By Martin Neal for InYourArea | Text and photo credits

Four beautiful legacy murals have been unveiled to celebrate a historic almshouse.

The colourful creations in Jeffries Passage in Guildford town centre are to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Archbishop George Abbot founding The Hospital of the Blessed Trinity, better known as Abbot’s Hospital, as a place of refuge for the elderly people of town.

He did so, he said, “out of love to the place of my birth”.

The colourful creations were made by art educators and ceramics specialists Liliana Montoya and Carlos España of Aluna Ceramics.

Prior to the unveiling, guests gathered in the courtyard of Abbot’s Hospital.

Chair of governors Colin Mullis welcomed Mayor of Guildford Councillor Dennis Booth and Mayoress Mary Booth along with Aluna Ceramics on behalf of the governors and the master of the hospital, Ian Bowler.

Guests then moved to Jeffries Passage for the unveiling of the four murals.

The panels – which are on permanent display – were unveiled by the mayor and mayoress of Guildford, Aluna Ceramics, the chair of governors and residents Ian Henderson and Margot Betts of Abbot’s Hospital.

Husband and wife Liliana and Carlos designed the panels with the assistance of a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

They were chosen in 2019 to lead and deliver the Abbot’s Hospital Memorial Community Arts project.

Each panel depicts dream-like scenes of Abbot’s throughout the centuries.

The first panel in the entrance to Jeffries Passage is dedicated to Archbishop Abbot – the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1611-1633 – as well as reflecting the history and impact his legacy has on communities and residents over the last four centuries.

They also include illustrations of historic events and changes that have taken place throughout the Grade I Listed building’s lifetime including poppies to signify war and remembrance, the battle of Dunkirk, the abolition of the slave trade and the invention of penicillin. There is a delightful tribute to the 1960s era and music depicted with a Yellow Submarine Beatles tile. Eras have been thoughtfully and intricately detailed in what is exquisite craftsmanship with images flowing from one century to the next.

Liliana and Carlos worked with Abbot’s Hospital residents and students from Wey Valley College and George Abbot School on design concepts. The pupils helped to create some of the tiles, learning new crafts skills along the way.

Archbishop Abbot was keen that residents should be able to learn new skill so it is fitting that the panels are located close to The Old Cloth Hall, which he originally set up as The Manufacture in 1629 – a venture to provide retraining skills for unemployed weavers.

The public display of these panels is a triumphant tribute to mark the culmination of the 2019 anniversary year assisted by a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund which included a number of successful community events, including an immersive exhibition at Guildford House Gallery and a short anniversary film which can be seen here.

Although the panels are to celebrate 400 years since the laying of the foundation stone for Abbot’s Hospital, it is appropriate they should be unveiled in 2022 as this year marks 400 years since the first residents moved into the hospital.

The panels are situated next to Abbot’s Hospital and opposite Holy Trinity Church, Archbishop Abbot’s resting place. There are also scheduled tours of Abbot’s Hospital on selected dates and times – for further details click here.

Colourful creations mark 400 years of Guildford almshouse | InYourArea News

Published by In You Area on 25 May 22

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In 1622 the Honywood Trust was created to provide homes for local people in Lenham and was united with the Douglas Charity in 1996, to provide homes for residents from Boughton Malherbe.

The latest expansion project of the Honywood and Douglas Almshouse Charity of Lenham and Boughton Malherbe in Kent has involved building work at 23 High Street over the past year. The existing property was bought by the Honywood and Douglas Charity in 2021 to convert into three new almshouses, which would make the total owned by the Charity in Lenham, twenty-nine.

Each of the new homes has been allocated to new residents, who should be moving in soon. They have an open-plan kitchen/living room and a single bedroom and wet-room. They share a garden in front.

On the 6th of October the church bells rang out and the Town Crier announced the arrival of Mr. Julian Marczak of The Almshouse Association, who came to officially ‘open’ the first two dwellings, Honywood Cottage and Douglas Cottage. The third is Flint Cottage, which is nearly finished.

As with all the Charity’s properties the new ones are for residents who are over 60 and who have lived in Lenham or Boughton Malherbe for at least two years. Following the official opening, the Charity Trustees and colleagues, together with 100 residents and special guests, held a tea-party at the Lenham Community Centre to celebrate the 400th Anniversary.

While enjoying a delicious afternoon tea, the Party was entertained with music from a Lenham Primary School choir, also pieces played by our Lenham harpist, Claire Houston. Guests could enjoy an historic exhibition of some of the Charity’s archives and records, and old deeds and maps of the original estate and land owned by the Charity. An enormous amount of research by dedicated historians went into the production of this remarkable display.

