Holy Jesus Hospital

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The Holy Jesus Hospital is a museum in Newcastle Upon Tyne England and a tourist attraction that also serves as the basis of the Inner City Project of the National Trust [1]. The building has had a remarkable 700 year history [2].

Contents

[edit] 1291 – 1539 Augustinian Friary

In the 13th Century Newcastle Upon Tyne had a population of around 4000 and it was difficult for the four parish churches to care for the needs of such a large population. [3]The priests were expected to be educators, doctors and counsellors as well as meet the spiritual needs of their parishioners [4]. Therefore in 1291 land was gifted by William Baron of Wark on Tweed to found an Augustinian Friary on the site. Augustianian Friars had been in the country since 1220 and they helped by preaching and healing in the community. The Friary was also used as a lodgings house because it was on one of the main roads North.

[edit] 1539 Dissolution of the Monasteries

In 1539 the Friary was seized by the crown along with 5 others. [5] The Monks and Nuns were pensioned and the friars received gratuities. Some took jobs as chantry priests or accommodation in Parish Livings. Those nuns who were of good birth returned to their families. [6] The bells, lead plate and vestments were turned over to the crown. Most of the building and lands were sold to the lesser gentry, new nobility, and town merchants or to borough corporations. At the time of the Dissolution there was a prior, ten Friars and 3 novices. In 1537 Thomas Cromwell was asked if the Austin Friary site could be left intact after the dissolution to be used as Northern headquarters of the Kings Council of the North [7] when it was not sitting at York [8] . It was rarely used for this purpose (Elizabeth I decreed that the council spend 20 days a year there). It was much dilapidated by 1595. During the confused period of the civil war it passed into the hands of the Corporation[9]. The area became known as Kings Manor which was a short lived counterpart to the famous King’s Manor at York. All that remains of the Friary is part of the sacristy wall though a model in the interpretation room gives a possible layout of some of the Friary buildings. [10]

[edit] The Tower

The Tower was constructed sometime between the Dissolution and the Union of the Crowns but the exact date is not known. [11] It was probably constructed as a strong room to store munitions or provide a secure location if the city walls were breached. This turned the ground floor room into a lock up where troublesome citizens would be thrown until they came before the law to be punished. Much about the tower has changed. The wall to the right of the door is 13th Century while the dividing wall including the door is 18th Century. [12]

[edit] 1605 – 1646 Private ownership

In 1605 the tower and Friary buildings were given by James I of England to George Home (Earl Dunbar) who in his 11 years of ownership would probably have asset stripped. When he died a Captain Dykes became owner of the land. The site disappears from the historical record until 1646 when it is recorded as being owned by the council. [13]

[edit] 1646 – 1825 The Hospital

The Holy Jesus Hospital was built in 1682 by public subscription to house retired Freemen [14], their widows or unmarried sons or daughters. [15] To be allocated a room one had to meet the committee’s criteria and once were admitted one had to abide by the master’s rules. It remained in use until 1937 when the new Hospital was built at Spital Towers. Strict rules governmed the ‘inmates’ including being locked in their rooms at 9pm and having their doors unlocked again at 6am. [16] There were no children allowed and the inmates were instructed to attend church each week and take the sacrament. Each year the residents would have been given a free suit of clothing, a measure of coal and if the charity allowed it some pocket money (Alms). [17]

[edit] Barber Surgeons

In 1646 the council allowed the Barber Surgeons to build their hall just east of the site: this agreement was given on the 15th March 1647. [18] In 1648 the plot of land was leased to the barber surgeons on condition that they constructed their hall within two years and that part of the site was to be laid out as a garden for medicinal herbs. A second hall built in 1730 disappeared under the railway viaduct in the 1840s. [19]

[edit] 1880 – Soup Kitchen

A Soup Kitchen was built in 1880 by public subscription and dispensed soup to the ‘deserving poor’ until 1891[20]. The soup was not free: it cost half a pence per pint. People who had donated each had a number of tickets which they could give to those people who they believed qualified for the ration. The deserving poor in Victorian times were those unable to work during the winter months. Those individuals classed as undeserving were those poverty was deemed to be caused by indolence and alcoholism.[21] A recent article has suggested that the soup provided by the Kitchen was highly nutritious. [22]

