Parsons' Almshouses is a Grade II listed building in the East Cambridgeshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 19 June 1972. Almshouses. 3 related planning applications.
Parsons' Almshouses
- WRENN ID
- last-facade-foxglove
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- East Cambridgeshire
- Constituency
- Ely and East Cambridgeshire MP: Charlotte Cane (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 19 June 1972
- Type
- Almshouses
- Address
- Parsons' Almshouses, Thomas Parsons Square, Ely, CB7 4HD
- OS grid reference
- TL 537 802
- Coordinates
- 52.39856, 0.2591
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Parsons' Almshouses are a range of buff-colored brick buildings with stone dressings, designed in the Tudor style by G. Basevi and constructed in 1844. They have a long U-shaped layout, featuring a central tower on the south range and long single wings extending to the north, which are terminated by short gabled cross wings. The windows are primarily two-light casements, with some three-light options, all having stone mullions and transoms. The doorways are topped with four-centred stone arches. The central tower is capped with an ogee slate roof, adorned with ornamental dormers, a central pointed arched window, and a stone panel that reads, "These almshouses were erected 1844 through the munificence of Thomas Parsons, an Ely benefactor of the 15th century." The roofs are tiled, and there are paired circular chimney shafts on moulded bases. Parsons' Almshouses form a group with several nearby properties, including Nos 20, 22, 22A, and Nos 24 to 30 (even), as well as other buildings on Church Lane and Downham Road.
Local climate
Parsons' Almshouses sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 97% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 98% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 33 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 56% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 3 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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