Widows' Almshouses, Nantwich
Encyclopedia
Almshouse
Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...
s for six widows in Nantwich
Nantwich
Nantwich is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The town gives its name to the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England. They are located at numbers 26–30 on the north side of Welsh Row, on the junction with Second Wood Street (at ). The almshouses were founded by Roger Wilbraham in 1676–7 in memory of his deceased wife in three existing cottages built in 1637; they were the earliest almshouses in the town for women. In 1705, Wilbraham also founded the Old Maids' Almshouse for two old maids in a separate building (now demolished) on Welsh Row. They remained in use as almshouses until the 1930s. The timber-framed
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
Widows' Almshouses building, which is listed at grade II, has subsequently been used as a café, public house, night club, restaurant, wine bar and hotel.
Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
considers Welsh Row "the best street of Nantwich". The street has many listed buildings and is known for its mixture of architectural styles, including other black-and-white cottages, Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
town houses such as Townwell House
Townwell House, Nantwich
Townwell House is an Early Georgian town house in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, located at number 52 on the north side of Welsh Row . It dates from 1740, and is listed at grade II*; in the listing, English Heritage describes the building as "important" and highlights its "good central...
and number 83
83 Welsh Row, Nantwich
83 Welsh Row is a Georgian town house in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, dating from the late 18th century, located on the south side of Welsh Row . It is currently used as offices...
, and Victorian buildings such as the former Grammar School, Primitive Methodist Chapel
Primitive Methodist Chapel, Nantwich
The Primitive Methodist Chapel is a former Primitive Methodist church on Welsh Row in Nantwich, Cheshire, England . Built in 1840, it is listed at grade II. The chapel closed in 2001, and the building has been partially converted to residential use....
and Savings Bank
39 Welsh Row, Nantwich
39 Welsh Row is a Victorian former savings bank, in Jacobean Revival style, in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. It stands on the south side of Welsh Row at the junction with St Anne's Lane . Dating from 1846, it is listed at grade II. Nikolaus Pevsner describes number 39 as "the first noteworthy...
. Two other former almshouses remain on Welsh Row: the Wilbraham's Almshouses
Wilbraham's Almshouses, Nantwich
The Wilbraham's Almshouses, also known as the Wilbraham Almshouses, are six former almshouses in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, located on the north side of Welsh Row at numbers 112–116 . Founded by Sir Roger Wilbraham in 1613, they were the town's earliest almshouses. They remained in use as...
were founded in 1613 by Wilbraham's ancestor Sir Roger Wilbraham
Roger Wilbraham
Sir Roger Wilbraham was a prominent English lawyer who served as Solicitor-General for Ireland under Elizabeth I and held positions at court under James I, including Master of Requests and surveyor of the Court of Wards and Liveries...
, and the Tollemache Almshouses
Tollemache Almshouses
The Tollemache Almshouses, also known as the Wilbraham Almshouses or Wilbraham's Almshouses, are six former almshouses in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. They are in two blocks of three cottages each, located on the north side of Welsh Row at numbers 118–128...
were built in 1870 to replace these by John Tollemache
John Tollemache, 1st Baron Tollemache
John Jervis Tollemache, 1st Baron Tollemache , was a British Conservative Member of Parliament and a major landowner and estate manager in Cheshire.-Personal life and career:...
, a descendant of Sir Roger Wilbraham.
History
Roger Wilbraham (1623–1707/8) was born at Townsend House on Welsh Row, and inherited the family's Nantwich property on the death of his elder brother in 1649. He was the great-nephew of his namesake Sir Roger WilbrahamRoger Wilbraham
Sir Roger Wilbraham was a prominent English lawyer who served as Solicitor-General for Ireland under Elizabeth I and held positions at court under James I, including Master of Requests and surveyor of the Court of Wards and Liveries...
, founder of the Wilbraham's Almshouses
Wilbraham's Almshouses, Nantwich
The Wilbraham's Almshouses, also known as the Wilbraham Almshouses, are six former almshouses in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, located on the north side of Welsh Row at numbers 112–116 . Founded by Sir Roger Wilbraham in 1613, they were the town's earliest almshouses. They remained in use as...
. He married in 1656; his wife Alice was the daughter of another Roger Wilbraham from the Dorfold
Dorfold Hall
Dorfold Hall is a Jacobean mansion in Acton, near Nantwich, in Cheshire, UK. It is listed at grade I. It was considered by Nikolaus Pevsner to be one of the two finest Jacobean houses in Cheshire.The present owners are the Roundells.-History:...
branch of the family.
In 1675–76, Wilbraham experienced personal tragedy: his two eldest sons died within a few months of each other in 1675, and his wife died on 8 September 1676, the anniversary of the death of his eldest son. A few months after the death of his wife, he decided to found almhouses for impoverished widows in her memory, describing their foundation in detail in his journal:
The three existing cottages that Wilbraham converted for this purpose had been built by his father, Thomas Wilbraham, in 1637. The almshouse deed was dated 15 January 1676–7; the endowment of lands in Betchton
Betchton
Betchton is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 620...
, near Sandbach
Sandbach
Sandbach is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements; Sandbach itself, Elworth, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock....
, gave an annual income of £24. Each house was occupied by two widows, and had two rooms on the ground floor with a single room above. It is traditionally stated that a line was drawn across the main ground-floor room in each cottage, passing through the centre of the single grate, leading to arguments about housework. In 1705, a few years before his death, Wilbraham additionally founded an almshouse for two "old Maids", with an annual endowment of £3 per head. The Old Maids' Almshouse was a small cottage with a single room on each floor located near the Widows' Almshouses, on the other side of Welsh Row.
