Hospitality : How it worked at St Albans Abbey

This is a developing post. Here is my present take but I hope to revise it in the future.

Facilities for visitors in our Norman Abbey of St Albans soon developed due to Royal patronage, the need to accommodate pilgrims to the shrine of the  Proto Martyr, St.Alban, and as the first one day stopping point north of London. We also gained a good reputation for our hospitality and all this added to our popularity. The dilemma became : where should charity and hospitality part? More visitors led to increased financial burdens, administrative headaches, and noisy disruptions to the daily liturgy. Hospitality was a central part of Benedictine life at our Abbey. The ability to travel and be a guest here was dependent on social status. Those who were not freemen would have to seek permission from their lord to  make a visit. Travelling on foot was very slow and arduous. The more wealthy would travel by horse and might have servants. The reasons for visiting centred on pilgrimage. It might be as an act of contrition to make up for sins ; to give special thanks for a happy event ; to ask for healing of some ailment ; to appeal for help for someone or just to experience the sight of the great abbey and its shrine. 

Site of the Guest Houses and Abbot's Lodging

The Guest Houses

We believe provision for guests was made  by the Norman abbots with the rebuilding of the  Abbey. The interest shown by the Royal family  led Abbot Geoffrey de Gorham (1119-46) to build a large noble hall for the most important guests It had a double roof and a chamber for the Queen alongside. This was highly unusual. Possibly King Stephen and later King Henry II stayed in this Hall. The Queen’s Chamber could have been for Queen Adelaide or Queen Matilda. Later on other monasteries had quarters for a Queen. Ely had a notable example by 1250.

Abbot John de Hertford (1235-63) rebuilt Geoffrey’s Hall  on the same site, as it had become unfit for purpose. This rebuild has been described as a palace (palatium) with its two storeys, adjoining bedrooms, chapel,  fireplaces, chimneys, antechamber and vestibule. It had an undercroft and a lead roof  There were superb internal paintings by Brother Richard. The exact site and orientation of this 'palace' is not certain. On the painting it is shown west to east at 90 degrees to the other Guest House blocks. It may have been north south  and situated at the southern end of the these blocks. Insufficient excavation prevents a clear picture of its exact position. I will be looking at examples of other halls built at the same time to try to get a better idea of what it may have looked like. I know from having spoken to Joan Freeman that she based the monastic buildings in her painting (see above) on examples in other monasteries, and not solely on archaeological evidence - because there isn't enough!

Site of the Guest Houses

Abbot John de Hertford (1235-63) also built a new major Guest House for the nobler guests on the east side of the Great Court. Little is known about this major Guest House, usually referred to as the South Guest House. It is where most guests who arrived by horse would have slept and been fed. 

In the second half of the 14^th century Thomas de la Mare had a North Guest House erected between the South Guest House and the south wall of the Church. It is not known whether there had been a building here before. This was presumably built to supplement the space offered in the South Guest House.

Interestingly Mayor Robert Shrimpton is said to remember (in the 16th century)"in the Abbey "there was a large Roome having Beds, set on either side for the receipt of Strangers and Pilgrims where they had Lodging and Diet for three days without question whence they came or whether they went, but after that time they stayed not without rendring an Account of both," 

Where this Roome was is unclear and its availability to all and sundry is also surprising.

The Abbot’s lodging was also used for receiving  important guests. It was Abbot Roger de Gorham who first built separate quarters attached to the southwest corner of the nave. It was renovated by Roger de Norton and John Moot and finally rebuilt by Thomas de la Mare.(1346-1396). John Moot (1396-1401) also built a necessarium (toilet)south of the lodging. I believe this was for the Abbot's lodging and there would have been separate toilets for the 'palatium' and Guest Houses described above.

The above summary is the conclusion from the incomplete 1889 archaeological evidence. In 1976 an aerial photo suggests the two Guest Houses in line at 90 degrees to the southwest end of the church as on the painting and another building set back which could be the rebuilt 'palatium'. The orientation of the latter is unclear.  During the Pandemic I often walked in the Orchard and several times stumbled over what seemed to be remains of the Guest House walls. Let's hope for another dig one day.

There was also a “Black Hostelry” for visiting Benedictines and a hospice for friars. The latter was built just before 1247. It surprises me because there was no mendicant  presence (Franciscan or Dominican) at St Albans and it seems that the Abbey made sure of this – perhaps by giving them hospice space? The Black Hostelry was in a three sided cloister with small garden built by Abbot William (1214-35). The exact location is unknown.

