Seal of St Mary Magdalene Leper Hospital

Seal matrix of the Religious House and Leper Hospital of St Mary Magdalene, Mile End. This vesica-shaped (pointed oval) seal matrix has a legend in black letters: ‘Sigillu domus dei et sce marie magdelene iuxta myle ende’. The appearance of Jesus Christ to St Mary Magdalene is shown in the centre. Christ stands on the right, wrapped in a shroud which leaves the wounded side exposed. He holds the Resurrection banner in His left hand and a spade in His right. Mary Magdalane kneels on the left. She has long hair and holds the alabaster box of ointment. The figures stand on a bridge of three arches (possibly intended to represent the sepulchre). Situated between the hamlets of Mile End and Stratford at Bow on the outskirts of the City, the hospital of St Mary Magdalene was one of five 'Lazar Houses' for leprosy patients in London. It had a chapel, houses for patients and a suite of rooms for the overseer. St Bartholomew's Hospital took over the administration of the hospital in 1549, and all the leper patients who had previously been treated in the City were transferred to rural Mile End. Mary Magdalene is the patron saint of lepers. Every religious house had a unique seal to validate decrees executed in its name.