King Charles III Coronation Tea Parties!

We have some wonderful photos coming in from our members of their Coronation celebrations!

Above and below, residents, trustees, family and guests were joined by the Mayor of Newbury, Councillor Gary Norman as well as the Garston Gallopers Morris Dancers at Donnington Hospital Trust’s Coronation Tea.

At Winnocks and Kendalls Almshouse Charity, the Coronation was celebrated with a lunch for residents.

This fabulous photo shows trustees Anna Daniell and Wendy Allen serving homemade cream scones to resident, Mrs Edith Lee – aged 102! 

Everyone dressed up for the special occasion!

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At Thomas Watson Cottage Homes in Barnet, Hertfordshire they marked the occasion with a Coronation tea and the planting of two trees by Mrs. Jenny Harrold, Chairman of Trustees, and Mrs Yvonne Kelly, one of the almshouse’s longest-serving residents.

And residents and staff of Wyggestons and Trinity Almshouses Charity celebrated the Coronation of King Charles III with a day of events at Lancaster House, Leicester.

The charity provided a hog roast to over 100 residents of the almshouses and care home along with specially commissioned cupcakes and refreshments.

Despite the poor weather the residents enjoyed the music from a local jazz band and watched the Coronation in the new Lancaster House facilities including in the impressive Duchy Lounge, named to honour the Charity’s unique relationship with the Crown through the Duchy of Lancaster.

We look forward to receiving more of your stories and photos !

Wiltshire almshouse given complete makeover

John Baker
26 March 2023

Writing for the Wiltshire Times, John Baker takes a tour around the newly renovated Lady Brown’s Cottages almshouse run by Trowbridge Almshouses Trust. He writes the following:

[Pictured above: Trowbridge Mayor Cllr Graham Hill with Trowbridge Almshouses Trust chairman Glyn Bridges and fellow trustees at 3 Polebarn Road, one of the Lady Brown’s Cottages originally built in memory of Sir Roger Brown’s wife Sarah. Photo Trevor Porter 69712 (Image: Trevor Porter)]

“A Wiltshire almshouse has been given a new lease of life ahead of welcoming another beneficiary.

Mayor of Trowbridge Cllr Graham Hill inspected the improvements at one of Lady’s Brown’s Cottage Homes with Cllr Glyn Bridges, the chairman of Trowbridge Almshouses Trust and fellow trustees.

Cllr Bridges said: “The cottage has been given a complete makeover, with a new kitchen, bathroom, central heating, carpets and flooring. We have done as much as we can to make it pleasant for the next tenant, who are known as beneficiaries“.

Wiltshire Times: The living room at the renovated almshouse in Polebarn Road. Photo: Trevor Porter 68705-4

Wiltshire Times: The new bathroom at the renovated almshouse in Polebarn Road. Photo: Trevor Porter 68705-3

“The recently renovated cottage was one of six originally built in Polebarn Road by Wiltshire’s former High Sheriff Sir William Roger Brown in memory of his late wife Sarah who died on December 6 1899.

The plaque at Lady Brown’s Cottage Homes in Polebarn Road. Photo: Trevor Porter 68705-2 (Image: Trevor Porter)
Wiltshire Times: The recently-renovated almshouse originally built in 1900 by Trowbridge benefactor Sir Roger Brown in memory of his wife Sarah. Photo: Trevor Porter 68705-1

Sir Roger, a wealthy Victorian mill owner and clothier, built and endowed two blocks of almshouse cottages in her memory to house six widows.

Known as Lady Brown’s Cottage Homes,  they have been altered to make five dwellings. Pevsner describes their style as “deliberately rustic, many-chimneyed and many-gabled”.

“Sir Roger, who was High Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1898-99, also donated Trowbridge Town Hall and the land on which the Newtown Primary School was built.

posted 5 Mar 23

Case Study: Edward Mayes Trust, Manchester

In October 2021 The Almshouse Association provided The Edward Mayes Trust in Manchester with a £25,000 loan towards the cost of building two one-bedroomed apartments on a small unloved plot of land at its Mayes Gardens estate.

Paul Harrison, Secretary to the Trustees has recently provided an update on the project:

“The Trust began looking into the feasibility of developing a small unloved plot of land at its Mayes Gardens estate in 2017, employing Triangle Architects to provide the trustees with options to develop new units on a small piece of land at the edge of the estate.

From the options provided, the trustees decided to develop two one-bedroom apartments on the site, following further site investigations and discussions with the local authority a planning application was submitted to the local authority which was granted in 2018.

Fast forward to early 2022 having put the covid pandemic behind us, the Trust could move forward with the development. Following discussion with the architect and project manager it was decided to look at using a modern method of construction in which steel framed accommodation units are manufactured off site and craned into position. This modern method of construction suited the development of a small plot of land and would minimise disruption to the residents on the estate.”

