The Ewelme Almshouse Charity

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.