[edit] Discharged Prisoner Aid Society

In 1881 the committee from the Discharged Prisoner’s Aid Society asked to use the building when it was not in use for discharged female convicts from the prison at Carliol Square (1828-1925) to do laundry work and the Society continued to use it for this purpose until the turn of the century. [23]

[edit] Pork Butcher

From 1893 the building was leased to pork butcher F.G Thompson who made alterations to the building presumably to separate his business from the laundry and ex-convicts. [24]

[edit] Chemical Factory

Urwins Chemical Factory operated on the site from 1913 producing industrial and domestic chemicals and pharmaceuticals as well as filing first aid boxes until 1961 when they moved to Stepney bank in Ouseburn. [25]

[edit] 1950 – 1973 The First Museum

  • In late 1960s the Museum Board was looking to have more museums in Newcastle and thought the Holy Jesus Hospital could be used. The restoration cost £67k and a new roof was needed. During the restoration some of the original fabric of the building such as door frames, doors and walls on the top floor were lost. [26]
  • In 1970 John George Joicey Museum opened. During this time the soup kitchens were joined tot eh Holy Jesus Hospital. The first floor rooms were used for teaching the history of Newcastle from the Roman period to the present date. The second floor rooms were used as period setting rooms. The tower had the Alnwick Armoury and the Shotley Bridge Sword makers displays on the first and second floors. The soup kitchen was mainly used as a Victorian schoolroom children were dressed and taught as Victorian children would have been. The museums location combined with the City’s underpasses and roads system made access tot eh museum difficult and it was little visited. [27]
  • In 1973 the Museum closed and all artefacts were taken to the Discovery Museum on Blandford St. These included the effigy of a knight from the 15th Century that was found next to the sacristy wall outside the Tower. [28]

[edit] 2000 The Inner City Project

The Holy Jesus Hospital has been the center of the National Trust’s Inner City Project. The project been running since 1987 in the east end of Newcastle working with young people from 12-25 and with the over 50s. [29] The National Trust needed a central office to expand their work into other inner city areas, so a 25 year lease was negotiated with the council. [30]

[edit] Notable Visitors to the Site

  • The Duke of Norfolk stayed there in 1560. As a result £67 was spent on materials and repairs: the walls were re-pointed, roof lead re-laid, gutters and broken windows repaired, a chimney rebuilt, dining chamber on the Great Hall enlarged, two doors cut through a wall and the construction of a new stone window. Materials purchased included 4000 bricks and a considerable amount of glass from Hartlepool. [34]
  • Eric of Sweden visited in 1561 for which the Great Hall was whitewashed and hung with borrowed tapestries for his visit. [35]
  • The Percies of Alnwick visited the site on occasion. [36]

[edit] See Also


[edit] References

  1. ^ National Trust | Holy Jesus Hospital
  2. ^ National Trust | Holy Jesus Hospital | What to see & do
  3. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14.
  4. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14.
  5. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14.
  6. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14.
  7. ^ King's Council in the North by Rachel R Reid ISBN 0-7158-1126-6
  8. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14.
  9. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14.
  10. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14.
  11. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14.
  12. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14.
  13. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14.
  14. ^ Holy Jesus Hospital-National Trust
  15. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14.
  16. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14.
  17. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14.
  18. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14
  19. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14
  20. ^ How does a 127-year-old recipe for soup stand up today? - JournalLive
  21. ^ THE NATION; For the Poor, Defining Who Deserves What - New York Times
  22. ^ How does a 127-year-old recipe for soup stand up today? - JournalLive
  23. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14
  24. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14
  25. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14
  26. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14
  27. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14
  28. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14
  29. ^ National Trust Inner City Project
  30. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14
  31. ^ James the Fourth, Norman MacDougall
  32. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14.
  33. ^ James IV Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland
  34. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14.
  35. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14
  36. ^ Baglee, Christopher. The Holy Jesus Hospital. A Short History. Northern History Booklet No 14


[edit] External Links