Medical Heritage, Green Infrastructure and Community Wellbeing

The project aims to explore how the ruins of a medieval leper hospital chapel could be collaboratively transformed into a site promoting community health and wellbeing.

The pilot site in Maldon, Essex, comprises the ruins of a medieval leper hospital chapel (St Giles) set within a generous green space. It is currently closed to the public due to recurrent issues with graffiti and anti-social behaviour. The team will work with community groups and the local council to rehabilitate a problematic piece of green infrastructure/heritage space as a microstudy for the potential of small green spaces/heritage sites to act as holistic health and wellbeing spaces.

Through this project, Drs Dale and Washbourne aim to explore how we could begin to collaboratively transform the site from a drain on local government resources to a community asset by engaging with the stories, spaces and practices of medical heritage and using opportunities for being active in green space to further promote community health and wellbeing.