24. THE HOSPITAL OF ST. THOMAS, SOUTHWARK
Within the precincts of the monastery of
St. Mary Overy there was a building appropriated
to the use of the sick and the poor, which maintained certain brethren and sisters.
This adjunct of the priory is said to have been
founded by St. Thomas of Canterbury, and
after his canonization was called by his name. (fn. 1)
At the time of the disastrous fire of 1213 this
building was much damaged; Amicius, who was
archdeacon of Surrey from about 1189 to 1215,
was then custos or warden of the hospital.
The canons at once erected a temporary building
for the reception of the poor at a little distance
from the priory, and within its chapel they held
their own services whilst the priory was being
rebuilt.
Meanwhile Peter des Roches, bishop of Winchester, disliking the situation, added to the
endowment of the hospital, and built a new
house, which, though still in Southwark, was on
a site where the water was purer and the air
more healthy. (fn. 2) This new hospital, which was
also dedicated to St. Thomas the Martyr, was
completed by 1215.
In 1215 an indenture was made between
Martin, prior of the church of St. Mary Southwark, and the canons of that place, and Amicius,
archdeacon of Surrey, warden of the hospital
of St. Thomas Southwark, and the brethren
thereof, whereby the former granted that the
brethren and sisters of the old hospital of
St. Thomas might transfer themselves into the
new hospital of the like dedication (which had
been founded as the property of the church of
Winchester, and was free from all subjection to
the church of St. Mary), together with all their
goods, rents and lands, saving the lands which
the prior and canons had always retained to
their own use, to wit, the whole land of Melewell or Milkwell in Camberwell and Lambeth,
with the place of the old hospital and the whole
of the garden in Trinity Lane, which Ralph
Carbonel sold to the old hospital quit of all
demand on the part of the warden and brethren
against the said canons. In exchange for the
land of Melewell, the canons gave the brethren
13s. rents in Southwark. The canons also
granted that the market for corn and other
goods, which used to be at the doors of the old
hospital, should be transferred to the doors of the
new hospital. They also provided that the old
hospital (in ruins from the fire), on the withdrawal of the brethren and sisters, be shut up for
ever, on condition that the canons might build
whatever they liked on the plot, except a hospital,
and they bound themselves that never hereafter
should another hospital be built by them in the
public street of Southwark. All writings that
had been obtained from the pope or king pendente
lite were to be surrendered, so that every occasion
of litigation might be taken away. (fn. 3)
There is a large paper chartulary of this
hospital, consisting of 321 folios, at the British
Museum, which was drawn up about the year
1525. (fn. 4) It is not quite complete, and lacks unfortunately the first leaf. It begins at the top of
the page, which is lettered fundacione with the
end of an episcopal charter of confirmation of the
grant of the tithe of hay in all his lordships made
by Reginald de Brettyngherst to the brothers and
sisters of the hospital. The first charter recited
in full is a brief confirmation by Bishop Peter des
Roches. This is followed by a grant of a
cemetery and burial rights to the hospital by the
prior and convent of St. Mary Southwark, under
certain restrictions.
The hospital agreed not to have more than
two bells weighing 100 lb. in their bell-tower
(campanario), and to pay 6s. 8d. yearly to the
priory and 12d. yearly at Easter to the vicar of
St. Mary Magdalen. Burial was to be granted
not only to all such as died within their own
precincts, but also to all others who might desire
it, and who were not parishioners of either
St. Mary Magdalen's or St. Margaret's. This
concession by the priory was obtained by the
interference of Peter des Roches, who was bishop
of Winchester from 1205 to 1238. (fn. 5)
A later instrument, however, given in the
chartulary shows that the rector of St. Margaret's,
as well as the vicar of St. Mary Magdalen's,
secured 12d. a year by this agreement as to the
cemetery, and the subsidy of the priory was
reduced from 6s. 8d. to 2s. (fn. 6)
In 1238 the warden and brethren granted to
Luke, archdeacon of Surrey, a hall in the chapel,
stable and other appurtenances within the hospital precincts, for life, for his own occupation.
