Small tower in hospital of St. James by Westminster (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of City Of Westminster.
In the historic county of London and Middlesex.
Modern Authority of London Borough of Westminster.
1974 county of Greater London.
Medieval County of Middlesex.

OS Map Grid Reference: TQ29358004
Latitude 51.50472° Longitude -0.13792°

Small tower in hospital of St. James by Westminster has been described as a probable Fortified Town House.

There are no visible remains.

This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*.

Description

The patent rolls record, dated 20 Feb 1379 a "pardon to Thomas Orgrave, clerk, master of the hospital of St. James by Westminster, for crenellating without licence a small tower therein for the security of its ornaments." The term 'pardon' does not mean any wrong doing had occurred other than perhaps a breach of etiquette possibly that of making an application for licence after construction was finished.
Hospital founded before 1189 for 13 leprous women, and 8 brethren, first documented during C12. The brothers and sisters were in separate houses, and followed the Austin rule. It was demolished in 1531 for the construction of St James's Palace. Excavations in 1925 and 1990 have located burials and parts of the hospital including a possible chapel.

"The hospital of St. James for leprous women, situated west of Charing, in the parish of St. Margaret's, Westminster ... The Black Death carried off the warden and all the brothers and sisters except William de Weston, who, in May, 1349, was made master, but in 1351 was deposed for wasting the goods of the hospital. It is said that in 1353 the house was without inmates, and the place appears to have been in much the same condition in 1384, when Thomas Orgrave, the master, with the consent of the treasurer, let to Elizabeth Lady le Despenser for her life, at a rent of 10 marks, practically the whole hospital, viz., the houses within the gate in front of the door of the principal hall, the hall with the upper and lower chambers at each end, the stone tower, the chamber over the entrance, the kitchen and bakery, the houses assigned to the master, and all the gardens and ground within the precincts. It is possible that the hospital was in need of funds just then, since a papal relaxation granted in 1393 indicates that the chapel was being rebuilt, but money would hardly have been raised by a lease of the building of the hospital, if the inmates for whom the rooms were intended had been there to use them." (VCH)

A royal pardon and licence to crenellate was granted in 1379 Feb 20 (Click on the date for details of this licence.).

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1264851
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 611255.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 081278/00/00.

Books
- Baker, T., 1970, Medieval London p. 67-8
  RCHME, 1925, Inventory of Historic Monuments in London Vol. 2: West London (HMSO) p. 130 online transcription
  Reddan, M., 1909, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH London Vol. 1 p. 542-6 (history of the hospital) online transcription
  
  (see also bibliography for St James Palace)
Periodical Articles
- Davis, Philip, 2010-11, 'Crenellated town houses in Medieval England' Castle Studies Group Journal Vol. 24 p. 270-91
  Barrett, M., 1991, 'Marlbomugh House, Pall Mall' London Archaeologist Vol. 6.11 p. 308 (excavation note) online copy
  Coulson, C., 1982, 'Hierarchism in Conventual Crenellation: An Essay in the Sociology and Metaphysics of Medieval Fortification' Medieval Archaeology Vol. 26 p. 69-100 see online copy
  Honeybourne, M.B., 1967, 'The Leper Hospitals of the London Area: with an Apeendix on some other mediaeval hospital of Middlesex' Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society Vol. 21 p. 1-62 esp 5, 54 download copy
  Blakiston, N., 1959, 'The London and Middlesex Estates of Eton College' Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society Vol. 20 p. 51-5 download copy
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1895, Calendar of Patent Rolls Richard II (1377-81) Vol. 1 p. 325 online copy

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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