Lord Leycester Hospital

The Lord Leycester Hospital (often known simply as the Lord Leycester) is one of the best preserved examples of medieval courtyard architecture in England and is a charity supporting ex-servicemen. It is located in Warwick, England, next to the West Gate, on High Street. It is a Grade I listed building.[1] The Hospital is a prominent and internationally famous feature of Warwick. For almost 900 years buildings have been erected and civic activity has taken place on the site, starting with the chapel built in 1126. The site was donated by the 12th Earl of Warwick in the 14th century to the United Guild of the Holy Trinity and St George. The Guild Hall, Great Hall and Master's House were constructed in the late 15th century. Over the centuries, the ancient buildings and 500 year old gardens have been admired by many famous visitors such as Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde, by Kings and Queens, such as King George V[2] and the Queen Mother[3] and ordinary travellers from around the world.[2]

Lord Leycester Hospital
Native name
Chapel of St. James the Great
Lord Leycester Hospital
LocationWarwick, Warwickshire, England
Coordinates52°16′47.05″N 1°35′27.62″W
AreaWarwick
Founded1571 by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
Builtfrom 1126 to the late 15th century
Built forThe United Guilds of Warwick
RestoredChapel restored 1860, accommodation restored 1966
Restored byChapel restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott
Architectural style(s)Medieval courtyard architecture
Governing bodyThe Lord Leycester Hospital (charity)
Listed Building – Grade I
location of the Lord Leycester Hospital

History

12th Century

The Lord Leycester Hospital started life as just the Chapel of St James the Great which was built over the West Gate of Warwick in 1126 by Roger de Newburgh, 2nd Norman Earl of Warwick.[4]

14th Century

In the late 14th century, it was rebuilt by the 12th Earl of Warwick. He granted the benefice of the Chapel in 1386 to the Guild of St George, a guild created on 20 April 1383 under licence from King Richard II.[4] The Guild of the Holy Trinity and the Guild of the Blessed Virgin Mary joined them to form the United Guilds of Warwick.[4] Living quarters and public rooms were added to the chapel including the Great Hall.[5] These form the courtyard of the Lord Leycester that we see today.[4]

Courtyard of the Hospital

15th Century

The Guildhall was built in 1450 by Neville "The Kingmaker", the 16th Earl of Warwick.[6] It was primarily used as a private chamber where the Guilds met to discuss business.[5] The table found in the center of the Guildhall is thought to have been the original table used by the United Guilds of Warwick where they discussed matters such as trade religion and politics.[7]

The 1571 Leicester Hospital Act, licensing the Earl of Leicester to found a hospital in Warwick[8]

16th Century

The United Guilds were dispersed by King Henry VIII in 1546.[4] However, their property had already been transferred to the Burgesses of Warwick by Thomas Oken, Master of the Guilds. The burgesses used the property for meetings and for teaching as, what is now, Warwick School.[9]

The 1st Earl of Leicester acquired the buildings in 1571, founding therein a hospital for aged or injured soldiers and their wives, under royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I, run by 12 resident "Brethren" (originally soldiers) under the charge of a "Master", and funded from the income of various estates.[4]

17th Century

In 1617 the Great Hall was used to entertain King James I on his visit to Warwick.[10] The town was in debt for ten years as a result! Behind the back wall of the Great Hall is a plaque commemorating the occasion of the visit of the King but for an unknown reason it was covered over in Victorian times.[5]

In 1694, the Great Fire of Warwick started at the Friends Meeting House in Warwick, across the High Street from the Lord Leycester Hospital. The fire was driven up the High Street by a strong South-Westerly wind and consumed virtually all buildings in its path. Thus, the original medieval timber-framed houses were destroyed and, in due course, replaced by the handsome stone and brick built buildings that you see today. Of the ancient buildings, only the Lord Leycester Hospital and its near neighbours survive.[5]

19th Century

The chapel was extensively restored by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1860. The story goes that a representative of his was called from dinner by worried townspeople who thought the chapel may fall down into the High Street. This included the addition of the flying buttresses which today skirt the chapel.[4]

