Leper Chapel, Cambridge

2025-07-17T14:38:30Z

2A00:23C7:C8BC:C501:C0F4:E667:4A45:A032: Added link

{{Short description|Church in Cambridge, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2023}}
[[File:LeperChapelCambridge.jpg|300px|thumb|The Leper Chapel, Cambridge]]
[[File:Inside the Leper Chapel of St Mary Magdalene - geograph.org.uk - 5189308.jpg|thumb|Interior of the chapel]]
The '''Leper Chapel''', also known as the '''Leper Chapel of St Mary Magdalene''', is a chapel on the east side of [[Cambridge]], England, off [[Newmarket Road, Cambridge|Newmarket Road]] close to the railway crossing at [[Barnwell Junction railway station|Barnwell Junction]]. It dates from about 1125.

The chapel was part of the buildings of a [[Leper colony|leper hospital]] that stood a little beyond the outskirts of the city on the road to [[Bury St Edmunds]]. Parts of the east wall are original, but most of the rest of the chapel was rebuilt in the 13th century. It still retains many [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] features.

In 1199 the chapel was given royal dispensation by [[John of England|King John]] to hold a three-day fair in order to raise money to support the lepers. Starting in 1211, the fair took place around the [[Feast of the Cross|Feast of the Holy Cross]] (14 September) on Stourbridge Common which lies a little way behind the chapel and continues down to the [[River Cam]].

[[Stourbridge fair]] grew to become the largest [[Medieval]] [[fair]] in Europe and raised so much money that the post of priest at the Leper Chapel became one of the most lucrative jobs in the English church. The job was also a [[sinecure]], since the leper hospital had ceased to admit new lepers in 1279, and what few lepers remained were moved to a new colony near [[Ely, Cambridgeshire|Ely]]. The chapel had no [[parish]], so there was no need to maintain any religious services. Under legislation of 1546, the chapel was closed and its property assumed by the Crown. Town and University battled over the rights to the Fair until [[Queen Elizabeth I]] ruled in favour of the town, reserving the University's rights to control weights, measures and quality of goods. The chapel was thence used only to store the stalls for the next fair and, in the eighteenth century at least, as a pub during the Fair. After 1751, there were no further religious services held at the chapel. In 1783 it was advertised for sale as a storage shed. The fair was abolished in 1933, though it was later revived in the 21st century and is now held annually at the Leper Chapel.

In 1816, the Chapel was bought and restored by [[Thomas Kerrich]]. Kerrich gave the Chapel to the University, which in turn gave it to the Cambridge Preservation Society in 1951.

The chapel is a [[Grade I listed building]]<ref name="NHLE">{{NHLE| num=1126144 |desc=Chapel of St Mary Magdalene/Stourbridge Chapel |grade=I |accessdate=19 January 2015}}</ref> and is maintained by Cambridge Past, Present and Future (CPPF). It is again being used for worship and it is now part of the Parish of Christ the Redeemer. The "Friends of the Leper Chapel" was formed in 1999 to promote use of this chapel for education, cultural events and worship. The chapel also plays host to a range of local cultural activities such as dramatic performances, and it is frequently used by the local theatre group In Situ for their performances of Shakespeare.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://insitutheatre.co.uk/|title=in situ: leading the way in environmental theatre | England, UK|website=in situ: theatre}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Barnwell Priory]], founded c.1092; a square stone-vaulted building remains
* [[St Bene't's Church]], dating from 1033
* [[Holy Sepulchre, Cambridge]] or Round Church, dating from 1130
* [[School of Pythagoras]], dating from around 1200

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Mary Magdalene Chapel, Cambridge}}
*[https://www.cambridgeppf.org/places/leper-chapel/ Barnwell Leper Chapel] on the CPPF website, with contact details for visiting the chapel.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambridge, Leper Chapel}}
[[Category:12th-century church buildings in England]]
[[Category:1125 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Chapels in England]]
[[Category:Church of England church buildings in Cambridge|Leper Chapel]]
[[Category:Leper hospitals]]
[[Category:Grade I listed churches in Cambridgeshire]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Cambridge|Leper Chapel]]

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Leper Chapel, Cambridge