130 



Si. Nicholas* Hospital, Salisbury, 



suspected that the south wall of this building is old ; at least in its 

 lower courses of stones. Can it be the original wall of the beginning 

 of the thirteenth century ? Notice especially the old doorway near 

 the west end of it : exactly in the spot where Hickman's map 

 figures a door in the " old hospital." 



III. — Bishops Bridport and Wyley. 

 1257 — 1271. 



Bishop Bingham died in the next year (1246) after he had finished 

 the building and constitution of his triple work — bridge, chapel, and 

 hospital. In the next episcopate, which lasted nine years, that of 

 William of York (1246 — 1256), the third Church and advowson 

 was given to the hospital besides the Churches of Wilsford and 

 Burstock. 1 On August 19th, 1253, Sir Richard Hinton gave " to 

 God, the Blessed Mary and Saint Nicholas of Salisbury," the per- 

 petual advowson of Broad Hinton Church, near Swindon, together 

 with six acres of land, and two days afterwards Bishop William 

 confirmed the gift. 2 



But William of York died in 1256; and the next year Giles 

 Bridport, the dean of Wells, was consecrated bishop. He appears 

 to have been a bishop with theories of his own, for which he used 

 the benefactions of his predecessors without much caring to abide 

 by their intentions. It is very curious to study the devotion of 

 successive bishops to some one form of benefaction of their own 

 devising, which their successors sweep entirely away in equal devotion 

 to some other scheme. Thus the constitution of bridge, chapel, and 

 hospital, which Bishop Bingham had so carefully elaborated, was 

 swept ruthlessly aside; the new bishop had set his heart upon 

 another scheme. He wished to found a theological college in 

 Salisbury, and to connect it with St. Nicholas; and he changed the 

 constitution of St. Nicholas itself, constituting himself and his 



1 The Church of Burstock, near Beaminster, had he en given by Bishop 

 Bingham, in 1243. 



2 John Manningford gave much land at Gerardstone to the hospital in 1256. 

 — Reg. Gerardst., 28, 29. And in 1258 Richard aud Sibill Ancher gave land in 

 Fisherton Anger. — lb. Fishert., 3, 4. 



