Henry Boys Almshouses

The Henry Boys Almshouses comprise a group of twelve almshouses arranged around a three-sided courtyard, built in 1887 to a design by F.E.F. Bailey. Constructed of red Flemish bond brick with painted and terracotta dressings, the roofs are tiled with fishscale tiles and feature decorative ridge tiles and finials, reflecting a "Queen Anne" style.

The almshouses are single-storey, with each house containing four rooms accessed from a central corridor, plus a rear wing originally housing a lavatory and coal store, which was converted into a bathroom in 1976. Houses front onto the courtyard or project from the wings. Each has three bays with a central four-panel door featuring a glazed upper panel with stained-glass quarries, set beneath a segmental head and keystone. Flanking the doors are paired windows with keystones, and a square bay window with a triple-light window and hipped roof. The placement of these elements alternates symmetrically.

A central gable above joined square bay windows displays an armigerous overthrow with supporters framing a rectangular panel reading, "THESE ALMSHOUSES / WERE ERECTED AND ENDOWED BY / HENRY BOYS / A.D.1886." The projecting wings each have 12 almshouses, with open pedimental surrounds above the central doors at the ends, supported on brackets. Projecting square bays with three-light windows are surmounted by gables bearing the entwined initials H and B.

Internally, the houses have a central passage with a tiled floor; some retain fitted cupboards beside the hearths and cast iron hearths. The original rear lavatories and coal stores were converted to bathrooms in 1976, and rear windows were altered and replaced at that time and subsequently.

According to the Victoria County History, Henry Boys, a Walsall brick manufacturer, funded the almshouses in 1887, providing housing for 24 residents over sixty, of sober and industrious character, with an initial endowment of £4,000. A further endowment of £4,000 followed in his will in 1894. The almshouses, designed by a local architect, display a luxurious use of brick and terracotta decoration, advertising Henry Boys’ business. The survival of fragile details such as finials, ridge tiles, and the original front doors is notable.