In 1137 the management of the institution was given over to the Knights
of St. John of Jerusalem; the cross still worn as a badge by the
Brethren is a link with the ancient Order, being the cross _potent_, or
Jerusalem cross, which was an insignia of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
established by the Crusaders.
[Illustration: ST. CROSS FROM THE MEADOWS]
Shortly after the death of de Blois a dispute arose between the
Hospitallers and the bishop, but after the lapse of many years the
management was restored to the latter, then Peter de Rupibus, who
appointed Alan de Soke as Master. In 1446, Cardinal Beaufort, Wykeham's
successor in the see, added a new foundation to St. Cross, to be called
"The Almshouse of Noble Poverty". De Blois's charity had been intended
to benefit the very needy; this of Beaufort's was designed for those who
had fallen upon evil days after a life of ease and comfort. There were
to be two priests, thirty-five brethren, and three sisters. The brethren
were to be of gentle birth, or old servants of the founder. The scheme,
however, was never completed, owing to the Wars of the Roses
intervening, with the result that the estates with which he had intended
to endow his almshouse were claimed by the Crown on the accession of the
House of York.
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