CASE STUDY: How a £40,000 loan from The Almshouse Association helped tackle damp and improve residents’ homes.
The Almshouse Association supports member charities to develop, maintain and improve their almshouses through grants and loans, helping trustees provide safe, warm and comfortable homes for residents while preserving their historic buildings.
Lybbe’s Almshouses in Goring-on-Thames received a £40,000 loan from the Association to help fund essential refurbishment works, tackling longstanding damp problems and ensuring a healthier home for its residents.
They have kindly put together the below details to share with the membership.
A 300-year-old heritage and a longstanding damp problem
Lybbe’s Almshouses are located next to St Thomas of Canterbury Church in Goring-on-Thames.
The cottages were built in 1708 and bequeathed by Richard Lybbe in 1714 to the ancient parishes of Goring, Checkendon and Whitchurch. The properties are Grade II listed and consequently any refurbishment must be undertaken taking this into account.
The above photograph shows the cottages as they are today, two semi-detached houses; however, they were originally built as four separate dwellings for the benefit of the “poor men” of the parish.
In 1967 the cottages were modernised and reduced to the two we have today and during this process some attempt was made to cure damp issues by part rendering the outside walls, painting the internal brickwork with bituminous paint and plastering with cement-based plaster.
In 2018 the properties were further modernised to include an upstairs ensuite toilet, new gas-fired heating, new kitchen and utility room. Attempts were again made to address the damp issue, but within a year it reappeared in cottage one.
Finding a lasting solution to damp
In April 2025, our resident in cottage one sadly passed away. With the cottage now vacant the trustees decided that the property required refurbishment before a new resident moved in. This also pressurised the trustees to fund and undertake the work as soon as possible.
The trustees took advice from an architect, a structural engineer and a specialist builder dealing with old buildings. Of all the advice given we were most impressed by that of the builder from the Breathable House Company. They explained that old properties have a tendency to damp due to having no damp course, no cavity walls, shallow foundations and poor ventilation.
It was recommended that the internal cement-based plaster and outside render be removed and replaced with lime-based material. Also, the adjacent chimney should have the cement-based pointing replaced with lime-based pointing and a few damaged bricks replaced.
The trustees had read an Almshouse Association case study from The Francis Geering Almshouses that were of a similar age to Lybbe’s and suffered from similar problems and they had used the Breathable House Company to undertake the work. We spoke to the Francis Geering trustees and learnt that their project had been a great success and they were very satisfied with the work of the Breathable House Company. This input gave us the confidence to proceed with the Breathable House Company, who also undertook acquiring the listed building planning permission.
Raising funds
The Charity had accrued available funds of £60,000 against an estimate for the work of £100,000 and an approach was made to The Almshouse Association for a loan of £40,000 which was granted.
Without this loan we would have had to scale the proposed work back, which would have resulted in a patched up unsatisfactory conclusion.
Restoring the cottages and protecting their future
Work started in October 2025 with the removal of the plaster and render. The remaining resident temporarily moved out for two weeks whilst the noisy part of the work was undertaken. The render was also removed from the adjacent cottage two as an expediency. There were a few extra problems uncovered in the process but nothing too serious. The exposed brickwork was left uncovered for two months to assist drying out.
In the Spring of 2026, the lime-based plaster and render were applied, the chimney repointed, and the whole house redecorated with final completion in July 2026 and on budget!
The opportunity was also taken to relay the rear courtyard with a breathable base and natural stone to ensure good drainage away from the property.
The images below show the final result.
A warm welcome to a newly refurbished home
Our new resident Liz Giles moved into her new home on 27 July 2026, receiving her keys from one of the Lybbe’s trustees, Reverend Ben Phillips.
The Almshouse Association was delighted to support this project through its grants and loans programme, helping to ensure that another historic almshouse can continue its long tradition of providing homes and communities for those who need them most.
We would like to thank all the people and organisations who so kindly donate to The Almshouse Association and leave gifts in their Wills. Without their generosity, we would not be in a position to help support almshouse charities with their renovations and new builds.
The Almshouse Association awards loans and grants to our member charities every year. In 2025, £1,198,500 was approved in new loans and grants totalled £50,000. Charities pay no interest on the loans, just a small administration fee. As they make repayments on the loans over a ten-year period, the Association can continue to offer loans to charities year after year, meaning that your donations continue to support almshouses and their residents in perpetuity.
If you are interested in making a donation to The Almshouse Association or leaving a gift in your Will, please do visit our Support Us pages here.