It was a very
munificent and beneficent corporation, and erected these almshouses
for thirteen poor men and the same number of poor women. That hospital
founded so long ago still exists. It is a curious and ancient
structure in one storey, and is denoted Christ's Hospital. One of our
recent writers on Berkshire topography, whose historical accuracy is a
little open to criticism, gives a good description of the building:--
"It is a long range of chambers built of mellow brick and
immemorial oak, having in their centre a small hall, darkly
wainscoted, the very table in which makes a collector sinfully
covetous. In front of the modest doors of the chambers inhabited
by almsmen and almswomen runs a tiny cloister with oak pillars, so
that the inmates may visit one another dryshod in any weather.
Each door, too, bears a text from the Old or New Testament. A more
typical relic of the old world, a more sequestered haven of rest,
than this row of lowly buildings, looking up to the great church
in front, and with its windows opening on to green turf bordered
with flowers in the rear, it could not enter into the heart of man
to imagine."[60]
[60] _Highways and Byways in Berkshire_.
We could spend endless time in visiting the old almshouses in many
parts of the country.
Pages:
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392