St Margaret's Almshouses facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Margaret's Almshouses |
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St Margaret's Almshouses
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 Location in Somerset
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| Geography | |
| Location | Taunton, England |
| Coordinates | 51°1′3″N 3°5′14″W / 51.01750°N 3.08722°W |
| Organisation | |
| Hospital type | Leper colony |
| History | |
| Founded | c.1180 |
| Closed | Early 16th century |
St Margaret's Almshouses is a very old building in Taunton, Somerset, England. It started as a place for people with leprosy, a serious skin disease, way back in the 1100s. Later, it became a home for poor people. Today, after being carefully fixed up, it is used as homes for families.
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History of St Margaret's Almshouses
Early Days as a Hospital
The building was first built as a hospital for people with leprosy. This was around the years 1174 to 1180. Old records from Taunton Priory mention it in 1180. They called it "The Chapel of St Margaret 'infirmorum'". This means "of the sick".
Becoming Almshouses
A large monastery called Glastonbury Abbey took over the hospital in 1280. In the early 1500s, a leader from the Abbey, Abbot Beere, rebuilt it. He changed it into almshouses. Almshouses are special homes for poor or elderly people.
After the time known as the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the chapel connected to the almshouses was taken down.
Later Uses and Changes
From 1612 until 1938, the building continued to be used as almshouses. A local church group looked after it. In the late 1930s, the building was changed again. It became offices for the Rural Community Council. It also had rooms for the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen. A designer named William Worrall from Glastonbury planned these changes.
Restoration and New Life
In the late 1980s, the building became empty. Then, in the early 1990s, its thatched roof was destroyed by fire. The building also suffered from damage and neglect.
Later, two groups, the Somerset Buildings Preservation Trust and Falcon Rural Housing, bought it. They worked hard to fix it up. They tried to use the original building style and materials as much as possible. After all the repairs, Falcon Rural Housing bought it. They turned it into four homes for families needing affordable housing.
What the Building Looks Like
St Margaret's Almshouses is a long, single-story building. It is mostly built from a local stone called shillet. On the front of the building, there is a stone tablet. It shows the special design of Abbot Beere of Glastonbury. He was the one who first rebuilt the almshouses. The building is also a Grade II* listed building. This means it is a very important historical building in England.
