This article appeared in Exeter Cathedral’s monthly News in December 2024.
St Loye was born in about 588 near Limoges, close to the middle of what is now France. He trained and worked as a goldsmith, rising to master of the mint and then councillor to the King of the Franks. He took advantage of royal favour to obtain alms for the poor, ransom slaves, and give criminals decent burials. He founded several monasteries, and built and restored churches in Paris. In 642, he was (unwillingly) appointed Bishop of Noyon-Tournai with the unanimous approval of clergy and people. He died on 1 December 660, and 1 December is now his feast day.1
Many early saints are surrounded by legend. St Loye is said to have reshod a reluctant horse, which he thought possessed by demons, by cutting off its foreleg, shodding it, then miraculously reattaching it to the horse. So St Loye became the patron saint of horses and those who work with them. His other patronages include vets, goldsmiths, coin collectors, and the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) corps in the British Army. He is particularly honoured in parts of northern France and Belgium.
So what is his connection with Exeter?
It probably started with the dedication of the Chapel of St Loye. According to Historic England’s listing,2 it “was built by Henry Twill in 1377 and was dedicated to St Loye the patron saint of metal workers.” The dedication is unusual; it is the only one known in Devon or Cornwall.3 Maybe it was simply the whimsy of the lord of the manor. The Chapel is now in the parish of St Michael’s Heavitree, and from time to time they hold a service in the ruins. You might like to keep an eye out for future events.
Later came St Loye’s College, founded in 1937 to help people with disabilities overcome societal barriers and achieve their potential. This became the St Loye’s Foundation, providing training in eg occupational therapy, and the charity StepOne after merging with the Community Care Trust.4
Now St Loyes is a ward within Exeter City Council on the east side of the city. Bizarrely it doesn’t encompass either the area around St Loyes Road often labelled as ‘St Loyes’ on maps, nor the old St Loye’s Foundation site, nor even St Loye’s Chapel, which is the other side of Rifford Road. Note that it doesn’t do to get worked up about apostrophes either!
In any case, there have been many versions of St Loye through the ages. He signed himself Eligius, the Latin form of his name, which comes from eligere meaning to choose.5 He also appears as Eloy, Éloy, Éloi, Loy, Loys, Lewis, Elius, Eligious, Eligio and Eligiusz.
Some readers might remember “St Elsewhere”, the US medical drama series set in a fictional Boston Hospital called St Eligius.6 That St Elsewhere got me thinking: where are all the other St Loyes elsewhere in the country? I’ve found a few: St Loy Cove, Cornwall; Weedon Lois and St Loys school; St Loy’s Chapel in Cheshire; St Elius Chapel in Spindleston Heugh; a window of the poor horse in St James the Great Slapton, and a sculpture in St Nicholas’ Church Durweston. Do you know of anywhere else?
Footnotes
1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Eligius
2https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1003868?section=official-list-entry
3https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MDV16822&resourceID=104
4https://steponecharity.co.uk/our-history/
5https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10940/images/fig255.png and there is also a portrait available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Petrus_christus,_sant’eligio_nella_bottega_di_un_orafo_01.jpg
Very interesting, but apostrophes matter. There was one saint Loye so the plural is simply wrong!
…which is why I counselled the reader against getting worked up! At least we aren’t living in St Eligiu’s ward!!