History of The Trust

A brief history of the Trust

Peterborough Almshouse Trust CIO comes under the umbrella of the Almshouse Association which has many Almshouses throughout the United Kingdom.  The Trust dates from around 1611 when it was called the Town Estates Charity.  Its trustees had wide responsibilities for local government, including care of the needy.  By the 19th century the trustees owned several almshouses for the poor around the City Centre.  They reduced their local government responsibility under the 1907 Charity Commission Scheme, when the Trust was renamed Peterborough United Charities. It remained known as this until 1974 when it was renamed Peterborough Almshouse and Relief in Need Charity by the Charity Commission. In 2001 they again renamed it as "Peterborough Almshouse Trust".

Until 1969 the charity owned and administered the old Almshouses in Cumbergate and Westgate. Late in 1969 these were closed down and sold as the Queensgate Centre was planned for the 1970s. The land in Granby Street had been purchased in 1965 and in 1969 it was developed and modern flats and bungalows were built to rehouse the residents.

How Stephenson Court got its name

The Court is named after Joseph Stephenson who was the Clerk to the Trustees from 1925 until his death in 1965. He was also the senior partner of the accountancy firm Stephenson, Smart and Co which is still in business today.

How the Houses got their names

In 1635, Edward Mountsteven founded 6 almshouses in Paston. These almshouses were later amalgamated with Peterborough Almshouse Trust. The Vicar of Paston was appointed as a trustee back in 1635 and still to this day the Vicar of Paston (whoever it is at the time) is still a trustee. This is known as an "ex-officio" trustee.

In 1744 Edward Wortley, MP for Peterborough, financed a workhouse which later became Wortley Almshouse. His wife, Lady Mary Wortley Montague, brought back to England a system of inoculation against Smallpox which she had discovered in Turkey.

In 1841, Samuel Brocksopp left his estate between Town Estate Charity and St John's Church. St John's Church funded its own almshouses which were later amalgamated into Peterborough Almshouse Trust. Samuel Brocksopp. Birth: 1769; Death: 25 Apr 1841 (aged 71–72); Burial. St. John the Baptist Church

In 1903, France Pears left money to provide courtyard housing between Westgate and Cumbergate almshouses.

In 1907, Mary Ireland became a trustee.

In 1928, George Smith left money in his will for the Almshouse Trust Fund.

Edward Robinson Bluck left two houses in Gladstone Stree, Peterborough, to Peterbrough Diocesan Board of Finance for the benefit of St Mark's Parish. He bequeathed that the two houses should be converted into 4 flats to be called "St Mark's Rest Homes for the aged and poor".

All these people financed housing for older people in Peterborough in a charity form. All the different charities were later amalgamated into Peterborough Almshouse Trust in the form it is today.

Canon A J Howitt became a Trustee and Chairman of the Trust in the 1970s through to the 1990s. He was the ex-officio trustee connected to St John's Church, Peterborough.