I'm considering exploring this as a new route of info. My 4x great grandmother was one of 6 ladies in Gift Lane Alms Houses, West Ham, on both the 1881 and 1891 census.
I have found a little bit of info on the net about the almshouses she was in:
"Roger Harris, by will dated 1633, devised two copyhold cottages in Little (later Gift) Lane for the use of the poor. In 1834 these were being maintained by the parish as poorhouses. They were rebuilt by subscription in 1853, as a single house with six living rooms, the balance of the subscription, £39, being invested as an endowment for the alms-houses.
In 1899 the upkeep of the buildings was being met by the vicar, mainly from parochial funds. There were six alms-women, usually from All Saints' parish, each receiving 2s. 6d. a week from the guardians of West Ham union, and gifts of bread and cash out of All Saints' share of the Distributive Charities. Harris's alms-houses were under the control of the vicar and churchwardens of All Saints' until a scheme of 1932 placed them under the trustees of the United Non-Ecclesiastical Charities"
Has anyone any experience of researching ancestors in alms houses? By that it looks confusing as to who exactly was in charge, looks like they were administered by both the poor law union, in the same way as the workhouses, but also to some extent by the local church authorities as well. Would detailed records likely be kept, and if so where would I begin to start searching for them?
I have found a little bit of info on the net about the almshouses she was in:
"Roger Harris, by will dated 1633, devised two copyhold cottages in Little (later Gift) Lane for the use of the poor. In 1834 these were being maintained by the parish as poorhouses. They were rebuilt by subscription in 1853, as a single house with six living rooms, the balance of the subscription, £39, being invested as an endowment for the alms-houses.
In 1899 the upkeep of the buildings was being met by the vicar, mainly from parochial funds. There were six alms-women, usually from All Saints' parish, each receiving 2s. 6d. a week from the guardians of West Ham union, and gifts of bread and cash out of All Saints' share of the Distributive Charities. Harris's alms-houses were under the control of the vicar and churchwardens of All Saints' until a scheme of 1932 placed them under the trustees of the United Non-Ecclesiastical Charities"
Has anyone any experience of researching ancestors in alms houses? By that it looks confusing as to who exactly was in charge, looks like they were administered by both the poor law union, in the same way as the workhouses, but also to some extent by the local church authorities as well. Would detailed records likely be kept, and if so where would I begin to start searching for them?
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