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'''Gray's Almshouses''' is a terrace of [[almshouse]]s in [[Taunton]], [[Somerset]], England |
'''Gray's Almshouses''' is a terrace of [[almshouse]]s in [[Taunton]], [[Somerset]], England, founded by Robert Gray in 1635. The building is one of the oldest surviving in Taunton and is one of the earliest brick buildings in the county. The Almshouses were designed to provide accommodation for six men and ten women and for a [[Reader (liturgy)|reader]] who was to act as [[chaplain]] and [[schoolmaster]]. It is a [[Listed building|grade I listed]] building as designated by [[English Heritage]]. Following renovation in the late twentieth century it now comprises [[sheltered housing|sheltered accommodation]] of nine flats for the elderly. |
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==History== |
==History== |
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Robert Gray was born in Taunton in 1570 |
Robert Gray was born in Taunton in 1570<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/somersetshirehig00barr/somersetshirehig00barr_djvu.txt |title=Somersetshire: highways, byways, and waterways |last=Barrett |first=C. R. B. |publisher=Bliss, Sands & Foster |location=London |year=1894 |page=296}}</ref> and made his fortune in the [[City of London]], where he became a [[Citizen of the City of London|Citizen]] and a member of the [[Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors]]. He owned a shop in [[Bread Street]] in the City, from which he traded in cloths purchased by him at provincial fairs which he then finished and dyed. His business was successful and in 1635 his great wealth enabled him to build [[almshouse]]s in his town of birth,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qBQ34_2ImAYC&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=London: A History |last=Sheppard |first=Francis |year=1998 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-822922-3 |page=1}}</ref> on East Street, next to the house in which he had been born.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Of8vAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA541&lpg=PA541#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Beauties of England and Wales: Or Delineations, Topographical, Historical and Descriptive of Each County |last=Nightingale |first=Rev. J. |volume=XIII |publisher=Printed for J. Harris; Longman and Co. (and 10 others) |location=London |year=1813 |page=541}}</ref> The initial building which Gray built in the parish of [[St Mary Magdalene, Taunton|St Mary Magdalene]] in Taunton contained apartments for ten poor women, with a chapel, schoolroom, and a room for a reader, who acted as chaplain and schoolmaster. The reader was obliged to teach ten poor children from the parish to read and write. A further building to house six poor men was planned by Gray but was delayed by his death in 1638, and was completed by the Merchant Taylors Company as directed in his [[Will and testament|will]], but not until 1696, having been delayed by the [[English Civil War|Civil War]] and legal matters.<ref name="tht">{{cite web|url=http://www.tauntonheritagetrust.org.uk/history/ |title=History |publisher=Taunton Heritage Trust |accessdate=13 June 2013}}</ref> In addition Gray also gave to his charity [[fee simple|freehold]] land valued at £2,000, the profits of which were to be paid to the poor, with each receiving eight [[shilling]]s a month.{{#tag:ref|According to [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]' currency converter, £2,000 in 1630 would be the equivalent of £178,320 in 2005, while that amount in 1640 would be the equivalent of £171,600 in 2005.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/default0.asp#mid |title=Currency converter |publisher=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]] |accessdate=16 June 2013}}</ref>|group= n}}<ref name="toulmin">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jw0jAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA213#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The history of Taunton, in the county of Somerset |last=Toulmin |first=Joshua |publisher=John Poole |location=London |year=1822 |pages=213–8}}</ref> Further donations were added in the eighteenth century by John Noble and John Coles which resulted in the allowance for the poor, by that time paid weekly, to be increased to three shillings per week. Whilst the brick construction of Gray's almshouses protected them during the Civil War, the adjoining wooden [[Pope's almshouses]] were burnt down by the [[Cavalier|Royalist]] troops during the [[Siege of Taunton]].<ref name="tht"/> |
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The almshouses were built on East Street in Taunton, next to the house where Gray had been born.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Of8vAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA541&lpg=PA541#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Beauties of England and Wales: Or Delineations, Topographical, Historical and Descriptive of Each County |last=Nightingale |first=Rev. J. |volume=XIII |publisher=Printed for J. Harris; Longman and Co. (and 10 others) |location=London |year=1813 |page=541}}</ref> The brick construction of the almshouses protected them during the Civil War; the adjoining wooden [[Pope's almshouses]] were burnt down by the [[Cavalier|Royalist]] troops during the [[Siege of Taunton]].<ref name="tht"/> |
