29. HOSPITAL OF ST. JULIAN BY
ST. ALBANS
Geoffrey Abbot of St. Albans (1119-46), with
the consent of the convent, built a hospital for
lepers outside St. Albans on a piece of land
called Kingesho along Watling Street, and
dedicated it to the honour of St. Julian. (fn. 1) For
its maintenance he assigned (fn. 2) tithe of rent of
the vill of St. Albans, viz., 60s. (fn. 3) ; rent of 30s.
from Sarratt; tithe of corn of the lordships of
'Hamstede' (fn. 4) and Kingsbury; portions of
tithes in the parishes of St. Michael and St.
Stephen, Aston, Codicote, and in the lordships
of St. Albans and of Roger de Limesy in
Bradway in St. Paul's Walden, and certain
tithes in Streatley, Henlow, Silsoe, Stanford in
Southill (co. Beds.), Ralph Perot's lordships of
Lindsell and Hawkswell (co. Essex), and a hide
which Robert son of Weneling had in Astwick (co. Beds.). The endowment of Geoffrey
and others was confirmed to the hospital by
Henry II, (fn. 5) who himself made the lepers a perpetual grant of 1d. a day, (fn. 6) and the sum of
30s. 5d. was paid to them annually by the
Sheriff of Hertfordshire from 1160 onwards. (fn. 7)
The brothers received two papal bulls, (fn. 8) that
of Pope Gregory (fn. 9) extending the protection of
St. Peter to them and their goods and confirming
the gifts of Abbot Geoffrey, the King of England
and others; that of Pope Innocent (fn. 10) granting
papal protection and confirmation and forbidding tithes to be taken of their orchards,
woods and animals.
The perpetual right which the Perots claimed
to place a leper in the hospital was disputed in
1278. The master refused to admit Ralph
Perot's nominee, and a suit was consequently
brought against him. (fn. 11) However, in the end
Abbot Roger came to terms with Ralph and
settled the difficulty. (fn. 12)
No light is thrown upon the working of the
hospital until the 14th century, but in 1305
it had as master a certain papal chaplain,
Reginald of St. Albans, (fn. 13) who held three churches
and three prebends, so that it is hardly likely
that the lepers received much of his attention.
The events recorded in an undated petition of
the lepers to the king (fn. 14) occurred probably in the
reign of Edward II. (fn. 15) It states that the abbot
while on a visitation had demanded the keys of
the common chest and view of the lepers' own
goods. On their demurring he had them turned
out of their house, and had broken the locks and
carried off their private property to the value of
£60 and more, the greater part of which belonged
to two brothers, Walter and Hugh de Aylesbury;
he had moreover broken open the common chest
and taken away their charters and privileges.
They therefore begged the king to appoint
persons to inquire into these and other matters
which they would then disclose. The confiscation
of the money seems sheer robbery, but it is not
easy to arrive at the truth in these cases. The
brothers resented, and probably resisted the
visitation itself, as contrary to their rights, (fn. 16)
and in this were quite wrong. The constitutions
made by Abbot Michael in 1344 (fn. 17) show that
discipline was lacking there, and the author of
the Gesta Abbatum
(fn. 18) says plainly that the lepers
had hitherto had more freedom than was good
for them or the reputation of the hospital.
These regulations, after stating that there were
often fewer lepers (fn. 19) than could be supported on
the hospital property, (fn. 20) provided that in future
there should be six lepers there who were to be
admitted by the abbot or his archdeacon;
preference was to be given to monks of St.
Albans or persons born within the abbey's
jurisdiction, and married men were not to be
received except under certain conditions. (fn. 21)
Their dress of russet colour was to consist of
a tunic with sleeves which were to extend to
the hand and were not to be stitched up or
buttoned, a super-tunic closed to the ankles
with sleeves covering the elbows, and a cowl;
when they went to church they were to wear
black cloaks with hoods as of old; they were
to have large boots and might wear hose. At
a suitable hour, not very early because of
their ill-health, a bell was to be rung, and they
were to go to the chapel to hear hours and
mass said by the rector, called the chaplain
of the lepers; afterwards they must go straight
back to the hospital. They were forbidden to
loiter on the high road between the church and
the house, or to pass the bounds of the hospital
except by leave of the master, who must never
allow them to go to the town of St. Albans, to
stay away the night, or to enter a brewery, bakehouse or grange. (fn. 22) No women were to enter the
hospital but the washerwoman on her business
or near relations of the brothers visiting them in
sickness, and then only in daylight. When a
leper was received as brother he was to make an
inventory of the goods he brought with him, onethird of which he might bequeath by will to
servants of the place or meritorious persons;
the rest at his death went to the community.
By old custom each leper was allowed 7 loaves
a week, 5 white and 2 brown, 14 flagons of ale
or 8d.; on certain feasts (fn. 23) a loaf, a measure
of ale or 1d., and ½d. in money; at Christmas
40 flagons of good ale or 40d.; at Martinmas
a pig from the store or money; and during the
year a quarter of oats, a bushel of beans, another
of peas and 2 bushels of salt or the current price,
14s. for firing, 4s. for clothing, an occasional
penny for a pittance and a share of the king's
gift of 30s. 5d. (fn. 24) Instead of the one priest (fn. 25)
there were to be five, and more if the income of
the place increased; they must be men of good
character (fn. 26) and were to be examined by the
archdeacon and admitted by him or the abbot.
Their dress, like that of the priests of Pré, was
to be a tunic, long-sleeved super-tunic closed
to the ankles, tabard and hood, all of black, (fn. 27)
and each was to have a mark a year for clothing,
the master 2 marks. They were to have meals
together, (fn. 28) and were to live and sleep in pairs
until a common dormitory could be made.
