The Story of Helen: now live
Follow our digital story set in 1236, at Maison Dieu, a monastic hospital on the pilgrim road to Canterbury.
Maison Dieu
Explore the story, images, blogs and timelines of Maison Dieu.
Hot irons and hemorrhoids
Things got a bit gory at The Beaney in Canterbury as museum visitors constructed a story of peril in Medieval England to feed into our digital game.
A Survey of Residents of the Eastbridge Hospital, Canterbury
Nathan shares the results of his exhaustive study of the residents of Eastbridge Hospital, Canterbury.
No drinking, brawling or blasphemy
Some of the rules imposed on those using almshouses were common sense, others seem draconian to us now, but places were limited, and people who were accepted probably felt very lucky.
‘Poor pilgrims falling sick’
Ann continues tracing almshouses beyond the medieval period, and discovers what happened to pilgrims who fell mortally ill.
‘Out brothers and in sisters’: 600 years of Eastbridge Hospital
Some hospitals survived for hundreds of years, providing sanctuary – and gathering idiosyncratic rules and one or two myths.
Tender of their persons, and zealous of their rights: William Somner, a Canterbury hero
At a time of huge national upheaval during and after the Civil War, was there anyone around who still cared about England’s almshouses? Yes.
Beyond Maison Dieu: more medieval hospitals in the Canterbury area
Other medieval hospitals near the pilgrimage site of Canterbury help us build a picture of care during the period.
A ‘falconer with leprosy’: some residents at medieval hospitals
Religious houses offered sanctuary to disabled people and those with illnesses. Ann Newman puts some names and occupations to those who stayed there.