St John the Baptist Hospital, Canterbury

St John the Baptist Hospital

St John the Baptist Hospital is the oldest almshouse in England (though there are others of a similar date in Winchester). The almshouse was established in 1085 by Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, as a residence for around 30 ill, infirm, or lame men and an equal number of women. The main entrance is through a beautiful timber-framed Tudor gatehouse off Northgate.

History

Lanfranc's new hospital residents were cared for by priests from the priory of St Gregory the Great, now destroyed. At the same time, Lanfranc founded a second almshouse to care for lepers at Harbledown and dedicated it to St Nicholas.

St John's Hospital stood outside the city walls and was roughly bounded by Northgate, St John's Place, Elisabeth House, and the River Stour.

Perhaps surprisingly, the hospital remained in operation throughout the Dissolution of the Monasteries, though when St Gregory's Priory was suppressed there were no more priests to administer to the residents. Some of the hospital buildings were demolished in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Highlights

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about St John's Hospital is that after more than 900 years it is still functioning as an almshouse, providing accommodation to those in need, though the accommodation is much upgraded since Lanfranc's day and now looks after just 24 residents.

The chapel features an interesting font with a carved Jacobean cover that looks for all the world like a table-leg. It is interesting that the chapel has a font at all - it appears that tenants on the hospital land had the right to baptise their children in their own chapel rather than the parish church.

The most obvious feature - and the only one most visitors will be able to see - is the superb Tudor gatehouse fronting onto the west side of Northgate.

The gatehouse gives access to a wide green with four Victorian houses ranged around it. The Tudor kitchen, now used as a resident's lounge, or dining hall, faces the green, with the refectory above on the first floor.

The ruins of the original 11th-century hospital walls still stand, thought the buildings were destroyed by fire in the 14th century. One impressive feature is a seven-sided stair turret attached to the south wall of the former dormitory block.

One notable feature is what has been described as the oldest toilet in England. Now restored, the 11th-century toilets remained in use even after the original hospital buildings were destroyed. The Norman toilets were used for eight centuries, though they no longer function. They were multi-sex loos, with seats for men and [one] women's seat, all in the same shared space.

In the rectory are displays of medieval chests, trestle tables, plates, and wooden trenchers used by residents.

Visiting

St John's Hospital is still in use and isn't generally open to the public, but tours can be arranged by contacting the bursar. The hospital may also open for the annual Heritage Open Days in September. Other than that, you'll have to be content with admiring the imposing gatehouse on Northgate, between St John's Place and Union Street.