35. THE HOSPITAL OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW, GLOUCESTER
According to a statement made by a jury of
Gloucester in 1357, (fn. 58) a chaplain, by name Nicholas
Walred, began, in the reign of Henry II, to build
the west bridge over the Severn, and employed
many workmen. William Myparty, a burgess
of Gloucester, associated himself with the work
and built a dwelling on a piece of ground which
he held of the king in chief. Sick men and
women found shelter there, besides the priest, the
burgess, and the workmen. The community
which there grew up had a continuous existence,
and under the rule of a priest who wore the dress
of a hermit, served the double purpose of maintaining the bridge and caring for the sick. (fn. 59) From
the beginning of the thirteenth century there are
records of grants of lands and rents by the burgesses of Gloucester. (fn. 60) The right of having a
chantry chapel in the hospital was not secured
until 1232, when William of Blois, bishop of
Worcester, persuaded the abbot and convent of
Gloucester, in whose parish the hospital lay, to
give their consent, provided that the rights of the
mother church were maintained. (fn. 61)
In 1229 Henry III gave the church of St.
Nicholas to the prior, brethren, and sisters of the
hospital of St. Bartholomew of Gloucester for the
support of the poor, (fn. 62) and it was appropriated to
their needs. (fn. 63) In virtue of that gift, the hospital
was afterwards said to be of royal foundation.
Soon afterwards the brethren and sisters obtained
a licence to elect their prior. (fn. 64) The community
seems to have consisted of several priests of the
order of St. Augustine, (fn. 65) and a number of lay
brothers and sisters to minister to the sick and
poor. (fn. 66) It was subject to the visitation of the
bishop of Worcester. (fn. 67)
Little is known of the history of the hospital
except that it suffered greatly from poverty and
maladministration under the rule of Nicholas de
Hardwick and Walter Gibbes (1329-85). In
1333 Thomas Charlton, bishop of Hereford,
appropriated the church of Newnham, of which
the advowson was given by William de Bohun,
earl of Northampton, (fn. 68) to the use of the prior and
brethren. (fn. 69) There were then ninety sick in the
hospital, among them the lame, the halt, and
the blind, both men and women. (fn. 70) In 1344
Edward III appointed a commission to make a
visitation of the hospital, which was reported to
be greatly decayed. (fn. 71) Similar commissions were
appointed in 1345 (fn. 72) and in 1347, (fn. 73) and the report
of the jurors summoned by the sheriff in 1357 (fn. 74)
has furnished the history of the first foundation
of the hospital. Nicholas de Hardwick resigned
in 1356; (fn. 75) he had granted several corrodies for
life, and had thus so burdened the hospital that
its resources no longer sufficed for the maintenance of the services, almsgiving, and other
good works, and for the provision of food and
clothing for the brothers and sisters. (fn. 76) Sums of
money, jewels, corn, silver and brass vessels, beds,
and household utensils given by men of Gloucester
and elsewhere to the value of £100, which were
under the charge of the prior and two of his
brethren, had been dissipated and destroyed.
After receiving this report, on 8 May, 1359,
Edward III appointed five commissioners to effect
a thorough reform, and directed all the inmates
of the hospital to obey them. (fn. 77) An almost exactly
similar account of the misdeeds of the prior and
his predecessor reached Richard II in 1381. (fn. 78) It
was again stated that the brethren and sisters
lacked food and clothing, and a commission
appointed on 20 July (fn. 79) sent in a more detailed
report before 26 October. Contrary to the
ordinance of the foundation, the poor had been
charged for admittance, and five cases were mentioned in which bed-money had been received. (fn. 80)
Lands given for the benefit of the poor had been
diverted to other uses, and a great building in
the hospital set apart for the benefit of the poor
had been unroofed, and the timbers and tiles
taken for other purposes. There were further
charges of dissolute living. Another commission
was appointed on 26 October, 1381, (fn. 81) and a third
on 12 March, 1382, (fn. 82) and in 1384 a fourth commission was bidden to make ordinance for the
reformation of the hospital. (fn. 83) It is possible that
there was some exaggeration in the charges,
for the prior, Walter Gibbes, was not deposed,
and on his death in 1385 one of the priests of
the hospital, John Bulmyll, mentioned by name
as an evildoer in one of the reports, was admitted
by Bishop Wakefield as his successor, with the
king's consent. (fn. 84)
On account of its poverty the hospital was
exempted from taxation in 1401. In 1407
Henry IV confirmed the possessions of the
hospital, and took the collectors of alms together
with the hospital and its goods under his protection. (fn. 85) He granted that upon each vacancy the
chaplains might elect a prior without obtaining a
royal licence, the electors being only constrained
to certify their choice to the bishop for his confirmation. (fn. 86)
In or before 1413 the prior and brethren sent
a petition to John XXIII. (fn. 87) Although the chapel
of Little Dean was dependent on the parish
church of Newnham, which had been appropriated to the hospital for over sixty years, the
inhabitants had had the chapel consecrated
apparently as an independent church, without
the licence of the ordinary or of the prior and
brethren, and now withdrew the tithes which
were due to the mother church of Newnham
for the maintenance of their chaplain. The
pope sent a mandate that the hospital should
recover its rights.
In 1423 the hospital was so seriously embarrassed that Henry VI committed the custody to
a commission consisting of the bishop of Worcester and five other persons. (fn. 88)
In 1451 an indulgence of forty days for the
benefit of the poor was granted by Boulers, bishop
of Hereford. (fn. 89) A similar indulgence was granted
by Carpenter, bishop of Worcester, in 1450, (fn. 90) and
in 1455 (fn. 91) and 1462 (fn. 92) he issued indulgences in aid
of the repair of the bridge, which was doubtless
at times a heavy charge on the revenues of the
hospital.
