An almshouse is a form of charitable housing that developed in medieval Europe to provide long-term accommodation for people unable to support themselves, most often the elderly or disabled. It grew out of earlier hospital foundations associated with Christian charity and had become a distinct kind of institution by the later medieval period, typically housing small numbers of residents rather than the larger, more transient populations found in hospitals; almshouses existed across Europe, but their development is most fully documented in England, where they formed part of a wider system of poor relief alongside other charitable and parish-based support. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
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Orphanages and almshouses developed as parallel charitable institutions of poor relief, the former for parentless children and the latter for the destitute and elderly, often administered by the same religious or civic bodies.
The almshouse was an institution of poor relief specifically targeted at the destitute members of the lowest social class, reflecting and reinforcing the broader stratification of a community.
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An almshouse is a form of charitable housing that developed in medieval Europe to provide long-term accommodation for people unable to support themselves, most often the elderly or disabled.
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Almshouse (Wikipedia)
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An almshouse is a form of charitable housing that developed in medieval Europe to provide long-term accommodation for people unable to support themselves, most often the elderly or disabled.
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