Jesus Hospital, Including Chaplain'S House, The Almshouses And The Chapel

Jesus Hospital, including Chaplain's House, the Almshouses and the Chapel

This almshouse complex was founded by William Goddard and dated 1627, though it underwent alterations in the 20th century. The institution remains under the care of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers. Originally housing 40 residents, it now provides accommodation for 16.

The building is constructed in brick laid in English bond with stone dressings. It comprises a large quadrangular plan with the chapel positioned in the centre of the west side and the Chaplain's house to the left of the main entrance passage, which has a meeting room above it. The almshouses are single-storey structures arranged around the quadrangle, while the Chaplain's house rises to two storeys.

The north and south sides of the quadrangle are identical, each consisting of five bays. Chimneys are arranged diagonally on plan, with six chimneys featuring coupled shafts on large rectangular bases and clay pots on each side. The windows are set in stone openings with chamfered mullions and contain metal casements with diamond panes, typically of two lights. Each dwelling is lit by a central gabled dormer containing two two-light windows, which illuminates a vestibule below. Each vestibule entrance is marked by a plank door set under a four-centred stone arch.

The chapel features a coped gable facing the quadrangle and contains a large window of five trefoiled lights with vertical traceried head. Below this is a plank entrance doorway under a four-centred arch within a square head. A bellcote crowns the ridge.

The entrance front facing the road is symmetrical. The centre gable contains the main entrance beneath a four-centred head set under a square containing moulding and label. Above this lies the former Chaplain's rooms, now adapted as a meeting room, with a window on either side of a segmental-headed niche containing a carved figure of William Goddard. Above the niche is a two-light window lighting a now-disused attic. Below the niche sits a stone tablet dated 1627 with an inscription. On either side of the tablet and below the windows are two stones: one bearing the arms of the Fishmongers' Company, the other displaying Goddard's arms.

Within the open entrance passage, against the north wall, stands an iron-bound alms post surmounted by a tablet inscribed "Hee that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord" and dated 1638. On either side of the central gable is a section of one and a half storeys, with the upper level faced in tiling and each level containing a two-light window. A chimney abuts the gabled section on each side. Beyond these are single-storey almshouses, each with four two-light windows and two chimneys.

The chapel interior comprises a four-bay nave and chancel separated by a fine Jacobean screen. The central opening is round-headed with spandrels carved with scrolls within a square architrave. The upper part is divided on either side into four small round-headed openings carried on flat balusters with shaped brackets, supporting a moulded cornice. The west window to the chancel is of five trefoiled lights with elaborate tracery under a pointed head. On either side are windows of three cinquefoiled lights with tracery under four-centred heads. The roof consists of four framed bays of queen post trusses with moulded caps and bases to the posts; double purlins with moulded, arch-braced collars feature quatrefoils in the spandrels.

The quadrangle, including its centre sundial and the chapel front, is depicted in the famous painting "The Harbour of Refuge" by Frederick Walker, ARA, which hangs in the Tate Gallery.