Published Article

HeadlineAlmshouses: Could this 10th-century scheme help London’s 21st-century housing crisis?

Short HeadlineAlmshouses: A 10th-century solution for the 21st?

StandfirstAlmshouses were designed specifically for housing disadvantaged elderly people, who often have nowhere left to go and are now being reinvigorated for the 21st century.

An increasing number of people are now living in almshouses, as specialist charities build more properties to house these communal living schemes.

Almshouses are old institutions set up before the advent of social housing, going as back as the 10th century.

They were designed specifically for housing disadvantaged elderly people, who often have nowhere left to go. They are now being reinvigorated for the 21st century.

United St Saviour’s, a local charity in Southwark, already run two almshouses in London and is constructing a third early in the new year.

Its new development will have 57 self-contained flats, along with a central courtyard and space for retail.

The chief executive of the charity, Martyn Craddock, was confident about their rising importance in London’s housing mix.

“What makes them different is that they create a sense of community.

“We often find that older people… live in social housing, which was not built for older people… so there could be two or three bedrooms in there, which could be used by another family.

“What almshouses do is give the ability to free up those flats.”

Currently, there are 191 almshouse charities in London, providing 3,656 homes for disadvantaged people, according to the chief executive of the almshouses association, Nick Phillips.

Nationally, that figure rises to around a36,000 individual living units in almhouses.

150 housing units are currently under construction in London, with many more said to be in the pipeline as charities look at expanding this accommodation.

Leslie Gay, has lived in a flat for 12 years at St Saviour’s almhouses in Southwark, just behind the Tate museum.

They are situated in beautiful 18th century cottages, with a large internal courtyard bristling with rose bushes and hedges.

Although he’s partially sighted, he is able to live independently with some assistance from the charity.

“I think its an excellent thing as the stock of social housing has gone down over the years… the sense of spacer here is wonderful.”

As London’s housing crisis rumbles on, charities are keen to promote the increased use of almhouses in London’s housing mix.

By freeing up larger, underused properties and providing accommodation with a strong community spirit, proponents claim almhouses can kill two birds with one stone.