I have been to this town many times and have noticed a couple of blocks of almshouses, the ones near the church being the most seen but there are more and if you walk along New Street towards the Thames you pass one set near the Teddy Bear Shop
They are called Barnaby Cottages and date back to 1582
They take up this block though the last part on the right is the Teddy Bear Shop
Further along you come to Church Avenue
where you come to more houses dating back to 1664
and another two on the end a bit newer at 1669
The ten older ones go the length of the avenue
With the remaining two going towards the church
On the opposite side of the churchyard is another set
these are the oldest being endowed by the Bishop of Lincoln in 1547, in that year Henry VIII died in January and was succeeded by his son Edward VI
As far as I know they are still lived in today
The also go the whole length of the Churchyard, I always wondered why most almshouses are beside a churchyard.
21 comments:
I love the photos and info in this post. Fascinating. That last shot is my favorite with the above ground burial.
All the buildings remind me of Downton Abbey …
Very nice!
While i was looking at your photos and reading the post, I also wondered if the almshouses were lived in today. Thanks for answering that question in the post, Billy.
Lots of history to be found in Henley on Thames. I was very interested to see all those almshouses and how they have survived all these years.
Awww, so charming.
Worth a Thousand Words
Such a peaceful town. Neat pics and captions!
Unusual one as well
That place was filmed not that far from Henley
Most are still used though I think they had been moderniced to what they were and how many people live in them
Yes ter is a fare bit
Very
An interesting place.
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How interesting. I loved the tour around town.
I always imagined them to be alot bigger buildings like old factories etc and from what I understand people died frequently in those places hence cemeteries right next door.
Back to my birth place - how lovely!
Fascinating! I'm delighted to hear that the almshouses are still being used today... centuries later!
I always see something I did not before
No being as the go back so far in time they were quite small and normally only for one person who was poor
Small world is it not
Some I know are just museums
Lovely places these days.
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