There are no others. The
entrance was by circular-headed doors at the west end and south side,
both of them very plain; but particularly the latter. The few ornaments
of the western are as perfect and as sharp as if the whole were the work
of yesterday. This part of the church has, however, been exposed to
considerable injury, owing to its having joined the conventual
buildings, which were destroyed at the revolution. The inside is, like
the exterior, almost perfect, but it is very much more rich, uniting to
the common ornaments of Norman architecture, capitals, in some
instances, of classical beauty. The ceiling is covered with paintings of
scriptural subjects, which still remain, notwithstanding that the
building is now desecrated, and used as a woodhouse by the neighboring
farmer.
The date of the erection of the chapel is well ascertained[69]. The
hospital was founded in 1183, by Henry Plantagenet, as a priory for the
reception of unmarried ladies of noble blood, who were destined for a
religious life, and had the misfortune to be afflicted with leprosy.
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