28. THE HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN AND ST. KATHARINE, HEYTESBURY
The hospital at Heytesbury was founded in
1472 by Margaret, the widow of the 2nd Lord
Hungerford, (fn. 1) in accordance, as she said, with
the wishes of her father-in-law, Walter, Lord
Hungerford, who had built an almshouse and a
house for a schoolmaster there. (fn. 2) This foundation,
which has remained substantially unchanged until
the present day, was designed to consist of a chaplain, known as the warden, or custos, twelve poor
men, and one woman. Its constitution was elaborated in 48 statutes dated 20 February 1472. (fn. 3)
After the death of the foundress, the custos was to
be appointed, as he still is, by the Chancellor of
Salisbury Cathedral. He could, however, be removed by the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury if
he misbehaved or failed to observe the statutes of
the hospital. On admission he had to take an
oath to observe these statutes, and he also had to
make an inventory of the goods of the house. His
duties included the administration of the hospital,
the celebration of divine service both there and in
the parish church of Heytesbury, daily 'when he
is disposed', prayers for various members and retainers of the Hungerford family, and teaching
grammar to the poor children of Heytesbury. He
was not permitted to hold any other benefice, or
to be absent from Heytesbury for more than a
month at any one time.
In selecting the poor men, servants or tenants
of the Hungerford family were to be preferred.
No married man was to be admitted. The poor
men and the woman were to live a common life
in the almshouse and not to go away without
permission. They had to pray daily for their benefactors, and if they did not know the prayers these
must be taught them. If they had any goods when
they entered the house, half of these were taken
for the use of the house, and if at any time their
income should exceed 4 marks yearly they were
to be excluded. The woman had to look after
them all, to do the washing, and to care for the
poor men when they were sick. All were to be
given two pairs of hose, two pairs of shoes, and
two shirts each year. Every second or third year
they were also to receive gowns and hoods of
white woollen cloth with 'Jhu. Xrt' in black
letters on the breast and on the shoulders. There
was a weekly allowance for commons, varying
with the price of wheat, and the woman was also
to have 5s. a year to buy a kirtle and 13s. 4d. for
her labours.
The hospital had a common chest for its money
and records, and a common seal. Another chest
in the parish church held its books. The original
endowment consisted of the manors of Cheverell
Burnell and Cheverell Hales (Great Cheverell),
with 20 cartloads of wood yearly from Southleigh. (fn. 4)
The steward of the manor of Heytesbury had to
oversee the lands of the house, to hold two courts
a year, and to pay the profits to the custos, who was
to keep accounts of his expenditure. In addition
to providing for the upkeep and commons of the
hospital and for the issues of clothing detailed
above, he took £5 for himself and made certain
payments to Salisbury Cathedral. The Dean of
Salisbury was requested to carry out an annual
visitation of the hospital, either in person or by his
commissary. Although St. Katharine was named
in the foundation deed, the hospital was generally
known as St. John's until the 18th century, when
both dedications were occasionally used. (fn. 5)
Two accounts of the custos for the years 1498-9
and 1503-4 (fn. 6) show that for these years at least
these rules were substantially observed. The
visitation was duly made and an annual fee of
6s. 8d. was paid to the dean. The gross revenue
of the hospital appears to have been £60 in the
former year and £51 in the latter. Out of this £51
the custos spent £18 8s. 7½d. on food for the hospital, £3 11s. 9d. on necessaries, including a barber
for the poor men, their offerings in church, and
candles; £1 14s. 5d. on repairs, 12s. 6d. on the
obit of the founder, £1 for the wages of the matron
and washerwoman, £1 3s. 10d. for the steward's
salary, and £11 for his own, as well as £1 on the
tomb of Robert Hungerford in the cathedral at
Salisbury.
Thirty years later, in 1534, the custos was Robert
Balfront and the revenue of the house was
£40 18s. gross, or £37 11s. 4d. net, (fn. 7) but in 1545
it was slightly higher. In none of these years,
apparently, were there any schoolmasters or
scholars. (fn. 8) In 1545 the manor of Cheverell Hales,
which was the principal holding of the hospital,
was leased by the Crown to Walter Earle for 21
years; (fn. 9) but three years later it was reported that
the revenue of the hospital, amounting to £42,
was being taken by William Sharington, 'by what
auctoryte we knowe not'. (fn. 10) Sir William Sharington still held it when he died in 1557. The old
constitution of the hospital was then re-established
at the instance of Cardinal Pole. (fn. 11) John Lybbe
was appointed custos. Thus re-established the
hospital has since continued without interruption.
