The Hospital of the Blessed Trinity, better known as Abbot's Hospital, is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Jacobean building and charity in Guildford.

History

The hospital was founded by George Abbot, the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

(1611–1633) in 1619 to provide homes for the elderly of Guildford.Abbots Hospital
/ref> It is on the High Street in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

, opposite the

Holy Trinity Church Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

, where its founder, the Archbishop, is buried. The architecture and layout echoed that of contemporary Oxford and Cambridge colleges. The Upper Courtyard was built between 1619 and 1621, and the first residents were admitted on 29 October 1622, Abbot's 60th birthday. Initially it provided accommodation for twelve men and eight women, all of whom had to be single. A set of flats was built in the lower courtyard in 1984, providing accommodation for seven couples. Farmed land in Outwood belonged to the institution in 1911. A heritage appeal in 2004 raised over £500,000 to carry out extensive restoration work and renovation.

Governance and eligibility for residence

Originally the hospital operated under a charter granted by

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

. Now the Abbot's Hospital Trustee Company's legal framework of how it administers its services is determined by an act of Parliament: the ( 1 & 2 Eliz. 2. c. xviii) as modified by subsequent schemes of regulation, which includes receiving periodic residential satisfaction questionnaires. The mayor of the borough, the

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

of three closest

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

and the Headmaster of the

Royal Grammar School, Guildford The Royal Grammar School, Guildford (originally 'The Free School'), also known as the RGS, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private selective day school for boys in Guildford, Surrey in England. The school dates its founding to the de ...

are governors and thereby trustees; as too are two appointed by Guildford Borough Council and the remainder are persons residing or carrying on business in or near the Borough of Guildford co-opted by the Board, subject to the approval of the

– the hospital's official

visitor A visitor, in English and Welsh law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution, often a charitable institution set up for the perpetual distribution of the founder's alms and bounty, who can interve ...

. A resident master continues to be responsible for its overall supervision. Couples were already eligible before the premises were enlarged, as were widowed and single elderly, subject to meeting any one of three borough connection requirements, a ceiling on wealth and being of sufficiently good health to lead an independent life.

Gallery

File:Abbots Hospital Guildford 2016.JPG, Front view of Abbot's Hospital File:Abbots Hospital Guildford Courtyard1.JPG, The Courtyard at Abbot's Hospital File:Abbots Hospital Guildford Courtyard2.JPG, The Courtyard at Abbot's Hospital File:Abbots Hospital Guildford Doorway.JPG, The Doorway at Abbot's Hospital File:Abbot's hospital, Guildford.JPG, Abbot's Hospital File:Abbot's Hospital.jpg, Abbot's Hospital, in SummerWyatt Dixon - The Hospital Of The Blessed Trinity (Abbot’s Hospital)
/ref>

References

{{reflist, 30em Buildings and structures completed in 1621 Grade I listed buildings in Surrey Buildings and structures in Guildford Grade I listed almshouses Almshouses in Surrey 1621 establishments in England