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 a 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 a
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 it: sometimes he took possession of them by force, and at others
he tried to conciliate the usurpers by large sums of money and fair
promises.

The monastery, during his government, underwent many important changes.
He rebuilt the whole body of the church, "from the lantern to the
porch;" and it is the opinion of Gunton, that the curiously painted
ceiling which covers the middle of the building was of his workmanship.
He likewise added several houses to those which were already within the
precincts of the abbey, and built the present gate which leads to the
west front of the cathedral, with a chapel over it, which was dedicated
to St. Nicholas.[8]

Benedict likewise obtained a charter for holding a fair upon the feast
of St. Peter, and a market to be held every Thursday. The fair was to
continue eight days.

This abbot ruled