
An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital)
is
charitable
Charity is the voluntary provision of assistance to those in need. It serves as a humanitarian act, and is unmotivated by self-interest. Various philosophies about charity exist, with frequent associations with religion.
Etymology
The word ...
housing
Housing refers to a property containing one or more Shelter (building), shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and right to ...
provided to people in a particular
community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
, especially during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. They were often built for the
poor of a locality, for those who had held certain jobs, or their widows, and for elderly people who could no longer pay
rent. They are generally maintained by a
charity
Charity may refer to:
Common meanings
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...
or the trustees of a
bequest
A devise is the act of giving real property by will, traditionally referring to real property. A bequest is the act of giving property by will, usually referring to personal property. Today, the two words are often used interchangeably due to thei ...
. "
Alms
Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving.
Etymology
The word ''alms'' come ...
" are, in the
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
tradition, money or services donated to support the poor and indigent. Almshouses were originally formed as extensions of the church system and were later adapted by local officials and authorities.
History
Many almshouses are European
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
institutions though some are secular. Almshouses provide
subsidised accommodation, often integrated with
social care resources such as wardens.
England

Almshouses were established from the 10th century in Britain, to provide a place of residence for poor, old, and distressed people. They were sometimes called bede-houses, and the residents were
bedesmen or bedeswomen. ''Bede'' is the
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
word for prayer, and the almsmen and women were obliged to pray for the founder of the charity. The first recorded almshouse was founded in
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
by
King Athelstan; the oldest still in existence is the
Hospital of St. Cross in
Winchester
Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
, dating to about 1132. In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, the majority of European
hospital
A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
s functioned as almshouses. Many of the medieval almshouses in England were established with the aim of benefiting the soul of the founder or their family, and they usually incorporated a chapel. As a result, most were regarded as
chantries
A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings:
# a chantry service, a set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or
# a chantry chapel, a bu ...
and were dissolved during the
Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
under the
Abolition of Chantries Acts of 1545 and 1547.
The legal basis for civil almshouses and
workhouses
In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses. The earliest ...
in England was the
Act for the Relief of the Poor. These institutions underwent various population, program, and name changes, but by 1900, the elderly made up 85 percent of the residents of these institutions.
Almshouses generally have charitable status and aim to support the continued independence of their residents. There is an important delineation between almshouses and other forms of
sheltered housing
Sheltered housing or sheltered accommodation are terms covering a wide range of rented housing for older and/or disabled or other vulnerable people.
In the United Kingdom most commonly it refers to grouped housing such as a block or "scheme" ...
in that almshouse residents generally have no security of tenure, being solely dependent upon the goodwill of the administering trustees.
Some 2,600 almshouses continue to be operated in the UK, providing 30,000 dwellings for 36,000 people.
Netherlands
Almshouses were first founded in Holland in the Middle Ages.
Usually founded by rich
citizens
Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state.
Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality; ...
or
guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...
s, these almshouses "constituted a well-organized system of relief".
A number of are still functioning as accommodation for elderly people. Most residents are women.
Norway
In 1269 or 1270, an almshouse was established in
Stavanger
Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
, the first known in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
.
United States
The English tradition of almshouses was introduced to the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, West ...
by its founder,
William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...
. The
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
legislature created almshouses in Anne Arundel County, financed by property taxes on landowners throughout the state.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
also had a long tradition of almshouses. In the United States, aid tended to be limited to the elderly and disabled, and children had to sleep in the same rooms as adults.
The first almshouse in United States history was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1622. The original Boston Almshouse was burned down in 1682 and was rebuilt away from the heart of Boston nearly a decade later.
In 1884, the statistical analysis of the Massachusetts almshouses showed four in the city of Boston and 225 almshouses throughout the state. These almshouses housed nearly 7,000 people. Of these residents, 700 were believed to have a mental illness. Half of these almshouses did not house children.
Upon entering the almshouses in Connecticut, patients were whipped ten times.
There were similar institutions developed from 1725 to 1773 in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and New York. At the Pennsylvania Hospital, some "lunatics" were chained to a cellar wall or made to wear a primitive
straitjacket
A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with long sleeves that surpass the tips of the wearer's fingers. Its most typical use is restraining people who may cause harm to themselves or others. Once the wearer's arms are in the sleeves, ...
.
Before the American Civil War, local officials regulated almshouses and did not ensure the people inside them were being cared for in the proper way or given the time they needed for help. It was not until the 1860s that more progressive states such as New York began to create boards that regulated, inspected, and reported on almshouses.
The Newark almshouse opened in September 1878 as a branch of the Syracuse State School. It was located on 104 acres of land within the town of Newark, New Jersey, and held around 853 patients. The nine dormitory buildings that housed the patients were able to hold anywhere from 45 to 130 people. There was also a small hospital within the almshouse that could hold up to 30 patients. There were not many employees, only about 110, to take care of the hundreds of young women admitted to the almshouse. Patients were committed to the Newark State School by superintendents of the poor as well as judges who declared them insane or feeble-minded in court.
Many of the patients of the New York Custodial Asylum for Feeble-Minded Women were falsely considered to be mentally ill. Mary Lake was the daughter of a young woman who had been sentenced to 10 years in a state prison. Mary and her other siblings were split up and put into almshouses. She was committed to the almshouse in Newark as feeble-minded. It was not until years later that she was pronounced not mentally ill and was able to leave the almshouse.
