The monks of Rochester and the hospital of St. Mary of Strood: a twelfth-century dispute reassessed

Abstract

This article assesses the twelfth-century Rochester dispute concerning St. Mary’s hospital at Strood. Bishop Gilbert Glanville’s plan to endow the hospital with monastic estates was vigorously resisted by the cathedral monks, with Gilbert traditionally being seen as an anti-monastic bishop. This article reassesses the events of the conflict and places it in the context of other twelfth-century disputes. It argues that Gilbert was not trying to supplant his cathedral chapter, but was instead trying to establish a hospital to care for the needs of the sick and poor pilgrims.