13 March 2011

Almshouses

This is part of the St John's Winchester Charity buildings, which provides care for older people in Winchester. It is one of the oldest charitable foundations in England as its origins can be traced back to Anglo-Saxon times. In the early nineteenth century it did not have enough accommodation, and this led to the building in 1830 of St John's South (pictured here) giving additional almshouses to the south of the High Street. There are now 27 flats here for local residents in need. As someone commented on another photo I have of Almshouses it is quite an old fashioned term, but these buildings still call themselves that even though they are really just accommodation for old people! Leeds Daily Photo recently featured an Almshouse and I think you can definitely see a likeness in the design - Click here to compare

***I am away this weekend in Salzburg (can't wait!) so have set up these scheduled posts whilst out of town. Sorry then if I don't respond to any comments until next week. Thanks for dropping by!***

9 comments:

  1. Groan: from the thumbnail I thought this was an old prison!

    Have a wonderful time!

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  2. The almshouses in my childhood village weren't as grand as these.

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  3. In Winchester it seems some of the loveliest buildings are 'almshouses'

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  4. Thank you so much for "visiting" Belgium! Have a wonderful trip to Salzbug!
    http://whatisbelgium.blogspot.com

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  5. It must be nice to live there. Do they offer special rates for these people? Or are they totally state-supported and people have to meet certain conditions?

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  6. St John's Charity is independant. I think you have to be over 60 & deemed 'needy'. Residents pay about $100 a week for accommodation, heating & 24 hour care.

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  7. Thanks for the mention! The Victorians did like to build stylish buildings. I live in a Victorian model village and a while back I visited Port sunlight on the Wirral the interesting thing I though about that place was that the workers houses were pairs of many different styles of building. Paul @ Leeds daily photo

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  8. Victorian houses are great, I used to live in one myself and there are many in Winchester. I always think they are somewhat like a Tardis, don't necessary look huge from the outside but inside is a different story.

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