Leprosy in England
Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
I used to travel to Canterbury occasionally when I lived in Kent. I was always intrigued by the sight of the Leper Hospital in Harbledown, just outside the city.
St Nicholas’ Hospital is on the old main London road, which was once England’s chief pilgrimage route. Chaucer’s fictional pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales (written between 1387-1340) would have journeyed along this road, as would other travellers. Leper hospitals were located on main roads in order that inmates could beg for alms from passers-by, in exchange offering prayers for their souls.
St Nicholas’ Hospital was founded by Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury in 1084-5, not long after the Norman Conquest in 1066. It is thought to be England’s first Leper Hospital.
Today leprosy is known as Hansen’s Disease. It is a chronic infectious disease, caused by a bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae, and affects the skin, peripheral nerves, the mucous membranes of the nose and mouth and the eyes. It is transmitted through prolonged contact over months with a sufferer but is easily treated and cured with multi-drug treatment that lasts between six and twelve months. It cannot be spread through casual contact, for example, by shaking hands or having a meal with someone.
It still occurs in over 120 countries, but the majority of new cases recorded annually are from South-East Asia.
It emerged in England in the 4th century AD, possibly brought in by Viking traders, and was a commonplace feature of life by 1050. It affected people of all walks of life in town and country. People understood that it was contagious but did not know how it was contracted so sufferers were shunned from society. They had to wear distinctive clothing and carry a bell or clapper to announce their approach. (In Biblical times, lepers had to cover their mouth and call out ‘unclean, unclean’.)
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In mediaeval England, some saw the ravages of the disease as a punishment from God while others believed it was similar to the suffering of Christ and was a living Purgatory, and that the afflicted would go straight to Heaven. In its advanced stage, leprosy led to gangrene, blindness, collapse of the nose, muscle paralysis and general weakening of the skeleton.
In the leper or lazar hospitals lazars were treated respectfully. Those who looked after them - the monks and the Church - or made charitable donations towards their care thought that such good works would reduce their own time in Purgatory.
Most hospitals consisted of cottages built around a separate chapel, for the care of the lepers was spiritual as well as physical. Much attention was paid to good food and cleanliness and many establishments had gardens of flowers and herbs in which the inmates worked. Gradually, the incidence of leprosy abated, declining from the 15th century, perhaps due to increased immunity in the general population, and the leper hospitals became almshouses for the poor.
St Nicholas’ Hospital is now an almshouse, providing sheltered accommodation for elderly people.
