SLHS: Construction & Timeline

The end of this story is quite typical of not-so merrie olde England.

Construction Of The Guild’s Minute Place Of Worship & Hospital

As you can read below the entire building was started in 1269 as a minute chapel where the current chancel is. It had a modest hospital on the West side and kitchen to the South  (see right).

Rebuild

In 1449 the whole chancel was rebuilt and the tiny windows replaced with larger ones.

Hospital To Be Replaced With Stone Church

In his last year of life, in 1496 aged 56, benefactor to the town, Hugh Clopton, put money aside for the current nave and tower to be built. He must have appointed an Architect. He then summoned many artistic advisors with connections around Europe. He appointed a chief artist who brought in other artists and their trainees. The interior was to be adorned with huge frescoes painted with the best, and therefore expensive, materials of the time. Even acquiring these was not easy.

Hugh Clopton Never Saw Any Of it

Stratford is built upon gravel and so a small army of labourers would be needed to bring in a lot of broken stone for the foundations. The dismantling of the old building, laying out, setting of reliable foundations, building walls, roof and drainage could have taken at least 20 years (see also supporting Opinion on Dance Of Death). Bringing the good quality stone in on the roads of the day must have been a major undertaking. Lifting it, dressing it and carving it cannot be done quickly.

In the end it was magnificent and the artists, after all their detailed research and planning, could move in. One was Thomas Payntor and his son. However these frescoes were actually a warning (see Paintings Master Page). In it’s gorgeous resplendent state, which Hugh obviously never saw, sadly it was to last but 20 years..

Reformation & Guild Disbanded

Following Henry VIII Dissolution Of The Monasteries Act of 1536 in 1547 the whole Guild was closed down and his successor, Edward VI, took all of its assets (See English Monarchs on the Timeline Index). Fortunately he decided to plough some of these back into the town so he merrily expanded the school and gave it, and twenty others, his own name.

Located on the corner of Chapel Street and Chapel Lane

● These items have aspects that uniquely contribute to national or world history.

To return to Master page click on ‘Guild Chapel’ above.

Timeline

The Guild Chapel themselves have produced this excellent timeline (below). As you can read Protestant/Catholic royal politics played a large part in the future look of the interior of the building. At least 3 complete white-washes are recorded (1564, 1610, 1641).

The timber framed hospital as estimated by Wilfrid Puddephat 1958