The Chairman and Trustees and officers of the Honywood and Douglas Charity gave their sincere thanks to the many volunteers who had helped to make this a great occasion of celebration and they look forward to welcoming their new residents very soon.

Posted 1 November 2022

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Sir Leonard Fenwick, trustee of the St Mary Magdalene & Holy Jesus Trust has laid the naming plaque to the Trust’s Magdalene Court development in Spital Tongues, Newcastle upon Tyne. Construction of the sustainable housing scheme is expected to complete next Summer.

All the properties meet the national space standards, have measures to improve energy efficiency and are accessible for disabled people. The development includes one block of fifteen one-bedroom apartments and three, three-bedroom homes for families.  

It will be the first time the Trust has provided homes for families and the decision to do so was a direct response to local community housing need.  

John Lee, Chairman of the St Mary Magdalene & Holy Jesus Trust, commented,

“The Magdalene Court scheme is an exciting development for the Trust. It both builds on what we have done successfully in the past in providing accommodation for older people, but also widens our scope to include providing accommodation for families. We consulted extensively on this scheme with partners and stakeholders and providing the mix of accommodation that we are doing will ensure that the Trust is using its assets effectively and efficiently to deliver benefit in the local community” 

26 October 2022

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Its great to see member charities raising the profile of almshouses in the news. The Richmond charities featured in the SW Londoner news in a piece published on 18 October 2022 by Noah Keate

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A Richmond based charity is helping to provide housing for vulnerable older people across the borough.

The Richmond Charities provides accommodation for economically insecure people 65 or over, with 140 properties across ten estates in Richmond and Twickenham. Last year, Age UK found two million pensioners lived in poverty, a 31% increase from 2013/14 and in 2018, the charity found 2,500 people aged 60 or over were officially homeless. 

Juliet Ames-Lewis, the chief executive of The Richmond Charities, said:

“When people come to need housing with us, they’re often very vulnerable, they’ve often fallen on hard times. It can be very difficult when you find yourself without a roof over your head. We’ve opened two new estates in the last three years and all the new housing is level access, so no stairs. We’re doing what we call future-proofing so that these will hopefully be homes that the elderly can continue to live in for the rest of their lives even if they have mobility issues.”

However, the listed status of older almshouses means making alterations is difficult.

The cost-of-living impact on The Richmond Charities

The impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the charity has been stark. Ames-Lewis explained:

“The cost of energy is the biggest issue for us, which is why we’ve spent the last two years putting as much insulation into properties as we could. We gave a grant of £250 to every single resident earlier this year which cost us about £40,000. We may need to do that again if the winter is very harsh.”

A charity’s success is defined by its links to the community and Ames-Lewis highlighted the success of the charity’s advertising. She said:

“We work very closely with other organisations throughout the borough: Age UK, Citizens Advice, Richmond Aid. There’s a myriad of voluntary organisations and they work with us and refer to us. But I think what’s really important now is that Richmond Council recognises that it’s not just the number of units of housing you need in any borough, it’s the range, it’s the variety.”

How local government supports vulnerable older people

How effectively does Richmond Council work with voluntary organisations? Piers Allen is a Liberal Democrat councillor for West Twickenham and Chair of the Adult Social Services, Health and Housing Committee.  Allen said:

“It looks likely that even with the aids the government has given, there are going to be lots of people worried about putting on their heating at home. We’re trying to work with charity sectors to find places in every part of the borough that could become warm hubs, so that’s working with churches, with the voluntary sector, with existing community boards.”

Allen also reported how the council assists charities through the Community Independent Living Services (CILS) fund, which different charities receive for their work. Yet housing availability remains a challenge. This is exacerbated by the council not owning its own housing stock, which is controlled by Richmond Housing Partnership. Allen said:

“Richmond Housing Partnership has our old council house stock and when there is housing available, we have certain rights to nominate individuals on the housing list. I think there are some issues that we need to work with them and understand in terms of how they’re helping to put in better insulation and reduce the energy costs for tenants. It’s also in terms of actually going back to the older housing stock and trying to work with their tenants and put in measures that reduce energy costs.”

Improving home insulation

The importance of secure home insulation is a recurring theme. Rachel Monaghan is the Programme Manager for Homes at the Centre for Ageing Better, a national charitable organisation ensuring all citizens enjoy a better later life. Their research showed 80% of the homes in 50 years time have already been built, requiring necessary insulation and improvement.  Monaghan said:

“In terms of homes, we know that there are just too many homes in our country that are in a really poor condition. ​​And we’ve done some analysis and understood that people aged 60 and over – both couples and people who live on their own – are most likely to be living in homes that are the least energy efficient. So of course, they’re going to be trying to heat their homes and a lot of that is going to be going out through leaky windows and up the chimney. There’s always a lot of focus on new homes and it is very easy to forget about the huge majority of homes are already there and if we don’t improve those homes they’re going to deteriorate. 