Sourcing funds

“The Trust began to explore how funding could be obtained to supplement its reserves to be used in constructing the properties.

An application was made to the Almshouse Consortium Ltd for Homes England grant funding which resulted in a £130,000 grant being secured. The Trust had previously applied for Almshouse Association 10 year interest free loans and was again successful in being given a £25,000 loan to assist with the project. A new source of grant funding was also secured through the Ministry of Housings community housing fund which awarded the Trust £22,000, this grant was to be used for developing the project and paying for enabling works prior to signing the building contract. All the additional funding secured made the development financially viable and allowed the Trust to begin construction of the two affordable homes in May 2022 following a tendering process.

To give yourself surety in delivering a successful project it is key to engage a professional project team, I am happy to recommend the following consultants which the Trust have used many times: Triangle Architects based in Manchester, Saffer Cooper Consultancy-project managers, and Poole Dick Associates-employers agent/quantity surveyors.”

Project Management and Communication

“The construction phase hasn’t been without its problems ranging from labour and material shortages to issues with connecting the utilities; however, the project team have managed the contract closely and will achieve a successful practical completion at the end of January 2023.

Two applicants have already been selected and both have accepted offers of the new apartments and are busily making plans to move in. It is advisable to select your beneficiaries as early as you can and keep them informed throughout the process so they are ready to move when the keys are available.

Throughout the planning and construction phase we have kept local councillors updated as it is beneficial to have them fully supporting you throughout the process.

Through its many successful development projects, the Trust has learned the importance of staying focused, persevering, and taking sound advice from a professional project team.

Paul Harrison
12 January 2023

If you are a member of The Almshouse Association and looking for funding assistance, please contact us by email at fenellahall@almshouses.org or call us on 01344 452922.

More details can also be found here

posted March 2023

Case Study: Burkitt Homes, King’s Lynn

The Board of Trustees of Burkitt Homes Almshouses in King’s Lynn have just finished their latest significant project of ongoing refurbishment and improvements to the original 12 apartments.

Originally built in 1909, Burkitt Homes is a traditional quadrangle build in red brick under clay plain tiled roofs providing what were originally 12 bedsit type homes with central castellated entrance tower, board room, separate wash house and, by the standards of the day, modern external bath houses (removed many years ago). The buildings were clearly of a high quality specification in their day and weathered well over the years.

About ten years ago, the trustees of the charity agreed that the homes were due a significant internal upgrade and renovation to bring them up to modern standards. It was essential in order to find new residents as very old and long standing occupants passed on. At the same time, it was decided to combine the smallest apartments into neighbouring units to create the option of units with separate living rooms and bedroom. It was not necessary to combine all the units as the prime location of the almshouses, right in the historic heart of one thousand year old Kings Lynn – a former Hanseatic League port town – has meant that, once refurbished, these ones are in high demand from new residents when a vacancy occurs.

This case study concentrates on homes 11 & 12; the combining of these two smaller units that were both in immediate need of complete internal renovation in order to make them suitable for occupation.

BEFORE

The trustees used their previous experience to design the combination of two units and add improvements. Rewiring was carried out, all new kitchen fitted, new shower room with sealed wet floor and all new sanitary fittings. There had been previous alterations and basic additions in about the 1970s and these were reversed. Internal floor levels were all re-levelled to remove trip hazards. Complete internal redecoration was carried out which, along with new lighting provision, vastly brightened the accommodation. The Trust’s policy is to provide carpets and curtains for a new ingoing resident.

and AFTER…

The new apartment provides accommodation of entrance hall, utility room with plumbing for washing machine and a drier, living room with dual aspects to Queen Street and the internal lawned quad, double bedroom with large store area (created from the former second entrance hall), rear lobby with cupboard, large shower room, and rear hall with a separate WC and entrance door to an enclosed courtyard. The shower room, separate WC and utility room have had wet wall board applied to the walls for easy maintenance and insulation, and the kitchen and other ancillary rooms (except the living room and bedroom) had lowered false ceilings put in to improve insulative qualities. Secondary glazing is due to be fitted.

Following the completion of the works the new, enlarged apartment was advertised seeking a resident with a connection to or from King’s Lynn, over the age of 55 and “in need”. Within a short while a new resident was appointed and is now happily ensconced.

The trustees are grateful to The Almshouse Association for their assistance in providing an interest free loan of £65,000 that has gone a long way in covering the up-front capital costs of this job. They are now embarking on another refurbishment!

Sent in by Tim Landles – Chairman of the Burkitt Homes Board of Trustees.

The Association is looking forward to seeing the impressive results from their next project!
Well done to everyone involved !