Throughout the 19th century almshouses were a last resort for those who were poor, disabled, and elderly. Residents experienced mistreatment, destitution, and inhumanity. As almshouses continued into the 19th century, activists such as
Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Lynde Dix (April 4, 1802July 17, 1887) was an American advocate on behalf of the poor insane, mentally ill. By her vigorous and sustained program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, she helped create the fir ...
fought for institutional reform. Dix sought to remove children, the mentally ill, and the developmentally disabled from all almshouses and increase the number of institutions, hospitals, and asylums for them to reside in. As her movement gained momentum, she played a vital role in the establishment and expansion of over 30 hospitals for the treatment of the mentally ill. Her efforts removed specific groups from almshouses, leaving the elderly to remain.
One of the biggest problems with almshouses is that they were rarely self-sustaining. They were costly to run, and the capacity of the inmates to pay for their own keep by working at the farm, or working at the almshouse itself, was greatly overestimated. There were not enough staff, facilities were not kept up, and the poor kept coming. By the end of the 1800s, almshouses began to be replaced by asylums and institutions.
Description of layout

Almshouses are often multiple small terraced houses or apartments providing accommodation for small numbers of residents. The units may be constructed in a "U" shape around a communal courtyard.
Some facilities included a
chapel
A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
for religious worship.
The
Bakewell
Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known for Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, Derbyshire, River Wye, 15 miles (23 km) south-west of Sheffield. It is the largest se ...
Almshouses in Derbyshire, England – dating from 1709 – were six separate homes, hence the six front doors visible today. Each home had one tiny room downstairs and one upstairs, with no bathroom, toilet or kitchen. The Manners family,
Dukes of Rutland from 1703, maintained the building until 1920. They gave it and the adjacent former town hall to the trustees who had been running the charity. The town hall was sold at a 1966 auction for £1,137. Financial problems caused the homes to become derelict and unfit for habitation by 2001. They were rescued and restored by the trustees in 2004–2006 at a cost of £325,000, which was raised through donations and grants. They are now three larger homes, combining modern facilities with many historical features.
In literature
The most famous almshouse in literature is probably Hiram's Hospital, the centrepiece of
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope ( ; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among the best-known of his 47 novels are two series of six novels each collectively known as the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire ...
's novel ''
The Warden'', which is also featured in the sequel ''
Barchester Towers''.
Gallery
File:Godshuizen, Lier (DSCF0678).jpg, Almshouses in Lier, Belgium
Lier (; ) is a municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. It is composed of the city of Lier proper and the village of Koningshooikt. The city centre is surrounded by the river ''Nete'', around which it g ...
File:Shireburn Cottages (Almshouses) - geograph.org.uk - 115680.jpg, Shireburn Cottages, 18th century almshouses, Hurst Green, Lancashire
File:Cmglee Thaxted almshouses windmill.jpg, Almshouses at the parish church of St John in Thaxted
Thaxted is a town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of north-west Essex, England. The town is in the valley of the River Chelmer, not far from its source in the nearby village of Debden, and is 97 metres (318 feet) above sea level (w ...
, England
File:Alms House, Woburn.JPG, The almshouse at Woburn, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...
, England
File:St Mary's Almshouses (North Wing), Church Lane, Godstone.jpg, St Mary's Almshouses (North Wing), Church Lane, Godstone
Godstone is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. It is east of Reigate, west of Oxted, east of Guildford and south of London. Close to the North Downs, both the North Downs Way ...
, England
File:The Green in Whiteley Village.jpg, Almshouse cottages, built in early 1900s in Whiteley Village
Whiteley Village, in Hersham, Surrey, England, is a retirement village, much of it designed architecturally by Arts and Crafts movement-influenced architect Reginald Blomfield. It is owned by the charitable Whiteley Homes Trust and is on land w ...
, England
File:Queens' Lane, Cambridge Almshouses 1911.jpg, Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...
, England, almshouses in 1912
File:Royal Albert Homes, Cambridge.jpg, Royal Albert Homes, Cambridge, England
File:Boshuisen Gasthuis.jpg, ''Boshuisengasthuis'' in Leeuwarden
Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...
, Netherlands
File:Leeuwarden - Nieuw Sint-Anthony Gasthuis.jpg, ''Nieuw Sint-Anthony Gasthuis'' in Leeuwarden
Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...
, Netherlands
File:Swanenburghshof Groeneweg Gouda.jpg, ''Swanenburghshof'' in Gouda, South Holland
Gouda () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province , city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands , municipality in the west of the Netherlands, between Rotterdam and Utrecht (city), Utrecht, in the Provinces of the Netherland ...
See also
*
Blockley Almshouse
*
Broom County Alms House
*
Carroll County Almshouse and Farm,
Westminster, Maryland
Westminster is a city in and the county seat of Carroll County, Maryland, United States. The city's population was 19,960 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Westminster is an outlying community in the Baltimore metropolitan area, whic ...
*
Halfway house
A halfway house is a type of prison or institute intended to teach (or reteach) the necessary skills for people to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves. Halfway houses are typically either state sponsored for those ...
*
Hostel
A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...
*
List of almshouses in Ireland
*
List of almshouses in the United Kingdom
*
Poorhouse
A poorhouse or workhouse is a government-run (usually by a county or municipality) facility to support and provide housing for the dependent or needy.
Workhouses
In England, Wales and Ireland (but not in Scotland), "workhouse" has been the more ...
*
Workhouse
In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...
References
Further reading
*
* – Public domain text, including daily life, care, and the "Office at the Seclusion of a Leper"
*
*
*
*
External links
The Almshouse AssociationThe Almshouse Residents Action GroupCatholic alms houses
– from public domain text, ''English Monastic Life'' (1904)
{{Authority control
Christian charities
House types
Poor Law in Britain and Ireland
Elderly care
Catholic charities
Private aid programs
Types of health care facilities
Types of hospitals
History of hospitals
de:Armenhaus