(g) Almshouses and the Parish Church.—Many of the later almshouses were closely connected with the parish. At Ewelme, for example, the almsmen resorted to the church constantly, and their presence was regarded as so important that even absence on pilgrimage was p204 deprecated. Those institutions which had no chaplain of their own were brought into close touch with the parish priest, as at Croydon, where the poor men went every day to the church to “here all manner divine service there to be songe and saide.”
(h) Collegiate Foundations.—Several large almshouses possessed collegiate rights or formed part of a college (e.g. St. Mary’s, Leicester; Shrewsbury, Tong, Heringby). Sometimes, as at Higham Ferrers, there existed side by side a parish church, a bede-house for pensioners, and a college for the priests and clerks.
(iii) RELATIONS WITH MONK, KNIGHT AND FRIAR
Inquiry must now be made concerning the relation between hospitals and monastic life. Although the religious orders directly influenced certain houses, others were totally unconnected with them. Canon Raine says that St. Leonard’s, York, was more of a secular than an ecclesiastical establishment; he regards it as principally a lay institution, although religion was, of course, a strong element in its working. In this hospital “which is of no order” (says a Papal Letter, 1429) the master might be a layman.
[♦] PLATE XXIII. ST. JOHNS HOSPITAL, WILTON
(a) SOUTH-EAST VIEW. (b) NORTH VIEW
1. The Monastic Orders
Here it must be borne in mind that we have nothing to do with the infirmary and guest-house within conventual walls. Only such institutions are included as had an individual, though it may be subordinate, existence. Some hospitals were founded by an abbot or prior; these were chiefly dependent upon the mother-house for staff, income, food and clothing; they had an individual p205 dedication-name, but often no common seal (e.g. Bury, Peterborough). Others had a more independent existence, as indicated by the possession of separate seals (e.g. Reading, Abingdon). A community which was under the direct control of a religious house was of a more monastic type than others. There was also the hospital established by a private patron, and merely placed under the administration of some monastery; here the endowment was distinct, and the staff might or might not be members of the convent.