Hospital of St John Baptist without the Barrs, Lichfield
| Hospital of St John Baptist without the Barrs | |
|---|---|
St Johns as it would have been viewed from the gates
|
|
| General information | |
| Type | |
| Location | St John Street, Lichfield, Staffordshire, England |
| Coordinates | 52°40′48″N 1°49′39″W / 52.6801°N 1.8274°WCoordinates: 52°40′48″N 1°49′39″W / 52.6801°N 1.8274°W |
| Designations | Grade I listed |
The Hospital of St John Baptist without the Barrs is a Grade I listed building and sheltered housing complex with adjacent chapel in the city of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England.
The building has ancient roots, once providing accommodation to travellers outside the southern city walls who would arrive in Lichfield after the gates had closed for the night. The distinctive eight chimneys fronting St John’s Street date back to the Tudor period when the hospital served as an almshouse for elderly gentlemen in the city.
In 1129, Roger de Clinton was appointed Bishop of Lichfield. He built a new cathedral fortified the Cathedral Close and laid out a new town. Finally he constructed a defensive ditch and walls around the city. There were four gates or 'barrs' allowing movement in and out of the city walls, which were closed at 8 or 9 at night and reopened at 7 in the morning.
This created a problem for pilgrims and travellers to the city who arrived after the gates had closed for the night. At this time Lichfield was a popular place for pilgrims as the new cathedral housed a shrine with the remains of St Chad. To provide shelter for these many pilgrims and travellers outside the city walls, Bishop de Clinton ordered the building of a priory just outside the southern gate where the road from London entered the city. The priory was completed in 1135 and the Bishop installed Augustinian Canons with solemn vows to provide food and shelter for the travellers. This priory brought into being 'The Hospital of St John Baptist without the Barrs’ (hospital referred to a place of hospitality and not to health care).
Adjacent to the southern city gates a chapel was built (where it stands today). South of the chapel a long stone building was built to provide a home to the Augustinian Canons and where the travellers and pilgrims were accommodated. For the next 300 years, St John’s carried out the function of serving travellers and pilgrims coming to Lichfield.
By the middle of the 15th century the city gates had fallen into disuse and would be left open. When William Smyth was appointed Bishop of Lichfield he aimed to put St John’s to better use. In 1495 Bishop Smyth refounded the priory as a hospital for aged men. It was ordained that there should be “thirteen honest poor men upon whom the inconveniences of old age and poverty without any fault of their own, had fallen”.
...
Wikipedia