26. THE HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, LICHFIELD
Tradition assigns the foundation of St. John's
Hospital, Lichfield, to 'Bishop Roger'. (fn. 1) If this tradition is correct the founder must have been Bishop
Roger de Clinton (1129-48), for the hospital was
certainly in existence before the time of Bishop
Roger Weseham (1245-56). A grant of 1208 refers
to the hospital as 'the House of the Hospital of the
Holy Spirit and St. John the Baptist.' (fn. 2) This double
dedication (fn. 3) is not found subsequently, and the house
was usually known, from its situation outside
Culstubbe Gate, as the Hospital of St. John the
Baptist without the Bars of Lichfield. In the 13th century the hospital community, apart from the poor who
were maintained there, (fn. 4) evidently consisted of a prior,
brethren, sisters, and lay brethren living under a religious rule and a number of chaplains and servants. (fn. 5)
The hospital chapel, as well as serving the hospital community, was a place of public worship
from at least the earlier 13th century. Elaborate
precautions, however, were taken to protect the
rights of St. Michael's Church, Lichfield, in whose
parish the hospital stood. By an agreement made in
Bishop Stavensby's time (1224-38) with the
Prebendary of Freeford (fn. 6) the prior and brethren of
the hospital and their chaplains promised to maintain the rights of the prebend, to which St. Michael's
church was evidently then appropriated. They and
such of their servants and tenants as lived in St.
Michael's parish were to pay all customary tithes
to the prebendary and all customary offerings to his
chaplain. The parishioners might worship in the
hospital chapel on holy days and the hospital was
allowed to have a small bell to summon them; on the
great festivals, however, the prior and brethren and
their servants were to receive the sacraments in the
parish church. The lay brothers, servants, and other
inhabitants of the hospital were to be confessed only
by the prebendary's chaplain unless licensed by him
to go elsewhere, and they were to devise the customary mortuaries to the parish church. All who died in
the hospital were to be buried in the parish church.
In return for these promises to maintain the rights
of his parish church the Prebendary of Freeford
allowed the establishment of a chantry in the
hospital chapel. (fn. 7) This, however, did not take place
until the heirs and executors of Ralph de Lacok,
Canon of Lichfield (d. 1257), combined to found a
chantry in the hospital. The chantry chaplain was
to wear the habit of the hospital brethren; in the
first instance he was to be appointed by Lacok's
executors, but thereafter by the bishop either from
within the hospital or elsewhere. The endowment of
the chantry, which was said to be for the support of
the poor and sick inmates of the hospital and those
who sought hospitality there, consisted of lands and
rent in Stychbrook and Elmhurst (both in St.
Chad's, Lichfield). (fn. 8) The dean and chapter also gave
Lacok's body to the hospital for burial there, but the
prior and brethren had to guarantee that this would
not prejudice the rights of the church of Lichfield
or any of its chaplains; they further promised that
they would not claim any burial rights on account
of this grant 'until by the help of the Lord they
obtain a more generous favour by authority of their
superiors'. (fn. 9) It is, however, clear that, despite the
earlier agreement with the Prebendary of Freeford,
the hospital had by this time acquired the right of
burying the habited brethren and sisters of the
foundation. The hospital cemetery probably lay to
the south of the chapel, (fn. 10) and by the mid 1340s there
was a preaching cross or open-air pulpit there from
which Dean FitzRalph is known to have preached. (fn. 11)
Apart from the foundation of Ralph de Lacok's
chantry little is known of the early endowments or
privileges of the hospital. (fn. 12) In 1240 Henry III gave
to the poor there 8 quarters of wheat. (fn. 13) The prior and
brethren received letters of protection from the Crown
in 1251, 1257, and 1297. (fn. 14) In the later 13th century
William Young, a Lichfield goldsmith, gave a burgage and a half in Lichfield, a messuage, 6s. 6d. rent,
and 3 acres of land in Burway Field to the brethren
and sisters for the repair of the hospital; a daily mass
for his soul was to be said by one of the brethren. (fn. 15)
In the earlier 14th century the hospital acquired
a number of more valuable properties. In 1315 John
de la Bourne, chaplain, was licensed by the Crown
to grant the prior and brethren 7 acres of land and
£10 of rent in Lichfield and Pipe (in St. Michael's,
Lichfield), and Reynold le Bedel to grant 3½ acres
of land worth 12d. a year in the same places. (fn. 16) In
1322 the hospital was given 2 messuages and a
carucate of land in Rushall and 'Ordeseye' worth
13s. 4d. by Henry of Lichfield, chaplain. (fn. 17) In 1349
Adam de Eton and John Wylimot, chaplains,
granted the prior and brethren property worth
41s. 2d.; it comprised 20 messuages, 60 acres of
land, 4 acres of meadow, and 18s. 10d. of rent in
Lichfield, Longdon, Pipe, (fn. 18) Aldershaw (in St.
