Monument record MDO1576 - Hospital of St Mary and the Holy Spirit, leper hospital, Lyme Regis

A leper hospital known from documentary sources to have existed in 1336 when the bell tower was repaired. There is a well nearby which may be associated with the hospital.

Great House on Site of (NAT) Hospital of St Mary and the Holy Spirit (NR) (1)

A leper hospital dedicated to Saint Mary and the Holy Spirit was in existence at Lyme Regis by 1336 when an indulgence was granted for the repair of the fabric and its bell tower. (2)

The house called in old deeds The Tower House is supposed to have been built on the site of the leper hospital. (3)

A plaque on the building now situated at the published position states that this was the site of Great-House! The building, occupied as modern shops, bears no exterior traces of antiquity, and no information could be obtained concerning the leper hospital or the Tower House. A well called the Leper's Well stands nearby (see SY 39 SW 11). (4)

Information as in Authority 2. (5)

A 1539 map of the Dorset coast depicts an arched building suggested to be the leper hospital and perhaps the bell tower mentioned in 1336. The site of the hospital lies partly beneath a private car park, and may extend to the terrace above Leper's Well. (6)

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 scale, 1905 edition OS map (Map). SWX1197.

<2> The Victoria History of the Counties of England: The History of the County of Dorset 3, p100 (Monograph). SWX1198.

<3> Roberts, G, 1834, The History and Antiquities of the Borough of Lyme Regis and Charmouth, p43 (Monograph). SWX1186.

<4> Swatridge, G C, Various, Field Investigators Comments GCS, F1 GCS 11-FEB-55 (Unpublished document). SWX1169.

<5> Knowles, D, 1982, Medieval Religious Houses in England and Wales, p376 (Monograph). SWX1201.

<6> Penn, K J, 1980, Historic Towns in Dorset, 74 location map (Monograph). SWX1202.

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1429223 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 23 2024 11:38AM