ANCIENT CHAPELS
ST. ANNE'S.
The chapel, by a holy well on the
south side of Harwich Road c. ½ mile beyond
East bridge, probably existed by 1344 when
Richard Shaw, chaplain, surrendered land at the
well. (fn. 73) By 1379 there was a hospital there, under
a proctor or warden who seems to have been a
layman. (fn. 74) It was rebuilt in 1380, possibly by the
St. Anne's guild who collected money that year
and who held land near the hospital in the earlier
15th century. (fn. 75) The relationship of the hospital
and its warden to the chaplains recorded in 1384
and 1386 and to John Newton, chaplain or
hermit at St. Anne's from c. 1387 to 1414 or
later, (fn. 76) is not clear. In 1402 the endowments
were inadequate for the support of the master
and brethren of the hospital, but John Vertue
the elder (d. 1485) apparently increased them.
He and others also left bedding to the hospital. (fn. 77)
Elizabeth Harmanson founded a temporary
chantry in the chapel in 1505 and another
woman left stained cloths, presumably banners,
of St. Anne and the Virgin Mary to the chapel
in 1508. (fn. 78)
Chapel and guild apparently survived in 1536
but had been dissolved by 1549. (fn. 79) An attempt in
1559 to revive the hospital seems to have failed. (fn. 80)
The chapel, presumably disused, was recorded
in 1590; in 1748 the plain rectangular building
was used as a barn. (fn. 81)
ST. HELEN'S.
The north and east walls of the
surviving building, on the corner of Maidenburgh Street and St. Helen's Lane, incorporate
parts of the lower courses of the north and east
walls of the Roman theatre which occupied the
site, (fn. 82) but there is no evidence to support the
later tradition that the chapel itself dated from
the time of St. Helen. It seems likely that there
were two chapels of that dedication in the 13th
century and perhaps earlier. Only one was recorded in the 14th century, but after the
re-establishment of St. Helen's guild in the
chapel or hospital of St. Cross (later the
Crutched friars) in 1407 that chapel was occasionally called St. Helen's. (fn. 83)
One chapel of St. Helen, next to the castle, was
held by the king or by St. John's abbey. Eudes
the sewer granted the recently restored church
with 14 a. of land belonging to it to the abbey
at its foundation; at the same time he gave the
abbey the tithes of the castle chapel which were
later associated with St. Helen's. (fn. 84) St. Helen's
was not among the possessions confirmed to the
abbey by Henry I, and although it was included
in later papal and episcopal confirmations, (fn. 85) it is
not clear whether the abbey actually obtained,
or retained, possession of the chapel.
In 1157 Henry II granted to St. John's land
called the castle waste, extending from St.
Helen's chapel next to the castle southwards to
High Street, and the land around the chapel to
make a graveyard and a house for the clerks
serving it. (fn. 86) Later evidence suggests that he
intended to found a small chapel or college of
clerks to pray for his soul. If so, the foundation
failed, and the unendowed chapel seems to have
become a liability to the abbey. A later tradition
that the chapel was dedicated, or rededicated, in
1239 in honour of St. Catherine and St. Helen
by Roger Niger, bishop of London, in the
presence of William de Wande, abbot of Colchester, (fn. 87) may reflect a rebuilding by the abbey,
but in 1265 the chapel was repaired at the king's
expense, under the supervision of one of his
servants. (fn. 88) In 1290, in the course of a wideranging dispute, the town accused the abbot of
failing to maintain the chapel or to provide
services there for the king and his ancestors, as
he was bound to do by his possession of the
tithes. (fn. 89) The arguments of both parties make it
clear that there was some confusion between St.
Helen's chapel and the king's chapel in the castle.
The abbot was eventually ordered to provide a
chaplain to celebrate three times a week in either
St. Helen's chapel or the castle chapel as the
constable or other keeper of the castle should
direct. There are no further references to a St.
Helen's chapel in which the king or St. John's
abbey had an interest, and it seems likely that
that chapel fell into disuse after 1290 and its
functions were taken over by the castle chapel.
