Former Soup Kitchen To Rear Of Number 49 Commercial Street

The former soup kitchen, located at the rear of Number 49 Commercial Street, was built in 1872 by Thomas Nicholson for the Hereford Society for Aiding the Industrious. This single-storey building is constructed of red brick and features a roof that is partly slate and partly glazed. The gable end facing Union Passage has two round-arched doorways and a large window situated between them. At the apex of the roof, there is a long raised louvre with glazing along the roof pitch.

Inside, the space is large and was originally designed for dispensing soup, with the doors serving as the entrance and exit. The boarded roof is supported by collar trusses that have curved braces rising from moulded stone corbels, along with criss-cross bracing supporting the upper collar.

Historically, Nicholson was known for building and restoring many churches and schools in Herefordshire and Radnorshire. He served as the Hereford Diocesan Architect and was also the architect and adviser to the Hereford Society for Aiding the Industrious during the 1860s and 70s. He was commissioned to design this soup kitchen to provide a space where the poor could partake of soup, and it was also used as a temperance refreshment room during the summer. This building is a rare example of such an institution.