e other
those for the women, while at the west end were two rooms for the
priest. This 'nave' was probably open to the chapel, as the large size
of the western arch of the latter seems to indicate, and possibly the
infirmer inmates could attend the service without leaving their
beds.[123]

To pass to the chapel itself--a window in the north wall has been
blocked with masonry, upon which is a shield of arms, thought to be
those of Sir Solomon Swale of South Stainley, and surmounted by a
Maltese cross with the letters S.S. and the date 1654 upon it. The west
gable has once been crowned by a bell-cote, and attached to the
south-west corner of the chapel are the remains of an arched doorway.
The western arch of the building, curiously enough, is not in the middle
of the wall. It is recessed and chamfered, and rests upon two
semi-cylindrical responds, whose rather curious capitals do not follow
the form of the shaft, but are triple and rectangular. The chapel
internally is 20 feet 10 inches long and 11 feet 6 inches wide, and is
not at right angles to its western wall, but inclines considerably
toward the south. In the middle of the entrance is an octagonal basin,
supported on a pedestal and having a shield on each of its sides. This
is thought to have been a stoup for holy water. It is not, perhaps, in
its original position, and the pedestal does not seem to belong to it.
Opposite to the blocked window already mentioned, which has an aumbry
east of it, there is a late square-headed window of two lights, whose
arches do not reach quite up to the lintel, but are connected with it by
short perpendiculars. East of this is a piscina with projecting
semi-octagonal basin, trefoil head, and ogee hood, and with a small
square window above and to the left of it. The stone slab on two stone
supports against the east wall is probably the original altar, and
tradition says that the ransom of a Scottish prince was paid down upon
it. On either side of the altar is a stone bracket, that on the north
side bearing a shield of arms.[124] The east window, which is blocked,
is divided into two lights, and the head is almost filled by a large
quatrefoil, of which the uppermost and lowermost foils are ogees. This
window, and the piers and capitals of the western arch, give the
impression that the chapel is of a date earlier than that usually
assigned for the foundation of the hospital. The modern cottages are
inhabited by eight women.

[Illu