26. THE HOSPITAL OF THE HOLY TRINITY, THE VIRGIN MARY, AND ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, LUDLOW
This hospital stood at the northern end of the Teme
Bridge, Ludlow, and was founded by the Ludlow
burgess Peter Undergod. In his foundation charter,
probably executed in the 1220s, Undergod endowed
the hospital with a fulling mill on the Teme,
which he had acquired from Walter De Lacy's son
Gilbert, and with rents in Ludlow and lands at
Rock (in Stanton Lacy) and Ludford. (fn. 1) It is clear
from the charter that the hospital was already in
existence and that Undergod was then its master. (fn. 2)
Walter de Lacy, as manorial lord, executed at least
four charters in favour of the hospital before his
death in 1241. (fn. 3) In addition to confirming the foundation charter he granted the hospital exclusive right
to full the cloth of the men of Ludlow, liberty to
trade on his estates quit of toll, and the amercements of his tenants in Rock and Stanton Lacy
manors. It was not felt necessary to secure royal
confirmation until 1266. (fn. 4)
By 1255 the hospital's endowments included 6
burgages in Ludlow, 8 virgates in Rock, 16 a. in
Richard's Castle, and half a virgate in Corfham; (fn. 5) by
the end of the 13th century it possessed lands in
Overton (fn. 6) and its Ludford property included a
wood. (fn. 7) Grants to the hospital under mortmain
licences between 1316 and 1364, which also covered
a few properties acquired in the later 13th century,
included 34½ burgages or other house property in
Ludlow, 2 mills and some 90 a. in Ludford, and
£3 17s. 10d. rents in Ludlow, Ludford, and Hawkbatch in Arley (Worcs.). (fn. 8) The hospital also appears to
have obtained possession of the manor of Ludford
shortly after 1330. (fn. 9)
Nearly all these grants to the hospital were made
by Ludlow burgesses, although a grant made to
endow a chantry by Joan, widow of Roger Mortimer,
Earl of March, in 1354 (fn. 10) is the first indication of a
close relationship with the earls of March, whose
patronage (fn. 11) guaranteed the hospital's survival at a
period when Ludlow burgesses seem to have diverted
their interests to the Palmers' Guild. (fn. 12) The foundation charter had made no reference to a patron,
merely directing that masters were to be chosen by
the brethren from among their number, (fn. 13) but
rights of patronage appear to have been vested in the
Lacy family following Walter de Lacy's confirmation, and passed with Ludlow manor (fn. 14) to the Mortimers in the early 14th century. In 1369 the Crown
claimed the right to appoint a master during the
minority of Edmund, Earl of March, (fn. 15) but its nominee was not instituted and in the following year
licence was given to the brethren to elect a master
themselves. (fn. 16) A further attempt to foist a Crown
nominee was made in 1391. (fn. 17) During the 15th
century, however, the earls themselves appear to
have been content to confirm the candidate elected
by the brethren. (fn. 18)
In 1417 Edmund, Earl of March, gave the hospital
licence to convert its fulling mills on the Teme into
corn mills and to grind the corn of the inhabitants
of Ludlow there (fn. 19) and in 1458 his nephew Richard,
Duke of York, granted to it the chapel of St. Mary
Magdalen in Ludlow castle. (fn. 20) Patronage of the
hospital passed to the Crown on the accession of
Edward IV. In consideration of the losses suffered
by the hospital at the hands of the Lancastrians,
presumably during the sack of Ludlow following the
'Rout of Ludford' (1459), Edward IV in 1466
granted it the right to hold view of frankpledge on
its estate in Ludlow, Ludford, Rock, Hawkbatch,
and Overton, and acquitted it of clerical taxation and
of suit at the county and hundred courts. (fn. 21) Mortimer
patronage may account for the comparative esteem
in which the hospital was held locally in the early
15th century. On at least three occasions it was
called upon to act as guarantor that endowments of
Palmers' Guild obits were applied to their proper
purposes. (fn. 22) In 1407 the master was among those
appointed to collect a clerical tax in the diocese, (fn. 23)
in 1433 a papal bull obtained by the parishioners of
Ludlow was deposited at the hospital, (fn. 24) and in 1435
the master was empowered to conduct a visitation on
behalf of the bishop in Ludlow and at Limebrook
Priory (Herefs.). (fn. 25) These features may, however, be
no more than a reflection of the local reputation of
the master, Hugh Ferrour. (fn. 26)
Little is known of the hospital's internal life. Its
original function was to provide relief for the poor
and infirm, (fn. 27) and its site at the entrance to the town
suggests that it was also intended as a rest-house for
travellers. By the early 15th century the hospital
seems to have developed into a small college of
priests whose principal functions were to serve
chantries and obits in the hospital church and in the
chapels at Ludlow castle. Masters of the hospital
were usually referred to as priors after 1300 and the
institution was known indifferently as a hospital or a
priory in the 15th and 16th centuries. The decay of
hospitality to poor travellers and strangers was
among the reasons given for the annexation of the
chapel of St. Mary Magdalen in 1458 (fn. 28) and an
appreciable part of the hospital's income continued
to be spent on alms until its dissolution.
