

3 - "Eventually a gradual halt was put on the wilful devastation starting with a nationwide survey of historic buildings ordered by the British government in 1968. This led to something of a race as inspectors tried to protect buildings through statutory listing before they were pulled down. Rural areas were not well-served and it was not until a second survey in the 1980s that many agricultural buildings attained a degree of protection."
1968 - The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) becomes formally involved in the consent systems for England and Wales due to a new Town and Country Planning Act. Legally, the Society must now be notified of any alterations or demolitions to a building built before 1720. Today the SPAB’s caseworkers consider about 2,000 applications per year, with several hundred needing in depth negotiation and discussion.

4 - Watnall Hall and barn's official HER record

Historic England Research Records
Watnall Hall
Hob Uid: 315656
Location :
Nottinghamshire
Broxtowe
Greasley
Grid Ref : SK4993046020
Summary : Site of early 18th century and later house which may have incorporated remains of a 16th century house. An 18th century barn has also been demolished.
More information : [SK 4993 4602] Watnall Hall [T.I.] (1)

'Watnall Hall. A fine brick building of c. 1690 or 1700, ...
The iron gates towards the road ... attributed to Huntingdon
Shaw, ...' (1660-1710). (2)

Portions of Watnall Hall, built of brick, 'were built in the
reigns of ... Henry the Eighth, Elizabeth and Anne.' The
Rolleston family have occupied the house since 1620. (3)

The main block, of H-plan, has an extrance elevation of eight
bays with a modillion comice and pitched, hipped roof. The
eastern elevation has projecting wings with a main doorway having
attached columns and a segmental pediment. These elevations are
of 1690-1700 date.

The north elevation appears to belong to an early 17th c.
building and contains mullioned and transomed windows, an
early type of sash-window and later mid-18th c. sash-windows.

The western wing, of domestic offices, may be slightly later or
an earlier building much altered.

That there was an earlier house on the site seems certain as
at least one bedroom is completely panelled in mid-16th c.
panelling.

Among the outbuildings is a large mid-15th c. barn, of
timber-framing, encased in 18th c. brickwork. (4)

The name WATNALL HALL is retained. Formerly scheduled as an
ancient monument, the buildings (including barn) are to be
demolished by 1961 and a housing estate will cover the site. (5)

WATNALL HALL is a large buiding of L-plan, built in brick.
The main wing, the north-eastern, is of Flemish-bonded brick on
a stone plinth. The south and east sides are accurately described
by Authy. 4. The same authy. dates the north side as early 17th
c. but there appears to be little evidence for it being other
than contemporary with the remainder of the block. The same
stone plinth is continued on this side with no apparent
change and the rougher brick, in a variant of Flemish bond,
was probably so used because this was the least important
side of the house.
No evidence to justify the close dating 1690-1700 was seen
but the block is certainly very early 18th c. The north-western
wing is also of Flemish-bonded brick, and is clearly later than
the early 18th c. wing as in the junctions of the brickwork
the later wing overlaps the north-eastern wing. No remains of
an earlier building are visible externally and it was not
possible to see the interior of the Hall. The buildings are
becoming derelict; part is occupied by a caretaker. The iron
gates, at SK 5008 4593, are in poor condition. At SK 4994 4606
is a large farm-building, of brick with much stonework, some
rebuilt. Four large timber trusses, of derived Queen-post type,
represent the 15th c. timber-framing mentioned by Authy. 4.
They are formed from massive timbers and rest on irregularly
coursed stone walling probably of the original barn. The building
is derelict. A 25" AM survey has been made. (6)

The intended demolition of the Hall noted by authy. 5 above, has
been carried out. (7)
Sources :
Source Number : 1
Source : VIRTUAL CATALOGUE ENTRY TO SUPPORT NAR MIGRATION
Source details : OS 6' 1913-38
Page(s) :
Figs. :
Plates :
Vol(s) :
Source Number : 2
Source : VIRTUAL CATALOGUE ENTRY TO SUPPORT NAR MIGRATION
Source details : Bdgs. of England (Notts.) 1951, p. 194 (N. Pevsner)
Page(s) :
Figs. :
Plates :
Vol(s) :
Source Number : 3
Source : VIRTUAL CATALOGUE ENTRY TO SUPPORT NAR MIGRATION
Source details : 'Great Houses of Notts.' 1881, p. 158 (L. Jacks)
Page(s) :
Figs. :
Plates :
Vol(s) :
Source Number : 4
Source : VIRTUAL CATALOGUE ENTRY TO SUPPORT NAR MIGRATION
Source details : Typescript Rpt of Architect to SPAB (1955), in possession of MR. F. SISSON, Langley Mill.
Page(s) :
Figs. :
Plates :
Vol(s) :
Source Number : 5
Source : Field Investigators Comments
Source details : F1 WW 23-OCT-59
Page(s) :
Figs. :
Plates :
Vol(s) :
Source Number : 5a
Source : VIRTUAL CATALOGUE ENTRY TO SUPPORT NAR MIGRATION
Source details : Oral: MR. F. SISSON, Owner, CROMFORD ROAD, Langley Mill.
Page(s) :
Figs. :
Plates :
Vol(s) :
Source Number : 6
Source : Field Investigators Comments
Source details : F2 WW 23-OCT-59
Page(s) :
Figs. :
Plates :
Vol(s) :
Source Number : 7
Source : Field Investigators Comments
Source details : F3 BHS 13-JAN-75
Page(s) :
Figs. :
Plates :
Vol(s) :
Monument Types:
Monument Period Name : Medieval
Display Date : C16
Monument End Date : 1539
Monument Start Date : 1500
Monument Type : House
Evidence : Demolished Building
Monument Period Name : Post Medieval
Display Date : C18
Monument End Date : 1799
Monument Start Date : 1700
Monument Type : Barn, House
Evidence : Demolished Building
Components and Objects:
Related Records from other datasets:
External Cross Reference Source : NBR Index Number
External Cross Reference Number : 32266
External Cross Reference Notes :
External Cross Reference Source : National Monuments Record Number
External Cross Reference Number : SK 44 NE 3
External Cross Reference Notes :
Related Warden Records :
Related Activities :
Associated Activities : Primary, FIELD OBSERVATION ON SK 44 NE 3
Activity type : FIELD OBSERVATION (VISUAL ASSESSMENT)
Start Date : 1959-10-23
End Date : 1959-10-23
Associated Activities : Primary, FIELD OBSERVATION ON SK 44 NE 3
Activity type : FIELD OBSERVATION (VISUAL ASSESSMENT)
Start Date : 1975-01-13
End Date : 1975-01-13

5 - Beauvale and Greasley church's tithe entitlement is explained in "The Victoria history of the county of Nottingham / edited by William Page" which details a chartulary by Nicholas Warthe a prior of Beauvale. It also contains many other interesting occurrences at the Priory.
https://archive.org/stream/nottinghamhisto02pageuoft/nottinghamhisto02pageuoft_djvu.txt

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