Life in the almshouses

The almshouses were built in 1714 with fourteen houses. Each house had four rooms. Each room usually had just one inhabitant. So there was room for around 50 pensioners.

All rooms came without furniture, and residents had to buy their own. They received a pension of £6 per year, 6 bags of coal and free accommodation.

A chaplain, groundskeeper, matron and chapel clerk lived in the almshouses alongside the pensioners.

In the 1700s the surrounding area was largely rural. Market gardeners cultivated the land, supplying Londoners with fresh vegetables and herbs.

As London expanded during the 1800s, the area became the hub of London’s furniture and clothing trades. Terraced housing, factories and workshops replaced the farmland.

By 1911, the area had become one of the most heavily populated areas of London with severe overcrowding and little sanitation. The Ironmongers’ Company Sold the building to the London County Council and moved the residents to the cleaner, safer suburbs in the country.