Posted March 2023

Case Study: Jarvis Eleemosynary Almshouses

The 12 almshouses at Staunton On Wye, Herefordshire, were built in 1858/9, with money left by George Jarvis (1704-1793).

George Jarvis was born in 1704 at The Green, a farmstead in Staunton-on-Wye, and later lived at Old Weston in Bredwardine. When he was 13 or thereabouts he decided to join his older brother in London as an apprentice currier, and he is believed to have walked there with cattle drovers. He prospered as a currier and leather cutter, and bought properties in central London and Weston Green in Surrey. 

With assistance of funding from The Almshouse Association, the almshouses at Staunton On Wye have been undergoing refurbishment works including:

  • damp proofing
  • fitting new kitchens
  • transforming the bathrooms into wet rooms
  • new flooring
  • decorating.

The Charity was able to cover some of the costs by drawing down from their investments and a £50,000 loan from The Almshouse Association.

“Thank you very much for doing the refurbishment works. It has improved my life and it is a completely different world having a new kitchen and bathroom”.

Jarvis Eleemosynary Almshouses Resident
Resident stands in his new kitchen and wetroom

posted March 2023

WORCESTER CHARITY SCORES 100 NOT OUT

Worcester Municipal Charities has created another 4 flats for the single homeless in Worcester city centre, taking the total they own to 68, which, together with their other 32 “retirement almshouses” makes it a grand total of “100 not out”.

Robin Walker, Worcester MP and Worcester Mayor Adrian Gregson, with Paul Griffith MBE, Chairman of the Charity, together with the Charity’s trustees and onlookers at “Inglethorpe Court” in the Hopmarket Yard on Friday 13 January 2023 .

Since 2012 the Charity has created 68 new “affordable” almshouse flats for the single homeless, raising the money by selling some commercial properties and then a generous grant of £200,000 from Homes England which made the whole project immediately viable.  

The four flats were created from two ancient former warehouse annexes for the old Anderson and Virgo’s Chemists shop at 12 Foregate Street. When it closed down and became the Good News Shop, the warehouses became surplus to requirements and deteriorated over the years. They were landlocked, so repairs were problematic and they were taken over by pigeons. For a short time they were used as offices by Citizens’ Advice but were no longer needed after the pandemic.

The appointed architects for the building works were Lett & Sweetland, with builders D & S Contractors. The very high quality of the conversion and fitting out was generally the subject of much admiration on the day.

Richard Inglethorpe, in whose memory the 4 flats have been named, was a wealthy benevolent brewer, who originally donated six almshouses to the Charity, now long since gone.

Inglethorpe’s will of 1618 ordained that the almshouses should be awarded to:

“six poor men of the said City being of honest life and report, and such as are either very aged, blind, lame, sick of the palsy, or falling sickness, and by reason of their age or infirmity of body, are not able to work and labour for their living, and also one poor woman, being likewise of honest life and report, and of the age of 50 years at the least, or upwards, which woman shall wash the clothes of the said six poor men, make their beds and attend upon them in all times of their sickness to help them and provide things necessary for them.”

Charity Chairman Paul Griffith commented,

“We won’t be appointing a similar handmaiden here, as I understand times have changed since then, and that some men may even make their own beds!”

WORCESTER MUNICIPAL CHARITIES (CIO) met on 25th January for their ANNUAL TRUSTEES’ MEETING 2023 and agreed to £453,170.62 in grants to “charities doing the most, for those in greatest financial need in Worcester”. To read about how the charity will be spending their money in 2023 and past projects, click here: www.almshouses.org/news/worcester-municipal-charity-awards-435170-62-in-grants

posted March 2023

More New Homes Completed

Girton Town Charity Celebrates Handover Of New Homes for local residents

A Cambridge charity is marking the completion of a £5 million building project to create 15 new energy-efficient almshouses for local residents.

Following an 18-month building programme, Girton Town Charity took ownership of Dovehouse Court, where all the homes have been built to stringent Passivhaus standards to achieve maximum energy efficiency. The development also includes a new office for the charity.

The project was funded by Girton Town Charity (GTC) and a £675,000 grant from the Combined Authority, and delivered by Barnes Construction, Northmores and Mole Architects.

The homes have been designed for extended independent living with an internal layout that includes a master bedroom and small second room, open plan living/kitchen/dining area with access to balconies or individual terraces on the ground floor. There’s also a central communal landscaped garden with seating, an orchard and allotments. 

Being built to Passivhaus standards results in low energy costs and improved indoor air quality, all made possible by installing energy-efficient windows and doors, with stricter levels of airtightness,  mechanical ventilation and heat recovery, as well as high levels of building insulation.

Ann Bonnett, Chair of GTC said:

“This is a major milestone for us and we are delighted to have now taken ownership of Dovehouse Court and after many years, seen our plans to futureproof housing in our Village come to fruition. I’d like to thank all the contractors who worked on the site for doing such a splendid job over the last 18 months as well as my fellow trustees.

