Although a hospital dedicated to St Leonard in North Shields (eight miles northeast of Newcastle) was founded around 1220, the earliest written evidence of the foundation is a reference in an assize roll dated 1293. Very few medieval references to St Leonard’s have survived. Due to the association between hospitals dedicated to St Leonard and the care of lepers (individuals suffering from Hansen's Disease), however, it was assumed that the hospital cared for people with this stigmatised disease.

 

The foundations of a medieval building, later identified as St Leonard’s Hospital, were discovered in January 1885 by men working on the construction of Northumberland Park. 

 

A community dig in Northumberland Park took place from 2012 to 2014 at the site of St Leonards Hospital under the supervision of Richard Carlton of The Archaeological Practice in Newcastle. These excavations uncovered the hospital church and 88 human skeletons, including men, women, and children. 

SA15, whose story we tell here, was buried in front of the chancel in the crossing of the church, a location typically used for the burial of highly important individuals in the community.