Hosyers Almshouses

Hosyers Almshouses are a set of almshouses located in Ludlow, dated 1758 and designed by T.F. Pritchard. The building is constructed of brick with a slate roof and features brick ridge stacks. It has a central range flanked by projecting wings, standing three stories tall with a six-window range. The windows are wood mullion and transom casements, set under gauged brick flat arches with stucco keyblocks, with two-light casements above. The eaves are moulded stone, and there is a pediment over the central protruding bay, which displays an armorial cartouche.

The central entrance features a six fielded-panel door, framed by a moulded architrave and topped with a moulded flat hood supported by consoles. Above the door is a concave niche with a shouldered architrave and keyblock, along with a tablet flanked by wood mullion and transom windows. The wings mirror this design, each with six fielded-panel doors and overlights, also under gauged brick flat arches with stucco keyblocks. The rainwater heads are dated 1851.

The front facing Church Street has similar window designs under segmental arches, with a two-leaf six-panel door in a brick doorcase featuring a gauged brick flat arch and stone cornice above. There is also a plank door to the left, with a light, in a moulded case under a brick segmental arch. The rear, where visible, is made of rubble with windows set under brick segmental arches.

A first-floor passage connects Hosyers Almshouses to the Buttercross, featuring a 20th-century restored ten/six sash window under a semi-circular gauged brick arch with a stucco keyblock, and a stone-coped parapet above. There is a segmental arch with moulded stone springers over Church Street. A mural tablet commemorates the foundation of the almshouses in 1486 by John Hosyer, a merchant, and notes the complete rebuilding in 1758.