Berkeley'S Hospital: Almshouses With Gatelodges, Piers And Gates

Berkeley's Hospital comprises almshouses with gatelodges, piers, and gates, constructed between 1692 and 1703, with later additions and alterations, including a late 18th-century extension to the south gatelodge. The hospital was endowed by Robert Berkeley of Spetchley. It is built of pinkish-brown brick in Flemish bond, with ashlar architraves and hipped, plain tile roofs, the south gate lodge roof being half-hipped. Pinkish-brown brick ridge stacks have oversailing courses and decorative pots. Wrought iron gates are also present.

The building is arranged in a U-shaped plan, with matching north and south ranges, each containing five dwellings, and gatelodges to the east, flanked by piers and gates. The gatelodges, which face The Foregate, were originally single-depth. They are two storeys high with attics, featuring four first-floor windows each, with the north lodge having an extension. The south lodge has a blind second first-floor window, while the north lodge has blind third and fifth first-floor windows, and the second and fourth ground-floor windows are also blind. The original windows are 9/9 sashes, set in plain reveals with tooled architraves and moulded sills. Wide modillion cornices run along the facade. Each dwelling has two roof dormers, each with a pedimented gable and a casement window. Tall external stacks, with oversailing courses and pots, are situated at the rear and left side. Lead rain hoppers are also present.

The entrances to the inner returns are accessed via 6-raised-and-fielded-panel doors, set within tooled architraves, topped with swan-neck pediments and featuring an armourial shield. A blind opening sits above the entrance to the south side, while a 9/9 sash window, with a matching architrave, sits above the north side entrance. The right return (facing Shaw Street) has two first-floor windows. Each storey features 6/6 sash windows with cambered arches.

The gates and piers facing The Foregate feature a central double gate between tall, rusticated piers, which are square in plan and have moulded cornices surmounted by llama heads. The gates incorporate two levels of bars and a scrolled overthrow bearing the inscription ‘BERKELEY’S HOSPITAL’, with a mask and armorial shield at its apex. The almshouses' north and south ranges are similar in appearance, with a moulded plinth and ten windows in total, two per house. The central entrances have renewed part-glazed doors in tooled architraves, topped with swan-neck pediments and an armourial shield. Replacement casement windows are set in tooled architraves with moulded sills, and a modillion eaves band runs along the top.

The interior has not been inspected. Historically, Berkeley's Hospital was endowed in 1692 to house twelve poor men, with separate residences for a chaplain and warden within the gatelodges. The almshouses, gatelodges, piers and gates form a courtyard, with the west side occupied by Berkeley's Hospital Chapel, representing a significant example of Renaissance planning and considered one of the finest almshouse groups in England.