Volume 3

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vicar of Swinton was a younger brother of Henry de Swinton, who also swore
fealty with a younger son of Henry de Swinton of Swinton (r).     In 1329,
Bishop Bayn of St. Andrews gave a release of an assignation " super decimas
garbarum,"   of Swinton and Wester Nesbit, during four years, for a debt
of twenty marks (s).   The prioress of Coldstream held a part of Little Swinton,
and in 1419, Marion, the prioress, entered into an agreement with the prior
of Durham about the tithes and services which she owed for that possession ;
and had the address to obtain a confirmation of the same prior, as superior of
her rights within Little Swinton (t).   The origin of the church and the name of
Simprin are most obscure.     Nor is there any help to be obtained from a con-
sideration of its location on a wavy ridge of the lower Merse.    The name was
written in the charters of the 12th and 13th centuries Simpring, and we are
thus led to recollect that there is a Simpring-ham parish in Lincolnshire.    The
annex ham would induce us to suppose that Simpring must have been the name
of the person whose hamlet it was, as the word Simpring cannot be etymolo-
gized from any language.     Neither Gibson   in his  Saxon  Chronicle,  nor
Lambard in his Dictionary of Places, though they take notice of the Lincoln
Simpringham, give the  least aid;   and Skinner and Johnson have failed
egregiously in giving any etymon of the verb, Simper, to smile, sillily.    During
the age of David I. Hye de Simpring possessed the manor of Simpring, and the
advowson of its church.    The church of Simpring was, at the same time, en-
joyed by Thor, the archdeacon of Lothian.    During the reign of Malcolm IV.
Hye de Simpring granted to the monks of Kelso, the church of Simpring, with
a toft and some lands, reserving the rights of archdeacon Thor during his
life (u).    Hye, the munificent, was succeeded by his son Peter, who confirmed
his father's liberalities, which were also approved by William the Lion (x).    In
1251, Bishop David, of the same see, confirmed to the monks of Kelso the
church of Simpring to their proper use ; yet not to be served by a vicar, but
by a sufficient clerk, as chaplain, who should be answerable for his conduct to
the bishop and his successors (y).    In the ancient  Taxatio, the  church of
Simpring was rated at 15 marks.    When the monks of Kelso estimated their
various  estates, they  calculated  the  church of Simpring to be  worth  ten
(r) Dougl. Bar., 128.                     (s) Chart. Cold., 46.                      (t) Ib., 74-92.
(u) Chart. Kelso, 272.
(x) Ib., 12. All those grants to the monks were confirmed by the well-born Roger, who ruled the
See of St Andrews from 1188 to 1202. Ib., 82.
(y) Ib., 276, 429. This grant of bishop David was confirmed by John, the prior of St. Andrews,
'' teste capitulo." Ib., 277-421.