LONDON, 30 JULY, 2020 – Southwark Charities unveiled emerging plans for rebuilding its almshouses situated on Nicholson Street, Blackfriars, SE1.
For over 250 years, Southwark Charities has provided charitable housing on the site for those in need, hardship or distress and intends to continue to fulfil its historic mission by providing new modern homes for the 21st century.
Southwark Charities’ Almshouses provide accommodation for older people of limited means, who have been resident in the borough for at least five years, enabling them to live safely and independently for as long as possible, for an extremely modest maintenance charge, making them truly affordable.
The existing almshouses were built in 1973 and are reaching the end of their useful life. The primary purpose of this proposed new development is to build 60 new almshouses, more than double the existing number, on the Blackfriars site.
In addition, there will be around 220,000 sq.ft of high quality office space, 10% of which will be affordable workspace available to other Southwark-based charities and local entrepreneurs. This will not only support jobs in the area but also generate income and capital to pay for the almshouses.
The proposed scheme will also feature a charitable hub with accessible community facilities for residents and others in the locality, and a new, enlarged, on-site Prince William Henry public house (a fixture since 1785) will replace the existing one. Sensitively landscaped gardens, roof terraces and public footpaths will be a key feature, including a new east-west pedestrian link in the form of “Edwards’ Walk”, a nod to the founding father of Southwark Charities.
The aim is to deliver a highly sustainable, socially responsible mixed-use scheme which will create a vibrant and striking presence onto Blackfriars Road.
Commenting on the planned scheme, Chris Wilson, Clerk to the Trustees of Southwark Charities, said:
“The Charity has built almshouses in the 18th, 19th & 20th centuries, and now we need to rebuild them for the 21st century. Significant investment would be required to bring the existing units up to contemporary standards – that’s why we need to replace them rather than remodel them. The opportunity exists to double the provision by building 60 modern, purpose-built Almshouses to meet changing regulations, including a focus on sustainability, mobility access and community living”.
The History of Southwark Almshouses
The genesis of Southwark Charities’ Almshouse provision dates from 1717, when a wealthy stonemason, Edward Edwards, left his property and the rents from them to a group of trustees from his parish church to acquire land and erect almshouses for “decayed housekeepers and widows”. The site was acquired in 1752 for £350, and the first almshouses were built in 1753, and eventually grew to a total of 44 homes. By the latter half of the 19th century, the buildings were not fit for purpose, and so were demolished and rebuilt to an archetypal Victorian pattern. Following bomb damage in the Second World War and the general dilapidation of the area, the Victorian almshouses were demolished in their turn and the current Edward Edwards’ House was opened in 1973.
The accommodation is for individuals over 55 years old who are in need, hardship or distress and who have been resident in the Greater London area for the past five years. However, preference is given to residents of the London Borough of Southwark.
Today, Southwark Charities focuses on five core areas:
• Provision of accommodation for older people
• Educational grants for schools in the borough
• Relief in need for the elderly
• Administrative services for other charities in Southwark
• Grant giving – the Charity supports the elderly people of Southwark via grants and gifts totalling £325,000 per annum.
The site was originally used as tenter grounds and market gardens; tenter grounds were fields covered in long wooden frames, onto which newly manufactured cloth was hooked and stretched taut to dry after the process of fulling (the removal of oils, dirt and impurities). Mr Boyfield’s “Dye-house” is shown on maps immediately to the south of the site. Generations of Boyfields were trustees and there is a Boyfield Street nearby.
The saying ‘on tenterhooks’ comes from this process of stretching cloth under tension on the frames and leaving it out to dry. The eastern half was given to market gardens, for the cultivation of food crops for sale in and around London. Although not reflected on maps, part of the land purchased by the trustees was then known as the ‘Physick Garden’, where herbs were grown for medicinal use. Shortly after the first almshouses were built, the remaining undeveloped land was leased for use as kitchen gardens.
Image credit: Secchi Smith