The foundation charter had directed that the
brethren should be regulars, living under certain
religious rules (fn. 29) and, as in many other hospitals, the
Augustinian rule had been adopted here by the later
14th century. (fn. 30) Their claim to be regulars led to
occasional clashes between the brethren and the
bishop of Hereford, as in 1435, when they submitted
to the collation by the bishop of one of their number
as master but indicated that this should not be
treated as a precedent. (fn. 31) In 1512 the master refused
to proffer obedience to the bishop on the ground
that he was a regular of the order of St. Augustine. (fn. 32)
If the lists of those brethren responsible for electing
priors in the later Middle Ages represent all the
brethren in residence, numbers were very small.
Four brethren are named in 1384, (fn. 33) two in 1435, (fn. 34)
and three in 1457. (fn. 35) By 1535 the hospital contained a
master, and two chaplains, both of whom had been
there for at least 20 years. (fn. 36) A deponent in the later
16th century described the habit worn by the
brethren: a hooded cape of murrey and blue with a
cross on the breast. (fn. 37)
The hospital church was built at, or shortly after,
its foundation and the hospital's right to celebrate
divine service there was confirmed by the patron
before 1241. (fn. 38) The hospital possessed rights of
burial, at least for its inmates, since there is a
reference to its graveyard in 1418. (fn. 39) An indulgence
for the repair of the hospital's bells was obtained in
1411. (fn. 40)
The endowment of a daily mass in the hospital
church by Richard of Eastham in 1364 (fn. 41) was presumably only one of several such services of which no
record survives. In the later Middle Ages, however,
the principal obligation of the brethren was to
maintain regular services for their Mortimer patrons
in the castle chapels of St. Peter and St. Mary
Magdalen. A service in St. Peter's chapel for Roger,
Earl of March, was established by his widow in
1354 (fn. 42) and in 1458, following the annexation of St.
Mary's, Richard, Duke of York, specified in some
detail the services to be performed in both chapels
for his soul and that of his wife. (fn. 43)
The hospital seems to have fallen into decline
during the mastership of John Holland (c. 1502-28). This was no doubt due in part to the absence of
a local patron, although a fire said to have destroyed
stores and crops belonging to the hospital in 1515 (fn. 44)
may also have contributed. Holland, who had been
found guilty of incontinence before his election as
master, (fn. 45) found it necessary to expel one of the
brethren, c. 1517. (fn. 46) He clearly took an interest in the
management of the hospital estate, for he was
presented at the borough court in 1526 for oppressing Whitcliffe Common with sheep (fn. 47) and for inclosing the commons there in the following year. (fn. 48)
Holland was succeeded by Edward Leighton, an
Oxford graduate who had 'made himself as bare as
ever was Job' in seeking the appointment from
Cardinal Wolsey and who had turned for help to
Thomas Cromwell in October 1529. (fn. 49) In the
following month the next presentation was granted
to two of Leighton's kinsmen, one of whom was a
doorward at the Tower of London, (fn. 50) and Leighton
was instituted prior in the following year. (fn. 51) Like his
predecessor Leighton was presented for inclosing
the commons; (fn. 52) he may have farmed directly a part
of the hospital estate, for in 1535, when the whole
estate had a gross annual value of a little more than
£30, its 'demesne lands' were separately assessed
and were said to be worth £5 a year. (fn. 53) As in the 14th
century the estate then lay in Ludlow, Ludford,
