Skip to main content

Almshouses

Scope note

Use for buildings where the indigent or otherwise helpless without further recourse are cared for and put to work at public expense; in the United States, established since the mid-18th century and usually funded by local or state governments or parishes; in England, originally under the administration of monasteries for dispensing alms, later endowed by private charities. For buildings where the disabled, elderly poor, or vagrants are confined for reformative and correctional purposes, use "workhouses." For places established solely for the distribution of alms, use "almonries."

Term type

AAT

Getty AAT term number

30006745

Broader Terms used

welfare buildings

Narrower Terms used

beadhouses

Equivalent Terms used

almshouse

Created

13yrs ago

Citation for print

This page can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Terminology definition for: almshouses" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/terminology/term-64442 Accessed: 2024-11-09 19:39:06

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this page on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/terminology/term-64442|title=Terminology definition for: almshouses|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-09 19:39:06|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/terminology/term-64442

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...