Lord Leycester Hospital

The Lord Leycester Hospital started life as just the Chapel of St James the Great which was built over the West Gate of Warwick in 1126 by Roger de Newburgh, 2nd Norman Earl of Warwick.[4]

In the late 14th century, it was rebuilt by the 12th Earl of Warwick. He granted the benefice of the Chapel in 1386 to the Guild of St George, a guild created on 20 April 1383 under licence from King Richard II.[4] The Guild of the Holy Trinity and the Guild of the Blessed Virgin Mary joined them to form the United Guilds of Warwick.[4] Living quarters and public rooms were added to the chapel including the Great Hall.[5] These form the courtyard of the Lord Leycester that we see today.[4]

Courtyard of the Hospital

The Guildhall was built in 1450 by Neville "The Kingmaker", the 16th Earl of Warwick.[6] It was primarily used as a private chamber where the Guilds met to discuss business.[5] The table found in the center of the Guildhall is thought to have been the original table used by the United Guilds of Warwick where they discussed matters such as trade religion and politics.[7]

The 1571 Leicester Hospital Act, licensing the Earl of Leicester to found a hospital in Warwick[8]

The United Guilds were dispersed by King Henry VIII in 1546.[4] However, their property had already been transferred to the Burgesses of Warwick by Thomas Oken, Master of the Guilds. The burgesses used the property for meetings and for teaching as, what is now, Warwick School.[9]

The 1st Earl of Leicester acquired the buildings in 1571, founding therein a hospital for aged or injured soldiers and their wives, under royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I, run by 12 resident "Brethren" (originally soldiers) under the charge of a "Master", and funded from the income of various estates.[4]

In 1617 the Great Hall was used to entertain King James I on his visit to Warwick.[10] The town was in debt for ten years as a result! Behind the back wall of the Great Hall is a plaque commemorating the occasion of the visit of the King but for an unknown reason it was covered over in Victorian times.[5]

In 1694, the Great Fire of Warwick started at the Friends Meeting House in Warwick, across the High Street from the Lord Leycester Hospital. The fire was driven up the High Street by a strong South-Westerly wind and consumed virtually all buildings in its path. Thus, the original medieval timber-framed houses were destroyed and, in due course, replaced by the handsome stone and brick built buildings that you see today. Of the ancient buildings, only the Lord Leycester Hospital and its near neighbours survive.[5]

The chapel was extensively restored by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1860. The story goes that a representative of his was called from dinner by worried townspeople who thought the chapel may fall down into the High Street. This included the addition of the flying buttresses which today skirt the chapel.[4]

Houses opposite the Lord Leycester Hospital. The red brick indicates the Friends Meeting House where the Great Fire of Warwick began in 1694

Egyptian Urn supposedly 2,000 years old and once used as a Nilometer (A device used to measure the height of the River Nile) in Ancient Egypt

In 1956 the Corporation of the Master and Brethren of the Hospital was abolished by Act of Parliament and replaced with a board of Governors. On 3 November 1966 a restored Hospital with modernised quarters was opened by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.[11]

Today the Hospital is run by the Master, a retired officer of the Armed Forces. Eight ex-servicemen and their wives are provided with flats in return for their past services: they act as guides for visitors.[12] The Hospital is funded by visitor income, the original estates having been sold over the years.[12] Heidi Meyer, the first woman to hold the office, was installed as Master in November 2017.[12]

Other historical notes of interest include the fact that the Grade I listed stone urn in the Master's Garden is 2,000 years old and was originally part of an Egyptian nilometer.[13] The Museum of the Queen's Own Hussars formed part of the collections of the hospital until it closed in 2016.[14]

The carvings, notably the famous Warwick icon of the bear and ragged staff[15] (or "baculus") and the two-tailed lion from the Dudley family coat of arms,[16] illustrate the renowned craftsmanship in wood of Warwick men. The fine stained glass in the eastern window is the work of the Birmingham firm of Clayton & Bell. Above the south door is a gem of a window by William Morris who also designed the hangings around the altar.[5] Every weekday morning (except Mondays) the Master and Brethren gather for prayers in exactly the same wording directed by Robert Dudley almost 450 years before.[17]

Apart from the floor, heating system and public restrooms at the far end, the Hall has changed very little in structure and appearance from the 1300s. It was used by the Guilds for public functions and this has been resumed today for dinners, dances, receptions, concerts and meetings.[5]

The Guildhall, today, is used as display space for many of the artifacts collected throughout history. This includes a selection of weaponry, including flintlock muskets sent "by the crown" to the Brethren at the time of the Chartist Riots,[18] Napoleonic swords, thought to have come from the Battle of Waterloo and a cannonball dug up from the Battle of Edge Hill.[18]

Below is a list of weaponry that is featured in the Guildhall:[19]

Wood engraving of the walkway across the frontage at the Lord Leycester, looking towards the Chapel

Under the Gallery in the Courtyard of the Hospital

Frontage of the Lord Leycester