It’s also probably important to say that without improving our homes to make them more energy efficient, we’re never going to reach the government’s net zero target.”

The Centre for Ageing Better endorses a national retrofitting programme to improve energy efficiency. 

Making houses age-appropriate 

The support The Richmond Charities offers to older people needs to be reflected across the country. Professor Les Mayhew is head of Global Research at the International Longevity Centre UK, a global think tank promoting lifelong individual wellbeing. He argued a key component of wellbeing is age appropriate housing. Mayhew said:

“People now recognise older people’s housing: they need access to care, they need on-site wardens who will look after their interests, they need amenities, they need places to socialise.

The energy efficiency of the UK’s housing stock is inadequate. I think there’s an underlying issue which is the construction of housing and existing housing stock in this country, which is very poor from a thermal efficiency point of view.

Most houses should be in thermal efficiency category A but a lot of the private housing stock is going to be C, D or even E which means that lots of these houses are going to suffer from cold spells in winter, damp, all sorts of problems.”

Campaigners for more housing generally advocate building new properties for first time buyers. Mayhew, however, says building more retirement homes will benefit all age groups. He added:

“I certainly think not enough retirement housing is being built at the moment. If more retirement housing was built, it would actually ease the impact on first-time buyers, who are being shut out of the market.”

Given The Richmond Charities’ huge success, how could the charity move to the next stage? Ames-Lewis said removing red tape for improving buildings would help.  She said:

“The planning hurdles that planning departments in all councils put in the way is quite restrictive. We’re about to – hopefully next year – start building on a very small block of just five new almshouses on a site we already own but I’ve already had to spend about £50,000 with all the surveys the planning authorities make us go through.”

All four interviewees said strong communication between the state, private and voluntary sectors was important, to ensure they were able to work together cohesively and support housing older vulnerable people. Ames-Lewis added:

“We’re all working for the same aim.”

Featured image credit: Noah Keate
web link: Richmond charity helping vulnerable older people into secure housing (swlondoner.co.uk)

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posted 18 October 2022

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Almshouses in Burnham-on-Sea made a splash in the local news with their special anniversary celebration attended by trustees, residents and local dignitaries. Nick Phillips, CEO of The Almshouse Association was delighted to be on the guest list and to be asked to say a few words.

“A special event has been held in Burnham-On-Sea to mark the historic anniversary of a set of almshouses.

Ellen’s Cottages in Burnham-on Sea’s Berrow Road were built in 1868 with an endowment given by philanthropist John Saunders in memory of his late wife. The cottages have since been offered to “poor widows and spinsters of good character” and are now overseen by a charitable trust, which is marking its 75th year.

This week’s event was attended by over 50 local people including the charitable trust’s trustees, local residents and dignitaries. The function started with a period of silence and a tribute to The Queen from Burnham’s Mayor Cllr Lesley Millard and a prayer from Rev Graham Witts.

Trustee Tony Roost explained the history behind the cottages and its link with the philanthropist. He called the building “a real historic gem.” He noted that philanthropist John Saunders was born in 1809 and his father was a successful wine importer.  When John’s wife Ellen Louisa died at age 53 in Burnham in 1865, he decided to build Ellen’s Cottages in her memory for the benefit of ‘poor women’.

His will amounted to £80,000, which in today’s money would amount to around £9.5milliion. The money was left to hospitals, a refuge and charities that helped people with untreatable diseases, the destitute, and homeless.

During this week’s event, Nick Phillips, Chief Executive of the Almshouses Association, praised the local team who oversee the building, adding that they have had to undertake major repair work in recent years.

The Mayor added that the building is “a wonderful community asset” that will benefit local people for years to come.”

photos credit burnham-on-sea.com

posted Oct 22

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New High For Almshouses At Dovehouse Court

A Cambridge charity celebrated reaching a significant milestone in the building programme for its new almshouse development in Girton, with a Topping Out ceremony held on-site in May 22.

Representatives from Girton Town Charity, Barnes Construction, Northmores and Mole Architects assembled for the symbolic placement of the final ridge tile on one of the buildings to signify the completion of the build phase.

The next stage will be the installation of all the internal fixtures and fittings over the forthcoming six months, including electrics and plumbing. The project is on schedule with a completion date before the end of the year.

