Guilds. The burgesses used the property for meetings and for teaching as, what is now, Warwick School. The 1st Earl of Leicester acquired the buildings in 1571, founding therein a hospital for aged or injured soldiers and their wives, under royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I, run by 12 resident "Brethren" (originally soldiers) under the charge of a "Master", and funded from the income of various estates. 17th Century In 1617 the Great Hall was used to entertain King James I on his visit to Warwick. The town was in debt for ten years as a result! Behind the back wall of the Great Hall is a plaque commemorating the occasion of the visit of the King but for an unknown reason it was covered over in Victorian times. In 1694, the Great Fire of Warwick started at the Friends Meeting House in Warwick, across the High Street from the Lord Leycester Hospital. The fire was driven up the High Street by a strong South-Westerly wind and consumed virtually all buildings in its path. Thus, the original medieval timber-framed houses were destroyed and, in due course, replaced by the handsome stone and brick built buildings that you see today. Of the ancient buildings, only the Lord Leycester Hospital and its near neighbours survive. 19th Century The chapel was extensively restored by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1860. The story goes that a representative of his was called from dinner by worried townspeople who thought the chapel may fall down into the High Street. This included the addition of the flying buttresses which today skirt the chapel. 20th Century In 1956 the Corporation of the Master and Brethren of the Hospital was abolished by Act of Parliament and replaced with a board of Governors. On 3 November 1966 a restored Hospital with modernised quarters was opened by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. 21st Century Today the Hospital is run by the Master, a retired officer of the Armed Forces. Eight ex-servicemen and their wives are provided with flats in return for their past services: they act as guides for visitors. The Hospital is funded by visitor income, the original estates having been sold over the years. Heidi Meyer, the first woman to hold the office, was installed as Master in November 2017. Other historical notes of interest include the fact that the Grade I listed stone urn in the Master's Garden is