St Giles' Hospital, remains

St Giles' Hospital, remains

A leprosy hospital chapel, now in ruins, located on Spital Road. The building dates to the late 12th century with alterations made in the 13th century and later periods. It is constructed of septaria and flint rubble with Roman-brick bonding courses and dressings, repaired in the 16th century and later with red brick, and features limestone ashlar dressings.

The standing remains consist of the cruciform eastern arm, which survives to approximately its original eaves level in most locations. These comprise the north wall of the chancel, the east and west walls of the north transept with short returns to the north incorporating the springers of the north windows, and the east, west and south walls of the south transept. The foundations of an apse, excavated around 1920, are marked out within the space of the crossing.

The chancel's north wall features a string course with half-roll moulding, with a return to the former east wall. The lower wall contains the remains of an irregular relieving arch in Roman brick, whose purpose is uncertain. The north transept displays angle roll moulding to both angles of the crossing with an eroded scallop capital to the west, surmounted by the remains of a reset moulded capital. The east wall retains the remains of a wide Roman-brick round arch to a former chapel, now blocked with 18th-century red brick and a timber doorway. The north wall preserves the outer splayed ashlar jambs and springs of two round-arched windows, and has small ashlar quoins to the north-west external angle, both sides repaired in 18th and 19th-century red brick. The west wall contains round-headed slit windows with deep internal splay and ashlar rere-arch, and retains the south jamb and springer of a round-arch doorway in Roman brick, with the north jamb rebuilt in 18th-century brick featuring a segmental-pointed chamfered stone rere-arch. The external face retains the lower section of ashlar door jambs of probably early 14th-century date with a deep hollow between wave mouldings. In the south transept, only one course of ashlar with angle roll survives at the south-east angle of the crossing. The east wall retains a wide Roman-brick archway to a former chapel, now blocked in rubble with an external 18th-century pilaster buttress. The south wall features a pair of large buttresses in Roman brick with offset in ashlar and upper weathering in 18th-century red brick. The south wall is otherwise completely reconstructed in 13th-century style, surviving to full gable height, with a triple group of stepped lancets featuring continuous external chamfer and quoined ashlar jambs, deep internal splay and ashlar rere-arch, all in decaying condition. A stub of the west wall retains the south jamb and springing of a Roman-brick doorway.

According to an Inquisition of 1402, the Hospital of St Giles was founded by one of the Kings of England for the maintenance of a chaplain to celebrate divine service daily and to support the burgesses of the town affected by leprosy. The Pipe Roll for 1164 (10 Henry II) records the first annual payment to the infirm of Maldon. The hospital was probably actually founded by Mantell, the Lord of the Manor, as a dependence of the Augustinian Bicknacre Priory. It was granted to Beeleigh Abbey in 1481. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the chapel was used as a barn and was still roofed in 1921.