Dovehouse Court, which will comprise 15 almshouses and a new office for the charity, is being built to stringent Passivhaus standards. This 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:

“It is excellent news that we have finished the build phase at Dovehouse Court and have marked the occasion with a Topping Out ceremony. The teams working on the project will now be focusing on the internal aspects of the build. In addition to welcoming back residents who lived in the former bungalows on the site, at the beginning of 2023 we will also be inviting applications from Girton residents over 55 or those who have a close connection to the Village, with the plan to implement a series of phased appointments in the early months of the year.”

Mark Hart, Joint Managing Director, Barnes Construction added:

“We are delighted to have reached this significant stage in our project at Dovehouse Court and are now working on the next phase leading to completion of these energy-efficient almshouses. I’d like to thank both the consultant team and our own team on-site, including our first Passivhaus Champion Ben Cross, who has ensured we have met all required criteria along the way.”

[Above photo: Topping Out at Dovehouse Court, left to right: Ian Bramwell, Senior Associate, Mole Architects; Jamie Saunders, Director, Northmores ; Mark Hart, Joint Managing Director Barnes Construction; and Marc Bermann, Trustee, Girton Town Charity.]

See also: Girton Town Charity futureproofs village housing | (almshouses.org)

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Article by Robert Brown for the Basingstoke Gazette; 26th June 2022

“A recent report in The Gazette about the Deane’s Almshouses, in London Street, Basingstoke, has prompted some research into other almshouses that were established in the town.

In regard to the Deane’s Almshouses, these were founded by Sir James Deane in his will, dated August 19, 1607, with a sum of £1,837. They were built in 1608 and were designed to provide a home for elderly people who had no proper shelter and who were from the parishes of Basingstoke and district.

Over the years, there was an annual distribution of money among the individuals who lived in the eight homes. For example, in 1935, the total sum was £123, most of which was used to give each person six shillings and four pence per week, while at Christmas, 13 shillings and four pence was handed out.

In the middle of the 19th century, a pig market was held in front of the almshouses, but the weekly odours became too much for the residents to bear, so the market was moved to the top of Victoria Street. In 1964/5, the rear of the almshouses was renovated to give the residents better facilities.

Just around the corner, in Hackwood Road, is where Page’s Almshouses used to be situated, founded by Joseph Page, in 1802, for:

“two or more poor men or women, belonging to the congregation of Protestant dissenters, meeting at the chapel in London Street”.

Each resident had six shillings a week and a ton of coal yearly. In 1930, the almshouses were rebuilt as bungalows at the top of New Road, on the corner of London Road, but still only for three people. In 1975, new bungalows were built further down the road to allow more elderly people to live there.

At the top of Flaxfield Road were Acton’s Almshouses, bequeathed to the poor by James Acton in 1690. The four residences were rent-free. One of Mr Acton’s descendants, Mrs Anne Cowslade, left £400 in 1814 for repairs to the property, which was then demolished in 1955.

In Chapel Street, just below the right-hand side of the railway bridge, were two almshouses that were established in 1891 by John Burgess Soper. They were demolished in September 1965.

In Reading Road, on the north side, were the Little Almshouses for three people. Apparently, though, they were unendowed and their founder seems to be unknown. They were built in 1837 and demolished in 1968.

The provision of these almshouses began in the Middle Ages, a period of European history which began in the fifth century, when certain churches or bishops decided to open up homes for elderly people who were poor or frail in health with no relations or friends to look after them. Later on, guilds, corporates of merchants and sometimes private persons established these homes. An early example of this was St John’s Hospital, in Canterbury, which was established in 1108.

In Basingstoke, Walter de Merton opened up a home for aged and infirm priests in lower Church Street in the mid-13th century, which existed for several hundred years.

The almshouses in London Street were not the only contribution to the town by Sir James Deane. He left instructions in his will, among various commands, the sum of £1 each year for the repair of the roadway between the Market Place and St Michael’s Church. Another bequest was his benefaction to enable the alderman and wardens of the Holy Ghost School to declare its services free from 1609.

The Deane’s Almshouses once had a large elm tree planted nearby, in memory of Guy Fawkes’ attempt to blow up Parliament in 1605. Over the years, it grew into “a monster”, as one resident reported in 1809, just before it was cut down. This statement was confirmed by the measurement of its girth in its last days, for it was 14 feet around its trunk, at some distance from the ground.

The stagecoach drivers of that time were pleased to see the tree go, for its branches had spread across the street and were causing a hazard. Nowadays, London Street is blocked off by the Triumphal Gates, with their decorative panels depicting historic items of local interest. As such, the stagecoaches would never get through these days!”

Its wonderful to learn about the history of the Basingstoke Almshouses. If you would like to send us in a piece on the history (or the present!) of your local almshouses, please do send to karenmorris@almshouses.org

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