e than L1,000. With the help of a legacy from
Reginald of St. Albans he finished the Lady Chapel and the retro-choir,
in which he placed the shrine of St. Amphibalus. King Edward II. paid a
second visit to the Abbey, and on being told by the Abbot of the
benefactions of Edward I. gave 100 marks and much timber towards the
work then in progress. The Abbot was twice besieged in his Abbey by the
townspeople; they desired to be answerable to the King and not the
Abbot. They gained their point, though they were compelled to surrender
to the next Abbot the privileges they had obtained of Abbot Hugh. It was
during the rule of this Abbot that the piers in the main arcade of the
nave gave way while mass was being said on St. Paulinus' Day, 1323, and
he had to begin repairing this part of the church.

28. #Richard of Wallingford# (1326-1334). He was of humble birth; his
father was a blacksmith. After taking his degree at Oxford he became a
monk, and resided at St. Albans for three years, when he again went to
Oxford and studied philosophy and theology there for nine years. He was
on a visit to St. Albans at the time of the death of Abbot Hugh. He was
elected Abbot, but the election was found to be informal, so he resigned
his claim to the Pope, who thereupon appointed him Abbot. He wrote a
Register of things done in his time, compiled a book of Decretals and
Constitutions of Provincial Chapters, and sundry works on geometry and
astronomy. He constructed a clock showing the courses of the sun and
moon, the ebb and flow of the tides, etc., which Leland, Librarian to
Henry VIII., speaks of as still going in his day. He also made an
astronomical instrument to which he gave the name "Albion," and wrote a
book describing the manner of using it. Edward III., visiting the Abbey
and seeing the clock being constructed, while the damage done by the
fall of the nave piers in his predecessor's time had not been fully
repaired, remonstrated with the Abbot, who replied that anyone could
repair the church, but few could construct a clock such as he was
making.

It is said that he suffered from leprosy and that his death was hastened
by the shock caused by a terrible thunderstorm on St. Andrew's Eve,
1334, which set some of the domestic buildings on fire. The fire was put
out before much damage was done, but the Abbot died.

29. #Michael of Mentmore# (1335-1349). He was a graduate of Oxford, a
monk of St. Albans, and had been appointed Master o