Butlers Almshouses

Butler’s Almshouses, located at 19-21 Byfield Road in Isleworth, were built in 1885-6 by Edward Herbert Bourchier, an architect based at 32 Great George Street, Westminster, for the Isleworth United Charities Trust. The buildings are constructed of red brick with Bath stone dressings and have a slate roof. They are a single storey in height. A central entrance porch features a four-centred arch with drip mould and label stops, displaying foliate decoration to the spandrels. A shield is set within a square panel in the gable above. Tall, clustered octagonal brick chimneystacks are prominent. The building has five-light arched windows with leaded diamond pane lights, set beneath a moulded stone cornice. Arched side doors include Gothic Revival iron door furniture. A low brick wall with stone coping runs along the front. Inside the porch is an arched stone tablet with a cusped head, inscribed with a dedication from Elizabeth Butler describing the almshouses as a thank offering to God, dated October 24th 1885. Inside the porch are four-panel doors with quatrefoil door knockers and arched windows with leaded lights. The original plans indicate the interiors contain three rooms: a living room to the front, a kitchen in the centre, and a bedroom at the rear. These almshouses represent an unusually compact and late example of the almshouse type, which is well-represented in Isleworth.