Harrison Almshouses

Harrison Almshouses, originally a block of six but now refurbished as three, were built in 1854 and have undergone 20th-century alterations. They are constructed of red brick in Flemish bond, with cream brick dressings, and feature a Welsh slated roof with single and double diagonally shafted chimneystacks that have bands and oversailing caps.

The exterior is single-storey, with the front elevation showcasing six small paned wood casement windows set under rubbed cream brick flat arches. The windows have yellow brick quoins on the jambs and are complemented by three projecting coped gabled porches. These porches have rubbed cream brick elliptical arches and quoins, with recessed 20th-century half-glazed doors arranged in a pattern of window, porch, window, porch, window, porch, window. The central gable features a stone coping, and there are additional stone coped Dutch gables with external chimney breasts on the left and right flank elevations. A Portland stone tablet in the upper central gable commemorates the rebuilding of the Almshouses by John Villiers Townshend in the presence of Lord Dudley Coutts Stewart.

The interior has not been inspected. Historically, the Townshends succeeded the Harrisons at Balls Park. Sir John Harrison, who died in 1669, left £100 to be invested in property to generate an annual income for the benefit of the poor in All Hallows (All Saints) Parish in Hertford. His widow built and endowed four almshouses in Butchery (Bircherley) Green before her death in 1705. Her grandson later augmented the funds, leading to the rebuilding of the almshouses on the Church Path site in 1854, as Bircherley Green had become one of the worst slums in the Borough.