This Hospital was similar in its charitable objects to St Cross. Founded in 1180 by Bishop Toclyve (1173-88) for the reception of nine lepers, it stood in the downs along the Alresford Road, by the first milestone. The site was excavated by the TV Archaeological programme ‘Time Team’.
During a chequered history the Hospital lost much of it´s property and funds, and was at times used as a barracks and a prison. Considerable damage was caused to the structure by neglect and misuse. In 1788 this fine example of Transitional architecture was pulled down.
Parts of the building were used in the construction of St Peters Church in St Peter’s Street, most notably a fine early Norman gateway, and some in the construction of six alms houses in Water Lane.
These were occupied by four men and four women, who each received a pension of two shillings a week. Sometime in the 1920´s they were converted into two dwellings, and were eventually sold into private ownership in the late 60´s, after they had become somewhat dilapidated.
Some ancient burials were disturbed during the excavation for their construction. A Roman sepulchre was discovered on the site of the lower cottages. (The whole area is the site of an ancient cemetery). The builders reburied some parts of the disturbed burials, only to have them rediscovered in 1993 during the construction of a new retaining wall. The site was occupied during Medieval times, as a Medieval rubbish pit was found under the rear garden boundary wall.
Archaeologists from the  in Hampshire, England have discovered what they believe to be the earliest known hospital in the United Kingdom. Burials at the former leprosy hospital in England's former capital city have been radio carbon dated and are estimated to be from AD 960–1030. Several buildings have been excavated on the site along with the foundations of other structures. Other artifacts were also found on the site.

Prior to this discovery the earliest hospitals in the country were believed to date from the Norman Conquest, which took place in AD 1066. A leading researcher on medieval hospitals, Prof Nicholas Orme, said that the only other evidence for hospital activity prior to 1066 was within the context of monasteries or minsters. The earliest known hospital in England before this discovery was at  in , founded in the 1070's.

The Winchester dig has been taking place in Hospital Field, the location of the former St. Mary Magdalen Hospital which was believed to have been established in AD 1170.  The site has subsequently been used as a prison for Dutch prisoners in the 17th century and during the First World War as an army base.


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