
THE TRUSTEES of the Melksham Almshouses Charities are proud to announce that they have just recently completed the successful modernisation programme of all five of its almshouses in Bath Road.
The project was initially brought to the attention of the Almshouses Association, whose patron is HRH The Prince of Wales, and who have been very supportive in all respects on this project.
Much to the pleasant surprise of the Trustees the association announced just prior to Christmas Eve that they had awarded a £5,000 sum for the successful completion of this very important project.
The project was given the go ahead by the Board of Trustees in 2012 which happened to be fortuitously the 150th anniversary of the building of the almshouses by their founder, the legendary Quaker lady and philanthropist Ms Rachel Fowler.
The Fowler family like other leading Quaker families of the nineteenth century were very supportive of their communities and Ms Fowler especially cared immensely for the wellbeing and care of the people of Melksham.
All five of the very traditional and externally attractive nineteenth century almshouses have been completely remodernised internally with added bonuses of new state of the art insulation, energy saving equipment and heating. The gardens have also been landscaped to a high standard to give full enjoyment to its residents who are all now comfortably in residence.
The modernisation programme was successfully carried out by its contractors, Riggs of Melksham and the project management by CMS of Corsham.
Both Mike Sankey, the Chair of Trustees during the two year project and John Crook, the new Chair of Trustees for 2014 are naturally delighted that the project was finally and successfully completed, and that it will keep in place for future generations to appreciate, a very proud and attractive feature of Melksham’s history.
The spirit of Rachel Fowler is still alive and well.