Harpers Almshouses is a Grade II listed building in the Somerset local planning authority area, England. First listed on 12 November 1953. Almshouse.
Harpers Almshouses
- WRENN ID
- former-chalk-dale
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Somerset
- Constituency
- Wells and Mendip Hills MP: Tessa Munt (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 12 November 1953
- Type
- Almshouse
- Address
- Harpers Almshouses, 28, Chamberlain Street, Wells, BA5 2PJ
- OS grid reference
- ST 547 458
- Coordinates
- 51.2098, -2.64912
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Harpers Almshouses is an almshouse built around 1713, possibly incorporating older materials. The building is rendered and colourwashed, featuring a triple roll clay tiled roof with a tall stepped gable on the west side and an abutment on the east, along with brick chimney stacks.
The exterior consists of two storeys with four bays of irregular window arrangements. It has a plinth and timber casement windows with iron-framed opening lights, some of which are modern. The first bay has a two-light window below and a three-light window above, the second bay has a single and a double light below and a three-light window above, while the third and fourth bays have two-light stone mullioned windows without labels, all of which are rectangular and leaded. The entrance is located in the third bay, featuring a 20th-century door in a plain opening. Beneath the front chimney stack, there is a plaque in a recess with a square hoodmould that reads: "Glory to God/Mr Archibald Harper one/of the eight masters & in/the year 1702 Mayor of/this city did by his last/Will and Testament settle/This house and 500/upon/Trustees for the perpetual/use and maintenance of 5/poor men old decayed/Wool-combers of this/City of Wells/Mr Harper died May 11/1713/Blessed are the merciful/Matt 5.7."
The interior was not inspected. This almshouse was constructed on the site of Archibald Harper's own house.
Local climate
Harpers Almshouses receives an average of 860 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 62% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 70% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 52% of listed buildings. Of these, 14 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- Sale history — 1 transaction since 2005
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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