27. THE HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN BAPTIST, WALLINGFORD
Without the south gate of Wallingford, in
what is now called the Lower Green, stood a
hospital of early foundation dedicated to St. John
Baptist. There are various references to it in
the thirteenth century, when it supported a
master or warden and certain brothers and
sisters.
On 21 March, 1224, the king, when at
Reading, granted letters of protection for a year
to the master and brethren of the hospital of
St. John, Wallingford. This grant was renewed
by Henry III on 6 September, 1225, when he
was stopping at the castle of Wallingford. (fn. 78) On
25 August, 1227, when the king was again at
this castle, simple letters of protection, sine termino, were granted to the master, brethren, and
sisters of St. John. (fn. 79)
Stephen de Stalles, of Wallingford, granted to
the brethren and sisters of this hospital, about
1240, a messuage in the parish of St. Leonard,
within the south gate of Wallingford. (fn. 80)
Among the muniments of the corporation of
Wallingford are many deeds relative to this hospital, including several of the reign of Henry III,
which are undated. (fn. 81)
One of these, executed by the famous Simon
de Montfort, earl of Leicester, records his grant
to the brethren and sisters of St. John Baptist of
8d. rent of assize which he had been wont to
receive of them for an acre of land held of him
in Chalmore; the first witness is Master Peter de
Benham, mayor. Another deed witnessed by
the same mayor records the grant by a widow of
her dower right in the moiety of a messuage to
the hospital for the sum of 40s. A third deed,
when Alexander de Stalles was mayor, is a grant
by Richard Robechild of a piece of land in
Wallingford opposite his own house, for the sum
of 12s. paid beforehand; the hospital paying to
Eustace Clement and his heirs a yearly rental
of 6d., and to himself one clove yearly at
Easter.
There are various other deeds of grants to and
from the hospital when Sir Ralph the chaplain
was warden. By one of these they obtained
from Stephen de Stalles for 5 marks of silver
2½ acres of land in Newnham, 1 acre near the
land of Master Peter de Banham, and 1½ acres
elsewhere in Wallingford. By another one
Ralph, the master, and the brethren and sisters
grant to Stephen the carpenter for 4s. 6d. paid,
and for a rental of 4s. 6d., a house with a tiled
solar and a small tiled chamber, where Stephen
was wont to abide; the said Stephen was to
keep the tenement in proper repair and well
tiled.
The corporation muniments also include various
undated documents relative to the hospital of the
reign of Edward I, Sir Ralph the chaplain still
being master. (fn. 82) The most remarkable of these
is one whereby Christine Joes testifies, making
oath and touching the Holy Gospels, that she
has bound herself to Sir Ralph and the brethren
and sisters to give the fullest security for the
peaceful holding by them of 3 acres of land
which they had from William her husband—
so namely, that I may be excommunicated from day
to day, and denounced as excommunicate through the
whole deanery of Henley, if I shall in any way presume to contravene the said gift . . . And if of this
I shall be convicted I will give to the archdeacon of
Oxford for the time being for the breaking of my
vow and for my perjury 20s., and to the said Ralph
and brethren and sisters 20s. for such unjust vexation,
renouncing the royal prohibition and all right of
remedy, civil or canonical.
On 12 October, 1276, Edward I sanctioned
the seeking of alms by the master, brethren, and
sisters of St. John Baptist, Wallingford, for the
period of seven years.