Site of the south side building on the Great Court

Abbot John de Hertford (1235-63) also built a long two storeyed stone building on the south side of the Great Court  opposite the earlier Great Gate which I suggest could have been used by the servants of the main guests or by the lay brothers of the Abbey or a limited number of the poor. There is  no archaeological evidence except for “some traces of old foundations” on Newcome’s sketch 1793 plan. It probably joined onto the Water Gate  and could have been on the site of the present Monastery Close.

Stables

These were along the west wall of the Great Court and according to Matthew Paris in 1252 could hold 300 horses.The Great Court must have been a very busy place! .

 Accommodation outside the Abbey

Guests seeking accommodation would have been received somewhere inside the Great Court, most probably by the Porter. and screened according to their requirements, status and what was available in the Abbey at that time. Pilgrims or persons on foot would likely not be accepted. The almonry situated by the Great Gateway might have  provided for some casual meals for those in need and might also have played a part in the reception of guests.  In some monasteries elsewhere  there was some provision every day for poorer people or pilgrims. This may have occurred here too  but most pilgrims were  referred to a nearby hostel or inns outside the precinct. The earliest of these may have offered free accommodation to pilgrims but it would likely have been in a hall sleeping together. The better inns would likely have required payment and I expect this got more expensive over the centuries up to the Dissolution. 

These hostels were  along the present George Street (then called Church Street) leading up to the Market Cross and later on developed down Holywell Hill, Some of these may have been founded by the Abbey or have financial links with them. We cannot prove that the Abbey actually caused any of them to be built. 

Abbot John's hostel today. Original front would include toilet block on left and The Bride shop

Abbot John de Hertford (1235-63)seems to have acquired a house on the corner of Spicer Street and George Street ffor use as  a guest house. It became known as the Tabard in 1545.Pilgrims may have been able to stay here free for a day and a night. It is the earliest recorded Inn in St Albans. Later it became known as the Antelope. 

The Tabard/Antelope

Unfortunately most of it was demolished in the 19^th century. There is a rear view showing a gallery of 14^th/15^th century date. Some local residents will remember it in the late 20th century as a shop called  the Tabard. Today it is a Wedding shop. At the rear of the shop is a tiny yard with what appears to be the remains of a well. With vivid imagination it may be possible to think of the original layout of the yard ...see belo

Tabard/Antelope rear  today

Tabard/Antelope rear today

Remnant of well behind Tabard/Antelope?

The George today

At the top of George Street in 1446 the George (then called the George upon the Hupe) belonged to Sopwell Nunnery. It was leased to John Duke of Exeter for 6 shillings a year. In 1484  a licence was granted by the Abbot to allow Low Mass to be celebrated there for the “benefit of such great men and nobles and others as should be lodged at the inn”.

Thai Tavern (Tudor Tavern/ Swan)

The present Thai Tavern (which I remember fondly as the Tudor Tavern and known in the 15th century as the Swan)) also belonged to Sopwell Nunnery.in the 1440s. The oldest part overhanging the street dates from about 1400 and there is an original style window upstairs.

The original style window

The Lyon, next to the Market Cross also belonged to Sopwell in the 1440s and was rebuilt by Abbot Wolsey and Professor James Clark reckons it was used by Wolsey’s visitors as well as wealthy pilgrims and visitors. Another Inn called the Pecock  paid its rent in 1506 to St Julian’s Hospital (on the site of my church : St Battholomew!)see earlier post..

Finally the White Hart Hotel  was probably a guest house for the nearby Abbey. In 1535 it was known as the Hartshorn and was being leased by the Abbot of St Albans to John and Elizabeth Broke (or Brooke).

The White Hart today

The Abbey could not deal with all guests so it was logical that it would seek to facilitate pilgrims and travellers outside the precinct. Helping such facilities to start and develop could brought income. Sopwell seems to have discovered that and it is possible that the Abbey did not also do so.

