Stop B: St Leonard’s Hospice

About Stop B: St Leonard’s Hospice

Founded shortly after the Norman Conquest, St Leonard’s cared for the sick, poor and elderly, and fed prisoners from York Castle.

At its peak the hospital housed up to 230 patients, when it was one of the largest in the country. The surviving ruins include a 14th-century vaulted undercroft and a gatehouse passage.

St Leonard’s was run by brothers and sisters of the Augustinian order, with staff administering medieval medicine and remedies, as well as encouraging patients to confess their sins as part of their spiritual wellbeing.

Eventually closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, York was left without a hospital until 1740.