He covenanted for himself and successors that
they should not by virtue of this grant claim any
authority, jurisdiction, property, or succession in
the same to the damage of the warden and
brethren. The archdeacon in 1249, under the
title of Luke de Rupibus, papal sub-deacon,
released to the hospital all his dwelling rights. (fn. 7)
All archidiaconal rights of visitation were
ceded to the hospital, so that no archdeacon
of Surrey nor his official could exercise any
kind of jurisdiction over any persons, regular
or secular, within the hospital in any causes,
civil or criminal. The brethren or their
commissary had sole cognizance of all such
matters, and also had the proving of the wills
of persons dying within their precincts. For
these concessions the house paid an annual
pension of 5s. 4d. to the archdeacons of Surrey
at Easter. Nevertheless the hospital was not
strictly a peculiar, for the bishop claimed and
exercised powers of visitation. (fn. 8)
The following are the chief grants to the
hospital in the earlier part of the thirteenth
century cited in the chartulary: Alice de
Chalvedon, widow, granted circa 1235 all her
lands in Chaldon; in consideration whereof
Adam de Merton and the brethren agreed to
find her a suitable bed within the hospital for
life, with all reasonable necessaries such as would
suffice for two sisters of the house, and to her
maid as to one of the maids of the house;
she was also to have 5s. 6d. a year for her
clothing and fuel, but to demand nothing else. (fn. 9)
Everard de Caterham gave lands and 2s. rent at
Caterham; (fn. 10) John de Marlow, clerk, gave mills
and osier beds at Marlow, in Buckinghamshire, (fn. 11)
and Richard de Clare earl of Hertford, and his
son, Gilbert de Clare, lands worth £20 a year
and quit-rents in the manor of Marlow. (fn. 12)
A commission was issued in November 1276
to inquire into the complaint of the brethren of
the hospital, that Ralph le Aumoner and many
others, claiming authority from Nicholas, bishop
of Winchester, and asserting that the custody of
the hospital belonged to the bishop, entered
without leave of the brethren, and consumed
and wasted the possessions, victuals, and other
goods of the hospital. (fn. 13)
There was a considerable dispute at the time
of the election of Richard de Hulmo as master
in 1295, the bishop claiming the sole appointment, but eventually he compromised matters by
nominating the choice of the brethren. (fn. 14)
In 1299 Isaac the Jew conveyed a house to
the hospital, and that his grant might hold good,
instead of a seal, he subscribed his name in
Hebrew characters according to the Jewish
custom. (fn. 15) On 18 April 1305 licence was
granted to the master and brethren to acquire
in mortmain 8 acres of land in Charlton by
Greenwich from Robert de la Wyke; 4 acres
of land in Combe and Greenwich from
Ranulph, vicar of Greenwich; and 1½ acres
of land in the latter places from John and
William, sons of William le Flemyng, all for
the maintenance of the poor and infirm within
the house. (fn. 16)
Licence upon fine was obtained in June 1309
for the alienation in mortmain to the master
and brethren of this hospital of yearly rents to
the value of 28s. 2½d. in Beddington and
Bandon, the gift of Walter de Dynesle, clerk,
and of a messuage in Southwark, the gift of
William de Hameldon, chaplain. (fn. 17)
In the following year there was a large
bequest under similar licence, by Simon de
Stowe, of a messuage and various plots of land
in Beddington, Bandon, Mitcham, Southwark,
and Newton for the sustenance of the poor in
the hospital; (fn. 18) and again in 1311, by Walter
de Huntingfield, of a mill, a messuage, 4 tofts,
63 acres of land, 3 acres of meadow, and 6s. (fn. 19) of
rents. In 1313 there was further bequest by
Dulcia le Drapere of a messuage and 8 acres of
land in Beddington. (fn. 20)
Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester and
Hertford, granted in 1314 to the master and
brethren of the hospital the advowson of the
church of Blechingley, in exchange for all
lands and tenements which they held in the
town of Beddington, Bandon, Woodcote,
Mitcham, and Croydon, and for the mills that
they held in the parish of Marlow, Bucks. In
the following year they obtained licence to
appropriate the church of Blechingley. (fn. 21)
In June 1321 Stephen de Bykleswade, master,
and the brethren and sisters, in consideration of the great benefits they had received
from Henry de Bluntesdon, almoner to the
late King Edward, ordered a daily mass at the
Lady Altar for the said king and for Henry and
his parents and benefactors. (fn. 22)
In February 1323 Bishop Asser, after
visitation, gravely admonished the master of
the hospital as to the irregular lives led by
the brethren and sisters. (fn. 23) It was then ordered
that they should all follow the rule of St.