In 1592 Christopher Dugdale, then custos, accounted for £66 18s. 7d. as the total annual
revenue. By this time there was also a separate
schoolmaster, John Wigglesworth, who received
£10 a year for performing the custos's teaching
duties. (fn. 12) The same two men were still in office in
1607 when a commission inquired into the conduct of the charity. The custos had then received
£597 during the preceding ten years, and had
spent £85 of this in law charges in defending the
hospital against Sir Walter Hungerford and others.
The Dean of Salisbury had carried out his visitation three times during the ten years, and such of
the original statutes as were still applicable seem
to have been regularly kept. (fn. 13)
Probably as a result of this inquiry the hospital was reincorporated in 1610 by a charter of
James I. (fn. 14) The general outline of the original
constitution was maintained, and the Dean and
Chapter of Salisbury were empowered to draw up
new statutes. Besides the two manors already
mentioned, property in Upton Scudamore, Calne,
Stockley, and Warminster was confirmed to the
hospital. However, it was not apparently until
1633 that the dean and chapter carried out this
task. Apart from the modification of the religious
duties of the custos and the poor men consequent
upon the reformation of the English church, very
little change was made. At this time there was a
separate school-house, and the separate existence
of the schoolmaster was formally recognized, his
salary being raised to £15 a year. He was also
empowered to act as sub-custos if the custos should
prefer to live away. Thus provision was made for
an absentee custos, which became the normal practice in the 18th century. The appointment of
schoolmaster lapsed because the demand for instruction in Latin grammar had ceased, but the
office of sub-custos went on. The poor men were
still selected as before by the lord of the manor of
Heytesbury or his steward, preference being given
to servants of the Hungerfords, and one in four
being normally selected from the parish of Great
Cheverell. No man was admitted unless he could
say the Lord's prayer. (fn. 15) A dispute in 1669 between the lord of the manor of Heytesbury and
the custos led to a suit in Chancery whereby the
constitution of the hospital was slightly modified;
the custos must henceforth render annual accounts
to the steward of Heytesbury manor, who was
also steward of the hospital. He in turn rendered
accounts to the Dean of Salisbury, without whose
consent surplus funds might not be used. (fn. 16) The
manor of Great Cheverell was retained by the
hospital until 1863, and the customary court of
the manor continued to be held in the name of
'the keeper, poor men and woman of the almshouses of Walter and Robert, his son, late lords of
Hungerford and of Heytesbury'. (fn. 17) In 1768 and
some later years an assistant to the woman was
employed at a wage of 2s. per week, and in 1777
2s. 6d. was spent on making the woman's gown.
About 1769 the hospital and other buildings in
Heytesbury were burnt down, the eight poor men
then resident were paid £2 12s. 2d. for the losses
which they sustained, (fn. 18) and the present building,
which forms three sides of a square two stories
high, was then erected. Later additions have been
made at the back. There is a common or diningroom, kitchen, and chapel, whilst each poor man
has his own bedroom upstairs, and one wing provides a house for the custos.
Towards the end of the 18th century the cartloads of wood which had been drawn from
Southleigh for over 300 years were converted into
an annual rent of £14. (fn. 19) From 1795 the subcustos was David Williams, who became custos in
1812 (fn. 20) and continued in the office until 1836.
