Listed status boost for almshouse that still caters for retired residents
AN almshouse which was built 126 years ago and continues to support retired residents has been awarded Grade II listed status.
St Edmund’s Almshouse in Bungay, Suffolk, was built in 1895 with funds donated by local solicitor Frederick Smith who was the Town Reeve.
The position, unique to Bungay, dates back to the 16th-century and is similar in status and responsibility to that of a mayor.
The building cost £2,000 and provided accommodation for six single tenants and two married couples.
It is thought to have been designed by Bernard Smith, a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, who had previously been commissioned by Smith to design the billiard room extension at his home.
He lived at Earsham House in Bungay, which is now the Grade II listed Town Hall, with the billiard room becoming the Council Chamber.
The almshouse has been listed at Grade II by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the advice of Historic England.
It was extensively modernised in 1973-74, with further work in 2012-13 and the external woodwork was restored in 2019.
St Edmund’s contains eight of the 13 almshouses owned and run by Bungay Town Trust for retired residents.
Judy Cloke, Town Reeve and chairwoman of the
Bungay Town Trust, said: “I am delighted the St
Edmund’s Almshouse has been classified as Grade II listed. Its attractive design is a well-loved and familiar feature of the Bungay townscape and something of which the Town Trust can be very proud.”
Melissa Thompson, senior listing adviser for Historic England in the East of England, said: “This charming building has supported retired residents in Bungay for over 120 years.”