Description
Beeston's Gift Almshouses were built by the Girdlers' Company in 1834 as a terrace of 7 Tudor-style houses, in front of which is a pleasant garden with railings to the road, mature trees, lawns, shrubs, roses and a mid-C19th cast-iron water pump. They are named after Cuthbert Beeston, Master of the Girdlers' Company, who left property near London Bridge where the first Girdlers' Almshouses were founded in 1582. That site was sold in 1824 when land was needed for building a new London Bridge, enabling the Girdlers' Company to buy the site in Consort Road and to build Beeston's Gift Almshouses. The terrace was extended in the 1960s with the addition of two one-storey wings when two other small almshouses were re-located here, those of Richard Andrews and of George Palyn, the latter previously located in Choumert Road.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Girdlers' Company Almshouses |
|---|---|
| Site location | 272 Consort Road, Nunhead |
| Postcode | SE15 3SD |
| What3Words | ///battle.voting.thing |
| Type of Site | Private Garden |
| Borough | Southwark |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private |
| Public Transport | Rail: Nunhead; Peckham Rye. Bus: P12, 78. |
| Research Updated | 1 March 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Beeston's Gift Almshouses were built to house freemen of the Girdlers' Company or their wives, each of whom received a pension in addition to the accommodation. The cast-iron railings, gates and stone piers are also of c.1835. Cuthbert Beeston was Master of the Girdlers' Company in 1570, and left property to the Company on the south of the river near London Bridge. The first Girdlers' Almshouses were founded there in 1582 but the Company sold the site in 1824 for £11,500 when the land was needed for building a new London Bridge. In 1833 approval was given by an order of the Court of Chancery for the Company's scheme to use this sum to build and support 7 new almshouses. This enabled the Company to buy the site in Consort Road, then called Nunhead Road, and to build Beeston's Gift Almshouses.
The almshouse terrace was extended in the 1960s with the addition of two one-storey wings when two other small almshouses were established here, those of Richard Andrews and those of George Palyn. George Palyn was a past Master of the Girdlers' Company, who in the early C17th had left £900 for almshouses for the relief of 'six aged blynde and ympotent men of honest report and being freemen of London'. Under his will of 1610 £260 was to be spent within 2 years securing royal permission and building the almshouses, the remainder to be invested within 3 years in property that would bring in at least £40 over and above what was necessary for the maintenance of the almshouses, and this was to be distributed equally among the residents. The Girdlers' Company became the Trustees of Palyn's Charity and Palyn's Almshouses were initially established at St Luke's Old Street in 1612/3 on a plot of land purchased for £45 in Pesthouse Row. Properties in Abchurch Lane and Sherbourne Lane were purchased by the Company in 1613 for its investment. The Almshouses escaped the Great Fire of 1666 but the properties that provided its endowment were destroyed, but later rebuilt and rents continued to provide for the residents of Palyn's Almshouses until c.1916. By the mid C19th the almshouses were dilapidated and they were rebuilt in 1851 on land donated by Thomas Watkins, Master of the Girdlers in 1836, in Montpelier Road, Peckham, now the corner of Choumert Road and Choumert Grove. They remained here until moving to the Beeston's site when the Girdlers' almshouses were consolidated on the site at Consort Road, providing accommodation for 26 residents.
The requirements for residents remain the same today, that they must be Freemen of the City of London, employed in a trade akin to that of a girdler, such as working in metal or leather, and be resident in what was the former county of London as constituted on 31 March 1965. The restored almshouses won a Civic Trust Heritage Year Award in 1995. The garden has mature trees, lawns, shrubs, roses set into lawn and a mid-C19th cast-iron water pump.
The almshouse terrace was extended in the 1960s with the addition of two one-storey wings when two other small almshouses were established here, those of Richard Andrews and those of George Palyn. George Palyn was a past Master of the Girdlers' Company, who in the early C17th had left £900 for almshouses for the relief of 'six aged blynde and ympotent men of honest report and being freemen of London'. Under his will of 1610 £260 was to be spent within 2 years securing royal permission and building the almshouses, the remainder to be invested within 3 years in property that would bring in at least £40 over and above what was necessary for the maintenance of the almshouses, and this was to be distributed equally among the residents. The Girdlers' Company became the Trustees of Palyn's Charity and Palyn's Almshouses were initially established at St Luke's Old Street in 1612/3 on a plot of land purchased for £45 in Pesthouse Row. Properties in Abchurch Lane and Sherbourne Lane were purchased by the Company in 1613 for its investment. The Almshouses escaped the Great Fire of 1666 but the properties that provided its endowment were destroyed, but later rebuilt and rents continued to provide for the residents of Palyn's Almshouses until c.1916. By the mid C19th the almshouses were dilapidated and they were rebuilt in 1851 on land donated by Thomas Watkins, Master of the Girdlers in 1836, in Montpelier Road, Peckham, now the corner of Choumert Road and Choumert Grove. They remained here until moving to the Beeston's site when the Girdlers' almshouses were consolidated on the site at Consort Road, providing accommodation for 26 residents.
The requirements for residents remain the same today, that they must be Freemen of the City of London, employed in a trade akin to that of a girdler, such as working in metal or leather, and be resident in what was the former county of London as constituted on 31 March 1965. The restored almshouses won a Civic Trust Heritage Year Award in 1995. The garden has mature trees, lawns, shrubs, roses set into lawn and a mid-C19th cast-iron water pump.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ347758 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Beeston's Andrewes' and Palyn's Charity |
| Site Management | Beeston's Andrewes' and Palyn's Charity |
| Dates | 1834 |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Beeston's Gift Almshouses; Gates, piers and railings; Water pump |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Southwark |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
This is a remnant of the old village green of the hamlet of Nunhead. Development of the area was underway by 1840 when the Nunhead Cemetery was built and in 1865 the Lord of the Manor attempted to claim absolute possession of Peckham Rye, which included Nunhead and Goose Greens. This was contested by the parishioners and resulted in Camberwell Vestry purchasing his rights and all three areas were then transferred to the MBW in 1882. By 1905 Nunhead Green had become a tar-paved playground, although this was later replaced by grass, and as it does now consisted of two areas, a larger area separated by a roadway from a small detached area at the south-west end.
The Metropolitan Beer and Wine Trades Asylum was designed by William Webb and built on Nunhead Green in 1852/3, the foundation stone laid in 1852 by Lord Monteagle. The almshouses were established by the Metropolitan Beer and Wine Trades Society. Set back from the roadway behind a brick stone-capped wall, the almshouses have a small area of front garden with lawn and a few trees, with a central path leading from the entrance gate.
Peckham Rye Common was for centuries used as a deer park although local people retained common rights. Together with Nunhead Green and Goose Green, it was purchased by Camberwell Vestry in 1868 after the lord of the manor proposed to develop the land, and it transferred to the MBW in 1882. It was much used for sports and recreation, as well as fairs and other events, and an old pool was later used for bathing until Peckham Rye Pool opened in 1923. The pool was closed in 1987, the site later cleared and landscaped. In 1889 a bandstand formerly sited in the RHS Garden in Kensington was erected here, but it sustained damage during WWII and subsequently demolished.