Weedon’s Almshouses were founded in 1624 after the death of Thomas Weedon, a draper from London who had originally lived in Pednor.  He left £500 in his will to buy land to the value of £30 and build thereon four almshouses consisting of four tenements, each containing two rooms, one above and one below and having a separate garden attached thereto. The almshouses were to be kept in good repair by the trustees and were completely rebuilt in the late 19th century.  

The occupants were usually one widower and three widows and the oldest of those applying would be preferred.  All elderly Church of England parishioners of Chesham were eligible to be considered.  The almshouses were managed by twelve parishioners who were freeholders of the town, and in the event of a tied dispute, the minister of the parish church had the deciding vote. 

Adjacent to the Weedon’s Almshouses are the four Standring Flats, which were erected in the 1960s from proceeds of the will of Mr W J Standring, a member of the firm of Francis & How, solicitors.  

In White Hill behind the White Hill Centre are the four Francis almshouses, which were erected on land donated by William Lowndes by members of the Francis family with money bequeathed by Mr J D Francis in the Victorian era (the original Deed is dated 1895) and are now held by the Cordwainers Company of the City of London.  These were for “housing of the poor and working classes of the parish of Chesham”.   

© Eleanor Phillips