THE KNIGHTS OF ST LAZARUS
IN LINCOLNSHIRE
Carlton-le-Moorland - Church St Mary
Holy Innocents - Leper Hospital
Dugdales Monasticon Anglicanum (1655–1673) writes about the Hospital of Holy Innocents in Lincoln:
"Regimius, Bishop of Lincoln, is said to have been the first builder of the house for leprous persons near this city, to which he assigned thirteen marks yearly revenue "
This was annexed to the hospital of Burton Lazars, for the "better maintenance" of three of King henry VI Servants who happened to be Lepers.
Threckingham - (Church Effigy)
Threekingham and the Order of St Lazarus
The Lincolnshire village of Threekingham (historically Threckingham or Trickingham) formed part of a wider medieval network of ecclesiastical landholdings linked to the Order of Saint Lazarus.
Originally founded in the Crusader states as a hospital order caring for lepers, the Order of St Lazarus established a presence in England, with its main headquarters at Burton Lazars. From there, it managed a number of scattered estates and church revenues rather than large local communities.
The Threekingham Rectory
The connection to Threekingham is confirmed by the Valor Ecclesiasticus, which records that the order received income from the rectory of St Peter’s church in the village.
This income had declined significantly over time:
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c. £20 in 1291
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just over £2 by 1535
This indicates that the Order of St Lazarus held the rectorial rights—the income from tithes—rather than occupying the site directly.
Origins of the Link
The relationship likely began in the 13th century, through the local Trickingham family, who appear in records as clergy and associates of the order. As was common in medieval England, a local lord or patron likely granted the rectory or its income to the order, securing both spiritual benefit and institutional support.
How the Arrangement Worked
At Threekingham:
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A local priest served the parish at St Peter’s
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The Order of St Lazarus received the income from the rectory
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Administration was handled remotely, probably from Burton Lazars
There is no evidence of a Lazarite hospital or resident brethren in the village. The connection was financial rather than physical.
A Wider Medieval Network
Threekingham’s link to the Order of St Lazarus reflects a broader pattern in medieval England, where international religious orders sustained themselves through distributed parish incomes and landholdings.
Although modest in value by the 16th century, the Threekingham rectory formed part of this network, tying a small Lincolnshire parish into the wider world of crusading and charitable institutions.
Hale - St John the Baptist Church
It is on record that "The Church of Hale was given to that of S Lazarus without the walls of Jerusalem by Simon de Gaunt and Alice his wife in the presence of King John who confirmed the gift in 1208".
The Order of St Lazarus and the Church of Great Hale (Lincolnshire)
The link between Great Hale and the Order of Saint Lazarus is firmly documented and centres on the appropriation of the parish church and its rectory.
Origins: Domesday and inheritance
In 1086, the Domesday Book records Hale as a substantial settlement held by Gilbert of Ghent.
Through his daughter Alice de Gant, who married Simon de St Liz, the manor—and crucially its ecclesiastical rights—passed into a network of aristocratic patrons active in religious endowment.
The grant to St Lazarus
In the late 12th or early 13th century, Simon and Alice granted the church of Hale to the Order of St Lazarus. The gift, later confirmed under royal authority, transferred:
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the advowson (right to appoint the priest)
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the rectory (including major tithes)
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associated church income
This made the Order the legal rector, incorporating Hale into the financial system centred on Burton Lazars.
The rectory and parish structure
Following appropriation:
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The Order received the rectory income
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A vicar served the local parish
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The village continued normal religious life under this arrangement
This structure remained in place for centuries. The Valor Ecclesiasticus confirms that income from Hale was still being paid to the Order shortly before its dissolution.
Earlier claims and consolidation
There is evidence that Hale had earlier links with Bardney Abbey, suggesting overlapping claims in the 12th century.
The eventual control of the church by the Order of St Lazarus indicates that the St Liz/Gant grant was successfully established and maintained.
