THE HOSPITAL OF ST. URSULA, CHESTER (fn. 1)
The short-lived hospital of St. Ursula originated indirectly with the will of Roger Smith in 1508. Smith, one
of the sheriffs of Chester in 1499, wished his house in
Commonhall Lane to be converted after his death into
almshouses for the use of such members of the
Twenty-Four [aldermen] 'as ben fallen into decay and
necessitie'; if there were insufficient candidates among
them, vacant houses were to be offered to the
Forty-Eight [Common Councilmen]. (fn. 2) Smith left the
residue of his estate to maintain his almsmen and
requested that the mayor and aldermen should free the
houses from all chief rents and pay for repairs in return
for the right to nominate the inmates. (fn. 3) The executors
of Smith's will, including his brother Thomas, to
whom Roger Smith entrusted the realisation of his
project, were responsible for transforming the original
plan over the next two years. By a tripartite indenture
of 6 February 1508/9 between the executors, the
mayor, aldermen and commonalty, and the prioress
and convent of St. Mary's it was agreed that the
executors would pay for the building of six almshouses under one roof on a site in Commonhall Lane
supplied by the corporation. The mayor was to have
the nomination to vacant places from the Twenty-Four
and the Forty or, failing suitable 'decayed' candidates,
from the poorest of the inhabitants of Chester; widows
were also to be eligible, provided they did not remarry
and were 'of good disposition'. If the mayor did not
nominate within a year and twelve days the prioress
and convent were to fill vacancies and if they did not
act within six months the right of nomination was to
rest with the mercers' company. Upon election the
almsmen and almswomen were to swear to say daily
'Our Lady Psalter with De Profundis' for the soul of
Roger Smith but few other details are given about the
management of the almshouses. (fn. 4)
The residue of Roger Smith's estate provided an
annual income of only £8 for his almshouses (fn. 5) and
fears of the consequences of under-endowment may
have prompted another change of plan. In June 1510
the executors obtained a royal licence to found a
chantry and hospital in honour of St. Ursula and her
companions. That is the first mention of the new
foundation's unusual dedication, which perhaps arose
from Roger Smith's possible connexion with the Low
Countries or from Thomas Smith's daughter being
called Ursula. (fn. 6) The almshouses, now a hospital, were
to be supported by a fraternity of St. Ursula which was
licensed to acquire land worth 40 marks a year in
order to maintain the poor and infirm of the hospital,
repair the buildings, and support services in the hospital chapel. (fn. 7) The former Common Hall or Mote Hall
of the city which lay behind the almshouses was
adapted as a chapel for the hospital and fraternity. (fn. 8) In
1511 Thomas Runcorn was unaware of the changed
status of the foundation for he left money for an
almsman in Roger Smith's almshouse; (fn. 9) in 1521,
however, Margaret Hawarden left 40d. to the poor
men and women of St. Ursula and also 6s 8d. and
some bedding to James Richardson, the chantry priest
of the hospital. (fn. 10) In 1539 Thomas Baxter, rector of St.
Peter's, left £6 13s. 4d. to the hospital and 16d. to each
inmate; he also left clothes and hangings for the
chapel, a fur-lined gown to James Richardson, and the
residue of his goods to support an almsman. (fn. 11) Apart
from those benefactions, which seem to have been due
to the influence of Thomas Smith and James Richardson, the hospital received no further endowments. Nor
is much known of the activities of the fraternity. In
1534 it was leasing a yard in Cow Lane and in 1541
the wardens bound themselves to distribute 30d.
among the inmates each year on Maundy Thursday. (fn. 12)
The fraternity does not appear to have become
popular with the citizens of Chester and it may have
lapsed before July 1547 when the chapel, under the
name of the Old Common Hall, was sold by the mayor
to Ralph Goodman for £8. (fn. 13) The fraternity formally
ceased to exist after the Act of the same year which
dissolved chantries, fraternities, and hospitals. The
hospital, however, continued as an institution for
relieving the poor under the name of Sir Thomas
Smith's almshouses. (fn. 14) The complicated rights of
nomination evidently caused some confusion in the
early 17th century when Peter Drinkwater, mayor in
1624-5, cited the indenture of 1508 when his right to
nominate an almsman was challenged by the third Sir
Thomas Smith. (fn. 15) In 1702 the heirs of Sir Thomas
Smith, Bt., handed the almshouses over to a group of
trustees which included eight aldermen of the city and,
to ensure the continuance of the charity, paid £180 to
the mayor to purchase a rent-charge of £9 10s.; that
sum covered the original endowment of £8 a year and
£1 10s. to meet the cost of repairs. When the arrangement was made the corporation reserved the right to
visit the houses and remove any of the inmates. (fn. 16) The
scanty endowment was just sufficient to ensure the
continued existence of the almshouses and in the early
19th century the Charity Commissioners reported that
they consisted of six separate apartments tenanted by
the widows of freemen. When in 1837 the administration of the almshouses was transferred to the trustees
of the Chester Municipal Charities it was admitted
that the buildings were in a state of ruin and the houses
eventually became so dilapidated that the trustees were
unable to fill vacancies. In 1870 the trustees applied to
the Charity Commissioners for permission to sell the
buildings and use the proceeds for the benefit of the
poor of the city. The almshouses were sold by auction
in October 1871. The ruinous buildings were replaced
by a row of red-brick cottages which have since been
demolished. (fn. 17)
Chaplain
James Richardson, occurs 1521, 1536. (fn. 18)
There is a sketch of the oval seal of the fraternity on
a copy of a document of 1541 (fn. 19) which shows the
crowned figure of St. Ursula on a corbel holding a
palm in her right hand and an arrow in her left hand;
the saint is surrounded by kneeling figures of attendant
virgins. The damaged legend reads: SIGILLUM
CON. . . URSULE DE CESTER.