You Can Visit The Hospital
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Parking is not easy at this hospital so it is better to go by bus. Bluestar route 1 from Winchester bus station is ideal and you would alight here at the Bell Inn ...
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Semantically the word "hospital" is associated with hospitality, hostel, hostelry, hospice and hotel. It was a place where guests could obtain repose and refreshment.
This place of repose and refreshment is "The Hospital of St Cross and Almshouses of Noble Poverty" and may well be the oldest such institution in the UK. And, boy, it is splendid.
Legend has it that Henry of Blois, a grandson of William the Conqueror ...
... was walking in the Itchen Meadows. He was supposedly stopped by a young peasant girl who begged Henry to help her people, who were starving because of the civil war. A little further along the river, he discovered the ruins of a religious house, he resolved to use the site to establish a new community to help the poor. How much of this is fact is unclear, but we do know that Henry of Blois was young, wealthy and powerful: a monk, knight and politician in one. Appointed Bishop of Winchester in 1129 at the age of 28, he founded the Hospital of St Cross between 1132 and 1136.
Of course, it has changed a bit since then. Resident "Brothers" (no females) have to be 60 or over and either single or widowers. But the almshouses, now modernised, are delightful ...
0p)The hospital's tradition of charitable refreshment for pilgrims passing by is still maintained today.
If you go to the Porter's Lodge ...
... and ask for the "Wayfarer's Dole" (note the origin if the word "dole") you will be supplied with refreshment in the form of beer and bread.
These days, quantities are symbolic rather than substantial ...
... but, it's the thought that counts!
fbb thinks this "tradition" probably only applies when the hospital is open to the public, but maybe the porter on duty will, indeed, dispense the dole if woken up at 0300 on a cold winter's night. Or maybe not!
Sadly, like many monastic establishments in the 21st Century, St Cross is short of residents.
So Brother John Green, a sprightly 85 year old, has decided to do something about it.
Brother On A Bus
Thus it was on May 1st that he set off on a heritage and ancient bus.
The Mayor of Winchester offered his best wishes ...
... and off they went through the arch and ...
... all the way to Winchester.
At the city's bus station, Bro Green joined his first service bus, operated by Stagecoach.
After a further bout of farewells ... 
... our intrepid octogenarian (older and braver than fbb who likes his home comforts too much) set off on his first genuine bus journey, the first of many.
But were was he going?
Why, he was travelling to Winchester, of course ...
... but via the whole of Great Britain's coastline.
fbb will explain more in tomorrow's mini-blog.
One things is absolutely certain. His full round trip will be far more comfortable ...
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OU 9286 is a 1931-built Dennis 30cwt (1.5 ton) bus fitted with Short Brothers body for King Alfred Motor Services.
There wasn't much room for the 21st century posterior on the diminutive Dennis as can be seen in a comparison with a more modern vehicle.
But here it is in service in Winchester all those long years ago. Gosh, the bus is nearly ten years older than Brother Green.
Both have worn very well.
To be fair, the seats on the heritage bus are surprisingly comfy for one passenger but ...
... very "convivial" for two!
Next Brother bus route blog : Tues 6 May
St Cross would be the kind of place I would want to end my days should I find myself alone. I am surprised that in these days of acute housing shortage, St Cross struggles to find residents. Maybe it's a reflection that single old men don't survive very well in our society - and if there were more places like St Cross, that might change just a little.
ReplyDeleteThere could be a much more mundane reason. I knew well a similar institution in Ipswich which struggled to fill its flats - because there was no residents' car parking, nor space to include it.
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