Sexey's Hospital | |
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Location | Bruton, Somerset, England |
Coordinates | 51°06′43″N 2°27′18″W / 51.11194°N 2.45500°W |
Built | c. 1630 |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Official name | West Wing and chapel |
Designated | 24 March 1961[1] |
Reference no. | 1176086 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
Official name | East Wing and gateway link to West |
Designated | 24 March 1961[2] |
Reference no. | 1346164 |
Sexey's Hospital in Bruton, Somerset, England was built around 1630 as almshouses. The West Wing and chapel have been designated as a Grade I listed building.[1] The East Wing and gateway are grade II listed.[2]
Hugh Sexey (1556–1619), was a local landowner. By the age of 43 he had been appointed Royal auditor of the Exchequer to King James I.[3] After his death the trustees of his will established Sexey's Hospital in Bruton as an institution to care for the elderly.
A trust of 1638 set out the role of the hospital in caring for 12 poor men and women. This later rose to 18 people, and it provided a school for 12 boys, and staff comprised a governor, a schoolmaster, and a nurse. By 1812 this had risen to 20; 10 men and 10 women and in 1902 there were 15 residents. In 1997 there were 22 residents with vacancies for a further 2.[4]