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==Architecture== |
==Architecture== |
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Gray's almshouses are the largest in Taunton, being {{convert|130|ft|m}} in length, as stated in Joshua Toulmin's 1822 history of Taunton.<ref name="toulmin"/> The building is of two-storeys, with matching [[mullion]]ed windows on each level, with three entrances. Above two of the entrances are displayed sculpted coats of arms: those of Robert Gray, and of the Merchant Taylors.<ref name="entry"/> There are nine chimney stacks, each with two chimneys set diagonally. The building is of red brick, the brickwork being the same on the newer and older sections, which are separated by a straight joint. The almshouses are among the oldest surviving brick buildings in Somerset,<ref name="buildings">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zaqpW4jc0JEC&pg=PA63#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The buildings of England: South and West Somerset |last=Pevsner |first=Nikolaus |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |location=London |year=1958 |pages=63, 317 |isbn=9780300096446}}</ref> and it is unlikely there are any older, according to the [[Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=keEhAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Gray%27s+Almshouses%22+brick&dq=%22Gray%27s+Almshouses%22+brick&hl=en&sa=X&ei=66C9UdrHGsab1AWgroHICg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA |title=Somerset Archaeology and Natural History: The Proceedings of the Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, Volumes 135-136 |publisher=The Society |year=1991 |page=131}}</ref> The roof is made of clay tiles.<ref name="tht"/><ref name="buildings"/> Brian Bailey describes the buildings as conforming to an "austere Jacobean style", with the pair of coats of arms over the doors being the "only departure here from unadorned severity of style."<ref>{{cite book |title=Almshouses |last=Bailey |first=Brian |year=1988 |publisher=Hale |page=115 |isbn=978-0709032922}}</ref> |
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==Current usage== |
==Current usage== |
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[[File:Graysalmshouses.jpg|thumb|right|The rear of the almshouses, photographed in 2005 |
[[File:Graysalmshouses.jpg|thumb|right|The rear of the almshouses, photographed in 2005]] |
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On 4 June 1952 the building was designated [[listed building|grade I listed]] by [[English Heritage]],<ref name="entry">{{NHLE|num=1232341 |desc=Gray's Alsmhouses |accessdate=15 June 2013}}</ref> categorising it as a building "of exceptional interest".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/Principles_Selection_Listing.pdf |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121204113822/http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/Principles_Selection_Listing.pdf |dead-url=yes |archive-date=2012-12-04 |title=Principles of Selection for Listing Buildings |publisher=[[Department for Culture, Media and Sport]] |date=March 2010 |page=4 |format=PDF |accessdate=16 June 2013}}</ref> The Taunton Heritage Trust took control of Gray's Almshouses in the 1960s and in 1989 they conducted a complete refurbishment of the property with the help of grants from the Tenant Services Authority and [[English Heritage]]. At present the building comprises nine flats providing [[sheltered housing]] for [[pensioner]]s, with a laundry room and a communal room. In 2004 a competition was held for students of [[interior design]] at [[Somerset College of Arts and Technology]] to suggest improvements to the décor and lighting to help brighten the flats and as a result various changes were made to the interiors.<ref name="tht"/> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 10:57, 19 May 2019
| Gray's Almshouses | |
|---|---|
 Gray's Almshouses | |
  Location within Somerset | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Jacobean |
| Town or city | Taunton |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°00′53″N 3°05′53″W / 51.01475°N 3.09801°W |
| Construction started | 1635 |
| Completed | 1696 |
Gray's Almshouses is a terrace of almshouses in Taunton, Somerset, England, founded by Robert Gray in 1635. The building is one of the oldest surviving in Taunton and is one of the earliest brick buildings in the county. The Almshouses were designed to provide accommodation for six men and ten women and for a reader who was to act as chaplain and schoolmaster. It is a grade I listed building as designated by English Heritage. Following renovation in the late twentieth century it now comprises sheltered accommodation of nine flats for the elderly.