Michael's, Lichfield), Elmhurst, and Shenstone. (fn. 19)
Other benefactions, the details of which are unknown, were certainly made about this time. In
1321 the dean and chapter ratified the constitution
of a chantry at the altar of St. Thomas the Martyr
in the cathedral, which had been founded by the
prior and brethren to commemorate the many
benefactions made to the hospital by Philip de
Turvill, Prebendary of Curborough (1309-37). (fn. 20)
In 1330-1 John de la Bourne added to his benefactions by founding a chantry in St. Mary's Church,
Lichfield, and granting the patronage to the prior,
brethren, and sisters of the hospital. (fn. 21) Probably
about this time too the hospital was given a house at
Greenhill (in St. Michael's, Lichfield) and 25
selions of land in the fields of Lichfield by John of
Polesworth. (fn. 22)
Some light is thrown on the internal history of the
hospital in the 14th century by the records of Bishop
Northburgh's visitations. The bishop visited the
hospital possibly in 1331 or 1332 (fn. 23) and found that
the rule of the house was not publicly read; as a
result it was not understood and the brethren were
not living according to their vows. Sales of corrodies
and pensions had evidently been frequent. One of
the brethren, Hugh of Wychnor, had been guilty of
disobedience and perjury and of leading an irregular
life. The bishop ordered that the rule be read to the
brethren three or four times a year, if necessary in
English, so that they might not pretend ignorance of
their vows. The sale of corrodies and pensions was
forbidden for the future except by the express
permission of the bishop. Wychnor was to be excommunicated and, in accordance with the rule, confined in a chamber within the hospital; he was to live
on bread and water and to read the psalter and other
devotional works, but on Sundays he might eat
vegetables with his bread and once a week was to be
allowed to take exercise out of doors. The bishop
also ordered that the brethren were not to be given
money when they needed clothes or other necessities
but that purchases were to be made for them by a
suitable person. The form of vow which the
brethren took at this time is given; it comprised
promises of perpetual chastity, of obedience to the
prior, and of loyalty to the statutes and rights of the
hospital.
The bishop visited the hospital again in 1339 (fn. 24)
and evidently found that its finances were in need of
regulation. The brethren lacked the necessities of
life, especially clothing, and received only a subsistence diet so that they were forced to beg 'to the
disgrace of their order'. The bishop ordained specific
provision for them: 20s. from the rent of the hospital's mill at Sandford (fn. 25) and the income from the
house and land given by John of Polesworth were to
be reserved to provide the brethren with allowances
for clothing and other necessities. In 1345, after
another visitation of the hospital, Bishop Northburgh sanctioned the appropriation by the prior
and brethren of the chantry in St. Mary's Church
granted to them by John de là Bourne. The bishop's
ordinance was made without royal licence, but in
1346 the Crown granted a pardon and confirmed the
bishop's act. (fn. 26)
In the earlier 14th century the brethren of the
hospital seem to have tried to secure the right of
electing their prior. In 1323, on the resignation of
William of Wychnor, the brethren nominated
William of Repton as his successor. The bishop
protested against their action as an infringement of
his right to collate but nevertheless appointed
Repton. (fn. 27) In 1330, on Repton's resignation, the
brethren successfully nominated Richard del Hull to
the bishop. (fn. 28)
Little more is known of the hospital until the later
15th century. At some time before the mid 15th
century it evidently ceased to be a corporate institution comprising a prior and brethren living under a
religious rule, for in 1458 Bishop Boulers issued a
declaration asserting that it was a benefice without
cure of souls which could be held by a non-resident
secular clerk and in plurality. (fn. 29) At what time this
change occurred is uncertain. The hospital ceased to
be a corporate body of regular clergy, probably in
the late 14th century. It was certainly a secular
benefice by the mid 15th century for Hugh Lache,
then master, was a secular clerk. (fn. 30) Bishop Boulers's
declaration certainly regularized an existing state of
affairs, for the master in 1458, Thomas Mason, was
a pluralist. The mastership was then a valuable piece
of preferment and may have been worth about £20
a year — as much as the wealthier rectories in the
county. (fn. 31) All the masters appointed after Boulers's
declaration were secular clerks, and many were
pluralists and absentees. (fn. 32)
In these circumstances the eleemosynary responsibilities of the foundation may well have been neglected until the hospital was reformed by Bishop
Smith in 1495-6. It was alleged in 1539 that at the
time of Smith's reformation of the hospital 'there
was a master and two brethren and they for their ill
living were expulsed'; (fn. 33) if these recollections are
reliable they probably indicate that no more than
two almsmen were then maintained, for the regular
brotherhood had long since ceased to exist. Bishop
Smith drew up a new set of statutes and re-endowed
the hospital. (fn. 34) The statutes, dated November 1495,
remained the basis of the hospital's constitution
until the present century, and Smith has been
regarded as the second founder of the hospital. (fn. 35)
The responsibilities of the new foundation were
twofold, eleemosynary and educational. Thirteen
almsmen were to be maintained, each receiving 7d.
a week, (fn. 36) and there was also to be a grammar school
with a master and usher supported out of the hospital's revenues. (fn. 37) The hospital establishment was
completed by a chaplain and the master. The chaplain, schoolmaster, and usher and the almsmen were
to live in the hospital; the chaplain, schoolmaster,
and usher were allowed a month's leave of absence
each year, (fn. 38) and leave of absence could be granted
to an almsman by the master of the hospital or the
schoolmaster. Detailed regulations were made for
the prayers which the pupils and the almsmen were
to attend. The almsmen were to leave their own
goods, or at least the greater part of them, to the
hospital.