In 1721, the endowments of both the Widows' and Old Maids' Almshouses were increased by Randle Wilbraham, Roger Wilbraham's eldest surviving son. They were increased again in 1834 from a bequest of £500 by Peter Sprout; he and his brother William were among the town's major 19th-century benefactors. In 1850, the inhabitants of the Widows' and Old Maids' Almshouses each received, respectively, 17s 6d or 15 shillings quarterly, plus 6s 8d or 3s 4d annually for coal, and a gown and petticoat every other year; all received an additional £2 1s 0d a year from the Sprout bequest. Additional cottages were added at the rear of the Widows' Almshouses on Second Wood Street in the 19th century. The Old Maids' Almshouse had only a single occupant throughout much of the 19th century. The almshouses were still being maintained by the Wilbraham family in the 1930s.
By around 1935, the Widows' Almshouses had fallen vacant and their buildings had become dilapidated. After the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the buildings were renovated and converted into the Cheshire Cat Eating House, one of the town's best-known cafés and tea shops. The interior contained a display of antiques, including man traps and bear traps. They have subsequently been used as a public house and, from 1972, a night club. In the early 21st century, after standing empty and semi-derelict for four years, the building was renovated and opened as a restaurant, wine bar and hotel, known as Curshaw's at the Cat and most recently the Cheshire Cat. At some time after 1907, the brick cottages on Second Wood Street were painted black and white to resemble the half-timbered building; the paint was removed in the 21st-century renovation.
The Old Maids' Almshouse still retained a single almswoman in 1939. It was sold to the local council in 1940, and demolished in the mid-1950s to make way for the access street to the Queen's Drive housing estate.
Description
The former Widows' Almshouses are an L-shaped building on the corner of Welsh Row and Second Wood Street. The 17th-century part of the building faces Welsh Row and comprises a terrace of three black-and-white cottages with a timber frameTimber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
infilled with bricks under a tiled roof. It has six bays and two storeys, with a gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d end to Second Wood Street. A two-storey 19th-century extension in brick faces Second Wood Street.
Bunbury, Cheshire
Bunbury is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, south of Tarporley, north west of Nantwich, and on the Shropshire Union Canal...
. The timber work is of high quality and features ovolo
Ovolo
Ovolo in architecture, is a convex molding known also as the echinus, which in Classical architecture was invariably carved with the egg-and-dart ornament. The molding is called a quarter-round by woodworkers...
moulding. The gable to Second Wood Street has a dentillated
Dentil
In classical architecture a dentil is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice.The Roman architect Vitruvius In classical architecture a dentil (from Lat. dens, a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice.The Roman architect...
beam between ground and first floors. There are three doorways with square-headed wooden surrounds to the Welsh Row face. This face has three mullion
Mullion
A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...
ed and transomed
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
four-light windows to the ground floor; those to the gable have five lights. The windows retain the original wooden cases featuring ovolo and cyma mouldings.
In the original layout, the doorways opened onto a small lobby area in front of the chimney breast, a characteristic feature of Nantwich buildings dating from the early 17th century. The staircase was located on the far side of the chimney breast and a wattle-and-daub
Wattle and daub
Wattle and daub is a composite building material used for making walls, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung and straw...
partition protected the fire from draughts. The interior has been sensitively restored, and retains the exposed timbers throughout.
A grade-II-listed mounting block
Mounting block
A mounting block, horse block, or in Scots a loupin'-on-stane is an assistance for mounting and dismounting a horse or cart, especially for the young, elderly or infirm. They were especially useful for women riding sidesaddle, allowing a horse to be mounted without a loss of modesty...
dating from the 17th or 18th century stands outside the Welsh Row face. It has four steps cut from a single stone block, which are much eroded. The wear has been attributed to the adjacent butcher's shop (now incorporated into the Nakatcha Bar) belonging to Harry Bebbington, who is said to have sharpened his knives on the steps.
Modern usage
, the building is known as the Cheshire Cat, a restaurant, bar and hotel with 11 rooms.Sources
- Bavington G et al. Nantwich, Worleston & Wybunbury: A Portrait in Old Picture Postcards (Brampton Publications; 1987) (ISBN 0 9511469 6 3)
- Davies G. Memory Lane: Nantwich (Breedon Books; 2002) (ISBN 1 85983 304 7)
- Hall J. A History of the Town and Parish of Nantwich, or Wich Malbank, in the County Palatine of Chester (2nd edn) (E. J. Morten; 1972) (ISBN 0-901598-24-0)
- Lake J. The Great Fire of Nantwich (Shiva Publishing; 1983) (ISBN 0 906812 57 7)
- Lamberton A, Gray R. Lost Houses in Nantwich (Landmark Publishing; 2005) (ISBN 1 84306 202 X)
- McKenna L. Timber Framed Buildings in Cheshire (Cheshire County Council; 1994) (ISBN 0-906765-16-1)
- Pevsner N, Hubbard E. The Buildings of England: Cheshire (Penguin Books; 1971) (ISBN 0 14 071042 6)
- Stevenson PJ. Nantwich: A Brief History and Guide (1994)
- Vaughan D. Nantwich: It Was Like This (Nantwich Museum; 1987)
- Whatley A. Nantwich in Old Picture Postcards: 1880–1930 (European Library; 1992) (ISBN 90 288 5380 4)