In 1335 Abbot William petitioned the archbishop to grant benediction to William Aslakton, the newly-elected abbot of Welbeck. In the following year he tried to get to general chapter at Prémontré but got no further than Dover. Canon Henry de Cruch was vicar of Kirk Hallam from 1335 till his death in 1349, and in around 1336, Hugh de Tofte, who was probably a canon, was the abbot’s agent; he was to resign.

There is a record dated 2 Feb.1337 of a quitclaim by Alexander de Vilers to Abbot William of lands in Bargate, Nottingham. At about this time, Abbot William was involved in a dispute over the abbacy of Croxton in Leicestershire; he was several times appointed Visitor of the Premonstratensian Order in England, but never exercised his patronage. In 1338 the abbot was licensed to appropriate Greasley church. He had to find chaplains to say daily masses for the soul of Nicholas de Cantilupe at Ilkeston. The north aisle at St Mary's church in Ilkeston was this chantry.

In 1342/3 Abbot William had a papal mandate to effect the reconciliation of an apostate Cistercian monk. He was also summoned to appear before the barons of the Exchequer for failure to pay taxes to the crown. In spite of such trouble, he was licensed by Edward III to buy 60 acres of land in Hopton and a toft, seven and a half acres of land and a one acre meadow in Stanton-by-Dale to an annual value of 5s. 2d. He was appointed Visitor twice in the 1340s, in 1344 and 1346. Also in that year Richard le Curson, the parson at Breadsall, and William Shymmyng, gave 60 acres of moorland in Hopton.
In 1345 Bishop Norbury appropriated half the Rectory of Egginton for St Mary’s Abbey's benefit; the gift of the moiety of the church had been made through Geoffrey de Musters, the first husband of Matilda de Salicosa Mara’s daughter Avice, and Almaric de Gasci, Avice’s son by her first marriage; at this date St Mary’s Abbey acquired half the great tithes but lost the patronage of the church. Endowments were highly important to the abbey’s survival, since the abbot was hard pressed to provide proper hospitality, so great were the numbers of people requesting food each day. There was a tradition that all travellers and strangers were entertained and lodged at the abbey for one night and in the morning given supplies for their journey.  

At this time, the abbey was at its zenith in terms of numbers of canons: the complement consisted of abbot plus 24 canons. However, the Black Death was soon to change all that, and indeed, canon William de Rempstone had a papal grant to be his own confessor because of the loss of manpower due to the plague.

Kirk Hallam church was served by canon Richard de Bemersley from 1349 till his death in 1353, whereupon he was replaced by canon William de London. He died in 1353 or 54.