The new statutes emphasized the privileges and
responsibilities of the master. He was to appoint the
schoolmaster and usher, the hospital chaplain, and
twelve of the thirteen almsmen, (fn. 39) and all these, on
admission, had to swear obedience to him as well as
to the bishop and the hospital statutes. The exercise
of all the hospital's rights and the disposal of its
revenues now clearly belonged solely to the master
and no longer to a master and brethren jointly. This
had probably been so since the end of the regular
brotherhood, or at least since 1458, (fn. 40) but the statutes
of 1495 provided the first authoritative definition of
the change and were probably effective in frustrating
later attempts to allege the hospital's corporate
character. (fn. 41) The master was to be in priest's orders
but was not bound to reside in the hospital; on
admission he was to swear to observe the hospital
statutes, and, if his letters of collation did not
record his taking this oath, they were to be held
invalid. The right of appointing the master was to
remain with Bishop Smith during his life, and thereafter with the bishops of Coventry and Lichfield. (fn. 42)
Bishop Smith also rebuilt the hospital and proceeded to augment its endowment. In January 1496
the hospital of St. Andrew at Denhall (in Neston,
Ches.), with its appropriated church of Burton
(Ches.), and the free chapel or leper hospital of St.
Leonard at Freeford were united to St. John's
Hospital. The hospital at Denhall was in the bishop's
patronage and that at Freeford in the patronage of
the Prebendary of Freeford; both foundations were
too impoverished to continue independently. In
return for agreeing to unite St. Leonard's Hospital to
St. John's the Prebendary of Freeford was to have
the nomination of one of the thirteen almsmen. (fn. 43)
On the day of the union of the three hospitals
Bishop Smith granted to the almsmen, schoolmaster,
chaplain, and usher two cartloads of firewood a year
from Cannock Chase. (fn. 44)
During the earlier 16th century the hospital
seems to have been reasonably well governed in
accordance with Smith's statutes. The almsmen,
who wore distinctive black gowns with a red cross, (fn. 45)
were probably maintained in a fair degree of comfort:
in addition to their pensions of 7d. a week they may
have received money from John Kynardessey's
chantry in the cathedral (fn. 46) and it was probably
customary for them to receive gifts when a new lease
of hospital property was sealed. (fn. 47) The statute
enjoining the almsmen to leave their goods to the
hospital was evidently enforced by the masters and
must have helped to improve the standard of living
of successive entrants: when one of the almsmen
died about 1508 the master took charge of the
money which he left (40s.) and ordered the bailiff
to share out his goods among the other almsmen. (fn. 48)
Bishop Blythe visited the hospital in 1519, and
everything then seemed to be in good order, though
the schoolmaster admitted that he did not sleep in
the hospital and the master, Richard Egerton,
complained that his statutory responsibilities were
too numerous to allow the proper maintenance of
the hospital buildings out of the revenues. (fn. 49)
The right of visiting the hospital had clearly
belonged to the bishop during the Middle Ages, (fn. 50)
but by the earlier 16th century this was being
challenged by the dean and chapter. In 1530 or 1531
Dean Denton, claiming ordinary jurisdiction over the
hospital, sent Edmund Stretehay to visit it as his
commissary. This was evidently not the first time
that a visitation had been carried out in the dean's
name, for a few years later Stretehay recalled that
he had on this occasion seen 'divers precedents that
the master there and other of the house had been
punished by the said Dean of Lichfield for the time
being, and by his commissary, for their ill living.' (fn. 51)
The dean's claim may have originated in the changes
to the hospital's constitution made by Bishops
Boulers and Smith. A few years later Richard Strete,
a canon residentiary of Lichfield, giving evidence
about the hospital's constitution, denied that the
master and brethren were a corporation. In support
of this he stated that the dean by reason of his archidiaconal jurisdiction in Lichfield 'hath had the
master thereof to appear afore him in his visitation
in the town many years, and . . . if there were a
corporation he is not accustomed to have any
jurisdiction'. (fn. 52) The bishop, however, seems to have
attempted a visitation about the same time as Denton's commissary and was evidently resisted by the
dean and chapter and the master. (fn. 53) The master
was excommunicated by the bishop, and the
dispute was taken to the archbishop's Court of
Audience. In 1531 the sentence of excommunication
was lifted, and the bishop and the dean and chapter
agreed to settle their differences by arbitration
before Michaelmas. (fn. 54) The bishop's right to visit the
hospital remained thereafter unopposed. (fn. 55)
The gross annual income of the hospital in 1535 (fn. 56)
was £46 18s. 1d., most of which accrued from
property in and around Lichfield and from the
property of the former hospital at Denhall. Fees and
salaries included £19 15s. 5d. a year paid to the 13
almsmen (at the rate of 7d. a week each), £10 a year
to the schoolmaster, £5 6s. 8d. to the chaplain, £2
to the usher, and £2 to the bailiff of the hospital's
estates. The value of the master's house (fn. 57) and
certain properties which he kept in his own hands
was given as £1 6s. 8d. These figures, however, which
appear to support the master's complaint in 1519
of the insufficiency of the hospital's income, cannot
be taken as a complete account of the revenues
available to him. Richard Egerton, master from
1508 to 1538, must have received a good income
from fines paid for granting or renewing leases, as
he seems commonly to have leased the hospital's
properties for three lives or terms ranging from 50
to 90 years. (fn. 58) Thus in 1513-14 Sir Thomas Smith
wished to convert his 39-year lease of the former
hospital at Denhall into one for 50 years, and
Egerton agreed provided 'he would so pay therefor'. (fn. 59)
Towards the end of his long mastership Egerton
may have been neglecting the responsibilities laid
on him by the 1495 statutes. In 1535 Lord Stafford
was suing Egerton for 'misusing' St. John's
Hospital at Stafford, of which he was also master. (fn. 60)
Lord Stafford alleged that Egerton was misusing St.
