Ann Grimstone and the almshouse

Ann was living in the Water Lanes area of York, one of the city's poorest parts. The York Corporation was beginning to demolish these lanes as part of a slum clearance programme, meaning Ann was being made homeless and, in her own words, was 'unable to earn a livelihood.' She turned to the rector of her parish church, Robert Sutton, and he was able to help Ann turn to the Company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York, which was one of the only options left open to her.

The Merchant Adventurers’ Hall was originally established in 1357 as a religious fraternity. By the nineteenth century it had developed into a guild regulating businesses and trade in York. From its inception, though, what is now the Company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York had a community spirit and would look after the city’s old and sick in their almshouse (originally called Trinity Hospital), in the undercroft of the Hall. It would have been divided into bed spaces by the large oak beams, which were covered in soot marks from the constant burning of candles. This was necessary as shutters covered windowless gaps in the walls meaning the Hall was nearly always dark.

Despite these conditions seeming unfavourable they would have been a vast improvement for Ann and for many of the pensioners who were admitted to the Hall. Importantly the Hall would bring safety, warmth, food and a small pension for all those living there.

However, because of this, the almshouse was very oversubscribed with many people competing for a place. Sadly very few people got the security they sought and were left to struggle with the poverty of York, which saw many people suffering extremely unsanitary conditions.

People could petition the Company for a place in the almshouse for several reasons, such as if they were looking for housing because they had become a widow and lost their source of income, or physical deterioration and their consequent inability to support themselves. They could also ask for smaller requests such as money to buy clothes for their children. If the Merchant Adventurers decided to grant the requests that people applied for, they could assign them a bed in the almshouse, money or provisions supplied by donations and wills, which former Merchant Adventurers and philanthropists often gave to the almshouse, for example via weekly pensions often funded by various benefactors from York. From 1872, each month those in the almshouse received an allowance of £2 (equal to roughly £157.95 today), known as court money.

Almshouse residents were granted extra allowance at Christmas, Easter and Whitsuntide.

The Company of Merchant Adventurers’ list of benefactions reveals the donors which made this monthly allowance possible. By the 9th of January 1815, Ann Smith (a widow living in York), had gifted around £100 (equal to roughly £7,524.42 today) to the Merchant Adventurers’ Guild, specifically to be gifted to the poor in the almshouse on Christmas Eve each year. Similarly, John Barker gave £15 on the 29th of June 1842, the interest of which was to be shared between the people of the almshouse each Christmas in the form of bread and coal. These donations gifted by various people throughout the nineteenth century reveal to us the contemporary positive reputation of the Merchant’s almshouse.