The Mediæval Hospitals of England by Rotha Mary Clay
2. FIRING AND LIGHTS
243 words | Chapter 76
The wood necessary for firing was collected from the vicinity by
permission of the manorial lord. In Henry III’s charter to St. John’s,
Oxford (1234), he granted wood from Shotover “to cook the portions
of the poor and to warm the poor themselves.” He also permitted the
gathering of faggots for St. John’s, Marlborough, one [p172] man going
daily for dry and dead wood “to collect as much as he can with his
hands only without any iron tool or axe, and to carry the same to the
hospital on his back for their hearth.” Early rolls record constant
grants of firewood. St. Leonard’s, York, was supplied with turves from
Helsington Moor.
The supply of fuel was regulated by the calendar. A benefactor (_circa_
1180) granted to the lepers of St. Sepulchre’s near Gloucester, a load
of firewood “such as a horse can carry” daily from November 1 to May
3, and thrice a week for the rest of the year. From Michaelmas to All
Saints, the lepers of Sherburn—unconscious of the coalfield all around
them—had for their eight fires two baskets of peat daily, after which
until Easter four baskets were supplied; on festivals extra fuel was
given, and at Christmas great logs were specially provided. Finally it
was directed that:—“if any leprous brother or sister shall be ill so
that his life is despaired of, he shall have fire and light and all
things needful until he amend or pass away.”
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