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Not following the rules
The priory of St Leonard's might have been less than a mile from the mother priory of Norwich, but that did not mean that everything within the priory was tightly controlled by the Lord Bishop. As was rather common for the Church in the 14th century, the Prior at St Leonard's did not always feel constrained by the need to follow the rules too strictly and certainly not when it came to distributing cash. These two extracts from a visitation (inspection) by the Bishop of Norwich suggest that all was not well....
We enjoin and order that the prior of St Leonard who for some years was in an acting capacity should complete a full and detailed account of all offerings rendered and all those who have come to visit the aforesaid priory and of the expenses he has received, and that he should render this account in the format and timescale which are customary with the servants and officials of our mother church. The said prior should undertake no work of magnitude or ostentatious expense without the consent of a council of the chapter of prior and elders.
We issue a binding injunction and order to the prior of St Leonard, the confessors and the recipients of income and money to the effect that they should distribute the stated sums of money on the stated terms to individual monks as preferred. A double penalty will apply if they defer the distribution of the sum on the stated terms and fail to comply with this order within the space of twenty days.
Corpus Christi Cambridge MS 370 and 465 printed in Cheney - Norwich Cathedral priory in the 14th century