Jacques de Gastigny (also spelt Gatigny; died 1708), known in England as James Gastigny, was a French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

who served as

Master of the Buckhounds The Master of the Buckhounds (or Master of the Hounds) was an officer in the Master of the Horse's department of the British Royal Household. The holder was also His/Her Majesty's Representative at Ascot. The role was to oversee a hunting pack; a ...

to King William III. Through his will he founded the French Protestant Hospital in Finsbury, London, the first voluntary hospital in England.

Biography

Gastigny was a Huguenot military refugee who fled to Holland following the

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes The Edict of Fontainebleau (22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to practice their religion without s ...

in 1685. He was appointed Master of the Hounds to '' stadtholder'' William, then Prince of Orange. He followed William to England after the Glorious Revolution and fought alongside him in the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and J ...

in 1690. He returned with William to England, although apparently, along with other Dutch courtiers of the new king, he did not wish to stay there. Many of those who followed William from Holland feared they would not be given positions at English court, and would be resented by the English.

Constantijn Huygens Jr. Constantijn Huygens Jr., Lord of Zuilichem (10 March 1628 – October 1697), was a Dutch statesman and poet, mostly known for his work on scientific instruments (sometimes together with his younger brother Christiaan Huygens). But, he was also a c ...

recorded in his diary that Gastigny told him on 23 March 1689 "that he did not want to stay in London, and that most of the hatred and anger befell the favourite." However, Gastigny was appointed Master of the Buckhounds to King William on 9 September 1689, staying in this position until 1698. He later appeared on the

Patent Rolls The patent rolls (Latin: ''Rotuli litterarum patentium'') are a series of administrative records compiled in the English, British and United Kingdom Chancery, running from 1201 to the present day. Description The patent rolls comprise a register ...

as entitled to a £500 pension each year. Gastigny died in London in 1708.

Legacy

Himself a refugee in Holland, Gastigny wanted to provide for the Huguenot refugees in England. He was a member of the French Committee responsible for distributing the Royal Bounty to the refugees. In his will dated April 1708, he originally left £1,000 () to benefit poor French Protestants – £500 for an infirmary and £500 for a

pest house A pest house, plague house, pesthouse or fever shed was a type of building used for persons afflicted with communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera, smallpox or typhus. Often used for forcible quarantine, many towns and cities had one ...

to be converted to a home for the aging. The funds were allowed to accrue interest. Philippe Ménard, executor of Gastigny's estate, solicited for additional funds through public subscriptions for the hospital, known as ''La Providence''. The hospital opened in 1718 by Royal Charter, with

Henri de Massue, Earl of Galway Henri de Massue, 2nd Marquis de Ruvigny, Earl of Galway, (9 April 16483 September 1720) was a French Huguenot soldier and diplomat who was influential in the English service in the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession. Biograp ...

serving as its first governor. A painting of Gastigny by

Pierre Mignard Pierre Mignard or Pierre Mignard I (17 November 1612 – 30 May 1695), called "Mignard le Romain" to distinguish him from his brother Nicolas Mignard, was a French painter known for his religious and mythological scenes and portraits. He was ...

, circa 1680, is in the collection of the French Hospital, now on display in the Huguenot Museum in Rochester, Kent. Gastigny Place, located near the original hospital location in St Luke's Parish, was named in his honour. It intersected Radnor Street and Galway Streets, just west of

Moorfields Eye Hospital Moorfields Eye Hospital is a specialist NHS eye hospital in Finsbury in the London Borough of Islington in London, England run by Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Together with the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, which is adjacen ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gastigny, Jacques 17th-century births Year of birth unknown French emigrants to England Huguenots Masters of the Buckhounds 1708 deaths