Kent's Medieval Hospitals: from Conquest to Reformation. A talk by Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh

About

Among Kent's over seventy medieval hospitals and almshouses, are some of the oldest in the country and a considerable number compared to many counties are still functioning today. This talk will explore the different types of medieval hospital – from leper hospitals to those which accommodated poor pilgrims, as well as how hospitals developed in the later Middle Ages to meet the changing circumstances of the world after the Black Death. Moreover, medieval hospitals are often seen as extensions of monasteries, but we'll see just how important the civic authorities were in the management of 'their' hospitals, and the way the civic records provide insights into the lives of the brothers and sisters at hospitals such as St John's in Sandwich.

Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh is a Specialist Associate Lecturer in Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Kent. She has worked extensively on medieval and Tudor Kent, from women in late medieval Appledore and Hythe to the lives of immigrants in 15th-century Canterbury. She has published books and articles on Kent's medieval hospitals as well as on other social and cultural topics linked to the period.