Selective sources

Kerr, J. Monastic hospitality : the Benedictines in England c1070-c1250 (Woodbridge,2007)

Mortimer, I. The Time-traveller's guide to Medieval England. (London, 2009)

Niblett. R. and Thompson, I. Alban's buried towns : an assessment of St Albans archaeology up to AD 1600. (2005)

 

Shrimpton, J. ed. by C.I.A. Ritchie The antiquities of Verulam and St Albans. (St Albans, 1966)

Many thanks also to Judy Fingland of the St Albans Cathedral Guides and Jon Mein of St  Albans and Hertfordshire Architectural and Archaeological Society)

Hospitality - how it worked

 

Hospitality was for Benedictines and Cistercians a central part of their duty and service to God. This could be for the sick, the pilgrim, travelling nobility, the King, or fellow monks.. What had started as a simple duty  might increasingly require a development of their infrastructure : buildings, officials and support staff. How did this work?

The Welcome  -Benedictine

How to welcome  a guest was included in the Rule of St Benedict. It should be enthusiastic and cheerful. There were basic procedures which would vary according to the size of the convent , its community and accommodation, and the status and requirements of the guest. At the point of entry  a  porter or other official would say “Deo gratias” and the visitor might then be greeted by a superior, who would bow to him, and then  pray with him. Distinguished guests might be welcomed by the Abbot or Prior or even the whole community. In 1182 at Bury for Abbot Samson’s installation guests were met with singing, bells and sound of an organ. There would be an opportunity to find out the reason for the visit, whether the guest had horses and servants. whether they required dinner. The guest might then be led away for prayer and have a reading said to him. If the community were not reciting the Office he might be taken into the church for prayer. Otherwise prayer was said in the vestry. He might then receive foot washing in the cloister and be greeted by the Guest Master, who would lead him to the Guest House. Only the Guest Master was supposed to speak to the guest. Originally the Rule had recommended the foot washing (and hand washing too by the abbot) but as hospitality grew this became impractical, without disrupting the monastic offices and the running of the convent. The Guest Master had to ensure the guest chambers were kept ready, clean and that the tablecloths, napkins, bed clothes were sweet and clean. At Bury the split between guests for the Abbot or the convent became more accentuated. It became more than one person’s job here and at other larger convents. Disputes could arise over who was to stand in for the Abbot when he was away.

To get the atmosphere of a Guest House I recommend this post from the Abingdon Blog. It shows the interior of this surviving Guest House. 

West guest house, Fountains Abbey
(Matt Cormack CC BY-NC 2.0)

The Welcome - Cistercian

In Cistercian houses the porter was not a layman and this monk was excused his canonical duties to act as the welcomer. He would say “Benedictus” and find out the reason for the visit, and explain the expected rules of behaviour. The guest might receive the kiss of peace and be sprinkled with holy water and led to the Guest House where he would meet the Guest Master. The latter decided where he will sleep and be served. Also he might arrange foot washing. The Guest Houses at Fountains Abbey built in the 1160s were the furthest separate buildings from the Church and had fireplaces, latrines and rose windows. It seems that a tour of the whole convent was not given at Fountains (contrary to Benedictine practice) because Cistercians generally wanted to keep visitors away from the inmates. When the guest facilities were renovated in the 14th century a new two storey Guest Hall was built. Servants were housed in different quarters to their master. 

(Interior of guest wing, Fountains Abbey Damian
Entwistle CC BY-NC 2.0)

At Beaulieu the accounts from 1270 help to show how it worked ; nobles, ecclesiastics and distinguished guests were entertained in the Guest House; 'decent' travellers of lesser rank who came in the morning stayed only to eat, and those after lunch to stay the night. The porter could select up to 13 poor people to stay the night. At Christmas time as many poor people as there were monks ibn the convenr could stay from Christmas Eve until after dinner on Boxing Day. Apparently provision was made for feeding women relatives but we do not know where they ate. 

Some monasteries could not always hope to accommodate all demands for hospitality. The poorer visitors would stay in the local town or village, perhaps with friends or relations. They might use a hostel provided by the monastery which provided limited free accommodation or use an inn, if they could afford it. 

 Food -  Benedictine and Cistercian

Visitors to Cistercian houses were  limited to the normal Cistercian food with no meat until after 1335.In Benedictine houses distinguished guests would have had meat in the 13th century. As guests were graded and given varying accommodation, so too would the food and drink have varied. This applied to both Benedictine and Cistercian  establishments. Types of bread served differed according to status. Only distinguished guests dining with the Abbot would have wine. Herrings were the most common fish served to all. More exotic fish would be reserved for the Abbot’s guests. 

