Description: The district of Spital takes its name from the 12th century leper hospital which was dedicated to St Leonard. Spital House was built by Gervase Shaw in the early 18th century, and is believed to have occupied the site of religious buildings connected with the hospital. Its original tenant was Dr Bourns, and later occupants included the tobacco manufacturer, George Mason, and H Wilmott, the General Manager of the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway. It has been owned by the Earl of Shrewsbury, Sir T W Hunloke and the Rev. John Boyle in 1860. Following the war it was used as a storage depot and then as a convent school. Spital House was demolished as a dangerous building in 1950. See also DCCC000044.