John's Hospital, Lichfield, in the same way, 'for it
is said that house is in as great decay as mine is'. (fn. 61)
Egerton's unsatisfactory conduct was reported to
Cromwell, (fn. 62) who evidently tried to compel him to
grant a lease of the hospital and its 'lands and
tenements as they did fall' to William Zouche.
Cromwell's efforts were evidently fruitless, for
Zouche later asked him to send to the recalcitrant
Egerton for a 'true copy of the foundation of the
said hospital', alleging that Egerton would 'rather
perform [this] grant to me for danger that will
follow than send your lordship the copy'. (fn. 63) Zouche's
attempts to secure this lease, however, were unsuccessful. Within a few months Egerton had died.
Bishop Lee collated his brother, George Lee, to the
mastership, (fn. 64) and their nephew, William Fowler,
secured a lease of much of the hospital's property. (fn. 65)
One of the effects of Egerton's granting of long
leases must have been to impoverish his successor
by depriving him of any considerable income from
entry fines. Lee, however, on the advice of counsel
and evidently with the encouragement of his brother
the bishop, adopted the expedient of repudiating
Egerton's leases: (fn. 66) in 1539 he gave it as his view that
the master could make a lease only for the duration
of his mastership. (fn. 67) Lee's policy inevitably led to
litigation. He was himself sued by Sir Thomas
Smith's widow, Katherine, (fn. 68) and some suits between
rival claimants to leaseholds of the hospital's
property are known to have occurred. (fn. 69) Although
some limitation of the master's leasing powers
would ultimately have benefited the hospital, none
was established until the later 19th century. (fn. 70)
Lee's mastership was a crucial period in the
hospital's history for only the continuance of its
charitable and educational activities seems to have
averted the consequences of dissolution under the
Act of 1547. (fn. 71) According to the 1546 chantry
certificate, out of a gross annual income of £54 3s.
10d. fees totalling £40 1s. were paid to the almsmen,
schoolmaster, chaplain, and usher. (fn. 72) Almsmen were
still being maintained in the hospital in 1548, (fn. 73) and
the Crown seems to have been content to appropriate
the salary of the hospital chaplain, who was evidently
classed as one of the stipendiary priests whose
endowments were annexed to the Crown by the
Act of 1547. (fn. 74) In May 1550, however, his salary
was restored when the Court of Augmentations
ordered that £5 6s. 8d. a year should continue
to be paid to maintain the minister in the hospital
chapel. (fn. 75)
The Crown seems subsequently to have tried to
suppress the hospital, for its dissolution is mentioned in some Chancery proceedings of the 1550s (fn. 76)
and in 1571 the hospital with all its property was
granted to Thomas, Lord Wentworth, as part of a
gift to him of lands concealed from the Crown. Even
this grant, however, affords proof that the charitable
and educational responsibilities of the hospital were
still being carried out, for it expressly reserved £35
a year from the property to support ten almsmen,
the schoolmaster, and the usher and to pay the
Crown's tenth. (fn. 77) With this reservation the lands were
probably of little value to Wentworth, and the
hospital's continuance was perhaps arranged with
his agreement. The grant, however, must have
extinguished any Crown title to the property and
may thus, ironically, have helped to assure the
hospital's future. This was evidently felt to be secure
from about this time, for the almsmen were
beneficiaries of a number of late-16th- and early17th-century bequests and devises; from the later
17th century they received, in respect of these gifts,
£1 8s. a year from the corporation of Lichfield, £1
4s. a year from the heirs of Alexander Wightwick,
and a variable income from Feckenham's Trust. (fn. 78)
The hospital's existence was also recognized by the
Crown in charters granted to the city corporation
during the 17th century. (fn. 79)
Probably none of the 16th-century masters resided in the hospital, (fn. 80) and during the later 16th
century and earlier 17th century the master's house
was leased to the Weston family. (fn. 81) John Machon,
master from 1632 to 1671, may have held some
position in the bishop's administration, for after
Bishop Morton's translation to Durham in 1632 he
obtained preferment in that diocese. (fn. 82) He continued,
however, to hold St. John's and when, in 1642, the
church party at Durham fled before the Scots
invaders Machon may have returned to live in
Staffordshire. (fn. 83) There is no evidence of any attempt
to interfere with his possession of the hospital
during the Civil War and the Interregnum. (fn. 84) In
1660 Machon was restored to his Durham preferment and evidently returned there to live; it was
probably at this time that a deputy master, William
Pargiter, was appointed. (fn. 85)
