Almshouses of East Dorset

 

We start in Bournemouth with the very attractive Talbot Village Almshouses. Talbot Village Almshouses were endowed by two sisters Mary and Georgina Talbot in 1862. They were part of Talbot model village which was created by the sisters. They are still run by the Talbot Trust.

 Our next stop, to the north, is the imposing Sir Anthony Ashley's Almshouses in Wimborne St Giles.

The almshouses are older than the nearby church of St Giles - they date from 1624 and were the gift of Sir Anthony. His grandson became the first Earl of Shaftesbury in 1660 and the title is still in the Ashley-Cooper family.

In Pamphill there is a former almhouse. In 1695 Roger Gillingham of the Middle Temple left property in Hackney, Stepney and Bedfordshire to trustees who were to 'lay out a sum not exceeding £400" to endow some almshouses. After the last almshouse occupant died in 1971 the County Council bought the whole range of the buildings, modernising so that the almshouses became part of the school building. The school became a first school for 5-9year olds in 1973 and still is.

 

Continuing southwards we come to Wimborne Minster and St Margaret's Almshouses at the top of Victoria Road (B3082). There is also small church. 

Coming now to Poole there are the St George's Almshouses in Church Street, which date from before 1429 (Pevsner). They could only be almshouses!

Heading Southwest to reach Corfe Castle you may spot the Jubilee House on the main road. It was formerly almshouses, but is now a private dwelling.

The next stop is Wareham where there is a fine group of Almshouses: Streches Almshouses. The plaque on the gable says these Almshouses were erected in 190, replacing former Almshouses of 1741 in East Street.

 

Streches Almshouses, Wareham 

The central feature, which looks rather like a small chapel, is quite imposing

 

 

They date originally from 1418, to care for 'six ancient men and five women' of Wareham, but were rebuilt in 1712. The bellcote once adorned the previous town hall of 1768, but was relocated here - rather successfully - when the present town hall was built.

 

Now we head north to Blandford Forum and the Ryves Almshouses. (described as a Gerontocomium on the plaque under the main pediment). They date from 1682 and make a lovely group. This means that they pre-date the fire of 1731 and must have been right on the edge of the town when they were built. They are in beautiful condition.

 

In Milton Abbas the Tregonwell Almshouses bear the date 1779 when they were moved from the old village and rebuilt on their present site in the new village.

Note: I believe this is a full set of the Almshouses in East Dorset, but additional information or errors to be corrected would be most welcome. Click on the Comments option at the bottom of the post. 

 

Pewsey

After a longish gap, Merv and I are back on the walking trail. We start our walk at Pewsey Wharf, just catching a view of a rapidly disappearing rainbow.

We head west under the road bridge and along the Kennet and Avon Canal. A surprisingly large number of boats are moored on the right bank.

We leave the canal after a short stretch along the canal and head towards Wilcot. This proves to be a small but very interesting village. The church of the Holy Cross has been altered several times since its foundation in the 12th century.   According to Pevsner it was much restored after a fire in 1876.

Opposite is a fine house ...

... with a pretty cottage next door.

The manor house, close to the west end of the church, dates from the early 17th century with remodelling in the 18th. It is very well concealed however. We continued along the path away from the village and were delighted to at least get a snap of this delightful circular stone dovecote dated 1737.

We tramped through Mannington Abbots and Charcott to reach the edge of Pewsey. We followed the rear fence of a line of houses and were intrigued to spot this lovely plant which had spread out beyond the fence. I wish I knew what it was.

Arriving in Pewsey we passed the Court House in Church Street. It dates back to the 16th century.

Turning left into River Street we passed a rather handsome brick building which could pretty much only be a former school. It was.

Further into the village we passed The Old Fire Engine House.

After a sandwich break we continued along the road, passing the railway bridge. The interesting thing was that we walked steadily uphill to return to Pewsey Wharf and the canal. I had always imagined that canals were at a low level relative to the surrounding terrain, but this is plainly not so.