It is tempting to identify the 12th- and 13thcentury St. Helen's chapel with the chapel in the
castle bailey, which appears to have been built
or rebuilt in the later 11th century and remodelled in the earlier 13th century, (fn. 90) but that chapel
would have been within the castle, and the area
south of it would have been occupied by the
bailey buildings and separated from High Street
by at least an earthen bailey rampart in 1157 and
so would hardly have been described as the castle
waste between St. Helen's chapel and the road. (fn. 91)
In 1293-4 Master John of Colchester, apparently intending to found a small hospital,
obtained licence to provide an endowment of 60
a. of land and 50s. rent for Nicholas, chaplain of
the 'new' chapel of St. Helen, to maintain 6 poor
people at the chapel to pray for his soul. (fn. 92)
Nothing came of the plan, and in 1307 John
obtained a new licence to grant to a chaplain
celebrating there, the plot of land, held of St.
Botolph's priory, on which stood 'a certain
chapel of St. Helen of Maidenborough', with an
endowment of 40 a. of land and 40s. rent. (fn. 93) No
grant was made, however, until 1322 when John
gave to John Bracy, the chaplain, the site of the
chapel in Maidenburgh Street, 28 a. of arable,
and 40s. rent in Colchester to found a chantry
in the chapel, which had been built a long time
before in honour of Jesus Christ and St. Helen. (fn. 94)
The intended foundation of 1307 and that carried out in 1322 clearly relate to the surviving
St. Helen's chapel; the fact that the site was held
of St. Botolph's priory suggests that it was not
the same as the earlier chapel granted to St.
John's abbey.
In 1328 John of Colchester conveyed the advowson of his chantry to the bailiffs and
commonalty, who presented fairly regularly
until 1534. In 1336, however, they merely leased
the buildings of the 'old' St. Helen's chapel to a
chaplain for just under a year, (fn. 95) and in 1383 the
fraternity of St. Helen appointed a chaplain for
a year. (fn. 96) In 1416 Thomas Francis left 8 a. of land
to augment the chaplain's stipend. (fn. 97) Richolda
widow of Richard Cofford (d. 1395) founded
another chantry in the chapel c. 1396, and
chaplains were apparently appointed to it in the
15th century. (fn. 98) The St. Helen's hospital to
which the king gave vestments and other furnishings c. 1414 was almost certainly St. Cross
hospital, but St. Helen's guild seems to have
retained some responsibility for St. Helen's chapel, providing tapers in 1441-2. (fn. 99)
St. Helen's chapel was granted in 1539 to the
bailiffs and commonalty for the foundation of
the grammar school, but was not so used. (fn. 1) The
borough sold the chapel in 1541 to William Reve
who sold it in 1557 to Jerome Gilberd. (fn. 2) In 1610
the borough confirmed the building to George
Gilbert, perhaps a descendant of Jerome. (fn. 3) In
1683 the chapel was bought from Robert Torkington by Stephen Crisp and given to the
Quakers as a meeting house. (fn. 4) It was repaired or
rebuilt in 1701, (fn. 5) re-using old materials. The
Quakers sold the chapel in 1801; (fn. 6) from 1830 the
building was used by the central National
school. (fn. 7) It was later used as a circulating library
and as an upholsterer's warehouse. In 1883 it
was bought by Douglass Round and extensively
restored by William Butterfield, and in 1886 it
was rededicated as a chapter house for Colchester rural deanery. (fn. 8) It was still used as a chapter
house in 1923, but from 1946 was leased by the
borough council for the museum service. (fn. 9)
The surviving chapel is a small, single celled,
rectangular building. Much of it, including all
the window tracery and the facing of the walls
with their prominent brick string courses, appears to be the work of Butterfield. (fn. 10) Two 13thcentury lancets in the north wall confirm the
existence of a 13th-century building on the site.
The east and another north window date from
a later medieval, possibly 15th-century, reconstruction.
ST. MARY'S.
The chapel, on St. John's green,
was first recorded in 1363 when it had been
damaged by flood and fire. (fn. 11) In 1392 the chapel's
warden was involved, with two clerks of St.
Giles's church, in a dispute with St. Mary
Magdalen's hospital, perhaps over jurisdiction. (fn. 12)
The chapel presumably survived until the Dissolution but had been demolished by 1581. (fn. 13)
ST. THOMAS'S.
A chapel of St. Thomas
outside the walls was recorded before 1238,
probably c. 1220, (fn. 14) contradicting the 14th-century tradition that it had been the Jewish council
chamber and was consecrated by Abbot William
of St. John's in 1251. (fn. 15) A perpetual chantry had
been founded there by 1379, and chaplains
were presented by St. John's abbey in 1384 and
1386. (fn. 16) The chapel, on St. John's green, was
recorded in 1476, and presumably survived
until the Dissolution; its site was waste ground
in 1581. (fn. 17)