Elizabeth Almshouses, Worthing

The Elizabeth Almshouses are a collection of four almshouses on Elizabeth Road, Worthing built in 1860 by the architect William Burges. The almshouses were paid for by William's father, Alfred Burges, in memory of Alfred's wife. The building is listed Grade II.

Elizabeth Almshouses
"(a) symmetrical design of some richness"
Type	Almshouses
Location	Worthing, West Sussex
Coordinates	50.8143°N 0.3774°W / 50.8143; -0.3774
Built	1860
Architect	William Burges
Architectural style(s)	Gothic Revival
Governing body	Privately owned
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	Elizabeth Almshouses
Designated	21 May 1976
Reference no.	1039920
Location of Elizabeth Almshouses in West Sussex

History and architecture

Alfred Burges was a civil engineer who made a considerable fortune^[1] through his work with James Walker for their engineering company Messrs. Walker and Burges.^[2] In 1860, he commissioned his son, William, to draw up plans for the building of four almshouses in memory of Alfred's wife.^[3] The building is two-storeys high and is constructed of red brick. ^[4] Under a centrally-situated gablet is a statuette of St Elizabeth of Hungary.^[5] The almshouses are a Grade II listed building, described as a "symmetrical design of some richness".^[4] Burges intended the almshouses to be occupied by "poor single women, not less than 50 years old, of good reputation". The National Almshouses Association later became responsible for them, and in 1986 they asked for renovations to be carried out. No funds were available, though, and the residents were moved out. In 1992 Worthing Borough Council took over the almshouses and refurbished them. They have since been held in trust by the borough's Housing Committee.^[6]

The 1970 edition of Sussex, part of The Buildings of England series, and authored by Ian Nairn and Nikolaus Pevsner, makes no mention of the almshouses,^[7] although Nairn, who wrote the West Sussex section, does describe Worthing, recording it as "an exasperating town (that) began by imitating Brighton and ended by imitating Bournemouth".^[7] The revised (2019) guide, Sussex:West, does record the almshouses, although it (incorrectly?) describes William as the "brother of the founder, Alfred Burges of Blackheath (London)".^[5]

Notes

1. Crook 2013, p. 37.
2. Skempton 2002, pp. 755–756.
3. Crook 2013, p. 408.
4. Historic England. "Elizabeth Almshouses, Worthing (1039920)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
5. Williamson et al. 2019, p. 738.
6. Elleray 1998, p. 33.
7. Nairn & Pevsner 1970, pp. 386–389.

References

• Crook, J. Mordaunt (2013). William Burges and the High Victorian Dream. London: Frances Lincoln. ISBN 978-0-711-23349-2.
• Elleray, D. Robert (1998). A Millennium Encyclopaedia of Worthing History. Worthing: Optimus Books. ISBN 978-0-953-31320-4. OCLC 59405253.
• Nairn, Ian; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1970). Sussex. The Buildings of England. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-300-09677-4. OCLC 156815376.
• Skempton, Professor Sir Alec, ed. (2002). A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: 1500–1830. London: ICE publishing. ISBN 978-0-727-72939-2.
• Williamson, Elizabeth; Hudson, Tim; Musson, Jeremy; Nairn, Ian (2019). Sussex: West. The Buildings of England. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-22521-1. OCLC 1107632311.