History
Robert Gray was born in Taunton in 1570[1] and made his fortune in the City of London, where he became a Citizen and a member of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors. He owned a shop in Bread Street in the City, from which he traded in cloths purchased by him at provincial fairs which he then finished and dyed. His business was successful and in 1635 his great wealth enabled him to build almshouses in his town of birth,[2] on East Street, next to the house in which he had been born.[3] The initial building which Gray built in the parish of St Mary Magdalene in Taunton contained apartments for ten poor women, with a chapel, schoolroom, and a room for a reader, who acted as chaplain and schoolmaster. The reader was obliged to teach ten poor children from the parish to read and write. A further building to house six poor men was planned by Gray but was delayed by his death in 1638, and was completed by the Merchant Taylors Company as directed in his will, but not until 1696, having been delayed by the Civil War and legal matters.[4] In addition Gray also gave to his charity freehold land valued at £2,000, the profits of which were to be paid to the poor, with each receiving eight shillings a month.[n 1][6] Further donations were added in the eighteenth century by John Noble and John Coles which resulted in the allowance for the poor, by that time paid weekly, to be increased to three shillings per week. Whilst the brick construction of Gray's almshouses protected them during the Civil War, the adjoining wooden Pope's almshouses were burnt down by the Royalist troops during the Siege of Taunton.[4]
Architecture
Gray's almshouses are the largest in Taunton, being 130 feet (40 m) in length, as stated in Joshua Toulmin's 1822 history of Taunton.[6] The building is of two-storeys, with matching mullioned windows on each level, with three entrances. Above two of the entrances are displayed sculpted coats of arms: those of Robert Gray, and of the Merchant Taylors.[7] There are nine chimney stacks, each with two chimneys set diagonally. The building is of red brick, the brickwork being the same on the newer and older sections, which are separated by a straight joint. The almshouses are among the oldest surviving brick buildings in Somerset,[8] and it is unlikely there are any older, according to the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society.[9] The roof is made of clay tiles.[4][8] Brian Bailey describes the buildings as conforming to an "austere Jacobean style", with the pair of coats of arms over the doors being the "only departure here from unadorned severity of style."[10]
Current usage
On 4 June 1952 the building was designated grade I listed by English Heritage,[7] categorising it as a building "of exceptional interest".[11] The Taunton Heritage Trust took control of Gray's Almshouses in the 1960s and in 1989 they conducted a complete refurbishment of the property with the help of grants from the Tenant Services Authority and English Heritage. At present the building comprises nine flats providing sheltered housing for pensioners, with a laundry room and a communal room. In 2004 a competition was held for students of interior design at Somerset College of Arts and Technology to suggest improvements to the décor and lighting to help brighten the flats and as a result various changes were made to the interiors.[4]
See also
Notes
- ^ According to The National Archives' currency converter, £2,000 in 1630 would be the equivalent of £178,320 in 2005, while that amount in 1640 would be the equivalent of £171,600 in 2005.[5]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gray's Almshouses.
- ^ Barrett, C. R. B. (1894). Somersetshire: highways, byways, and waterways. London: Bliss, Sands & Foster. p. 296.
- ^ Sheppard, Francis (1998). London: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-19-822922-3.
- ^ Nightingale, Rev. J. (1813). The Beauties of England and Wales: Or Delineations, Topographical, Historical and Descriptive of Each County. Vol. XIII. London: Printed for J. Harris; Longman and Co. (and 10 others). p. 541.
- ^ a b c d "History". Taunton Heritage Trust. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
- ^ "Currency converter". The National Archives. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ a b Toulmin, Joshua (1822). The history of Taunton, in the county of Somerset. London: John Poole. pp. 213–8.
- ^ a b Historic England. "Gray's Alsmhouses (1232341)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- ^ a b Pevsner, Nikolaus (1958). The buildings of England: South and West Somerset. London: Penguin Books. pp. 63, 317. ISBN 9780300096446.
- ^ Somerset Archaeology and Natural History: The Proceedings of the Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, Volumes 135-136. The Society. 1991. p. 131.
- ^ Bailey, Brian (1988). Almshouses. Hale. p. 115. ISBN 978-0709032922.
- ^ "Principles of Selection for Listing Buildings" (PDF). Department for Culture, Media and Sport. March 2010. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-12-04. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
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