In the days before social housing was provided by the State, wealthy men and women often founded Almshouses for the poor and homeless from their own fortunes, and with a trust set up to maintain them for the future. The stately Jacobean brick and stone Almshouse in Worminghall was built in 1675 using funds provided by the will of John King, and in memory of his father Henry King, Bishop of Chichester (1642-1646), son in turn, of John King, Bishop of London (1611-1621) born in Worminghall. John King’s charitable bequest provided the funds from his lands in Kent and, together with his wife Ann Russell, dedicated the building ‘to sustain six poor old men and four old women’. The Almshouse is, in the shape of a letter ‘H’ in memory of Bishop Henry and is Grade 2* listed.
In 1964 the building, which had fallen into disrepair, was renovated and the number of Almshouses reduced from 10 to 6, each with independent front door access to a living room, WC and kitchen on the ground floor and a staircase to a bedroom and bathroom upstairs. The building is set back from the main road and is surrounded by lawns, gardens and allotments, each resident having their own plots to cultivate as they choose.
Bishop Kings Almshouses is a registered Charity administered by a Board of local volunteer Trustees. The Charity is a member of the Almshouse Association.
Whenever a vacancy arises it is announced in the Bernwode News and posted on village noticeboards and local digital media.
If you’d like more information please contact the Clerk, David McBain, on:
07795 590022
david(at)damikali.com
Please be mindful that this is private property and not open to visitors other than by appointment.
Transcripts of documents or panels held in the Church:
the Bread Charity 19th Century Photograph
Bequest panels: North – South – Transcript
The lands belonging to the Bread Charities in Shabbington and Oakley have long since been sold.
(contrary to Tanner, Pepper’s Hill Farm is in Shabbington, not Oakley)
the Kings at Christ Church, Oxford
In line with the founder’s wishes, the Almshouses are run by voluntary Trustees with an elected Chair, the day-to-day duties carried out by the Clerk.
A small number of Chairs (all male, to date) have held office over the last nearly-190 years with some families giving particular service, latterly, the Hopcrofts, John “Lordy” leaving us in 2024.
