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Look around the town almshouse given a complete makeover

Trowbridge Mayor Cllr Graham Hill with Trowbridge Almshouses Trust chairman Glyn Bridges and fellow trustees at 3 Polebarn Road, one of the Lady Brown’s Cottages originally built in memory of  Sir Roger Brown’s wife  Sarah. Photo Trevor Porter 69712 <i>(Image: Trevor Porter)</i>
Trowbridge Mayor Cllr Graham Hill with Trowbridge Almshouses Trust chairman Glyn Bridges and fellow trustees at 3 Polebarn Road, one of the Lady Brown’s Cottages originally built in memory of Sir Roger Brown’s wife Sarah. Photo Trevor Porter 69712 (Image: Trevor Porter)

A Wiltshire almshouse has been given a new lease of life ahead of welcoming another beneficiary.

Mayor of Trowbridge Cllr Graham Hill inspected the improvements at one of Lady’s Brown’s Cottage Homes with Cllr Glyn Bridges, the chairman of Trowbridge Almshouses Trust and fellow trustees.

Cllr Bridges said: “The cottage has been given a complete makeover, with a new kitchen, bathroom, central heating, carpets and flooring.

Wiltshire Times: The living room at the renovated almshouse in Polebarn Road. Photo: Trevor Porter 68705-4
Wiltshire Times: The living room at the renovated almshouse in Polebarn Road. Photo: Trevor Porter 68705-4

The living room at the renovated almshouse in Polebarn Road. Photo: Trevor Porter 68705-4 (Image: Trevor Porter)

“We have done as much as we can to make it pleasant for the next tenant, who are known as beneficiaries.”

Wiltshire Times: The new bathroom at the renovated almshouse in Polebarn Road. Photo: Trevor Porter 68705-3
Wiltshire Times: The new bathroom at the renovated almshouse in Polebarn Road. Photo: Trevor Porter 68705-3

The new bathroom at the renovated almshouse in Polebarn Road. Photo: Trevor Porter 68705-3 (Image: Trevor Porter)

The recently renovated cottage was one of six originally built in Polebarn Road by Wiltshire’s former High Sheriff Sir William Roger Brown in memory of his late wife Sarah who died on December 6 1899.

Sir Roger, a wealthy Victorian mill owner and clothier, built and endowed two blocks of almshouse cottages in her memory to house six widows.

Wiltshire Times: The plaque at Lady Brown’s Cottage Homes in Polebarn Road. Photo: Trevor Porter 68705-2
Wiltshire Times: The plaque at Lady Brown’s Cottage Homes in Polebarn Road. Photo: Trevor Porter 68705-2

The plaque at Lady Brown’s Cottage Homes in Polebarn Road. Photo: Trevor Porter 68705-2 (Image: Trevor Porter)

Known as Lady Brown's Cottage Homes,  they have been altered to make five dwellings. Pevsner describes their style as "deliberately rustic, many-chimneyed and many-gabled".

Wiltshire Times: The recently-renovated almshouse originally built in 1900 by Trowbridge benefactor Sir Roger Brown in memory of his wife Sarah. Photo: Trevor Porter 68705-1
Wiltshire Times: The recently-renovated almshouse originally built in 1900 by Trowbridge benefactor Sir Roger Brown in memory of his wife Sarah. Photo: Trevor Porter 68705-1

The recently-renovated almshouse originally built in 1900 by Trowbridge benefactor Sir Roger Brown in memory of his wife Sarah. Photo: Trevor Porter 68705-1 (Image: Trevor Porter)

Sir Roger, who was High Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1898-99, also donated Trowbridge Town Hall and the land on which the Newtown Primary School was built.