The Ewelme Almshouse Charity
Cloister Quadrangle Closed
We very much regret that the Cloisters Quadrangle is currently closed to all visitors. This is to enable essential routine maintenance work to be undertaken on this Grade I Listed Building. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and we look forward to welcoming visitors back once the work is complete.
Welcome to the Ewelme Almshouse Charity (200581), also known as God’s House in Ewelme, one of the oldest almshouse charities in the country.
The Charity has its origins in the Chantry Foundation established by William and Alice de la Pole, the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk, in 1437. Its purpose was to provide almshouses for thirteen poor men from their estates, and a school in the village of Ewelme for boys similarly from their estates. The income for running the almshouse and the school was to come from the endowment of estates owned by the de la Poles in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire and Hampshire.
Nearly 600 years later, our purpose remains the same, but our beneficiaries and provision is wider. We operate three sets of almshouses, two in the village of Ewelme, Oxfordshire, and one in the village of Marsh Gibbon, Buckinghamshire. All are open to older people of limited means who have a past or present connection to the Charity’s estates.
Apply for an AlmshouseThe Charity also supports two sister charities.
The educational objects of the Charity have also grown, and in 1897 these separated from the Ewelme Almshouse Charity, with the founding of the Ewelme Exhibition Endowment (309240) and the Ewelme Elementary Education Foundation (309281). The three charities remain interwoven and are collectively known as the Ewelme Trusts.
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