Almshouses

The almshouses, dated 1643, are located in Staple Fitzpaine Village and were restored in 1970. They were originally donated by Sir William Portman and later restored by Mr. Clementoy. The building is constructed of squared and coursed blue lias stone, with a rendered rear elevation and Ham stone dressings, topped with slate roofs and coped verges.

Originally designed with four rooms on each floor accessed from a corridor along the rear, the layout has been altered to create four two-room flats, with two on each floor and a central staircase added in the entrance hall. The structure has one and a half storeys and consists of four bays, featuring three-light hollow chamfered stone mullioned windows on the facade. The upper storey windows rise from the eaves and are set in gabled dormers with coped verges and hood moulds. A string course runs below the ground floor windows, which are arranged two on either side of a central door. Above the door is a plaque that reads, "Founded by Sir William Portman 1643, Restored 1973." The entrance features a 19th-century door with decorative hinges.

To the right of the main building is a coeval lean-to that has been reroofed and extended, with a string course continued. It has a square-headed doorway with a chamfered architrave and stops, and a 17th-century door. The lean-to on the left return has been rebuilt. The rear elevation includes three gabled dormers that overlook the churchyard of St. Peter's Church. Although the interior was not inspected, it is said to contain original post and panel partitions and roof trusses. The almshouses were originally established to provide shelter for six poor people.