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The Commandery
The Commandery is a historic building open to visitors and located in the city of Worcester, England. It opened as a museum in 1977 and was for a while the only museum in England dedicated solely to the Civil Wars. The Commandery ceased to be a Civil War museum when it reopened to the public in May 2007, having undergone a year and a half of refurbishments and reinterpretation jointly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Worcester City Council, who own the Grade I listed building.
The first building on the Commandery site was the Hospital of St. Wulfstan, which was constructed around 1085 on the orders of Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester (later Saint Wulfstan) as a hospital or almshouse (today a hospice) for the terminally ill, the destitute and pilgrims; it was built around the site of the Chapel of St. Gudwal, which had existed there since the 950s. The institution was then probably renamed during the early 13th century to mark the canonisation of St. Wulfstan, which occurred in 1203.
The first written record of the building is in "The Miracles of St. Wulfstan", which were compiled in 1240. This collection of stories refers to a Thomas of Eldersfield who was blinded and castrated after losing a judicial duel. According to the story, Thomas was cared for at the Hospital of St. Wulfstan by Ysabel [sic] a lay sister that took pity on him. Thomas went on to make a miraculous recovery, having both his sight and manhood restored by a miracle of St. Wulfstan. The basic facts of this story appear to be true, as the legal case definitely went before the royal justices in 1221, meaning this would suggest that the hospital was certainly in existence at that point and is nearer the suggested 12th century dating of the buildings.
The first known master of the Hospital of St Wulfstan was Walter de Wredens, and he had fought in the Crusades under the banner of either the Knights Templar or the Knights Hospitaler prior to his appointment at the hospital; Walter de Wredens was the master of the hospital until he died around 1290.
A record of the acceptance of a benefaction from one William de Molendiniis records that in 1294 there were 22 people in the infirmary, all described as "sick". By the end of the 14th century, the hospital's work appears to have altered, with several records from the 1390s showing that the hospital was granting corrodies, that is, granting people shelter and sustenance for life in return for their property (analogous to purchasing an annuity for a lump sum). Another case, from 1403, refers to Ralph and Alicia Symondes, who were granted a house and money, rather than a place in the hospital, in return for their assets. This particular example highlights that by the 15th century the Hospital of St Wulfstan had become less a charitable care home for the elderly and infirm, but rather a profitable business.
By 1441, the ethics of this practice had been called into question, and Bishop Bourchier of Worcester reformed the hospital, banning the granting of corrodies. Bourchier restricted the hospital's activities to handing out a weekly dole of bread to the poor and caring for the sick inmates. He also reorganised the hospital's management structure, appointing a master, two chaplains, five brethren and two sisters. This structure remained in place until the hospital was dissolved in 1540.
The Hospital of St. Wulfstan was rebuilt around 1460 to 1470, and the current roof of the great hall dates to 1491, with the current hall range dating to the 15th century rebuild. The plan of this rebuild may have seen the building built around two courtyards, and among the rooms dating to the 15th century include a "painted chamber" showing religious figures including Catholic saints which were believed to have been made around 1475 to 1490 in what may have been a specially painted chamber for the dying where ill patients could come to pray, with the pictures showing the life to come.
The Hospital of St. Wulfstan and the Chapel of St. Gudwal were purchased by Richard Morysyne in 1539 and were then dissolved by Henry VIII in 1540 as one of the last monastic buildings to be dissolved across England; the hospital building was repurposed into a residential building, while the chapel was stripped of its valuables and left in ruin. Richard Morysyne, who was a gentleman of the Royal Privy Chamber and the last master of the hospital, seems to have been appointed specifically to wind up the affairs of the hospital. What happened after 1540 is debated. One theory suggests that Richard Morysyne profited greatly from the hospital's dissolution, being granted it for the relatively small sum of £14, while the other theory states that Morysyne surrendered the hospital, by this time known as the Commandery, to the King who then donated it to Christ Church, Oxford.