Economic role
Hale’s importance lay in its rectory as a revenue source, providing:
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grain and livestock tithes
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agricultural income from a productive Lincolnshire landscape
These revenues contributed to sustaining the Lazarite house at Burton Lazars and its wider activities
Later history and survival
The arrangement continued until the 16th century, when the Order’s English possessions were dissolved. The rectory then reverted to standard ecclesiastical structures.
The physical site of the rectory likely survives in the location of the Old Vicarage, Great Hale, an 18th-century building almost certainly occupying or continuing the medieval rectory site
Conclusion
Great Hale provides a clear example of how the Order of St Lazarus operated in England:
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a Domesday manor passing through aristocratic inheritance
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a seigneurial grant transferring church rights
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long-term appropriation of a parish rectory
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continued income recorded as late as 1535
Though little visible evidence of the Order remains in the landscape, the documentary record shows that Great Hale formed part of its economic network for over three centuries.
Heckington - Saint Andrews Church
The Order of St Lazarus and Heckington Church (Lincolnshire)
The parish of Heckington in Lincolnshire formed part of the English endowment of the Order of Saint Lazarus, its church and rectory incorporated into the Order’s financial network from the late twelfth or early thirteenth century.
Lordship and the basis of the grant
In 1086, Domesday Book records Heckington as a substantial and valuable settlement. Its estates were associated with the holdings of Gilbert of Ghent, and, as with neighbouring parishes, later passed through the inheritance of his daughter:
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Alice de Gant
and her marriage to:
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Simon de St Liz
It was within this context of seigneurial control that the church of Heckington was granted to the Order, alongside other Lincolnshire benefices.
The grant and appropriation
The transfer of Heckington church to the Order conveyed:
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the advowson
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the rectory, including the great tithes
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associated ecclesiastical revenues
The Order thus became rector in law, and the parish was appropriated to the Lazarite house at Burton Lazars.
As elsewhere, this produced the standard arrangement:
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rectorial income flowed to the Order
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a vicar served the cure of souls locally
This structure endured for several centuries.
The church and its development
The present church is one of the most architecturally distinctive parish churches in England, notable for its octagonal lantern tower and extensive thirteenth- and fourteenth-century fabric.
This phase of rebuilding coincides with the period during which the rectory was in Lazarite hands. While no direct attribution of patronage can be made, the scale and quality of the work reflect the wealth of the parish from which the Order derived income.
Economic significance
Heckington’s importance to the Order lay in its value as a rectory:
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a large and productive agricultural parish
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substantial tithe income in grain, livestock, and wool
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reliable long-term revenue
Such appropriations formed a key part of the English financial base of the Order, administered through Burton Lazars.
Later evidence
The continued inclusion of Heckington in the Valor Ecclesiasticus confirms that the rectory remained part of the Lazarite estate until the early sixteenth century.
This represents a continuity of over three hundred years from the original grant.
Dissolution and subsequent history
With the suppression of the Order in England, the rectory of Heckington passed out of Lazarite control and was redistributed. The parish thereafter functioned within standard diocesan structures, and the earlier distinction between appropriated rectory and vicarage was gradually absorbed into post-medieval ecclesiastical administration.
The rectory site
As an appropriated church, Heckington would have maintained:
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a vicarage or rectory house
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associated glebe land
Although no clearly identifiable medieval structure survives, later buildings near the church almost certainly occupy the established clerical site, reflecting the continuity of parish organisation.
Conclusion
Heckington illustrates, at a larger scale, the integration of Lincolnshire parishes into the Lazarite system:
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Domesday lordship passing through the Gant inheritance
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seigneurial grant of ecclesiastical rights
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long-term appropriation of the rectory
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continued revenue recorded into the sixteenth century
Its exceptional church stands within that history—not as a direct product of the Order, but as the architectural expression of a parish whose resources contributed to the Lazarite estate for centuries.
Braceborough - St Margaret Church
KNIGHTS OF LAZARUS FIGURES IN LINCOLNSHIRE
Lincolnshire & the Lepers: Learn Who Shared Their Chapter of History Here
Holy Innocents - Lincoln
Gilbert Thimbleby (Warden) - 1534
THRECKINGHAM - LINCOLN
James - 1319