Bridges Almshouses

Bridges Almshouses is a terrace of six almshouses built in 1685, founded by Sir Thomas Bridges, with minor alterations from the 19th century. The structure is made of squared, coursed limestone with ashlar dressings, featuring copings, a pantile roof, and brick stacks, including two at the ends and two along the mid-ridge. Each almshouse has a single-depth plan with paired through-passages.

The exterior consists of two-storey cottages arranged in a long, continuous range of three symmetrical pairs. Each cottage has a two-window range, string-courses on both floors, and a steeply pitched gabled roof with a plain eaves line. The ground floor features 3-light ovolo-moulded mullion windows with 4-pane early 19th-century casements, along with paired, deeply recessed plank doors that have decorative hinges and single rectangular lights. The first floor has 2-light ovolo-moulded mullion windows with 3-pane early 19th-century casements. Notable are two armorial cartouches located below the first-floor string-course between Nos. 48/50 and Nos. 52/54, representing Lady Anna Rodney (lion) and Sir Thomas Bridges (cross).

The interior has not been inspected. Historically, these almshouses are reputed to have been built for the poor widows of men who were killed in the Monmouth Rebellion. They are a well-preserved example of a civic building type with local historical significance.