Chapter 1, Hiram's Hospital—Chapter 2, The Barchester Reformer Summary

The narrator begins by telling the reader that he has made up the name of the cathedral town Barchester. He does not wish anyone to think he is attacking any specific community or person, so he has not used the name of any existing area in England. Centuries before the story opens, a man named John Hiram wills his land to the local church as a home for the old and destitute men of Barchester. What begins as a modest enterprise for the keeping of twelve old men grows over the years. Hiram's Hospital, as it is called, becomes a valuable piece of property. This is not a medical hospital, but a charitable home for old men, called beadsmen, to live in. The revenue of the property goes to...