Gillian Kent, Clerk to the Governors at Christ’s Hospital Almshouses in Abingdon sent us in some wonderful photos of their almshouse party that took place held on 30th July 2021 as part of The Almshouse Assocation’s 75th anniversary celebrations.

Gillian writes:

“When the call came from The Almshouse Association to show our support for their 75th Anniversary, there was no question that the staff would rally round.  We have tapped into their endless resources of forms and policy templates, training and general good advice and we felt as though this was the perfect opportunity to ‘give back’.

So much planning, so much preparation, consideration and a lot of weather watching – the day finally came, and the weather was indeed appalling.   Nevertheless, we held our nerve.  We kept calm and carried on!  The health and safety briefing was held in the garden with the residents in their waterproofs and then it was time to open the doors and hang on valiantly to the gazebo and the teacups as the wind tried to whisk us away!   It was incredibly fortunate that we had an empty almshouse available that could be opened as a ‘show home’ on the day, without too much disturbance to other residents.  We opened our Long Alley historic hall and also the very private back gardens to Long Alley. 

With the opening up of the almshouse and gardens being a complete one off, people’s curiosity got the better of them despite the rain.  We had around 150 visitors on the day and they were treated to tales from the residents, information about the almshouses and The Almshouse Association, of which we are proud members, and all the history we could muster from our incorporation in 1553 by King Edward VI’s royal charter to the present day.  The staff, trustees and residents who volunteered to help all seemed to thoroughly enjoy ‘showing off’ what we have achieved.  The event was attended by Abingdon Town’s Mayor.

The Hospital Hall will again be open for Heritage Open Days – Saturday 18th September 10am to 4pm.

Posted 24 August 2021

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