The Almshouse at Sherborne, Dorset

The Almshouse at Woburn, Bedfordshire

West Hackney Almshouses in Stoke Newington, London. (December 2005)

An almshouse for the elderly in the United States in the 1800s.

Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people (typically elderly people who can no longer work to earn enough to pay rent) to live in a particular community. They are often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain forms of previous employment, or their widows, and are generally maintained by a charity or the trustees of a bequest. Almshouses in Sherborne, Dorset. ... Almshouses in Sherborne, Dorset. ... See also: Sherborne, Gloucestershire Sherborne is an affluent market town in north west Dorset, England, situated on the River Yeo and A30 road, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale six miles east of Yeovil. ... Dorset (pronounced Dorsit, sometimes in the past called Dorsetshire) is a county in the southwest of England, on the English Channel coast. ... Download high resolution version (1755x1278, 509 KB)The Alms House at Woburn, Bedfordshire, created by Viki Male 26/08/04 Date: 26th August 2004 15:22 Camera: Olympus C-720 Photograph: Viki Male  ©  This image is copyrighted. ... Download high resolution version (1755x1278, 509 KB)The Alms House at Woburn, Bedfordshire, created by Viki Male 26/08/04 Date: 26th August 2004 15:22 Camera: Olympus C-720 Photograph: Viki Male  ©  This image is copyrighted. ... Map sources for Woburn, Bedfordshire at grid reference SP949331 Woburn is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. ... Bedfordshire is a county in England and forms part of the East of England region. ... Image File history File links Stoke_newington_west_hackney_almshouses_1. ... Image File history File links Stoke_newington_west_hackney_almshouses_1. ... The Castle Climbing Centre, once the main Water Board pumping station. ... For other uses, see London (disambiguation) and Defining London (below). ... Image File history File links Poorhse. ... Image File history File links Poorhse. ... This article refers to the act of selfless giving. ... Houses in Fishpool Street, St Albans, England For other meanings of the word house, see House (disambiguation). ... Renting is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good owned by another person or company. ... This article needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ...

Almshouses — so named — are a European Christian institutions. Alms are, in the Christian tradition, monies or services donated to support the poor and indigent. Almshouses were established from the 10th century in Britain, to provide a place of residence for poor, old and distressed folk. The first recorded Almshouse was founded in York by King Athelstan, and the oldest still in existence is the Hospital of St. Oswald in Worcester, dating to circa 990. A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. ... Alms Bag taken from some Tapestry in Orleans, Fifteenth Century. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... Athelstan or Æþelstan (c. ... The city of Worcester (pronounced ) is a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England. ...

In the Middle Ages the majority of European hospitals functioned as almshouses. See the history of hospitals. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ... A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ...

Almshouses have been created throughout the period since the 10th century, up to the present day. There is no strict delineation between Almshouses and other forms of sheltered housing, although Almshouses will tend to be characterised by their charitable status and by the aim of supporting the continued independence of their residents.

The almshouses in the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire (illustration, left), originated in a bequest by the will of Sir Francis Staunton, 1635, of £40 to the poor, and refounded by John, Duke of Bedford.

In physical form, and owing in part to the antiquity of their formation, Almshouses are often ancient buildings comprising multiple small terraced houses or apartments, and providing accommodation for small numbers of residents; some 2,600 Almshouses continue to be operated in the United Kingdom providing 30,000 dwellings for 36,000 people. In the Netherlands a number of hofjes are still functioning as accommodation for elder people (mostly women). The economics of Almshouses takes the form of the provision of subsidised accommodation, often integrated with social care resources such as wardens. The Hofje van Bakenes, a hofje in Haarlem dating from 1395. ...

Almshouses in the United States are generally called poorhouses instead. A poorhouse is a publicly maintained facility for the support and housing of dependent or needy persons, typically run by a local government entity such as a county or municipality. ...

External link

• The Almshouse Association