In 1662 the hospital was visited by Bishop
Hacket, as a result of a petition to him from the
almsmen which amounted to a severe indictment of
the master. They complained of their poverty and
made five more specific complaints: first, that the
hospital chapel was ruined; secondly, that 'their
mansion house (wherein formerly hath been kept
good hospitality) is now become a cage for owls' and
that barns and outhouses adjacent to the hospital
were 'totally ruined'; thirdly, that the master
was frequently renewing leases and keeping the
fines himself or else making leases to his brother,
Edward, for his own use; fourthly, that hospital
tenants were allowed to fell and dispose of timber
which would have been better used to repair the
hospital buildings; and finally, that they had not
profited from any 'fine or augmentation' since
Bishop Bayly renewed various leases and used the
fines to give the almsmen new gowns. (fn. 86) In August
Machon wrote to the bishop's registrar, admitting
that 'the ruins of the house and chapel . . . are a
common object of pity and compassion' (fn. 87) but
stating that until lately his own fortunes had been
'as ruinous as that house, both pulled down by the
same hands of rapine and sacrilege'. The tone of his
letter, however, was placatory: he promised to
repair the hospital and hoped that the bishop
would not 'judge me to lose my estate because I
have lost my health'. (fn. 88) Evidence produced at the
visitation in October included an account of the
reserved rents from the hospital property which
amounted to £78 0s. 4d. a year; over one-fifth of
this sum was due from Edward Machon. (fn. 89) The only
known act of the visitation is the removal of two
almsmen. (fn. 90) Machon, however, seems to have carried
out at least some repairs to the hospital buildings:
in 1668 he claimed to have spent £40 and more on
repairing the hospital chapel. (fn. 91)
The hospital was again visited by Bishop Hacket
in 1668 and by Bishop Wood's vicar general in
1687. (fn. 92) In 1690-1 it was included with other hospitals in a royal commission of visitation, (fn. 93) and
Bishop Lloyd visited it in 1696. (fn. 94) The frequency of
visitation at this time may have been due to the
tendency of the masters to treat the hospital as their
personal, and even family, property. Thus in 1668
John Machon petitioned the Crown to be allowed to
resign the mastership in favour of his son. (fn. 95) A few
years later, in 1675, Francis Ashenhurst used the
property of the former hospital at Denhall, the
hospital's most valuable estate, as part of his future
wife's jointure. (fn. 96) Bishop Lloyd's visitation followed
complaints that one of the almsmen had recently
died 'in want of necessaries for his body and . . .
spiritual advice and assistance in the tune of his
sickness' and that the almsmen's pensions were
paid by the bailiff in clipped money. The visitor
made detailed regulations for the payment of the
almsmen by the bailiff, including compensation
for their past losses; for the repair, furnishing, and
regular inspection of their lodgings; for the supply
and laundering of their clothes; and for the duties of
the chaplain and the statutory prayers in the
hospital. (fn. 97)
Little is known of the hospital during the 18th
century. Three of its masters during this time were
more than locally notable: Edward Maynard (17191740) and Edmund Bateman (1740-51) as scholars, (fn. 98)
and Sneyd Davies (1751-69) as a man of letters
well-connected with the political and ecclesiastical
establishment. (fn. 99) All but one of the masters (fn. 100) either
held prebends in the cathedral at the tune of their
collation or later came to do so. (fn. 101) The hospital
chapel remained a place of public worship, and in
1717 it was used by the parishioners of St. Mary's
while their church was being rebuilt; the chapel
was fitted up with seats moved there from St.
Mary's and the parishioners paid for the glazing of
some of the windows. (fn. 102)
In 1786 the reserved rents from the hospital
lands amounted to £129 4s. 10d.; (fn. 103) by 1821 they were
£177 1s. 6d. These rents, however, did not represent the whole income of the hospital; between
1804 and 1821 fines for entry on leases brought the
average annual income to £355 1s. 6d. (fn. 104) In 1821 the
Charity Commissioners stated that the master's
'annual payments to the eleemosynary part of the
foundation' (fn. 105) exhausted the whole income derived
from reserved rents. When deducted from the average annual income these payments and various other
small charges (fn. 106) left the master with slightly less than
£160 a year. Out of this he had to repair the buildings, which were 'old and of very considerable
extent'. (fn. 107) The Charity Commissioners' findings
echo Egerton's complaint, made in 1519; the hospital's ability to meet any considerable casual expenditure had not materially improved in the
intervening three centuries.
