Many people think that almshouses are a relic from the Victorian era. St Johns Almshouses in Lichfield shows that almshouses are an enduring form of social housing that originated well before the 1800s. Continuing the trend, St Johns has just completed 18 new almshouses on their site next to the original 15C almshouses.
Four trustees were offered the privilege of visiting the new almshouses in May 2023. The new build is very impressive, designed to blend in with the 15C almshouses and constructed to the highest ‘Passivhaus’ environmental net zero standards.
The architects, KKE based in Worcester, won an award for the design. Residents have individual balconies, open plan kitchen/dining areas, lifts, wheelchair accessible and individually controlled zero carbon heating.
The visit gave us food for thought for our proposed new almshouses, albeit these would likely be single storey.