Monument record 5761/1 - St Leonard's Hospital (Medieval Leper Hospital)

Site of leper hospital recorded in 1200 which seems to have been abandoned by 1447.

{1} The leper hospital of St Leonard, probably located on the north side of the north bridge, was in existence by 1200. Unlike many leper hospitals which were converted to ordinary infirmaries following the decline of leprosy in the late medieval period, it appears to have gone out of use by the mid 15th century. The robbed out remains of a substantial medieval wall and associated surfaces uncovered to the south of the River, may represent the site of the former leper hospital .
(Ref 2.0) The leper hospital would have been built beyond the main area of habitation, but its closure at some stage before the 1440s enabled Towcester to expand in this direction.
(Ref 3.4.2) The leper hospital of St Leonard was in existence by 1200 when the county sheriff Simon de Pateshull rendered account of a royal gift of 40 shillings to the Leprous Brethren of Towcester. In 1285-6 the court of the hospital was given as one of the boundaries of an acre of land in Towcester field. The hospital is more closely located by a document of 1366 which recorded the collection of money for the repair of the North Bridge ‘next the hospital of St Leonard at the end of Towcester.’ A location north of the bridge would appear likely, for leper hospitals were usually sited away from the main areas of habitation.
The hospital did not feature in the visitations carried out by William Alnwick, Bishop of Lincoln, in the years 1436-49, nor did it receive a bequest from Archdeacon Sponne in 1447. It therefore seems likely that it had ceased to function before the mid 15th century. The incidence of leprosy declined in the late medieval period and many leper hospitals became ordinary infirmaries, but it would appear that this did not happen at Towcester.
The chapel of St Leonard’s is mentioned in 1384-5, and the names of two wardens in the late 1380s are known.

{2,3} A leper hospital dedicated to St Leonard stood on the outskirts of Towcester by the N bridge (SP 689492). Leprous brethren are recorded in 1200 in Towcester, but the actual date of the foundation of the hospital is unknown. So too is the date of decay, but it was probably before 1447 as there is no mention of it in the bequests made by Archdeacon Sponne in his will of that year.

{6} A cobbled layer running north to south on the same alignment as the present day Watling Street in Trench 3. This layer was also seen in Trench 4. The remains of a wall were located in the middle of Trench 4, running parallel to Watling Street. On the west side of the trench was a cobbled surface running roughly north to south
These features may relate to the medieval leper hospital of St. Leonard recorded in documents as bring next to the North Bridge. It is unlikely to have been anything else as no other buildings would have been built next to the leper hospital. The marginal nature of this area may account for its being granted for the site of a leper hospital.

{7} No further information. CRO Northampton [NRO] have no records that refer to this hospital site. Field name survey (1932) contains no helpful information.

<1> Taylor J.; Foard G.; Laughton J.; Steadman S.; Ballinger J., 2002, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Towcester, 3.4.2 (unchecked) (Report). SNN103132.

<2> Knowles; Hadcock, 1971, Medieval Religious Houses England and Wales, p.314 (unchecked) (Book). SNN10192.

<3> Serjeantson R.M.; Ryland W. (Editors), 1906, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, (unchecked) (Series). SNN100369.

<4> Calendar of Pipe Rolls, 2 John 1 (unchecked) (Document). SNN3785.

<5> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP64NE23 (unchecked) (Index). SNN443.

<6> Atkins R., 2001, Watling Street, Towcester, Flood Alleviation Scheme, Archaeological Evaluation, p.5 (checked) (Report). SNN101380.

<7> Baird, J., 1970, Field investigators comments, F1 JB 29-JAN-70 (Notes). SNN110341.

Record last edited

Feb 10 2025 7:17PM