In 1786 each of the almsmen received from the
hospital 2s. 6d. a week for maintenance, 10s. 6d. a
year for coal, 1s. a year pocket money, and a gown
from the master every 4 years. (fn. 108) Their income at this
time was still augmented by various independent
charities founded two centuries or so earlier. (fn. 109) By
1821 each almsman received from the hospital
3s. 6d. a week for maintenance and 1s. a year pocket
money, while expenditure on coal had risen by
about half of the 1786 figure; the master also
supplied them with furniture and cloaks when
necessary. The Charity Commissioners contrasted
this expenditure with the almsmen's strict entitlement of 7d. a week each. (fn. 110) Payments from independent charities raised the weekly income of the
almsmen in 1821 to about 4s. 6d. (fn. 111)
The antiquated practice of granting long leases of
the hospital's estates for low rents and large entry
fines persisted throughout the earlier 19th century. (fn. 112)
The chief disadvantage of this system of leasing, the
confusion of capital with income, may nevertheless
have been avoided by the masters during this period,
when considerable sums seem to have been spent on
improvements and alterations to the buildings.
Edmund Outram (1804-21), who evidently devoted
close attention to the leasing of the estates, (fn. 113) spent
£1,200 on improvements to the master's house. (fn. 114)
J. T. Law (1821-36), although he secured a number
of leases of hospital property for himself, (fn. 115) did not
put his own interests before those of the hospital:
he evidently spent a considerable amount on the
enlargement of the hospital chapel. (fn. 116) Nevertheless
the system was a bad one: in the years 1840-55
entry fines brought the hospital's average annual
income to just over £598, but reserved rents, the
permanent income inherited by one master from
his predecessor, amounted during these years to
only £176 5s. 2d. a year — less than they had been in
1821. (fn. 117) In 1856 the Charity Commissioners set out
their objections to the system, though in 1859 they
agreed that its reform should be delayed until the
end of the then master's incumbency. After George
Buckeridge's death in 1863, however, no more long
leases for low rents and large fines were granted. (fn. 118)
The immediate effect of the reform was to reduce
the master's income: Buckeridge's two successors,
P. H. Dod (1863-83) and John Allen (1883-6), had
almost no income after they had met the statutory
charges on the master. (fn. 119) It was apparent, however,
that as the hospital estates came to be leased for
economic rents the annual income would increase.
Approaches were therefore made to the Charity
Commissioners for a Scheme to govern the application of the expected increased income. A Scheme was
eventually sealed in 1908 after lengthy negotiations
between the commissioners, the bishop, and the
master, D. R. Norman. The master, however, had
refused to surrender any of his rights during his
incumbency, and the Scheme did not come into
effect until his resignation in 1925. Norman was thus
the last master to govern the hospital and administer
its estates under the statutes of 1495, retaining the
surplus income after meeting the various charges on
him. This surplus continued to grow: in 1899-1900
it was just over £250, and in 1903-4 just over £570.
In 1904-6 the master's income, including the value
of his house, averaged £650 a year, and in 1908 he
was said to hold 'one of the most wealthy benefices'
in Lichfield. (fn. 120) There was, however, some local
criticism of Norman's administration of the
hospital, particularly of the disparity between the
master's income and the money devoted to the
eleemosynary purposes of the foundation. (fn. 121) Moreover, despite his reputation as 'an admirable man of
business,' (fn. 122) Norman was alleged by the hospital
steward to have allowed some of the property to fall
into a bad state of repair; the allegation led to the
steward's dismissal by Norman and to a visitation
of the hospital in 1910 by Bishop Legge; the master's
rights were upheld by the bishop. (fn. 123)
The Charity Commissioners' Scheme of 1908
came into effect with Norman's resignation in 1925,
but lapse of time and changes in the hospital's
endowment made it necessary to revise the old
Scheme and it was replaced by a new one in 1927.
The most notable changes made in 1927 were the
reduction of the number of almsmen from thirteen
to twelve and the abolition of the Prebendary of
Freeford's right to nominate one of them; otherwise
the new Scheme embodied the provisions agreed in
1908. (fn. 124) The hospital is still administered under the
1927 Scheme. (fn. 125) The property of the hospital, its
management, and the appointment of the almsmen
is vested in a body of twelve trustees, of whom the
Bishop of Lichfield is always one. The master is still
appointed by the bishop, but his responsibilities are
in effect limited to acting as chaplain to the almsmen. (fn. 126) Under the 1927 Scheme twelve almsmen,
normally members of the Church of England, were
to reside in the hospital. (fn. 127) As a result of extensions
and alterations to the buildings in 1966-7, (fn. 128) however, the hospital now accommodates 17 resident
almsmen. (fn. 129) Their accommodation, heating, lighting,
and laundry and a certain minimum of furniture are
supplied by the trustees. Although, under the
Scheme, the trustees are allowed to grant pensions
to the almsmen and to out-pensioners, no new
pensions have been granted during recent years. (fn. 130)
Prayers for Bishops Clinton and Smith are said
each morning (except Friday) in the hospital
chapel, (fn. 131) and the almsmen are expected to attend
these services. The chapel remains a place of public
worship, and the master ministers to a regular
congregation. During the last forty years or so the
services have been of an Anglo-Catholic nature.
At the present time there is a Sung Eucharist every
Sunday, and baptisms, weddings, and burial services are held in the chapel.
