Almshouses And Chapel Of St Mary Magdalene'S Hospital

The Almshouses and Chapel of St Mary Magdalene’s Hospital date primarily from the late medieval period. Founded before 1322 to provide housing for ten poor men, the site originally included a great hall. The chapel, the east wall and gable of the hall, and a bellcote survive from the original layout, with the chapel initially opening from the east end of the hall. Following the Dissolution, the roof of the hall was believed to have been removed, and two rows of small houses were constructed facing a narrow central passage. Only the north range remains, accessed from the street through an arch at the east end.

This range comprises five houses, arranged over two storeys. The construction is of random rubble with a slate roof. A chimney stack is located at the west end. The range has five windows—paired wooden casements to the left and paired mullioned windows to the right. Five doorways are present, two of which have been blocked, and all feature arched heads with plain wooden doors.

The chapel is primarily in the Perpendicular style, featuring a single blocked lancet window in the east wall. It has a slate roof with a lower pitch and small, three-light windows with rectangular hoodmoulds. The interior contains a piscina and a boarded roof decorated with paterae. A pointed west arch provides access with double wooden doors.