63. THE HOSPITAL OF ST. LEONARD, SUDBURY
Most of our leper houses were of early
foundation, whilst the crusades were in progress,
but one was founded, about a mile outside
Sudbury, as late as 1272, by John Colneys or
Colness, its first governor or warden. Colneys
applied to Simon of Sudbury, then bishop of
London, to draw up certain ordinances for its
rule. The bishop assented, and from his
ordinance, dated 1 May, 1372, we learn that
the bishop's parents, Nigel and Sara Theobald,
were also concerned in this charitable foundation.
It was laid down that there were to be for ever
three lepers, and after the death of John Colneys
one to be chosen governor whom the other two
were to obey; that when a leper died or resigned
or was expelled, a third was to be chosen by the
survivors within six months, but if any difficulty
arose they were to inform the mayor of Sudbury, and the spiritual father of the church of
St. Gregory was to put in another; that the
profits of the hospital of St. Leonard were to be
divided into five parts, whereof the governor
was to have two parts, his two leper brethren
other two parts, and the fifth part to be used
in the repair of the premises; that there was
to be a common chest in some church or safe
place in Sudbury wherein the fifth part and the
writings of the house were to be kept; and that
the governor was to have one key of the chest,
and the other was to be in the hands of some
person deputed by the mayor of Sudbury. It
was also provided that if the statutes should not
be duly kept after the founder's decease, the
hospital revenues should be divided between the
church of St. Gregory and the chapel of
St. Anne annexed to the same in equal proportions, for the souls of Colneys the founder,
and of Nigel and Sara Theobald, and all the
faithful departed. (fn. 1)
The estates of the hospital were vested in
feoffees by deed of 16 January, 1445-6. In the
later corporation books of Sudbury there are
several references to the 'hospital called Colnes'
and lands adjoining. In 1619-20 'the little
house at the Colnes' was rebuilt. In 1657
John Rider was appointed governor of the
hospital in the place of Edward Stafford; he
had to find 40s. to be of good behaviour. The
last person who bore the name of governor or
master was a man called Loveday; he died in
1813.
The following was the form of oath taken by
members of the hospital, on admittance:—
You shall swear that you will well and truly
observe all the ancient rules and orders of this house
(as governor or fellow of the same) so long as you
shall continue therein, according to the utmost of
your skill and knowledge; you shall be obedient to
the members thereof as your state does require in
all things lawfull; you shall quietly submit to all
such deprivation and expulsion as by competent
authority shall be inflicted on you, for such crimes
and misdemeanours as they shall judge worthy of the
same; and all other rules and orders which shall
hereafter be made by sufficient authority for the due
governance and regulation of the said hospital you
peaceably acquiesce in—So help you God.
The oath, doubtless adapted from the original
one, was thus used in 1770, when Edmund
Andrews was governor, and Joseph Andrews
and George Gilbert fellows. (fn. 2)
By a scheme of the Charity Commissioners
of 1867 the net income of Colneys' charity
is applied towards the support of St. Leonard's
Cottage Hospital. This is one of the extraordinarily rare instances of a medical hospital
escaping confiscation under Henry VIII and
Edward VI. It was probably spared as there
was no ground for supposing that any of the
slender income was used for 'chantry' purposes. (fn. 3)