Monument record 7196/102 - Hospital of St James

A hospital appears to have existed at Higham by 1154-89, by 1485 it was merely a free chapel and it had been demolished by the mid 16th century.

{1} Documentery references to the medieval hospital of St James; founded pre 1163; dissolved pre 1422 [note: this is incorrect]; Pipe Roll 1163-4 mentions an allowance for the sick of Higham which possibly refers to the hospital; in 1230 the rector of Rushden church receives rental from the hospital in Rushden parish; the appointments of wardens confirm that the hospital lay in Rushden parish; Court Rolls mention the hospital in Rushden as separated from Higham by an ancient road (now a field path), running along the boundary towards Newton Bromshold & bounded on the west by the Rushden to Higham highway; Hospital was dissolved in 1548; the last warden was given a pension.

{2} A hermit is mentioned at the hospital in the C16th. An allowance for the sick of Higham is mentioned in the pipe roll of 1163-64 and although no historical link has been found between this and the Hospital of St James at Rushden, they were probably identical.
The first known record of the hospital as such occurs in 1230 when the rector of Rushden Church receives a rental from the Hospital of St James 'of the same parish'. This is also the first evidence that it was in Rushden Parish as opposed to Higham Ferrers, although this is confirmed by the recorded appointments of wardens.
It is further recorded in the court rolls that the hospital close was on the Rushden side of the parish boundary, separated from Higham Ferrers by an ancient road (now a field path) running along the boundary in the direction
of Newton Bromshold, and bounded on the west by the highway from Higham Ferrers to Rushden. (ie in area SP 960678).
The hospital was dissolved in 1548 and the last warden was awarded a pension, recorded in the Accounts of the Receiver of Higham Ferrers.

{8} A hospital appears to have existed at Higham by 1154-89 because then and in 1200-1201 reference is made to lands belonging to 'the sick' in Higham. The first specific reference to the Hospital of St James, which lay immediately beyond the southern bounds of the borough in the parish of Rushden, is in 1230 when 7/8d was received by the incumbent of Rushden from the hospital. There are various other references to it in the 13th century, while in 1298 the extent of the manor included an expense, in line with the requirements of a charter of lord Edmund, of 20/- in alms to Roger the chaplain. It is clear from later evidence that this is a remission of rent to the master of the Hospital of St James. By 1485 the hospital was merely a free chapel, for in that year the king made a grant of the 'free chapel of St James without our lordship of Higham Ferrers'. It would appear that the chapel had been demolished by the mid 16th century, as in 1548 it was described simply as the close called le Spittle in Higham when the property passed to the king. The Hospital lay in the closes near the head of a small valley which cuts back from the Nene along the southern boundary of the township. It is bounded on the north by the road to Wellingborough and on the east by the road to Rushden. The buildings of the hospital are most likely to have been close to the road junction on the small area of limestone geology at the north east corner of the closes. It was at this point that a small bridge carried the main road to Rushden over the stream by the 14th century. A small rectangular pond lay in the close in 1789 but it is unclear how this related to the hospital. Although there is no reference to burial associated with the chapel it is likely that a burial ground will have existed in association with the hospital.

{9} Probable site built over.

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP96NE20 (unchecked) (Index). SNN443.

<2> Clay R.M., 1914, Hermits and Anchorites of England, p.237 (unchecked) (Uncertain). SNN1156.

<3> 1922, Associated Architectural Societies Reports, p.313-33 (unchecked) (Series). SNN37457.

<4> Knowles; Hadcock, 1971, Medieval Religious Houses England and Wales, p.277 (unchecked) (Book). SNN10192.

<5> Dugdale, 1846, Monasticon Anglicanum, p.770 (unchecked) (Uncertain). SNN2724.

<6> 1901, The Archaeological Journal (58), p.130 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN37460.

<7> Accounts of Receiver of Higham Ferrers, (unchecked) (Document). SNN60527.

<8> Foard G.; Ballinger J., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Higham Ferrers (Medieval - Industrial), (checked) (Digital archive). SNN100543.

<9> Seaman, B H, 1970, Field Investigator's Comments, F1 BHS 16-JUL-70 (Notes). SNN111541.

Record last edited

Nov 14 2022 1:01PM