Augustine, and that the master should eat with
the brethren. (fn. 24)
On 1 December, 1326, the bishop of Winchester granted to the master and brethren of
this hospital, for the health of the souls of himself, his parents, Adam le Chaundeler and Joan
his wife, and for the support of the sick poor resorting to the hospital, lands in Wimbledon,
which he had acquired jointly with John de
Windsor, his clerk, of the gift of Joan Chaundeler. This grant received royal confirmation in
1329. (fn. 25)
Stephen de Bykleswade's administration as
master seems to have been careless, as he was
several times suspended and the custody of the
house assigned to others; but in February, 1330,
he was formally reinstated by the bishop, and
continued in office until March, 1338. (fn. 26)
This hospital, like almost every English religious house, suffered sadly at the time of the
Black Death. In 1349 Walter de Marlowe,
brother of the hospital, sought and obtained dispensation from illegitimacy at the hands of Pope
Clement VI, in order that he might be appointed
prior or master. The petition stated that the
mortality amongst the brethren had left no one
so fit to rule as the said Walter. (fn. 27) In 1350 a
chantry was established in the Lady chapel for the
soul of Ralph Nonley of Halstead. (fn. 28)
In 1357 the hospital presented an interesting
petition to Pope Innocent VI, and obtained that
which they sought. It was stated therein that
the hospital of St. Thomas the Martyr, founded
in Southwark by the saint himself, was resorted
to by such numbers of the poor and sick that the
master, brethren, and sisters of the rule of St.
Augustine could not support their charges without alms; they therefore prayed for an indulgence of two years and eighty days to those who
visited the hospital at Christmas, Easter, the feasts
of the Blessed Virgin and St. Peter and St. Paul,
and on Good Friday, and who lent a helping
hand to the hospital. (fn. 29)
Henry Yakesley was appointed master by
Bishop Edendon in 1361. The election devolved
on the bishop owing to the death of all the brethren save one, but a special reservation of the
future right of the brethren was entered. (fn. 30)
In January, 1372, the bishop deputed three
commissioners to visit the hospital. (fn. 31)
Nicholas de Carrew paid the king 20s. in
1379 for licence to alienate to the master and
brethren six messuages, three shops and one
garden in Southwark; one messuage and 2 acres
of land in Lambeth; five cottages and I acre of
meadow in Bermondsey Street—in exchange for
the manor called 'Freresmanoire,' a water-mill,
and two gardens in Beddington, Croydon,
Mitcham, and Carshalton. (fn. 32)
On the death of William de Welford in 1381
the bishop, as patron of the house, committed
the custody to John Okeham and Robert Eton,
the only two of the brethren then living. (fn. 33) During the vacancy on 9 December, 1381, the
bishop sent a letter to the two custodians instructing them to admit Thomas Gouday,
chaplain, to the fraternity. (fn. 34) On the same day
Brothers Okeham and Eton invited the bishop to
appoint to the mastership, whereupon the bishop
delegated John de Bukyngham, canon of York,
to admit Gouday as master, who took the oath of
canonical obedience on 13 December.