“We are also very grateful to the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority which has given us a grant of £675,000 towards the cost of creating these new homes to be appreciated by residents for many years to come.”

Matthew Ramplin, Senior Contracts Manager, Barnes Construction added:

“Dovehouse Court has been a special project for us, building to Passivhaus standards to create energy-efficient almshouses that will be cost-effective to run and comfortable for residents. I’d like to thank our consultant team, our own team on-site and also GTC for giving us the opportunity to be part of its vision to expand housing provision in the Village.”

Over the next few weeks, GTC will be welcoming back residents who lived in the former bungalows on the site, as well as inviting applications from Girton residents over 55 or those who have a close connection to the Village and would like to be considered for one of the homes.

To photo, left to right:  Jamie Saunders, Director, Northmores; Matthew Ramplin, Senior Contracts Manager, Barnes Construction; Ann Bonnett, Chair, Girton Town Charity; Robin Hiley, Trustee, Girton Town Charity and Ian Bramwell, Director, Mole Architects.

 www.girtontowncharity.org.uk

posted March 2023

Award win for Wyggestons in Leicester

The last 12 months have seen major changes for Wyggestons, the charity which has been successfully providing sheltered housing, housing related support and care services for vulnerable older people in Leicester for the last 500 years.

Not only did they complete an impressive extension to their facilities, but they were also named as one of the best construction projects in Leicestershire, having won one of only seven awards given by ProCon Leicestershire awards.

Submitted by Corporate Architecture, Wyggestons were thrilled to win the award for ‘Large Residential Scheme of the Year’ at the annual award ceremony at the King Power Stadium on 10th November 2022.

‘Lancaster House’, the imposing new three-storey extension to the already established facilities, has added high quality accommodation, comprised of six bungalows and eight one and two-bedroom flats, as well as a new administration hub, conference room and community lounge.

Originally founded as an almshouse charity in 1513, Wyggestons has now improved current facilities for residents and staff, bringing them in line with modern day requirements whilst providing more housing to expand the amount of older people Wyggestons can assist, through a sustainable development. The project has enabled the charity to accommodate hundreds of residents across the almshouses and residential care facilities, set within five acres of private grounds in the Westcotes suburb, within easy reach of the city centre facilities and transport links.

Chris Jones, CEO of Wyggestons, says:

“The ProCon award really was the icing on the cake last year. We’re so proud of our new facilities and the difference they are making to our residents and visitors, and not to forget the staff too. It’s just wonderful that that project has been recognised in this way.”

Wyggestons worked with Andrew Granger and Co. whose role was to manage all the elements and liaise with the key stakeholders to bring this project to fruition, whilst working alongside local architect Corporate Architecture.

More information on Wyggestons can be found at www.wyggestons.org.uk.

Posted March 23

Ewelme almshouses in Country Life

Delighted to see the Ewelme almshouses in Oxfordshire featured in the February 2023 issue of Country Life magazine.

Writer, Toby Keel takes a look at the medieval almshouses set up by Chaucer’s grand-daughter that are still flourishing today.

A copy of the article can be accessed by clicking in the link below:

Ewelme, Oxfordshire: The medieval almshouses set up by Chaucer’s grand-daughter and still running today

Written by Toby Keel for Country Life
14 February 2023

click here to read the article

posted 16 March 2023

Southwark Charities new almshouse project

Chris Wilson, CEO/Clerk to the trustees of Southwark Charities recently recorded a podcast about the charity’s plans to build a new almshouse development in central London with construction starting shortly.

The architect of Southwarks new development, Justin Nicholls of Fathom Architects and Chris Wilson were contacted by Christine Murray from ‘The developer’ to talk about housing for older people in the city of London. 

“Figures from the 2021 census revealed there are 2.5m people aged 50 or older living in London, while the OECD estimates that older adults comprise 15% of the population of metropolitan areas of the UK. The OECD report calls for infrastructure and urban forms to be redesigned to consider walking, affordable housing and social participation as effective measures of preventative care.“

As Christine Murray from The Developer

“We know almshouses have been in existence for over 1,000 years yet they stand the test of time. They support independent living, yet alleviate the isolation and loneliness that exist in anonymous tower blocks. They are places of sanctuary and safety where residents experience a sense of community and compassion.”

Chris Wilson, CEO/Clerk Southwark Charities

To read the article and listen to the podcast, please click in the link below:

the developer
Ageing in place: a new almshouse for London

Could a new almshouse in Blackfriars be a future model for independent, affordable living for older Londoners? Chris Wilson, CEO of Southwark Charities and Justin Nicholls, founding director of Fathom Architects share their vision.

click here

posted 1 March 2023