20th Century
Houses opposite the Lord Leycester Hospital. The red brick indicates the Friends Meeting House where the Great Fire of Warwick began in 1694
Egyptian Urn supposedly 2,000 years old and once used as a Nilometer (A device used to measure the height of the River Nile) in Ancient Egypt

In 1956 the Corporation of the Master and Brethren of the Hospital was abolished by Act of Parliament and replaced with a board of Governors. On 3 November 1966 a restored Hospital with modernised quarters was opened by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.[11]

21st Century

Today the Hospital is run by the Master, a retired officer of the Armed Forces. Eight ex-servicemen and their wives are provided with flats in return for their past services: they act as guides for visitors.[12] The Hospital is funded by visitor income, the original estates having been sold over the years.[12] Heidi Meyer, the first woman to hold the office, was installed as Master in November 2017.[12]

Other historical notes of interest include the fact that the Grade I listed stone urn in the Master's Garden is 2,000 years old and was originally part of an Egyptian nilometer.[13] The Museum of the Queen's Own Hussars formed part of the collections of the hospital until it closed in 2016.[14]

Key Features

The Chapel of St. James the Great

The carvings, notably the famous Warwick icon of the bear and ragged staff[15] (or "baculus") and the two-tailed lion from the Dudley family coat of arms,[16] illustrate the renowned craftsmanship in wood of Warwick men. The fine stained glass in the eastern window is the work of the Birmingham firm of Clayton & Bell. Above the south door is a gem of a window by William Morris who also designed the hangings around the altar.[5] Every weekday morning (except Mondays) the Master and Brethren gather for prayers in exactly the same wording directed by Robert Dudley almost 450 years before.[17]

The Great Hall

Apart from the floor, heating system and public restrooms at the far end, the Hall has changed very little in structure and appearance from the 1300s. It was used by the Guilds for public functions and this has been resumed today for dinners, dances, receptions, concerts and meetings.[5]

The Guildhall

The Guildhall, today, is used as display space for many of the artifacts collected throughout history. This includes a selection of weaponry, including flintlock muskets sent "by the crown" to the Brethren at the time of the Chartist Riots,[18] Napoleonic swords, thought to have come from the Battle of Waterloo and a cannonball dug up from the Battle of Edge Hill.[18]

List of Weaponry in the Lord Leycester Hospital Guildhall

Below is a list of weaponry that is featured in the Guildhall:[19]

Name Date
English Infantry Officer's Sword 1837-1845
Italian Officer's Sword 1805-1814
English Light Cavalry Sword 1854
Polish Saxon Sword c. 1720
English Rank and File Sword 1864
Heavy Cavalry Sword 1748-1778
Copy of Heavy Cavalry Sword n.d.
Italian Executioner's Sword 1840-1860
Re-Hilted French Cavalry Broadsword c. 1885
English Dragoon Officer's Sword 1850s
Indian Light Cavalry Officer's Sword n.d.
Basket Hilted Scottish Broadsword 1600s
American Cutlass 1775-1783
British Cavalry Sword 1908-1912
English Officer's Small Sword 1650s-1700s
Sword from Edge Hill (Edge Hill Sword) 1642
Indian Copy Sword n.d.
Halberd (2) pre 1793
Footman's Pike n.d.
Commemorative WWII Sword late 20th century
Nepalese Kukri c. 1919
Wood engraving of the walkway across the frontage at the Lord Leycester, looking towards the Chapel
Under the Gallery in the Courtyard of the Hospital
Frontage of the Lord Leycester

The Masters and Brethren

The soldiers living within the walls of the medieval building are known as the Brethren. The Master and the Brethren share a legacy of almost 450 years of history. They meet in the Chapel every day to pray together the words written by their founder the 1st Earl of Leicester. They are dressed in ceremonial uniforms and give tours through the buildings and gardens to the visitors.[20] The public cafe based in the hospital is named The Brethren's Kitchen.[21]

A list of masters of the Lord Leycester Hospital is as follows:[22]

