1-6, Church Terrace

A row of almshouses dating to the mid-18th century, with later 20th-century alterations and additions. The buildings are constructed of red brick with a machine tile roof and form an L-shaped plan (truncated U-plan). They have one storey and an attic, with a basement to the right side. A plinth is present on the right side, and the right-hand wing features parapeted gable ends with shaped stone kneelers and stone coping. Three brick ridge stacks are visible. The row has 4:4:4:1 bays. A central gabled section has two 20th-century two-light wooden attic casements, with pairs of flanking dormers also featuring two-light wooden casements. The ground floor has wooden cross windows with painted stone cills and tumbled brick heads; the second window from the left replaces a former doorway, indicated by straight joints. Modern glazed doors are located in the third, sixth, seventh, tenth, and eleventh bays from the left, each with a modern flat-roofed glazed porch. A projecting right-hand wing has a wooden cross window to the ground floor and attic, and a small basement opening.

A carved stone coat of arms is set into the central gable, accompanied by a motto, and a restored stone plaque displays the inscription: “TO THE MEMORY OF WILLIAM KENLEY [or KERR?] / .... HIS WIFE THIS BUILDING / BY HER ERECTED AND ENDOWED / ANNO DOM 17..” A further granite plaque below is inscribed: “TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND IN MEMORY OF / JOHN PEMBERTON HEYWOOD / AND ANNA MARIA HIS WIFE / THE ENDOWMENT OF THESE ALMSHOUSES / WAS IN ACCORDANCE WITH HER WISHES INCURRED / IN THE YEAR 1887 BY THE SUM OF £1400”.

The left-hand return front of the right-hand wing shows evidence of a blocked former doorway (indicated by straight joints). The right-hand return front has a pair of gabled eaves dormers with two-light 20th-century wooden casements. A pair of ground floor cross windows (the left-hand one formerly a door, with straight joints below) flank a 20th-century glazed door. A segmental-headed basement door is located to the left. An outshut is at the rear, with 20th-century flat-roofed additions.

The interiors were not inspected.

According to Cranage’s records, the almshouses were founded in 1724 by Katherine Kerr. While the present buildings may date from that time, the inscription was partly illegible during a survey in October 1986. The corresponding left-hand wing was demolished when the Church of the Holy Trinity was rebuilt, attached to the north-west, between 1872 and 1878, following designs by William Eden Nesfield.