Problems

The cost of hospitality could be heavy. At Beaulieu during the year 1270 guests consumed 12,500 loaves of hospice bread and 7500 of better convent bread, along with 8640 gallons of good beer, 6000 of mixed beer, hundreds of thousands of herrings,1600 mackerel and 850 hake! Various methods of redress might be tried : for example, Cistercian houses sometimes received permission to not to receive guests for a limited period.

It was good practice to watch that guests did not “accidentally” take away convent property.  A Prior at Dover complained of strangers “who were such wasteful destroyers that it is impossible to keep things in order…such noxious…followers, that packed up tablecloths, napkins, sheets and coverpanes and such things as they could lay hold of”. King John stayed at Bury for 10 days with his retinue and  left 13 pence and a silk cloth he had purloined from the sacrist for which he had  forgotten to pay.

Behaviour of guests could be problematic and Lanfranc in his rules enjoined the Guest master to prevent the wearing of riding boots, spurs or just drawers (!) in the cloister. It was all about avoiding disruption to the quiet atmosphere and rhythm of the liturgy.

Some sources

Bond, J. Monastic landscapes (Stroud, 2004)

Bottomley, F. Abbey explorer’s guide (Otley, 1995)

Braun, H. English abbeys {London, 1971)

Clark, J.G. Benedictines in the Middle Ages (Woodridge, 2011)

Cook, G.H. English monasteries in the Middle Ages (London, 1961)

Crossley, F.H. The English abbey 3^rd ed, (London,1949)

Greene, J.P. Medieval monasteries. (Leicester, 1992

Kerr, J. Monastic hospitality : the Benedictines in England c1070-c1250 (Woodbridge,2007)

Kerr, J. Life in the Medieval cloister (London, 2009)

Knowles, D. Religious Orders in England vol 1-3 (Cambridge, 2008)

Parry, A. ed. Rule of St Benedict (Leominster, 1990)

Rosewell, R The Medieval monastery (Oxford, 2011)

Williams, D.H. The Cistercians in the early Middle Ages (1998)

Hospitality : an introduction

Model of Castle Acre Priory

 "All who arrive as guests are to be welcomed like Christ, for he is going to say 'I was a stranger and you welcomed me'" (Rule of St Benedict chapter 53). Hospitality was an essential part of Benedictine monastic life.Their practice was to become the foundation of  hospitality in the Middle Ages. In this post we will look at what this meant in principle  to both Benedictines and other orders and then explore in future posts the detail and how it worked, especially at St Albans.

There was a Benedictine duty to provide bed and board for travellers, pilgrims, war sufferers, relations of the inmates, fellow monastics  etc. Usually this was limited to two days bed and board, unless extended by the abbot or prior. Doors were closed to visitors after Compline. Demand varied according to the geographical position of the house and whether it was a pilgrimage site. Birkenhead Priory was by the ferry from Liverpool to the Wirral and always had guests. St Albans was unfortunate in being a day's journey from London and housing the shrine of  Alban, the Protomartyr. Think of it as the first Premier Inn north out of London. The stream of pilgrims must have affected the privacy and practice of monastic life here. Reputations travelled and some places gained a bad reputation : Crowland was one of these and the old rhyme said "Crowland, the courteous of their meat and drink, the beds are like stones, they break a man's bones". Smaller houses had limited accommodation while larger ones like St Albans and Bury had large blocks. Hospitality was always limited to men. Nunneries would be able to provide some accommodation for women. Provision for Royal female guests was rare. As we shall see Abbot Geoffrey (1119-46)built a special chamber for the Queen and her servants at St Albans. Otherwise women guests would have been referred to local inns which were outside the grounds of the abbey or priory. 

Cistercian houses were often in remote locations and this affected demands made upon them. The duty of hospitality does not seem to have been so strong initially and the houses were never open to all and sundry. There was no distinction between the abbot's guests and those of the convent, as in Benedictine houses.  . Later many houses developed large complexes of accommodation for guests. e.g. Fountains in Yorkshire developed two guest houses (the first from 1148) a good distance from the main cloister. Cistercians wanted to keep visitors well away from the monastic community. Both guest houses had two storeys with the upper floors as dormitories. Women were excluded but there may have been some sort of accommodation for them outside the Abbey gates. Fellow Cistercians from outside, on the other hand, were lodged in the main cloister with the Fountains community.   

