The Infirmary

At Croxden Abbey there are remains of a hall which formed part of the infirmary, where old, sick and convalescing monks could be cared for.

The infirmary hall as it might have appeared around 1250.  The chapel is screened off from the main space. (Drawing by Jill Atherton) © English Heritage As was typical in monasteries, the infirmary lies on the east side of the cloister and had its own chapel, kitchen, refectory and cloister.  Only the very ill would have stayed here overnight rather than return to the dormitory.  Cistercian infirmaries also looked after minuti, monks recovering from bleeding with leeches.  The whole community was bled in rotation every three months, a treatment believed to improve their health.

The infirmary hall was probably also used by the abbot and his guests as a dining room before the abbot's lodging to the south was built in 1335.  Later, it may have served as a misericord, a room where the monks could take turns to eat meat, a food forbidden in the main refectory.  From the 14th century, the infirmary may have been used to provide chambers for senior monks and retired abbots.