Our almshouses on St David’s Road might not seem as historic as our other properties, but there is a lot of history behind these three bungalows.
After the civil war, weaving and cloth industries in Newbury suffered badly. To help the poor who had been affected, wealthy weavers often left large amounts in their wills to provide for them, with certain stipulations and rules.
In 1727, a weaver, Thomas Hunt, left a house in West Mills and money to buy an adjacent tenement to his trustees to pay for housing for three poor widows in Newbury. This amount also covered weekly payments to the widows, a gown and some fuel each year. He also left 10s. a year for a sermon at the Independent chapel.
In 1814, the trustees of his charity had a considerable balance and used that to demolish the older buildings and build three new almshouses, which were completed in 1817.
Work began to officially incorporate Hunt’s Charity into Newbury Municipal Charities in 1956. At that time, the decision was made to sell the existing almshouses at West Mills (which still survives as a residential building) and build new modern almshouses at St David’s Road.
Hunt's Charity was officially incorporated into the Trust in March 1959, and we continue to manage the bungalows. Times have changed, so unfortunately we do not offer gowns, fuel or weekly payments, but we do provide housing for three women on that site. The plaque from the old cottages can still be seen, now on the wall of the bungalows. It is our only property that stipulates gender, due to the nature of the original charity.
We currently have a vacancy at Hunt’s almshouses, and in two of our other properties, so please contact us for further information.
References
The Almshouses of Newbury (West Berkshire Heritage Guide, P F Wood)
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