The Old Leper Church Of St Nicholas, Harbledown, Kent
This church was built as part of a leper hospital. It was founded by Lanfranc, archbishop of Canterbury (1070-89), in about 1085. It is the oldest surviving building from a leper hospital in England. Leprosy, known today as Hansen's disease, entered England in the 4th century AD and had spread across the country by 1050. The disease was already known about from ancient societies in China, Egypt and India. It is caused by bacteria and leads to skin defects and deformities. In its extreme form it could cause the loss of fingers and toes and other terrible conditions. People knew it was contagious and so people with the disease were shunned from ‘normal’ society and had to live separately. From the time of the Norman Conquest to about 1350, at least 350 religious houses and hospitals for the care of lepers - known as 'lazar' (leper) houses - were built in England. At this time in England monks and ‘the church’ were the only way most ordinary people could access any kind of health care.
