Vachel Almshouses

Vachel Almshouses is a terrace of almshouses in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.

Vachel Almshouses
Vachel Almshouses in 2011
Location within Reading Town Centre
Former names	St Mary’s Almshouses
General information
Status	Grade II listed[1]
Type	Almshouses
Architectural style	Vernacular
Address	Almshouses, Castle Street Reading Berkshire United Kingdom RG1 7SS
Coordinates	51.45228°N 0.976034°W / 51.45228; -0.976034
Completed	1867[2]
Technical details
Floor count	2
Design and construction
Architect(s)	W H Woodman

History

Plaque from original building

In 1634 almshouses were built in St Mary's Butts, which were called 'St Mary's Almshouses'. The almshouses were built by Thomas Vachel. A plaque fixed on the building reads:

Sr. Thomas Vachel Kt. erected there Alms-Houses Anno Dom. 1634, and endow'd them with Forty Pounds p. Annum for ever for the Maintenance of Six Poor Men.^[2]

They were demolished in 1867 and replaced with new buildings at a new location in Castle Street, with money coming from the sale of the land. The new almshouses were renamed Vachel Almshouses after Thomas Vachel. They were designed by architect William Henry Woodman. The Almshouses were modernised in 1960–62.^[3][4]