THE OLD MEN'S HOSPITAL

In his will in 1666 Humphrey Babington left monies to build a home to house ' six poor widowers or bachelors to be selected from among the aged and impotent persons of good character from Barrow and Quorndon in the proportion of five from the former to one from the latter' . The occupants were to be called Theophilus Cave's bedesmen, an indication of the respect Babington had for his uncle. Each bedesman was issued with a blue cloak faced with white and was required to attend church every Sunday. The original building was a single storey of local granite. A second storey was added in 1802 to house 5 extra bedesmen. The house has been modernised more recently and now provides self contained accommodation for 7 elderly gentlemen. Over the gateway is an inscription in Latin which reads, in translation: 'Whatever memorial there may be of love and devotion to God and love for the poor, the righteous Theophilus Cave Esq. of Barrow on Soar has outshone by his supreme example. Further as a memorial to his outstanding faith and to his relation Humphrey Babington, Master of Philosophy, Trinity College, Cambridge, this house was built in A.D. 1694 '.

Money was also used from this trust to build the Old Women's Hospital in North St