The English Medieval Hospital, 1050-1640

Book excerpt: This new study concentrates on the architectural remains- many of which are still in good condition and in daily use- to evoke a vivid picture of this development through four centuries. There were almost as many hospitals and almshouses in medieval England as there were monasteries. The original hospitals often based on their monastic counterparts and frequently administered by a religious order, were little more than repositories for the cleansing of souls in the time before death and salvation. Hospitals constructed for the cure of the body are not recognizable until the early sixteenth century. The hospitals gradually adapted to changing social and economic forces, becoming more secular in organization and architectural provision. After the Black Death, monastic-style foundations of the eleventh and twelfth centuries gave way to smaller, more private establishments. Many of the older style institutions failed to survive the Reformation. Generally, the new foundations, sponsored by a new class of founder, flourished. They had changed considerably in character, offering a permanent place of rest in some comfort: so evolved the almshouses as we know it today. -- from Publisher description.