The duties which he performed were 'to receive
and pay all sums due to and from the hospital, to
keep the accounts, fix the annual fines due to the
hospital, read prayers in the chapel on Wednesdays
and Fridays, maintain the buildings, provide necessaries for the almspeople, and pay the allowances
determined by the trustees'. By this time the
schoolmaster had long disappeared. The uniform
had changed from the original white to the scarlet
cloak, with a badge of I.H.S. in blue letters, which
is still worn on formal occasions. The income was
found by the Charity Commissioners in 1832 to be
£1,372 17s. 8d., whilst the expenditure was only
£565 9s. 8d. In 1903 these figures had risen to
£2,354 4s. 6d. and £1,821 respectively. Additional property was bought and investments were
made from time to time with the surplus of past
years. (fn. 21)
The present constitution of the hospital was
drawn up in 1857, (fn. 22) and modified in 1880 and
1895. The charity is now governed by a body of
eight trustees, including the lord of the manor,
the Chancellor of Salisbury Cathedral, the custos,
and the two churchwardens of Heytesbury. The
other three members, Wiltshire residents, are
co-opted when a vacancy occurs, but must be
approved by the Charity Commissioners. They
are empowered to make money grants in place of
the old issues of clothing, and if there is a surplus
of income to maintain additional persons, and to
pay pensions to people residing outside the hospital. One of the poor men may be paid to act as
porter, and they may also employ a clerk and a
receiver, and, since 1895, a nurse. Otherwise the
old arrangements persist. The custos is now required to reside, and to read prayers in the chapel
each morning. He must take two services each
Sunday in the chapel, if he is required so to do by
the Dean of Salisbury, unless he is also the Vicar
of Heytesbury. For the office of custos has at times
during the last 150 years been combined with that
of vicar, but the custos of 1954, who has held
the office since 1937, does not hold the living of
Heytesbury. He is a Canon of Salisbury Cathedral. In 1903 the poor men were each allowed
1 lb. of meat per day, 8 lb. of bread per week, 1½
pints of beer a day, and 2s. 6d. per week for other
food, apart from vegetables, which they were expected to grow in their own garden. The allowance
of bread and meat was found to be excessive, with
the result that they gave some away, or sold it
outside. In 1954 the number of poor men had
fallen to three, and the future of the hospital was
under discussion.
The Custos of Heytesbury Hospital
Robert Stephens, appointed 1472. (fn. 23)
John Lucas, occurs 1498-9. (fn. 24)
William Ravyn, occurs 1503-4. (fn. 25)
Robert Balfront, occurs 1534. (fn. 26)
John Lybbe, appointed 1557. (fn. 27)
Richard Chaundler, appointed 1559, (fn. 28) occurs
to 1582. (fn. 29)
Christopher Dugdale, appointed 1582, (fn. 28) occurs
to 1607. (fn. 29)
Thomas Hyde, appointed 1609. (fn. 28)
John Barnston, appointed 1609 (fn. 28) , occurs to
1644. (fn. 29)
Thomas Mason, appointed 1646. (fn. 28)
Horatius Franklyn, occurs from 1648 to
1655. (fn. 31)
James Hely, occurs 1660. (fn. 31)
Thomas Hill, appointed 1660, (fn. 30) occurs to
1671. (fn. 31)
Richard Watson, appointed 1671, (fn. 30) occurs to
1679. (fn. 31)
Joseph Kelsey, occurs from 1687 to 1709. (fn. 31)
Richard Adams, appointed 1710, (fn. 30) occurs to
1734. (fn. 31)
John Talman, appointed 1736. (fn. 30)
Caleb Calton, appointed 1737. (fn. 30)
Walter Kerrish, appointed 1785. (fn. 30)
Thomas Eyre, died 1812. (fn. 30)
David Williams, occurs from 1812 to 1836. (fn. 32)
John Knight, appointed 1836, died 1883. (fn. 33)
W. J. Swayne, appointed 1883, died 1911. (fn. 34)
A. D. Clutsom, appointed 1911, died 1937. (fn. 34)
R. E. P. Gorringe, appointed 1937. (fn. 34)
The Sub-Custos
John Wigglesworth (schoolmaster), occurs
1592 and 1607. (fn. 35)
Anthony de la Court, occurs from 1660 to
1664. (fn. 35)
Henry Gough (schoolmaster), occurs 1664. (fn. 35)
Robert Hearne, occurs 1695. (fn. 35)
Mary Kelsey, renders accounts Mich. 1709 to
Mich 1710. (fn. 36)
Abraham Clavey, died 1765. (fn. 35)
Henry Williams (deputy-keeper), occurs from
1789, died 1795. (fn. 35)
David Williams, occurs from 1795 to 1812. (fn. 35)
A much damaged seal, unattached to any document, is among the hospital deeds at the Wiltshire
County Record Office. (fn. 37) This is illustrated by
Hoare, (fn. 38) who identifies it as the seal used after
1633. It is a pointed oval and shows St. Katharine
beneath a canopy holding in her right hand a
sword and in her left a wheel. Above the canopy
are the letters I.H.S. The legend reads:
SIGILLUM HOSPITALIS DE HAYTESBERI
Hoare also illustrates a seal used by the hospital
before 1633. (fn. 39) This is an oval bearing a cross
paty and the legend:
SIGILL. DOM' ELIMO. WALT. & ROB. D.D. HUNG.
& DE HEITSBERI.