A Short History of The Printers Almshouses Wood Green
Posted by Hugh on May 17, 2018 at 14:45 in History of Harringay
The history of almshouses stretches back to medieval times when religious orders cared for the poor. They were originally called hospitals or bede houses, in the sense of hospitality and shelter.
By the middle of 1500s, there were about 800 medieval hospitals spread across the country but the dissolution of the monasteries meant that many were either sold off to landowners or left to ruin. During the late sixteenth century craft guilds founded their own 'hospitals' to provide care for the “elderly decayed” members in their declining years.