Great Hospital

The Great Hospital is a medieval hospital that has been serving the people of Norwich, Norfolk, England, since the 13th century. It is situated on a 7-acre (2.8 ha) site in a bend of the River Wensum to the north-east of Norwich Cathedral. Bishop Walter de Suffield founded St. Giles's Hospital, as the hospital was originally known, in 1249. What makes the hospital notable today is its continuous record of care, the range of existing medieval buildings on the hospital grounds, most of which are still in use, and the extensive archives that record the hospital's long history. The original beneficiaries of the new hospital in 1249 were aged priests, poor scholars, and sick and hungry paupers. Clerics remained unmarried in this period, so...