The chapel is the oldest of the hospital buildings
now standing; it contains in its south wall a lancet
window dating from the early or mid 13th century. (fn. 132)
The infirmary hall of this period may have formed a
westward extension of the chapel, divided from it
only by a wooden screen; a long range of this type,
consisting of a structurally undivided chapel and
infirmary, would have occupied the north side of
what is now the hospital quadrangle. (fn. 133) The existing
chapel is of six bays and its plan was originally a
plain rectangle without aisles. The south wall
contains, in addition to the lancet, a square-headed
window, probably of the late 14th century, and a
large pointed window with Perpendicular tracery.
Two other pointed windows, dating from the late
13th or the 14th century, have been rebuilt. (fn. 134) The
north wall formerly had a similar assortment of windows, but these were destroyed when a north aisle of
four bays was added. (fn. 135) The present chancel contains
a north window (now blocked) and a five-light east
window, both late-Gothic in style.
Extensive alterations were made to the chapel
during the 19th century. A view of the hospital from
the street, drawn in the 1790s, shows that the
chapel then had a small bell-cote at its west end and a
timber-framed east gable set behind an embattled
parapet. (fn. 136) A north aisle, containing a gallery, was
built in 1829 at the expense of the master, J. T. Law;
at the same time the east gable appears to have been
faced with stone. (fn. 137) Further alterations were made
by Law's successor, George Buckeridge. (fn. 138) In 1870-1,
during the mastership of P. H. Dod, a drastic
restoration was carried out. (fn. 139) The roof was raised
and a stone bell-cote containing one bell was placed
above the east end of the north aisle. The gallery in
the north aisle was removed, and the arcade was
rebuilt in a more orthodox Gothic style. Medieval
windows in the south wall of the chapel also appear
to have been renewed. The chapel was reseated, and
most of the 17th- and 18th-century fittings, which
had included a three-decker pulpit, were cleared
away. (fn. 140)
The main east range of the hospital, fronting on
St. John Street, is two-storied and is built of red
brick with sparse stone dressings. It has generally
been accepted that this building dates from the
refoundation of the hospital in 1495, although some
of its features are typical of a slightly later period. (fn. 141)
The range is divided by a cross-passage which is
entered from the street by a stone doorway with a
four-centred head. The thirteen almsmen and the
chaplain, schoolmaster, and usher, who were all
bound to reside in the hospital according to the
1495 statutes, (fn. 142) were presumably accommodated in
this range. Their rooms, originally with windows
looking into the street, were served by tall external
chimneys which are among the most striking
features of the hospital, forming an impressive row
of eight buttress-like projections along the street
frontage. In 1929 the greater part of this range,
lying to the south of the cross-passage and containing six almsmen's rooms on each floor, was
thoroughly restored and replanned: on both floors
the corridors were moved to the east, or street, side
and the reconstructed almsmen's rooms were given
bay windows looking west. The range was also
extended southwards, and modern sanitation was
introduced. (fn. 143) In 1966-7 an ambitious scheme of
modernization and enlargement was carried out.
New ranges were built to enclose a quadrangle on its
south and west sides. The former includes a covered
entry from Birmingham Road, a common room, and
accommodation for the matron. The west range
provides flatlets for eight almsmen, each consisting
of a bed-sitting-room, a kitchen, and a lavatory. When
this building was completed in 1966, (fn. 144) alterations
were begun to the original east range, to provide
similar accommodation there for another nine
almsmen. Each was allotted two of the old rooms,
one of which was divided into a kitchen and a
lavatory. The modernized range was ready for
occupation at the end of 1967. (fn. 145)
The master's house has been so much altered
that its original date is obscure, although there are
indications that a medieval building occupied the
site. (fn. 146) It is possible that the house was rebuilt on
its present scale in the late 16th or early 17th century. At this period a long lease was held by members of the Weston family; two of them were men
of some local importance who would doubtless have
needed a substantial dwelling. (fn. 147) Internally there is
still some late-Tudor panelling and a doorway with
a four-centred head; mullioned and transomed
windows and an east gable still survived at the end
of the 18th century. (fn. 148) The house was altered by
Edward Maynard, master from 1719 to 1740; (fn. 149) a
fine panelled room on the west side, the principal
staircase, and other fittings are of his time. Alterations and additions were carried out by Edmund
Outram, master from 1804 to 1821, (fn. 150) whose work
