St George's Almshouses

St George's Almshouses is a former priest's house that dates back to the early 15th century and has been used as almshouses since 1586 when it was purchased by the Corporation. The building underwent alterations, particularly in the 17th century, and was restored in 1904. It is constructed from coursed, squared limestone rubble with a rendered plinth. The structure features two pairs of front brick lateral stacks, a small lateral stack on the right-hand return, and two gable stacks. The roof is tiled with rear stone slate verges and crested ridge tiles.

The building has a single-depth parallel plan with a southwest rear curved range and is a single storey with a six-window range. The rendered plinth includes kneelers and coped gables, with two near-central 17th-century brick chimney gables that have cornices and pairs of diagonally-set stacks. The 17th-century chamfered ashlar surrounds frame the 20th-century three- and two-light timber mullion windows. There are two central gables that are tile-hung above the ground floor, each with stacks that have cornices and pairs of diagonally-set square shafts topped with brick cornices. The left-hand gable stack features a ceramic panel with an arched cornice. The right-hand return has a gable with a window on the right side, and the rear range curves to the east, containing a rubble gable over a segmental-arched doorway, with a square stack above.

Inside, the structure has been significantly altered but retains 15th-century trusses with tie beams, cambered collars, and wind braces below the upper of two registers of purlins. Historically, the almshouses were built for the four priests who said masses at the old Church of St James and were later taken over by the Corporation until the Poor Law Reforms. The foundation of the Guild of St George was mentioned in 1429. The building originally featured a timber projecting upper storey, which was removed in 1904, along with hipped eaves dormers on each side, small windows in the gables, and front entrances.