Discipline in the abbey largely depended on the relationship between the abbot and his canons, who were pledged to obey him. An essential part of maintaining outward and inner discipline was the practice of confession: canons were expected to confess at least thee time a year to their superior, at least in the later decades. During the ootbreaks of plague in the mid-14th century, given the high mortality rate among clergy, both clergy and laity took the precaution of gaining papal permission to confess to someone of their own choosing: William Rempstone of Dale is recorded as doing so in November 1354,Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland, volume 3, p. 535 (1354. Kal. Nov.) following his abbot, William of Horsley in 1351.Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland, volume 3, p. 411 (1350—1. 2 Kal. March.)