List of Masters of the Lord Leycester Hospital
Name Time as Master Name Time as Master Name Time as Master
Ralph Griffiths 1571-1585 William Burman 1728-1741 Henry Toovey 1901-1922
Thomas Cartwright 1585-1603 Charles Gore 1741-1743 Frederick Page 1922-1937
Symon Buttrys 1603-1605 Edward Tait 1743-1750 James Cropper 1937-1938
Edward Lord 1605-1616 Charles Scottowe 1750-1767 John Johnson 1938-1943
Samuel Burton 1616-1635 George Lillington 1767-1794 John Frankland 1943-1958
Jem Rice 1635-1650 John Kendall 1794-1844 Steuart Pears 1958-1966
Timothy White 1650-1661 Henry Berners Shelley 1844-1863 Charles Terence Bethune Tibbits 1966-1968
Thomas Glover 1661-1671 Thomas Cochrane 1863-1867 Hugh Edward Lee 1968-1992
Samuel Jemmet 1671-1713 Phillip Sidney Harris 1867-1884 Dermot Ian Rhodes 1992-2004
Samuel Lydiatt 1713-1726 Herbert Hill 1884-1893 Gerald Franz Lesinski 2004-2016
James Mashbourne 1726-1728 George Morely 1893-1901 Heidi Meyer 2016–Present

Television appearances

The building has been used in many historical-set television productions including Pride and Prejudice,[23] Tom Jones,[23] Moll Flanders,[23] Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators,[24] A Christmas Carol[25] and the 2007 Doctor Who episode The Shakespeare Code.[26]

Images
Frontage of the Lord Leycester Hospital

References
  1. Historic England. "Hospital built for the United Guilds of Warwick from the early 12th century and transformed into the Hospital that it remains today by Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester in 1571 (1035441)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  2. Lord Leycester Hospital Guest Book.
  3. Photograph of a Brother meeting the Queen Mother.
  4. "History". Lord Leycester Hospital. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  5. Lord Leycester Hospital Guidesheet. 2019.
  6. Fisher, Stuart (2015). The Canals of Britain: The Comprehensive Guide. Adlard Coles. ISBN 978-1472918529.
  7. "Medieval Guilds". eh.net. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  8. "1571 Leicester Hospital Act". UK Parliament. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  9. "History". Warwick School. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  10. A Plaque commemorating the banquet of King James I can be found behind a false wall at the back of the Great Hall
  11. "Get inside Warwick's secret historic film set". BBC Coventry and Warwickshire. Retrieved 26 July 2005.
  12. "Caring for warriors". Church Times. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  13. Historic England. "Egyptian urn in the garden of Lord Leicester's Hospital (1364812)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  14. "Queen's Own Hussars Museum". Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  15. Warwickshire County Records Office. "The Coat of Arms of Warwickshire County Council". Warwickshire County Council. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  16. Dudley, Steven (2018). The Arms of Steven Ronald Dudley and the House of Dudley - Australia (PDF). dudley.id.au. p. 2.
  17. Dudley, Robert (1840). The Ordinance, Statutes and Rules.
  18. Hill (1895). Lord Leycester Inventory of Arms. Warwickshire County Records Office.
  19. Taken from the signage in the Guildhall
  20. "Visit Warwick's Medieval Gem". The Lord Leycester Hospital.
  21. "Brethren's Kitchen". Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  22. In accordance with historical documents found at the Warwickshire County Records Office
  23. "Get inside Warwick's secret historic film set". BBC. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  24. "Shakespeare and Hathaway BBC Drama stars Mark Benton and Jo Joyner". Farm Cottages. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  25. "Here's a look at what the BBC is filming at Warwick's Lord Leycester Hospital". Warwick Courier. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  26. "Lord Leycester Hospital". Dr Who Locations. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  • Official website
  • British History Online Extract on the history of the Lord Leycester Hospital
  • E.G. Tibbits, "The Hpspital of Robert, Earl of Leicester and Warwick" published in Birmingham Archaeological Society Transactions, 1936, Vol. LX, pp. 113–144
  • A. Nicholls, "Almshouses in Early Modern England Charitable Housing in the Mixed Economy of Welfare 1550-1725", (2017)
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