Licence was granted to Edmund Halstede on
2 July, 1385, to have mass said in the chapel
within the graveyard of the hospital until fifteen
days after Michaelmas. (fn. 35)
The bishop gave notice of a personal visitation
of the hospital on 28 June, 1387.
In 1388 Thomas, the master, and the brethren
were charged with having appropriated to themselves a piece of ground outside their church,
formerly common to the men of Southwark for
selling and buying corn and other merchandise,
and with stopping up a king's highway called
'Trynet Lane'; but it was found on inquisition
that the hospital had enjoyed these premises since
the time of King John, when the house was
built. (fn. 36)
At the time of the death of Thomas Gouday on 17 December, 1392, there were four
brethren of the house in addition to the master,
namely, John Okeham, Thomas Sallow, Henry
Grygge, and John Aylesbury. The bishop as
patron and diocesan granted them on 18 December licence to elect; but the brethren on the
following day devolved their right on the bishop
and asked him to nominate. Wykeham's choice
fell on Henry Grygge, and he was duly appointed
on 15 January, 1393. (fn. 37)
It appears that Grygge sold some of the possessions of the house contrary to his oath to
Bishop Wykeham, (fn. 38) and in 1399 he withdrew
into foreign parts, when the custody of the
hospital was committed to John Aylesbury, one
of the brethren. (fn. 39) On 25 February, 1401,
William Sharpe made his profession as a brother
of the hospital. On the morrow the bishop
renewed the custody to John Aylesbury, and
issued a citation for Grygge to appear. (fn. 40) In
December following Grygge received papal
absolution. (fn. 41) Whether he ever returned to take
up the duties of the office of master does not
appear, but in July, 1414, John Reed, a brother
of the house, was elected and confirmed as
master. (fn. 42)
In 1436 the hospital of Sandon in this county,
being greatly reduced in revenue, was united to
this house. (fn. 43)
A letter from Sir Thomas More to Wolsey,
dated 16 March, 1528, mentions the hospital of
Southwark, and that the master was old, blind,
and feeble. Though in the gift of the bishop of
Winchester, the king was informed that Wolsey,
as legate, might appoint a coadjutor, and he
would like to have the same for his chaplain,
Mr. Stanley. The king had two reasons for
asking this: first, that Stanley was a gentleman
born; and secondly, if he could get rid of him he
would like to have a more learned man in his
place. (fn. 44)
Very shortly after this, namely, on 20 May,
1528, aged Richard Richardson resigned his
office, being allotted a pension of 40 marks. (fn. 45)
Richard Mabbot was elected his successor on
22 May.
On 26 September, 1535, Richard Layton, the
monastic visitor, wrote to Cromwell to the effect
that he was going to visit the exempt monastery
of Bermondsey, Southwark, and 'the bawdy
hospital of St. Thomas' on his return out of
Kent. (fn. 46) Layton's epithets and general language
were usually coarse and often untrust worthy, but
in this case his reference to the hospital seems
justified, for master Mabbot was undoubtedly lax
in discipline and bad in personal character.
The Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535 gave the clear
annual value of the hospital at £309 1s. 11d., of
which sum only £42 4s. was spent on the poor
and infirm. There were at this time three laysisters—originally the sisters were also professed
and of the Austin rule—and there were forty
beds for the poor.
A complaint was addressed by certain parishioners of St. Thomas's Hospital to Sir Richard
Longe and Robert Acton in July, 1536, against
the master and brethren of the hospital, accusing
them of maintaining improper characters within
the precincts, refusing charitable relief to those
in sickness, and even to those willing to pay—
insomuch that a poor woman great with child
was denied a lodging and died at the church
door, while rich men's servants and lemans were
readily taken in—refusing baptism of a child till
the master had 3s. 4d., and other irregularities.
