Welcome to Coventry's Almshouses - Ancient & Modern
Bond’s and Ford’s Hospitals and Bond’s Court, having been restored, improved and extended over the last few years, provide high standard, private, self contained apartments with resident staff to give advice and support. We welcome people of limited means, from all walks of life, who want to live in a safe and caring community, while retaining their independence and privacy.
The three Almshouse schemes together with our newest building Bond's Lodge are managed by Coventry Church (Municipal) Charities. They are situated within the ancient boundary which was once the city wall and within the inner ring road which surrounds the city centre.
The post war shopping precincts and the historical areas of the city are within very easy walking distance. Residents take pride as they share in the five hundred year history and traditions of the Almshouses and at the same time enjoy the modern city centre.
We are delighted that Coventry was awarded the City of Culture for 2021 and we look forward to the continued improvement of the City Centre and the cultural diversity that will benefit the City for decades to come.
Sheltered housing & Almshouses
Most people have heard of Sheltered housing and Almshouses but many people are not clear as to what they mean and what are the benefits to live in Sheltered or Supported accommodation.To many people Almshouses are a thing of the past, out of date and no longer needed but we believe they are as relevant and as important today as they were 500 years ago and that is to provide accommodation for people unable to remain in their own homes due to reduced circumstances whether that be social isolation or financial hardship. It is true that Almshouses have been around for over a thousand years but they are far from out of date and number twenty-five thousand in this country alone.An Almshouse is a unit of residential accommodation (usually a house or flat) which belongs to a Charity and is provided exclusively to meet the Charity’s purpose such as but not limited to the relief of financial need or infirmity and is occupied or is available for occupation under licence by qualified beneficiary who made be required to contribute a weekly sum towards its maintenance. An Almshouse Charity is a Charity which is established to provide one or more Almshouses.Here in Bond’s and Ford’s Hospitals and Bond’s Court, we think we have a good mix of the ancient and modern.In the tried and trusted Almshouse tradition we have staff who live on site, who know residents and their families well, and who are available not only for emergencies but also for a friendly chat or advice every day during the working week.The Trustees who administer the Almshouses take a personal interest in residents, attending coffee mornings and resident led functions to keep in touch with residents. They encourage staff to take up training for their personal development, which also benefits residents by receiving a better service delivery from the staff.By definition Sheltered Housing does not provide ‘Hands On’ care, but the Scheme Manager can help residents’ to contact Doctors, Hospitals and Social Services to give their help and advice if that is what is needed. If the need is for more practical help such as a cleaner or someone to go shopping, they can put residents’ in touch with outside agencies who can be employed to do the work required.The national trend is for ‘floating support’ to replace the resident Scheme Manager. This has resulted in some cases of sheltered schemes being visited by a non resident Support Worker who has several other schemes to visit. The Trustees of this Charity do not consider this in keeping with Almshouse traditions, and intend to continue with residential Scheme Managers in order to preserve the standard of service that residents currently enjoy.