Overton, Rock, and Hawkbatch. (fn. 54) Although no
detailed survey survives it is known to have included
over 40 burgages in Ludlow. (fn. 55)
The forms of a religious life were still being
observed in 1535, for two chaplains received stipends of £2 apiece, and £3 6s. 8d. was said to be
spent annually on alms. A lay steward and receiver
were employed, and a further £4 was being paid to a
Crown corrodiary. (fn. 56) In 1537 Leighton granted the
hospital to William Foxe and his son Edmund (fn. 57) and in
1539, with the consent of the bishop, Leighton
surrendered the mastership to Charles, brother of
Edmund Foxe, who subsequently received a pension of £6 a year from the grantees. (fn. 58) Although Edmund Foxe stated in 1546 that he was paying
£9 19s. 8d. a year to the two priests for their service
in the castle chapel of St. Peter and 60s. a year in
alms, (fn. 59) it is clear that conventual life had ceased by
this date. (fn. 60) In 1547 the hospital's estates were
granted by the Crown to John, Earl of Warwick, (fn. 61)
who immediately conveyed them to William and
Edmund Foxe. (fn. 62)
Part of the hospital buildings was converted into a
house, which was occupied by various members of
the Foxe family until the early 17th century. (fn. 63) The
church was still being used for worship, presumably
as a private chapel, in 1564, when Jane, widow of
William Foxe, left a chalice and other church goods
there to her son Edward. (fn. 64) It was apparently intact
in 1577, when a sketch shows a small rectangular
building with a round-headed door on its northwest gable, two round-headed windows on the southwest wall, and a bellcote near the south-east gable. (fn. 65)
The church was described as 'decayed' in 1593 (fn. 66)
and was largely demolished by Ludlow corporation
in 1636, when the materials were used to repair the
parish churchyard wall. (fn. 67)
St. John's House, facing Ludford Bridge at the
corner of Lower Broad Street and Temeside, incorporates a small part of a building which originally stood at the south-west corner of the hospital
site. Its west wall contains medieval masonry and
there are remains of a pointed archway on the south
gable. The latter has been largely reconstructed but
the western jamb and the lower part of the arch,
which are intact, date from the early 13th century.
The Foxe family inserted upper floors in this part
of the house and added a two-bay stone wing to the
east in the later 16th or early 17th century. Other
parts of the hospital may have survived in a range of
tenements extending northwards on Lower Broad
Street. These were occupied by 'labourers and journeymen artificers' in the mid 18th century but
were rebuilt c. 1770. (fn. 68) The hospital site (2½ a.) was
still accounted extra-parochial in 1790. (fn. 69)
Masters or Priors of St. John's Hospital,
Ludlow
Peter Undergod, occurs c. 1220. (fn. 70)
Stephen, occurs 1293-7. (fn. 71)
John, occurs 1300. (fn. 72)
Richard, occurs 1346. (fn. 73)
William of Onibury, instituted 1349, (fn. 74) died
1369. (fn. 75)
Richard de Wottone, instituted 1370. (fn. 76)
Philip Kymley, elected 1384. (fn. 77)
Nicholas Stevens, occurs 1392. (fn. 78)
Hugh Ferrour, occurs from 1399, (fn. 79) died 1435. (fn. 80)
John Thorpe, collated 1435, (fn. 81) died 1457. (fn. 82)
Thomas Oteley, instituted 1457, (fn. 83) occurs 1466. (fn. 84)
John Holland, occurs 1502-28. (fn. 85)
Edward Leighton, instituted 1530, (fn. 86) resigned
1539. (fn. 87)
Impressions of the pointed oval seal of the
hospital, attached to deeds, 1404-47, (fn. 88) measure
1¾ × 13/8 in. They show the seated figure of the
Virgin with Child; a dove hovers above the Virgin's
head and there is a crescent moon in a cusped niche
at her feet. Legend, lombardic:
. . . FRATRUM HOSPITALIS SANCTE . . .