Worcester Municipal Charities has created another 4 flats for the single homeless in Worcester city centre, taking the total they own to 68, which, together with their other 32 “retirement almshouses” makes it a grand total of “100 not out”. Worcester MP Robin Walker has welcomed the news, stating the homes will provide much needed quality, affordable housing in the city.
Since 2012 the Charity has created 68 new “affordable” almshouse flats for the single homeless, for which it has raised the money by selling some commercial properties. Homes England then came in, and offered a generous grant of £200,000 which made the whole project immediately viable.
The 4 flats were created from two ancient former warehouse annexes for the old Anderson and Virgo’s Chemists shop at 12 Foregate Street. When it closed down and became the Good News Shop, the warehouses became surplus to requirements and deteriorated over the years. They were landlocked, so repairs were problematic and they were taken over by pigeons. For a short time they were used as offices by Citizens’ Advice but were no longer needed after the Pandemic.
The appointed architects for the building works were Lett & Sweetland, with builders D & S Contractors. The very high quality of the conversion and fitting out was generally the subject of much admiration on the day.
The two buildings are now owned by the Hopmarket Charity, who have leased them to the Municipal Charities to refurbish as flats, in return for some of the nett rent. The Hopmarket Chairman Bill Simpson MBE, said he was “delighted to see the buildings being put to such good use for the homeless”.
The flats are to be let and managed on behalf of the Municipal Charity by “SmartLets”, a specialist lettings agency which is part of Worcester Citizens Advice, based at their offices at “The Old Glove Factory”, 13A Lowesmoor.
Unlike other housing associations, Worcester Municipal Charities provide free white goods and carpets, which help hard up homeless occupants afford to move in without taking on huge loans. There is also free help available from Armchair the Furniture Recycling Charity, and from Maggs the Homelessness Charity who have a free domestic crockery and cutlery store at their offices in the Tything.
Richard Inglethorpe, in whose memory the 4 flats have been named, was a wealthy benevolent brewer, who originally donated six almshouses to the Charity, now long since gone.
Inglethorpe’s will of 1618 ordained that the almshouses should be awarded to :-.
“Six poor men of the said City being of honest life and report, and such as are either very aged, blind, lame, sick of the palsy, or falling sickness, and by reason of their age or infirmity of body, are not able to work and labour for their living, and also one poor woman, being likewise of honest life and report, and of the age of 50 years at the least, or upwards, which woman shall wash the clothes of the said six poor men, make their beds and attend upon them in all times of their sickness to help them and provide things necessary for them.”
Charity Chairman Paul Griffith commented, “We won’t be appointing a similar handmaiden here, as I understand times have changed since then, and that some men may even make their own beds!”
Worcester MP Robin Walker said:
"More affordable housing is much needed in Worcester, and these flats are a welcome addition to the provision of high quality affordable homes in the city. Since 2012 Homes England has provided over £1.6 million of funding to Worcester Municipal Charities through their partnership with Almshouse Consortium and I remain grateful to everyone involved in this partnership for all their work to provide additional affordable homes in the city.
"These flats were unveiled shortly after the government announced it would be providing Worcester with £489,617 in the next financial year as a Homelessness Prevention Grant, and £510,717 the year after that. This shows the government are taking the issue of homelessness seriously, and providing the resources to get people off the streets and into secure accommodation so they can begin the process of rebuilding their lives with the security of knowing they will have someehere they can call home."