Infirmary, St Milburga’s Priory, Much Wenlock

This is where not only the sick were housed, but also the old and infirm who couldn’t share in the normal life of the priory. It also housed those recovering from a bout of bloodletting. It was widely believed that illness could be caused by having too much blood in the body; by bleeding some of it away into a cup, or by using leeches, a person would be made healthy. It had its own chapel (rebuilt at the same time as the prior’s lodging), kitchen and reredorter (toilet block). It started life as a one storey building but a second floor was added later. The priory’s main drain ran under the reredorter and carried the waste away to a nearby brook. The 12th century infirmary was not rebuilt, like most of the priory, in the 13th Century and its small Norman windows can still be seen.

Infirmary, St Milburga's Priory, Much Wenlock (image) [+]
This is where not only the sick were housed, but also the old and infirm who couldn't share in the normal life of the priory. It also housed those recovering from a bout of bloodletting. It was widely believed that illness could be caused by having too m...