The Hospital buildings consist of an outer courtyard and gateway, to the right of which are the kitchens, and on the left the old brewhouse and remains of some of the earlier buildings.  Immediately facing us is the tower gateway, thoroughly restored, if not built originally, by Cardinal Beaufort, under the groined archway of which is the porter’s lodge, where the “Wayfarers’ Dole” is still distributed to all who apply at the hatchway, an interesting and almost sole survival of the mediaeval custom by which food and drink were offered to passers-by.  The daily dole at the present day consists of two gallons of ale and two loaves of bread, divided into thirty-two portions.  The apartment over the archway is the Founder’s room, wherein are stored all the ancient documents relating to the foundation.  Beaufort’s arms appear in one of the spandrels above the gateway arch, the corresponding spandrel exhibiting the ancient regal arms of England.  On this side of the entrance are three niches, one of which contains a figure of the cardinal in a kneeling posture.  The vacant niche in the south front once held a statue of the Virgin, which fell to the ground more than a century ago, and nearly killed one of the Brethren in its descent.

Passing through this noble gateway, which, somehow or other, does not look as old as we know it to be, we enter the great quadrangle, around which the various buildings are grouped.  On the eastern side is the Infirmary, with the Ambulatory beneath it, a long, low cloister of sixteenth-century date, which extends along the whole side to the church.  In one of the rooms above, a window opens into the church, where there may once have been a gallery to enable the infirm to hear the services.  In 1763 Bishop Hoadley granted a license to the Master to pull down the cloister and use the materials for other purposes, but fortunately this was never done.  On the opposite side of the quadrangle are the houses of the Brethren.  Each dwelling consists of two rooms and a pantry, and has a garden attached.

The Brethren’s Hall stands on the north side of the quadrangle, and is a portion only of the old “Hundred Mennes Hall”; but enough is left to enable one to form a good idea of the original apartment, which measured 36 feet by 24 feet, until a portion was cut off to provide rooms for the Master, who is now lodged in a modern dwelling outside the gates.  At the east end of the hall is a table where the officials sat, those for the Brethren being ranged along the sides.  Some black-leather jacks, candlesticks, salt-cellars, pewter dishes, and a dinner bell, all dating from Beaufort’s time, are still carefully preserved.  At the opposite end of the hall is a screen with the minstrels’ gallery above, whence, on high days and holidays, the Brethren were enlivened with music during their feastings.  The chief festivals of the year were All Saints’ Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Twelfth Day, and Candlemas Day, on which occasions the Brethren