14. THE HOSPITAL OF ST. HELEN, DERBY
As has been already stated in the opening of the
account of Darley Abbey, a certain burgess of
Derby, of the name of Towyne, with the support
of the greater part of the burgesses, established in
1137 an oratory or small religious house, dedicated
in honour of St. Helen, just outside the walls of
the town on the north-west, near to the church
of St. Alkmund. This house was served by
brethren or canons who followed the rule of
St. Augustine. (fn. 1) In less than twenty years after
the foundation of St. Helen's, the neighbouring
Austin abbey of Darley was established, and its
first abbot and inmates were taken from the
small mother-house of St. Helen's. But this
removal of the greater part of the canons from
Derby to Darley did not mean the extinction of
the oratory; on the contrary it had for a long
time a separate existence, though made in many
ways subject to the abbey.
Soon after the establishment of the abbey, the
constitution of the oratory of St. Helen was
changed, and a God's House (Domus Dei) was
founded in connexion with the oratory under
the charge of brethren having a master or warden
as their head. An undated agreement, circa
1160, copied in the Darley chartulary, between
the abbey and the brothers of St. Helen provides
that the goods of the oratory whether movable
or fixtures, should remain at St. Helen's; that
the house should be administered by one of the
brothers whom the abbot should choose with the
assent of his fellows; that the presiding brother
should discreetly and freely dispense the temporalities of the house with the aid of his brethren,
and rule them in all matters, save that confession
and other spiritual matters were reserved to the
abbot, and that a statement of accounts be
presented to the abbot twice a year; that the
abbot was to admit no brother without the assent
of the brethren, and that the brethren in their
turn were to admit no one without the abbot's
assent; that the brethren of St. Helen's were not
to appropriate any lands or possessions of which
the abbot and convent receive the rents without
their assent; that the house is not to admit
more brethren than its goods will suffice to
maintain; and that the abbot and convent are
never at any future time to attempt to bring
this hospital into any greater subjection than is
provided for in this agreement. (fn. 2)
A later agreement, circa 1190, was entered
into between William abbot of Darley and the
brethren of St. Helen's, whereby it was arranged
that the abbey confirmed to St. Helen's two
tofts with their appurtenances in Newlands,
Derby (in nova terra de Derbeia), on payment of
a rent of 2s. 2d., at the feast of the Holy Cross
and at Martinmas, and four hens on Christmas
Day; also all the garden adjoining St. Helen's
on the south side, with a toft between the
garden and the hospital, for a rent of 2s. 2d.,
payable at the aforesaid times; also the fourth
part of a little meadow by the well called
St. Helen's Well on the south bank of the
Derwent, and all the right which they have in
the little meadow which lies by the well of
St. Alkmund, at a rent to the abbey of 12d.
The abbot and canons of Darley further granted
to the brothers of the hospital half a bovate of
land at Granton, which they had of the gift of
Robert FitzFulcher of Osmaston, at a rent of 4s.,
payable at Lady Day and Michaelmas. (fn. 3)
William, prior of St. Helen's, is mentioned in
an early thirteenth-century charter of the nuns
of King's Mead. (fn. 4)
Some time before 1261 the priest Nicholas
placed this hospital on an improved basis, providing for certain poor brethren and sisters as
inmates, who were governed by a warden or
master. (fn. 5)
In the Hundred Rolls of 1276, we find that
a jury of the burgesses of Derby complained that
the master of St. Helen's had made a certain
ditch, 100ft. long and 2 ft. broad, too near the
king's highway. (fn. 6)
The Taxation Roll of 1291 shows that the
master of St. Helen's then held houses in Derby
of the yearly rental of £1 6s. 8d., and 120 acres
of arable land at £4, 3½ acres of meadow at 7s.,
besides a capital messuage (probably the house
itself) worth 4s. per annum, yielding a total
income of £4 17s. 8d.
In 1280 Nicholas de Penriz, master of the
hospital of St. Helen, acknowledged a debt of
46s. to the executors of Robert de Lofteshou; (fn. 7)
Thomas, master of the house of St. Helen,
appears in 1306 as pledge for the prosecution
of a case brought by Hugh, vicar of St. Werburga. (fn. 8)
After this date, no further information can be
gleaned as to the history of St. Helen's; it was
not in existence as a separate establishment at
the time of the Reformation, and had probably
become absorbed by Darley Abbey.
15. THE HOSPITAL OF ST. JAMES, DERBY
The brethren of the hospital of St. James,
Derby, obtained letters of protection from Henry
III in 1229, authorizing them to seek for alms
for the rebuilding of their house which had been
burnt. (fn. 9)
It is clear that this was a hospital attached to
the Cluniac cell of St. James, for in 1335
sanction was obtained for the attorneys and
proctors of the prior and monks of St. James to
rebuild their church and priory, together with a
hospital pertaining to the priory, which had
been accidentally burnt down. (fn. 10)