After the Hospitallers had been put into possession of the Temple by king Edward the Third, the prior and chapter of that order, appointed to the antient and honourable post of _custos_, and the priest who occupied that office, had his diet in one or other of the halls of the two law societies, in the same way as the guardian priest of the order of the Temple formerly had his diet in the hall of the antient Knights Templars. He took his place, as did also the chaplains, by virtue of the appointment of the prior and chapter of the Hospital, without admission, institution or induction, for the Hospitallers were clothed with the privileges, as well as with the property, of the Knights Templars, and were exempt from episcopal jurisdiction. The _custos_ had, as before mentioned, by grant from the prior and chapter of the order of St. John, one thousand faggots a year to keep up the fire in the church, and the rents of Ficketzfeld and Cotterell Garden to be employed in improving the lights and providing for the due celebration of divine service. From two to three chaplains were also provided by the Hospitallers, and nearly the same ecclesiastical establishment appears to have been maintained by them, as was formerly kept up in the Temple by the Knights Templars. In 21 Hen. VII. these priests had divers lodgings in the Temple, on the east side of the churchyard, part of which were let out to the students of the two societies. By sections 9 and 10 of the act 32 _Hen._ VIII., dissolving the order of the Hospital of St. John, it is provided that William Ermsted, clerk, the _custos_ or guardian of the Temple Church, who is there styled "Master of the Temple," and Walter Limseie and John Winter, chaplains, should receive and enjoy, during their lives, all such mansion-houses, stipends, and wages, and all other profits of money, in as large or ample a manner as they then lawfully had the same, the said Master and chaplains of the Temple doing their duties and services there, as they had previously been accustomed to do, and letters patent confirming them in their offices and pensions were to be made out and passed under the great seal. This appellation of "Master of the Temple," which antiently denoted the superior of the proud and powerful order of Knights Templars in England, the counsellor of kings and princes, and the leader of armies, was incorrectly applied to the mere _custos_ or guardian of the Temple Church. The act makes no provision for the _successors_ of the _custos_ and chaplains, and Edward the Sixth consequently, after the decease of William Ermsted, conveyed the lodgings, previously appropriated to the officiating ministers, to a Mr. Keilway and his heirs, after which the custos and clergymen had no longer _of right_ any lodgings at all in the Temple.[606]