KENT ARCHIVES AND LOCAL HISTORY SERVICE PRESENTS
Image: An engraving depicting a view of the Chapel at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, Sandwich
G. Maxwell del., A. Bannerman sculp. Published by William Boys, 1787
Kent’s medieval hospitals: from Conquest to Reformation
A talk by Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh
(Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, University of Kent)
Please note the venue for this event has changed to Lecture Theatre in Sessions House, County Hall.
Monday 14 September 2026
1–2PM
ADMISSION: FREE
For further information and to reserve a seat
Call: 03000 420673 Email: archives@kent.gov.uk
Kent Archives
ACCREDITED ARCHIVE SERVICE
A talk by Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh
(Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, University of Kent)
Among Kent’s over seventy medieval hospitals and almshouses are some of the oldest in the country and a considerable number, compared to many counties, are still functioning today. This talk will explore the different types of medieval hospital – from leper hospitals to those which accommodated poor pilgrims, as well as how hospitals developed in the later Middle Ages to meet the changing circumstances of the world after the Black Death. Moreover, medieval hospitals are often seen as extensions of monasteries, but we’ll see just how important the civic authorities were in the management of ‘their’ hospitals, and the way the civic records provide insights into the lives of the brothers and sisters at hospitals such as St John’s in Sandwich.
Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh is a Specialist Associate Lecturer in Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Kent. She has worked extensively on medieval and Tudor Kent, from women in late medieval Appledore and Hythe to the lives of immigrants in 15th-century Canterbury. She has published books and articles on Kent’s medieval hospitals as well as on other social and cultural topics linked to the period.
For further information and to reserve a seat
Call: 03000 420673 Email: archives@kent.gov.uk