History

Salisbury City Almshouse and Welfare Charities has its roots in deeds of benefaction reaching back as far as the 1370s. It was in this period that Trinity Hospital, the last of Salisbury's medieval almshouses, was founded as an act of penance by Agnes Bottenham.

Trinity Hospital was often the only refuge for the sick in the city, but the idea of caring for the needy has continued to the present day with a total of eleven almshouse sites providing accommodation within and around the city.

All of them offer independent living to needy elderly people within the Salisbury area, with most sites providing a resident warden. All homes meet modern housing expectations and are centrally heated.

With the continued help of bequests made to the Charities we hope to continue to meet the ever growing demand for accommodation of elderly people.

In recent years we have built over 90 new almshouses. In 1997 a 22-flat Very Sheltered Almshouse, a first for the city, was opened. This was followed by the foundation of the Buchanan Housing Charity, with 12 flats and 11 houses, to accommodate young families within the city (see Housing Young Families). A further 13-flat Very Sheltered Almshouse was opened in 2005.

Major refurbishment programmes have been undertaken, including the rebuild of Sarah Hayter's Almshouses in 2000, and more has yet to be done as and when funds become available.