So it's curious that it wasn't until 1394, ten years after the licence and charter for the Maison Dieu, that Pope Boniface IX issued a papal bull (order) to Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, giving permission for "masses and other divine offices" to be said in the two chapels erected near the hospital his father had built. Had the hospital managed without a chapel for 10 years? Had someone forgotten to ask permission? Had there been a hold-up with the paperwork in Rome? The chapels were said to be "near" the hospital, rather than part of it. And why were there two? It seems implausible that men and women were segregated into different buildings.
No subsequent records for centuries give us any information about the appearance or use of the chapels. While a great deal of research has been done on medieval church life and faith, almshouses are a neglected area. We can only follow the effects of the upheavals which Henry VIII set in train through the men who were appointed as Masters, and assume that our chapel mirrored what was going on in parish churches. The closure of the priory in 1539 left the hospital isolated, but from the appointment of Thomas Turner as Master in 1558 with a dual role as assistant at Holy Trinity (now the Minster) a strong connection with the parish church was established which was to continue for many years.
By 1582 there were only 12 inmates in the hospital. Financial accounts of the period tell us a little about the buildings, which included kitchens, a chicken house and a buttery, but there is no mention of a chapel. However, in 1626, when Andrew Marvell senior had been Master for two years, the accounts show that the old building and the chapel had been repaired. It was the last time this chapel was mentioned. In 1642 all the buildings were demolished to make way for a garrison at the start of the Civil War. Inmates decamped to a building on Silver Street and, it seems, used Holy Trinity for their worship. After the war, when the first phase of rebuilding started in 1649 it seems to have been without a chapel. Did the Charterhouse residents go to the nearest church, perhaps St Mary's, or was a worship space improvised within the building? The second phase of rebuilding added a chapel in 1673, the work of William Catlyn. In 1724 a crude sketch was made of this chapel and appeared in John Cook's book of 1882.
These buildings lasted just over a century. In 1777 all of them were demolished; only the bell from the chapel was salvaged. It was made in 1670 by William Sellers of York. It was rehung in the cupola above the new chapel and is still rung for services. The grand new hospital integrated the chapel into the main structure. The Victoria County History describes it in detail:
"The chapel occupies the middle of the north side of the building and projects from its north wall. The interior retains its original oak fittings and survives almost unaltered. It is lit by a tall round-headed window in each of the east and west walls and by a central dome in the roof. There is a dentil cornice and the enriched plaster ceiling is divided into three panels by raised bands of guilloche ornament. The stone slabs paving the floor have small squares of slate at their intersections. At the east end of the chapel the altar, raised on three steps, is enclosed by original rails with heavy turned balusters. Five rows of box-pews are stepped up against the west wall and there are similar pews on the south side flanking the central entrance from the corridor. This entrance has a carved doorcase and a segmental pediment. In the middle of the north wall is an enclosed area with a panelled front, curved in the centre; spacious pews for the master and officers occupy the two sides of the area while in the middle a fine semicircular pulpit, the most striking feature of the chapel, projects from the north wall. It is surmounted by a sounding-board and supported on a bracket some distance from the ground. Access to it is from a door at the rear leading to the vestry. The drum of the pulpit and the frieze behind it are elaborately carved with swags of drapery and other ornament."
There was also a small vault beneath the altar, in which around five Masters and their wives were buried, but the vault was sealed at some point in the 19th century (there is no record of when) and the only evidence of its presence are two small arches in the brickwork of the eastern wall, and the memorial plaques which tell us the person was "interred in the vault below". During the 2018 restoration work some human bones were disturbed below the altar, and were re-interred with appropriate ceremony.
It is the orientation of the chapel which strikes people first, and the pulpit which faces you as you enter. When it was built it must have seemed far too big for the 44 residents housed around it, but by the second half of the 19th century, after many more rooms had been added, it would have a been a squeeze to fit them all in.
An anonymous 19th century sketch shows the chapel looking rather drab. A few memorials have been fixed to the walls and benches have appeared to supplement the seating. There was no heating. A stove was later put in, but it caused complaints about fumes. At some point a harmonium was installed to accompany the singing. In 1901, when the governance of the Charterhouse was handed over to trustees, permission was given to replace it with an organ, and the local firm of Forster & Andrews built a splendid one in the south-east corner. Later, electric light was installed, and there was a failed experiment with a sound system.
The Charterhouse was closed in 1941 after blast damage caused by bombing, and it was neglected and left to fall into a dreadful state. A photograph taken after the war shows the damage to the chapel.
It was restored, along with the rest of the buildings, and re-opened in 1948. More than 30 years later, after a major redevelopment of the complex, the chapel underwent a complete refurbishment. A gas-fired heating system was installed and ornate chandeliers replaced the pendant lights. On 8 July 1981 the Archbishop of York, Stuart Blanch, led a service of re-dedication.
The decoration of the chapel has always depended largely on the tastes of the Master of the time. Until 2017 it was maintained in the rather plain state shown in the photo above. A new Master brought a different sensibility. But the chapel was quickly closed when a survey discovered that the floor was in a dangerous state. Extensive work was done to fix that and install a new heating system. The opportunity was taken to put in an effective sound system, so that, probably for the first time, everyone could hear what was going on. While the chapel was closed services were held in the hall.
On 12 May 2019 a service of re-hallowing was led by the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu.
Our current chapel has been in use for almost 240 years, continuing a much older tradition.
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