Photograph of the Brethren's Hall at St Cross Hospital, Winchester
Taken about 1880
This mid-fourteenth century hall was built for the Master of the Hospital of St Cross and became the Brethren's Hall in the late sixteenth century. Originally it connected with the Master's Lodging via the staircase seen here and he would have dined on the raised platform at the east end. A charcoal fire used to burn in the central hearth, the smoke drifting up to the rafters; a small portion of the roof timbers of Spanish chestnut can be seen in this image.
The hall was (and still is) used for gaudy day feasts when the Brethren gathered for a special meal which, in 1695, included a sirloin of roast beef, three large mince pies and plum broth washed down with an extra allowance of beer.
The photograph was taken by Winchester photographer William Savage (1817-87).