In contrast to the  Benedictine idea of helping their spiritual passage by hospitality Carthusians thought salvation  came thorough contemplation and seclusion. Hospitality would be an incumbrance and their hospitality  appeared grudging. The mendicant orders (Franciscans, Dominicans)were more concerned with going out into the  community and when they no longer begged for their own accommodation and built convents these did not consider guest accommodation as important.

The differing types of guests and increasing demand began to require different kinds of  treatment. Larger houses like St Albans and Bury would get visits from the King and his retinue. Perhaps the larger monasteries were the only places fit for a King and his retinue. Reading and Westminster were popular for state meetings. Meetings likely occurred in the Chapter Houses. Visits by the King might require the whole place to be made available as far as possible. For example when Henry VI visited Bury at Christmas 1453 no less than 80 workmen had been involved several months in making it like palace for him. He stayed until Easter the next year!  Richard II held a Parliament at Gloucester, and was entertained at Tewkesbury and Gloucester in turn. Humphrey Duke of Gloucester was at S Albans Christmas 1423 for two weeks with some 300 followers. This must have been noisy, disruptive and possibly riotous with unseemly behaviour  by some of the retainers, apart from the expense.

Then there might be large numbers of pilgrims. Fellow visiting monks also made up quite a significant number. Therefore houses found they had to vet requests to visit. Patrons of an abbey were guaranteed a place.  Important visitors  would stay with the Abbot in or near his accommodation or a whole new block might be built as at St Albans. The famous waterworks plan of Christchurch Canterbury in the mid 12th century shows the prior's lodging to the northeast of the church where the important guests would go, the domus hospitum to the northwest of the cloister where cellarer and Guest Master would meet the middling  guests, and the aula nova in the northwest corner of the precinct where guests on foot would go.  Beaulieu had a system of grading guests at the gatehouse. When monasteries were full for the night they would refer guests to local hostels. These might have been built or bought by the Abbey. 

It is usually difficult to prove this but there are some good examples. There were several at Gloucester and the  New Inn there was built by John Twyning, a monk  for guests at St Peter's Priory (now Gloucester Cathedral). It is today the most complete medieval courtyard galleried inn in the country. We stayed the night there in July 2023. The  photos below show its size and complexity. Originally the two upper floors each had 20 chambers and the whole building could have accommodated about 200 guests. The large frontage was likely used for shops. Strangely the same is true today. Unfortunately it is a computer shop which seems slightly incongruous! The hotel has gone through difficult times lately and was up for sale. I hope it gets a good buyer and the fabric is looked after. It is a precious relic of the past.

 

The Angel and Royal at Grantham (see below)was a hostel originally built by the Knights Templar in 1203. The 14th century  gateway section still stands as the central facade of the Angel and Royal Hotel. It was not unusual for the funding of hostels at pilgrimage centres to be connected to  the local priory or abbey. In a later post we will be examining how this worked at St Albans. 

The Angel and Royal at Grantham

Abingdon Abbey owned a large number of properties in Oxford (25 in 1349) and some of these acted as inns. Glastonbury had the George and Pilgrims' Inn with its accomodation in a block facing the street. This was likely rebuilt in the time of Abbot John Selwood and Edward IV (1461-83). New tenants bought the lease from the Abbey in 1473 for £7/6/8  and an annual rent of 12d.

George and Pilgrims at Glastonbury

There could be benefits to hospitality. Guests were supposed to give an offering. Not all guests were generous and famously King John stayed at Bury for 10 days and gave only 13 pence and a silk cloth. Hospitality became an expensive business.. It could be a great way of getting sponsorship, acquiring land from a patron but patrons could demand favours. In 1279 Thetford had major financial problems when its patron, the brother of the Earl Marshal, stayed there with his retinue and its cost was in excess of all the resident monks.

Some sources

Bond, J. Monastic landscapes (Stroud, 2004)

Bottomley, F. Abbey explorer’s guide (Otley, 1995)

Braun, H. English abbeys {London, 1971)

Clark, J.G. Benedictines in the Middle Ages (Woodridge, 2011)

Cook, G.H. English monasteries in the Middle Ages (London, 1961)

Crossley, F.H. The English abbey 3^rd ed, (London,1949)

Kerr, J. Life in the Medieval cloister (London, 2009)

Knowles, D. ReligiousOrders in England vol 1-3 (Cambridge, 2008)

Parry, A. ed. Rule of St Benedict (Leominster, 1990)

Rosewell, R The Medieval monastery (Oxford, 2011)

Williams, D.H. The Cistercians in the early Middle Ages (1998)