In 1534 the prior and three chaplains acknowledged the royal supremacy. (fn. 93) In 1535 the gross
revenues amounted to £85 7s. 1d.; of this sum
£20 was derived from the rectories of St. Nicholas,
Gloucester, and of Newnham, the remainder
from tenements and lands in or near the city. (fn. 94)
Only £30 0s. 3d. was expended on the maintenance of thirty-two almsfolk; the master and
five chaplains drew nearly £50 in salaries. (fn. 95)
Another survey of the hospital was made under
the Chantries Act of 1547, (fn. 96) and it was not confiscated by the crown. In 1564 Queen Elizabeth
granted the hospital to the mayor and corporation of Gloucester for the support of a priest, a
physician or surgeon, and forty poor persons. (fn. 97)
It has had a continuous existence to the present
day. (fn. 98)
Priors of St. Bartholomew, Gloucester
Adam, occurs circa 1230 and in 1245 (fn. 99)
Walter, occurs 1248 (fn. 100)
John, occurs 1253 (fn. 101)
Walter, circa 1260 (fn. 102)
John, circa 1270 (fn. 103)
Adam of Garne, circa 1280 (fn. 104)
John le Pessover, 1286 (fn. 105)
John (fn. 106) or William (fn. 107) de Abbenhall, 1295
John de Okes, 1301 (fn. 108)
John de Bicknor, 1326 (fn. 109)
Nicholas de Hardwick, 1329, (fn. 110) resigned 1356 (fn. 111)
Walter Gibbes, 1356 (fn. 112)
John Bullmyll, 1385 (fn. 113)
John Gloucester, 1404 (fn. 114)
Thomas Carpenter, occurs 1413 and 1418 (fn. 115)
William Wrecester, resigned 1425 (fn. 116)
Stephen Myle, 1425 (fn. 117)
William Sobbury alias Holway, 1460 (fn. 118)
Richard Heyward, ob. 1476 (fn. 119)
John Hasfield, elected 1476, (fn. 120)
ob. 1487 (fn. 121)
Richard Baker, 1487 (fn. 122)
Thom Apowell, resigned 1510 (fn. 123)
Andrew Whitmay, 1510, (fn. 124) occurs 1534 (fn. 125)
A seal of the thirteenth century represents the
martyrdom of St. Bartholomew, the saint standing between two executioners, one on the right
with a large knife, the one on the left flaying
him; in base under a trefoiled arch the prior
kneeling in prayer to the right. (fn. 126)
36. THE HOSPITAL OF ST. MARGARET, GLOUCESTER
The hospital of St. Margaret and St. Sepulchre
at Gloucester was probably founded about 1150, (fn. 1)
and at the beginning of the thirteenth century
the master, brethren, and sisters found kindly
benefactors among the citizens of Gloucester. (fn. 2)
The brethren and sisters were lepers, and until
after the beginning of the fourteenth century the
master was probably the chaplain who served the
chantry. It lay within the parish of St. Peter's
Abbey, (fn. 3) and the abbot presented to the chantry. (fn. 4)
In 1309, on the appeal of the brothers, Benedict of Paston, the official of Bishop Reynolds,
came on a visitation on 27 April. (fn. 5) The master,
who had been deputed to fill the office by a former
official, was then broken down by age and illhealth. He resigned, and a chaplain named
William Pouke was appointed by Benedict of
Paston, and entrusted with the custody of the
spiritualities and temporalities of the house. The
brethren and sisters were bidden to observe the
injunctions of the bishop, especially that no
brother or sister should be admitted by command
or request of any lay knight or burgess, except
with the assent of the bishop or his official.
In the middle of the fourteenth century the
burgesses of Gloucester had secured control over
the hospital. The commonalty elected one of
the burgesses to act as master or supervisor, (fn. 6) and
the management of the property of the hospital
was under his charge. He was appointed perhaps for a year or a term of years, and his consent was necessary for the granting of leases. (fn. 7)
A prior, who was perhaps the chaplain, bore rule
over the brethren and sisters. Probably he too
was appointed by the commonalty of Gloucester,
for no collations are recorded in the registers of
the bishops of Worcester. In 1518 the mayor,
master of the hospital, and burgesses accepted
William Ergan and Emmota his wife as a brother
and sister, and granted the office of prior and
governor to William Ergan, so at that date the
prior was no longer of necessity the chaplain. (fn. 8)
The inmates were then apparently almsfolk, for
leprosy had greatly declined. In or about 1545
Henry VIII confirmed the custody of the hospital
to the mayor and corporation. (fn. 9) The hospital
has had a continuous existence until the present
day. (fn. 10)
37. THE HOSPITAL OF ST. MARY MAGDALEN, GLOUCESTER
The leper hospital of St. Mary Magdalen,
Gloucester, was founded for women, probably
soon after the middle of the twelfth century. (fn. 11)
It has had a continuous existence as a home
for the sick poor. In 1599 Queen Elizabeth
granted it to the mayor and corporation of
Gloucester. (fn. 12) In 1617, on information that for
want of good governance the revenues had been
much wasted, James I ordained that the government should be in the masters and governors, that
they should be a body corporate with a common
seal, and should have and enjoy the possessions
of the hospital for the benefit of the inmates,
and in addition a pension of £13 from the king,
to be called 'King James's Pension,' as was
formerly paid by the kings of England. (fn. 13) He
willed that the hospital should thenceforth be
called the hospital of King James. However,
it still bears the former name of St. Mary
Magdalen. (fn. 14)