completed the conversion of the exterior to its
present Georgian form. In 1958 the house was
reduced in size by the demolition of early-19thcentury additions which had projected southwards
into the quadrangle. (fn. 151)
Priors, Masters, of Wardens
Hugh of Derby, occurs 1255 and 1257. (fn. 152)
Nicholas, occurs 1259. (fn. 153)
William of Wychnor, resigned by March 1323. (fn. 154)
William of Repton, elected and collated 1323,
resigned 1330. (fn. 155)
Richard del Hull, elected and collated 1330. (fn. 156)
William de Couton, occurs 1345, resigned by
January 1352. (fn. 157)
Richard de Pecham, collated 1352. (fn. 158)
Richard de Wotton, collated 1388. (fn. 159)
Thomas Bradeley, resigned 1404. (fn. 160)
Thomas Seggesley, collated 1404, occurs 1424. (fn. 161)
Hugh Lache, occurs 1449, resigned by February
1455. (fn. 162)
Thomas Mason, collated 1455, resigned 1461. (fn. 163)
Master Thomas Eggecombe, B.Cn. & C.L.,
collated 1461, resigned 1474. (fn. 164)
Master Thomas Milley, collated 1474. (fn. 165)
William Smith, resigned 1494. (fn. 166)
Master Sampson Aleyn, B.C.L., collated 1494,
died 1494. (fn. 167)
William Smith, M.A., collated 1494, resigned by
January 1496. (fn. 168)
Master Hugh Oldham, B.Cn. & C.L., collated
1496, resigned by April 1498. (fn. 169)
Master Robert Frost, collated 1498, resigned by
March 1508. (fn. 170)
Richard Egerton, M.A., collated 1508, died by
March 1538. (fn. 171)
Master George Lee, LL.B., collated 1538, resigned
by 1560. (fn. 172)
William Sale, M.A., presented 1560, probably
deprived by 1587. (fn. 173)
Zachary Babington, D.C.L., probably master in
1587 and certainly in 1592 and 1613. (fn. 174)
Lewis Bayly, D.D., Bishop of Bangor, occurs
1621 and 1625. (fn. 175)
John Machon, M.A., collated 1632, resigned
1671. (fn. 176)
Thomas Machon, M.A., collated 1671, died by
1673. (fn. 177)
Francis Ashenhurst, M.A., collated 1673, died
1704. (fn. 178)
Thomas Goodwin, D.D., collated 1704, died
1719. (fn. 179)
Edward Maynard, D.D., collated 1719, died
1740. (fn. 180)
Edmund Bateman, D.D., collated 1740, died
1751. (fn. 181)
Sneyd Davies, D.D., collated 1751, died 1769. (fn. 182)
Theophilus Buckeridge, M.A., collated 1769,
died 1803. (fn. 183)
Edmund Outram, D.D., collated 1804, died
1821. (fn. 184)
James Thomas Law, M.A., collated 1821, resigned
1836. (fn. 185)
George Buckeridge, M.A., collated 1836, died
1863. (fn. 186)
Philip Hayman Dod, M.A., collated 1863, died
1883. (fn. 187)
John Allen, M.A., collated 1883, died 1886. (fn. 188)
Charles Henry Bromby, D.D., collated 1887, resigned 1892. (fn. 189)
The Hon. Adelbert John Robert Anson, D.D.,
collated 1893, resigned 1898. (fn. 190)
Denham Rowe Norman, collated 1898, resigned
1925. (fn. 191)
Geoffrey Rowland Wynn Griffith, collated 1925,
died 1926. (fn. 192)
Ronald Robert Wynn Griffith, B.A., collated
1926, died 1940. (fn. 193)
George Kenneth Morgan Green, collated 1940,
died 1945. (fn. 194)
Reginald Norman Lawson, M.A., collated 1945,
died 1956. (fn. 195)
Harry Baylis, M.A., collated 1956, resigned 1964. (fn. 196)
George Noel Strong, M.A., collated 1964. (fn. 197)
In 1257 the hospital possessed no common seal
and Prior Hugh, with the assent of the brethren,
was using his own seal for the hospital's business. (fn. 198)
A common seal was, however, subsequently used
during the Middle Ages. A suit brought against the
master about 1539 turned on the question whether
the hospital was a corporation of master and brethren with a common seal. The fullest evidence about
the seal then in use came from Richard Walker, who
had been schoolmaster in the hospital in the early
1530s. Walker said that there was no common seal
but that a seal used by the master alone 'hath written
about it Sigillum Commune Hospitalis Sancti Johannis
Lichfeld as he remembereth'. (fn. 199) This seal, appropriate
for the time when the hospital was a corporation of
religious brethren, had evidently not been changed
to accord with the alterations made to the hospital's
constitution by Bishops Boulers and Smith. (fn. 200) It may
perhaps be identified with a surviving brass matrix, (fn. 201)
oval 2¼ by 1¼ in., depicting St. John the Baptist
standing, a nimbus round his head, his right hand
raised in blessing, and what appears to be a book
under his left arm. The saint wears a long garment.
In the field on each side of him are a lighted candle
in a candlestick, the letter I, and a fleur-de-lis.
Legend, lombardic:
SIGILLUM COMMUNE HOSPITII SANCTI
IOHANNIS BAPTISTAE LICH'
A 16th-century brass matrix, (fn. 202) pointed oval 27/8 by
1½ in., depicts St. John the Baptist standing, a
nimbus above his head and his right hand raised in
blessing; he wears a tunic tied with a corded belt
ending in tassels. In the field on each side are a
lighted candle in a candlestick, the letter I, and a
fleur-de-lis. Legend, Roman and reversed:
SIGILLUM COMMUNE HOSP' SANCTI
IOHANNIS BAPTISTAE LITCH'
A 17th-century ivory matrix (fn. 203) is a pointed oval
2 by 1⅓ in. It depicts St. John the Baptist standing
in left profile between two candles in candlesticks
and the letters I B. Legend:
SIGILLUM COMMUNE HOSP' SANCTI
IOHANNIS BAPTISTAE EXTRA BARRAS LICH'