Hub AI
The Commandery AI simulator
(@The Commandery_simulator)
The Commandery
The Commandery is a historic building open to visitors and located in the city of Worcester, England. It opened as a museum in 1977 and was for a while the only museum in England dedicated solely to the Civil Wars. The Commandery ceased to be a Civil War museum when it reopened to the public in May 2007, having undergone a year and a half of refurbishments and reinterpretation jointly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Worcester City Council, who own the Grade I listed building.
The first building on the Commandery site was the Hospital of St. Wulfstan, which was constructed around 1085 on the orders of Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester (later Saint Wulfstan) as a hospital or almshouse (today a hospice) for the terminally ill, the destitute and pilgrims; it was built around the site of the Chapel of St. Gudwal, which had existed there since the 950s. The institution was then probably renamed during the early 13th century to mark the canonisation of St. Wulfstan, which occurred in 1203.
The first written record of the building is in "The Miracles of St. Wulfstan", which were compiled in 1240. This collection of stories refers to a Thomas of Eldersfield who was blinded and castrated after losing a judicial duel. According to the story, Thomas was cared for at the Hospital of St. Wulfstan by Ysabel [sic] a lay sister that took pity on him. Thomas went on to make a miraculous recovery, having both his sight and manhood restored by a miracle of St. Wulfstan. The basic facts of this story appear to be true, as the legal case definitely went before the royal justices in 1221, meaning this would suggest that the hospital was certainly in existence at that point and is nearer the suggested 12th century dating of the buildings.
The first known master of the Hospital of St Wulfstan was Walter de Wredens, and he had fought in the Crusades under the banner of either the Knights Templar or the Knights Hospitaler prior to his appointment at the hospital; Walter de Wredens was the master of the hospital until he died around 1290.
A record of the acceptance of a benefaction from one William de Molendiniis records that in 1294 there were 22 people in the infirmary, all described as "sick". By the end of the 14th century, the hospital's work appears to have altered, with several records from the 1390s showing that the hospital was granting corrodies, that is, granting people shelter and sustenance for life in return for their property (analogous to purchasing an annuity for a lump sum). Another case, from 1403, refers to Ralph and Alicia Symondes, who were granted a house and money, rather than a place in the hospital, in return for their assets. This particular example highlights that by the 15th century the Hospital of St Wulfstan had become less a charitable care home for the elderly and infirm, but rather a profitable business.
By 1441, the ethics of this practice had been called into question, and Bishop Bourchier of Worcester reformed the hospital, banning the granting of corrodies. Bourchier restricted the hospital's activities to handing out a weekly dole of bread to the poor and caring for the sick inmates. He also reorganised the hospital's management structure, appointing a master, two chaplains, five brethren and two sisters. This structure remained in place until the hospital was dissolved in 1540.
The Hospital of St. Wulfstan was rebuilt around 1460 to 1470, and the current roof of the great hall dates to 1491, with the current hall range dating to the 15th century rebuild. The plan of this rebuild may have seen the building built around two courtyards, and among the rooms dating to the 15th century include a "painted chamber" showing religious figures including Catholic saints which were believed to have been made around 1475 to 1490 in what may have been a specially painted chamber for the dying where ill patients could come to pray, with the pictures showing the life to come.
The Hospital of St. Wulfstan and the Chapel of St. Gudwal were purchased by Richard Morysyne in 1539 and were then dissolved by Henry VIII in 1540 as one of the last monastic buildings to be dissolved across England; the hospital building was repurposed into a residential building, while the chapel was stripped of its valuables and left in ruin. Richard Morysyne, who was a gentleman of the Royal Privy Chamber and the last master of the hospital, seems to have been appointed specifically to wind up the affairs of the hospital. What happened after 1540 is debated. One theory suggests that Richard Morysyne profited greatly from the hospital's dissolution, being granted it for the relatively small sum of £14, while the other theory states that Morysyne surrendered the hospital, by this time known as the Commandery, to the King who then donated it to Christ Church, Oxford.