Sexey's Hospital

Sexey's Hospital
LocationBruton, Somerset, England
Coordinates51°06′43″N 2°27′18″W / 51.11194°N 2.45500°W / 51.11194; -2.45500
Builtc. 1630
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameWest Wing and chapel
Designated24 March 1961[1]
Reference no.1176086
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameEast Wing and gateway link to West
Designated24 March 1961[2]
Reference no.1346164
Sexey's Hospital is located in Somerset
Sexey's Hospital
Location of Sexey's Hospital in Somerset

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]

  1. ^ a b "Sexey's Hospital: West Wing and chapel". historicengland.org.uk. English Heritage. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  2. ^ a b "East Wing and gateway". historicengland.org.uk. English Heritage. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  3. ^ "Sexey's history: Where does the name come from?". Sexey's School. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Bruton". A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 7: Bruton, Horethorne and Norton Ferris Hundreds (1999), pp. 18-42. British History Online. Retrieved 3 July 2009.