NHER 629 (Monument record) - Probable site of medieval leper hospital of St Mary and St Clement and site of post-medieval workhouse infirmary

Founded in the 12th century ?for lepers and the sick. It was not suppressed.
Information from (S1) and (S2).

One of the three Norwich workhouses founded in 1711 was 'The Infirmary on the right hand side of the road out of St. Augustine's Gates'. This sounds as if it should have been this establishment, but on the other side of the Aylsham Road, the vicinity of NHER 26605, especially as the above entry says the HER siting is a guess.
Information from J. Lodey.
E. Rose (NLA), 4 June 2007.

Following its creation in 1712 the Norwich Incorporation established a workhouse on Bridge Street, in the remains of the Dominican friary (NHER 194) and an associated infirmary in the parish of St Clement. The infirmary is recorded as having been in what was formerly a lazar house - presumably the hospital of St Mary and St Clement. It provided accomodation for up to 130 infirm and elderly paupers. In 1828 an adjoining building was constructed as an asylum for pauper lunatics (NHER 48966). The St Clement infirmary closed following the construction of a new workhouse at Bowthorpe Road, Heigham in 1859, which had its own substantial infirmary (NHER 26575).
Information from (S3).
P. Watkins (HES), 10 February 2020.

The Ordnance Survey places the site of the leper hospital at TG 22902 09815 (Context 1), but this is presumably conjectural. As noted by (S4), in the early 19th-century at least the infirmary definitely lay to the south, within a rectangular parcel of land clearly marked as such on the Millard and Manning map of 1830 (Context 2) (S5). A large building on the southern side of this plot is the then newly constructed Borough Psychiatric Hospital (NHER 48966), which would later be considerably enlarged into a Cross-of-Lorraine shaped building. The buildings on the eastern and northern sides of the plot were presumably associated with the infirmary. All appear on the 1880s Ordnance Survey 1:500 Town Plan map (S6). The building shown immediately to the north was the Gardener's Arms Public House (the site of which is now occupied by Jolly Gardeners Court).
P. Watkins (HES), 31 March 2022.

The location of this record has been corrected (previously it was just mapped as a point at TG 22902 09815) but its extent should only be seen as approximate, given that we only know the exact location of the early 19th-century infirmary.
P. Watkins (HES), 31 March 2022.

February 2014. Excavation.
Partial excavation of plot to south of Jolly Gardeners Court.
An east-to-west aligned flint and mortar wall exposed at the southern end of the site has been tentatively associated with the medieval hospital of St Mary and St Clement. No other potentially medieval remains were recorded and finds of this date were largely limited to a small number of pottery sherds. A red brick wall built atop these foundations is thought to have been associated with one of the first of the buildings constructed for the Borough Psychiatric Hospital (NHER 48966) in 1828 – representing the north wall of the building shown on (S5). It is therefore possible that an earlier building had been demolished at this time, potentially one that had been used by the workhouse infirmary.
A small cemetery was exposed immediately to the north of these walls which contained the remains of six individuals. Although not precisely dated these are thought to have been associated with the Borough Psychiatric Hospital rather than either the medieval hospital or the later workhouse infirmary.
See report (S4) and NHER 65546 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 31 March 2022.