In July, 1305, licence was granted, after inquisition, for the alienation in mortmain by
Robert de Turneston, chaplain and master, of
13 acres of land in Wallingford, Clapcot, and
Newnham to this hospital. (fn. 83)
In 1313 John de Perssore, warden, granted a
tenement in the parish of Great St. Mary to
Richard Az, Cecilia his wife, and Agnes his
daughter, for their lives, at a yearly rent of 5s.;
after the death of the survivor the tenement was
to return to the warden; the mayor and bailiffs
of the town were among the witnesses. In the
following year John Roulond, warden of the hospital, and the brethren and sisters there, granted to
Henry de Wyncestre, Alota his wife, and Alice
their daughter, a tenement in the parish of
'St. Mary the More,' for the term of their
lives, at a yearly rental of 7s.; the mayor and
bailiffs for that year are again witnesses. (fn. 84)
Licence was granted in March, 1334, to the
master and brethren of the hospital of St. John
Baptist, Wallingford, to acquire in mortmain
land and rent to the annual value of 100s. (fn. 85)
In June, 1391, Thomas Athelyngton, king's
clerk, obtained the grant for life from the crown
of the wardenship of this hospital. (fn. 86) It is quite
clear, however, that the appointment of the
warden had rested with the commonalty or
corporation of Wallingford throughout the thirteenth and earlier part of the fourteenth century.
This crown nomination was something exceptional. So much was the hospital considered as
pertaining to the town that the various deeds
recited, and others not here named, were not
only usually witnessed by the mayor and bailiffs,
but in some cases. it is stated that they were
testified to 'by the whole Burgmote' or 'by the
whole Portmote.' This is but natural, for the
hospital was first founded by the inhabitants at
large.
Every old hospital had its chapel annexed, and
not a few—like the chapel of the hospital of
St. John Baptist and St. John Evangelist in
Northampton (fn. 87) —had a good-sized chapel used
by other than the inmates. This was the case
at Wallingford. The hospital chapel of St. John
Baptist was in the parish of St. Leonard, but
having no parochial obligations it was technically
termed a free chapel.
In the corporation ledger, under the date 25
November, 1542, appears the following entry:—
Richard Adene appeared before the mayor and
produced the advowson of the hospital of St. John
and that of St. Mary Magdalen, under the seals of the
guild and the mayoralty, and was inducted into possession, and the mayor received his oaths faithfully to
perform all the constitutions of the hospital. (fn. 88)
The return of the Chantry and College Commissioners of Henry VIII states that the free
chapel of St. John Baptist was founded by the
inhabitants of the town, and was situated in the
parish of St. Leonard, a furlong distant from that
church. The annual income for the chaplain,
then John Adeane, was £6. (fn. 89) The return of
the commissioners of Edward VI two years later
gives the annual value of the lands and tenements
as £9 15s. 8d.
The fine fifteenth-century seal of this hospital
represents St. John Baptist, under a canopy,
holding in the left hand an Agnus Dei on a
plaque, with a scroll inscribed Ecce Agnu' Dei.
Legend:—
S': FSV: ET: SOROR' : OSPIT : . . . CI : IOHIS :
BAPTIST' : WALINGF'
28. THE HOSPITAL OF ST. MARY MAGDALEN, WALLINGFORD
There was a second hospital, also of early
foundation, at Wallingford (not mentioned by
Dugdale or Tanner) dedicated to St. Mary
Magdalen.
This hospital was for lepers, and though it was
technically in Oxfordshire, being placed at the
Newnham end of the old bridge over the Thames,
it is rightly named under Berkshire, as it was
under the immediate control of the town of Wallingford. The references to it are scanty, but
begin in the reign of Henry III.
The master and brethren of the hospital of
St. Mary Magdalen extra Wallingford obtained
letters of protection from the king in December,
1226, when he was visiting the castle, to last
until Christmas in the following year. On
24 August, 1227, when the king was again at
Wallingford, he granted full protection to the
tenants, and to property of every kind of this hospital, and directed his subjects when the messengers of the hospital came seeking alms to
receive them kindly and bestow on them of their
substance. (fn. 90)
To this hospital ' a free chapel' was attached;
in the time of Henry VII and Henry VIII the
same chaplain served the hospital as well as that
of St. John Baptist. The admission of Richard
Adeane to the advowson of both by the mayor
in 1542 has been already recorded. The Chantry
Commissioners of 1546 reported that the free
chapel of 'Marye Maudlyn' was founded by the
inhabitants of Wallingford, and that it was
situated within the parish of Newnham, a quarter
of a mile from the parish church. (fn. 91)