The master was charged with often quarrelling
with the brethren and sisters even in the quire of
the church, of which strange instances were
cited. As to the services in the church they
complained that the usual three or four sermons
in Lent had not been given, they had often scant
two masses in a day, and they had been forced
sometimes to seek a priest about the Borough to
sing high mass. Moreover, the master had put
down the free school formerly kept within the
hospital, although there is £4 a year for its
maintenance, was guilty of 'filthy and indecent'
conduct, openly kept a concubine, claimed to be
'lord, king, and bishop' within his precincts, and
sold the church plate, pretending it was stolen.
The names of nine witnesses were appended to
these grave allegations. (fn. 47)
On 4 July, 1538, Robert More, one of the
priests of the hospital, confessed before Robert
Acton, justice of the peace, that before the robbery of church plate the master sold two silver
parcel-gilt basins, a silver holy-water stock and
'spryngyll,' a pair of parcel-gilt silver candlesticks,
a parcel-gilt silver censer, and a pair of parcelgilt silver cruets. He delivered £5 to Robert as
his portion. The master was robbed of as much
plate as would go into a half-bushel basket. The
master consulted the brethren about selling his
house at Deptford Strand. More said if he did
so he would sore offend his prince. The master
bade them do as he commanded, and so they
sold it deceitfully to John Asspele, proctor of the
arches. (fn. 48)
An indenture was made in July, 1538, between the king and Richard Mabbot, the master,
and the brethren, whereby the hospital exchanged
their manor of Sandon by Esher with the parsonage of Esher, for the parsonages of Much
Wakering, and of Helion Bumpstead, Essex. (fn. 49)
On 23 December, 1539, Thomas Thurleby,
clerk, the last master, was presented to St.
Thomas's Hospital, in the place of Richard
Mabbot deceased. But this appointment could
only have been made (fn. 50) with the idea of effecting
a quiet surrender, for on 14 January, 1540,
Thomas Thurleby, together with Thomas Ladde
and Thomas Cowyke, surrendered the hospital
and all its possessions to the king. (fn. 51)
Priors, Masters, Wardens or Rectors
of The Hospital of St. Thomas,
Southwark
Archdeacon Amicius, (fn. 52) occurs 1213, 1215
Adam de Merton, occurs 1235
Thomas de Codeham, occurs 1248, 1251
Fulcher, elected 1261
Adam II
Richard de Bikleswade, resigned 1283 (fn. 53)
Richard de Bikleswade, (re-elected), died 1295
Richard de Hulmo, 1295 (fn. 54)
Walter de Marlowe, 1316 (fn. 55)
Stephen de Bykleswade, occurs 1321, 1338 (fn. 56)
William de Stanton, occurs 1338, 1342
Walter de Marlowe, appointed 1350, 1351 (fn. 57)
John de Bradewyn (Bradeway), appointed
1356 (fn. 58)
Henry Yakesley, appointed 1361, (fn. 59) died
1377
William de Welford, appointed 1377, (fn. 60) died
1381
Thomas Gouday, appointed 1381, died 1392
Henry Grygge, appointed 1393, (fn. 61) occurs
1401
John Reed, appointed 1414, (fn. 62) died 1427
Nicholas Bokeland, appointed 1427, (fn. 63) resigned 1447
William Crosse, appointed 1447, (fn. 64) resigned
1478
William Beele, appointed 1478, (fn. 65) resigned
1487
John Burnham, appointed 1487, (fn. 66) died 1501
Richard Richardson, appointed 1501, (fn. 67) resigned 1528 (fn. 68)
Richard Mabbot, appointed 1528, died 1539
Thomas Thurleby, appointed 1539, (fn. 69) surrendered 1540
The pointed oval seal (fn. 70) of this house represents a priest celebrating mass before an altar
with a chalice on it. Legend:
+ s'. HOSP': SCI: THOME: MART': DE:
SOWTHWERK': AD: CAUSAS.