Services (fn. 29) were to begin at dawn, the priest of
the week (fn. 30) saying the hours and another brother
the mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary; then were
to come the services for the lepers, to be followed
by the mass of the day said by the priest of the
week; all the inmates were to attend vespers
and compline; arrangements were made for
festivals, and for prayers for the benefactors of
St. Albans and St. Julian's. The master, who
was to be chosen from the chaplains by the abbot
and if unsatisfactory was removable by him,
was empowered to correct small faults, but
correction otherwise was to be left to the abbot.
Chapters were to be held twice a week; and
pensions and corrodies (fn. 31) were never to be
granted on any pretext whatever.
In 1342 an attack had been made on the
property of the hospital at Park and Tyttenhanger, and the common seal, deeds and other
muniments stolen, (fn. 32) and usurpations of its
possessions, attributed by Abbot Michael partly
to the carelessness of the brothers, were
apparently not unusual. Edward III made them
the reason for appointing a commission of
inquiry in 1355, on the ground that there had
been in consequence a decrease in the number
of lepers in the house, and therefore of prayers
for his ancestors, who he assumed were
founders. (fn. 33) The result is not known, but it is
unlikely that Thomas de la Mare, then Abbot
of St. Albans, acquiesced in this encroachment
on his rights.
This abbot interested himself personally in
St. Julian's, acting as confessor to the lepers
in spite of the physical unpleasantness of the
task. (fn. 34) He also made rules for the place. (fn. 35)
After a preamble stating that the hospital
was founded and maintained by the Abbot and
convent of St. Albans, and that to the abbot
therefore belonged the control of spiritual and
temporal things there, he insisted on the rule as
to clothes being kept; the lepers must wear
high boots with three or four lacings, and low
shoes were prohibited; those who wished to
become brothers were to be on probation that
their ways and speech might be under observation; the brothers were to love God and show
mutual charity; in church they were to sit in
the order in which they entered the hospital
and not to presume through pride to take
another's place, and silence must be observed
during service; loitering near the high road was
forbidden; none was to pass the bounds of
old established; only the brother to whom such
charge was committed was to enter the brewery
or bake-house, and he was never to go near the
bread and ale, since it was not fitting that men
with their disease should touch things destined
for the common use of men; the doors towards
the garden were to be kept well closed to
prevent scandals and other evils that might arise
from free entrance, and brothers were not to
go out without special leave; a brother passing
the bounds should be punished by the withdrawal of his allowance, and anyone absenting
himself a day and a night without leave of the
abbot or archdeacon should be accounted a
fugitive, and not enter again without the abbot's
permission; the regulation about women was
again laid down with more emphasis (fn. 36) ; brothers
who perpetually quarrelled and sowed discord
were to have their allowances withdrawn; they
might have private property (fn. 37) but when they
died or left the hospital it should belong to the
house; no brother might make a will without
the master's leave; seculars and probationers
were to be excluded from chapters, and private
chapters 'which might rather be called conspiracies' were forbidden. The points touched
on were the same as beforem but penalties for
disobedience were more clearly defined, and the
inference is that the rules had not been kept
and greater severity was necessary.
The advowson of the chapel of St. Julian was
given in 1353 to the master and brethren of the
hospital, who had permission to appropriate
the church (fn. 38) ; but in 1396 the rectory was made
over to the chamber of the Prior of St. Albans (fn. 39)
on the resignation of William Burcote, the rector,
who was assigned a pension for life. (fn. 40) This may
mean that the charater of the place was
changing, and the disturbances of the 15th
century merely hastened the end of an institution already in decay. It was still called the
Hospital of Priests and Lepers of St. Julian in
1470, when it was excused payment of the tenth
on the score of poverty, (fn. 41) but the community
probably survived only in the title.
Abbot William Albon by appointing Ralph
Ferrers master for life in 1475 (fn. 42) caused considerable trouble to one of his successors.
Ramryge, who became abbot in 1492, wanted to
deprive him for dilapidating the property, and
hoped to attain his object through a doctor of
canon law named Robinson, who was to have
the office if Ferrers could be removed. (fn. 43) At
some stage of the proceedings the abbot
managed to get possession of Ferrers's letters of
collation and sequestrated the revenues of the
hospital. (fn. 44) But it was all useless. Although
Robinson was appointed, (fn. 45) he could not turn
his rival out, and at last resigned his claim to
the abbot. (fn. 46) When Ferrers died Ramryge
granted the nomination to the king, but meanwhile Dr. Robinson gave the hospital for
maintenance to Sir Robert Sheffield, knight, who
put in his brother and five others to occupy it
for him. The abbot at the king's request took
measures to get rid of the interlopers and was
thereupon accussed of riot by the disappointed
Dr. Robinson. It was probably the result of
this affair that he obtained the king's licence
on 7 May 1505 to annex the hospital or free
chapel of St. Julian to St. Albans. (fn. 47)
The property appears to have been worth
then about £16 a year. (fn. 48)
Masters of the Hospital of St. Julian By St. Albans
Ilbert, occurs 1145 (fn. 49)
William (fn. 50)
Nicholas, appointed in 1235 (fn. 51)
William Peytevin, occurs 1278 (fn. 52)
Reginald de St. Albans, occurs December
1305 (fn. 53)
John de Lancaster, appointed 2 June 1349 (fn. 54)
John Trylle, occurs 3 December 1449 (fn. 55)
John Walter, appointed 10 January 1463-4 (fn. 56)
John Hankyn (fn. 57)
Ralph Ferrers, LL.D., appointed 20 December
1475, (fn. 58) occurs 1500 or 1501 (fn. 59)
William Robinson, appointed in succession to
Ferrers (fn. 60)