Account book for the kitchen of the Hospital de Nuestra Señora de la Buena Dicha, Madrid

Account book prepared by the clerk of the Hospital de Nuestra Señora de la Buena Dicha, Madrid. Contains a daily list of foods used in the preparation of meals for the hospital's patients, mainly consisting of bread, meat, fowl, raisins, wine (both red and white) and oil, as well as herbs and fuel for cooking. Seasonal foods such as fruit are also included. Each day is divided into two sections, one for general expenditure, and one for supper. The latter often includes the number of patients being catered for.

At the end of each day the total expenditure is provided. Totals are also provided for each week, month and year.

1674-1675

1 volume

Purchased from Justin Croft Antiquarian Books, April 2010.

The Hospital de Nuestra Señora de la Buena Dicha was founded in 1564 (some sources say 1594) at 39 calle de Silva, Madrid, by Sebastián de Villoslada, Abbot of San Martin. It was situated next to the church of Nuestra Señora de la Buena Dicha, and run by the Hermandad de la Buena Dicha, a brotherhood of priests who worked to serve the poor of the parish. The hospital had twelve rooms.

During the 1808 May 2nd Uprising, the hospital treated many of the wounded. A number of heroes of the uprising, including Manuela Malasaña and Clara del Rey, were buried in a small cemetary behind the hospital. Sebastián de Villoslada had also been buried there following his death in 1597.

In the late nineteenth century, the hospital, church and cemetary were all demolished. The present church of Nuestra Señora de la Buena Dicha was built on the same site between 1914 and 1917. It was designed by the architect Francisco García Nava, under the patronage of the Marqueses de Hinojares.