St Mary's Hospital

Historic Site, Chichester

St Mary's Hospital on St Martin's Square is one of the finest surviving medieval almshouses in England, founded in the thirteenth century to provide shelter for the elderly poor. The hospital retains its original layout, with a chapel at one end and residential accommodation arranged along a single hall, divided by wooden partitions. The carved misericords in the chapel are among the most accomplished medieval woodwork in Sussex. The hospital has been in continuous use as an almshouse for nearly eight hundred years, with residents still occupying the modernised accommodation. Guided tours are available during the summer months and on heritage open days. The building is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.