Photograph of St Cross Hospital, Winchester
Taken about 1870
The Hospital of St Cross, which lies immediately south of Winchester, was founded in the 1130s as an almshouse for thirteen poor men by Henry de Blois, grandson of William the Conqueror and brother of King Stephen.
The first half of the nineteenth century saw the Hospital at such a low ebb that it inspired Anthony Trollope's 'The Warden', but by the time of this photograph the institution was recovering, thanks in no small measure to the efforts of the Master from 1855 to 1868, L M Humbert. Interestingly the image, which was taken outside the Brethren's Hall, includes ladies, children and a man who is not wearing the distinctive gown of the Brothers, as well as residents of the Almshouse.
The photograph was taken by Winchester photographer William Savage (1817-87) and is found in an album entitled 'Hampshire Views of Churches, Country Houses and Public Buildings'.
