Warmington Almshouses

News & Projects

Latest news from the Trust, the issues affecting almshouses and updates on our work to provide affordable homes for local people in Warmington.

Featured Project · 1 Church Lane

From 3 → 5 almshouses

Turning one remarkable gift into two affordable homes for Warmington.

Phase One complete

Explore the 1 Church Lane project

It started with a remarkable offer

In June 2025, a villager noticed that 1 Church Lane was for sale. Knowing that Warmington Almshouses Charitable Trust was looking for opportunities to provide more almshouses to meet local need, they recognised the potential of a house immediately next to the existing almshouses.

They subsequently approached the Trust with an extraordinary proposal: to donate the money needed to purchase the property.

“This extremely generous donor wishes to remain anonymous.”

The Trust purchased 1 Church Lane, creating a unique opportunity to provide two additional affordable homes for local people who are unable to afford to remain in the village, often because of circumstances beyond their control.

Phase One delivered

The first phase concentrated on the major internal changes needed to transform 1 Church Lane from a single property into two separate almshouses.

Two almshouses

The original property has been divided to establish two separate homes.

New kitchen

A new kitchen has been created as part of the internal conversion.

New shower room

A new shower room has been created to serve one of the new homes.

New bedroom

The former outhouse has been converted to provide additional bedroom accommodation.

The project in pictures

Follow the transformation of 1 Church Lane through the different stages of the project.

The outhouse was used as a workshop and store, it had a beam across it holding up a large storage shelf

Other storage was fitted on the wall to School Lane, the room was carpeted and had electrical fittings

The entrance door from the garden was a decayed wooden and glass door with no handle to the lock

The barred metal framed window with a concrete lintel in the brick wall to the garden which is made from old Warmington brick

All fittings were cleared out to expose the walls, the far wall is on to School Lane and is a mix of old brick, 1940/50’s brick and a stone outer wall. The right gable wall is old inside but the outer skin was built when the neighbouring house was built relatively recently

The beam restricted the useable height to about 1.8m above the bare concrete floor. The concrete floor was formed from a concrete slab probably from the 1940/50’s conversion

The start of opening up the wall between the outhouse and the main house. The wall was a double skinned cavity brick wall probably from the 1940/50’s conversion

All the way through with inner brick gable wall propped – the inner wall carried the purlins supporting the main roof loads

The new opening from the cleared bathroom/larder room with the screed removed to reduce the floor height difference

This shows where the demolished old bathroom wall started opposite the new opening and the remaining floor height difference

The lintels in place – the old bathroom wall position is clear

The floor insulated with 50mm of PIR with 22mm flooring chipboard over – the level difference was removed by using 100mm PIR in the outhouse floor. All insulation joints were taped to form a vapour barrier

A new ceiling was constructed above the beam height, the use of floor insulation further reduced the height under the beam

The new ceiling with opening for a loft hatch with the beam below head height

The levelled insulation through the opening

The beam need to be removed but the fastenings into the wallplate were difficult to access

Removing the pantiles and cutting the felt and a batten gave better access

The beam position at the School Lane end

The tiles reinstated at the School Lane side

The garden side after the beam was removed, felt relaid and battens awaiting repair before retiling

The removed beam – it was made of aluminium and possibly was salvaged from old war stock when it was installed in the late 40’s or 50’s

The ends were trimmed to fit closely under the tiles at the eaves

The pitched roof was insulated between rafters to start with, further insulation was then installed under and this secured with battens fastened through onto the rafters

The pitched rafter lengths to each side were not the same because the thick stone wall to the School Lane side was higher than the brick wall to the garden side

The floor insulation cut to fit the irregular wall

The door was immediately adjacent to the separating wall with the new opening into the main house

The wall insulation design required the PIR panels to be fastened with battens over to form a utility space for wiring and plumbing. The walls were battened to provide a cavity prior to the insulation being installed, the wall battens were fixed with concrete screws as in this test arrangement

The wall to School Lane was a mix of new (1940/50’s brick with older Warmington brick with a stone outer

The double brick garden wall of Warmington brick

The wall and pitched eaves with battens securing the second layer of insulation to the rafters

Mostly complete awaiting the garden wall insulation

The new opening tight at top left to the new pitched eaves which have insulation between and under with battens to secure – adding depth to the roof

Showing insulation taped and ready for electrics and plumbing first fix, plasterboard stored ready for use

Radiator plumbing installed and 18mm OSB radiator supports onto garden wall

Doorway and opening squared off with boarding

Radiator installed with old window and door still in place

A new tilt and turn window replaced the old door, it can act as a door from inside so providing an alternate fire escape route. A new window replaced the old one. Both are South facing and have solar glass to limit solar heat gain. The door is of laminated glass for safety

The radiator feed pipe before having insulation over them

1of50

1of16

The outer gable wall to the outhouse was rebuilt as a cavity wall when the neighbouring house was built. This outer wall is the boundary between the houses

The ‘mezzanine’ storage supported by the beam

1of31

What happens next?

Completing Phase One is an important milestone, but there is still work to do before the two almshouses are ready to become homes.

The next stages will focus on completing the property to the standard required for comfortable, practical and energy-efficient homes, including the remaining building, services and finishing work.

The Trust will continue to seek grant funding, financial donations and support from people and businesses who can contribute professional expertise, practical skills or labour.

Why community support matters

The Trust still has more than £40,000 of loan debt arising from the major refurbishment of the existing three almshouses in 2008. Unlike many almshouse charities, WACT does not have an endowed capital fund.

The charity is run entirely by volunteers from the village. Its regular income comes from contributions made by residents, which the Trust has sought to keep well below market rents and the Local Housing Allowance.

Grant funding and the generosity of supporters have enabled significant progress at 1 Church Lane. Continued community support will help us complete the remaining work and turn the two properties into homes for future residents.

Can you contribute skills or expertise?

We do not expect professionals to provide their expertise or labour entirely free of charge. However, help provided on favourable terms can make a significant difference to what the Trust can achieve.

Where the Trust does pay for work, we would particularly like that expenditure to support people and businesses within the local community wherever practical.

It sounds ridiculous.

Almshouses provide affordable homes for people in need. They’re run by charities, not for profit, and the homes can remain available to local people for generations.

Yet many almshouse charities aren’t recognised in the same way as other affordable-housing providers when it comes to planning and funding.

A strange gap in the rules

The problem comes down largely to something called Registered Provider status.

Most housing associations are Registered Providers of social housing. Most small almshouse charities aren’t.

That sounds like an administrative technicality. But under national planning policy, Registered Provider status is normally required for Social Rent and other affordable housing for rent.

For a tiny charity trying to create one or two homes, access to funding can make the difference between a project happening and not happening.

Why should we care?

Because almshouses are an incredibly simple idea that still works.

A charity provides a home.
A person in housing need lives there.
There are no shareholders and no commercial landlord taking a profit.
When that resident eventually leaves, the home remains available to help someone else.

Around 1,600 almshouse charities provide homes to approximately 37,000 people across the UK.

And this matters here in Warmington

Warmington Almshouses Charitable Trust has been providing homes in our village since 1862.

We currently have three almshouses. Thanks to the extraordinarily generous gift of another property, we now have the opportunity to create two more affordable homes for local people.

But being given a building isn’t the same as being given two finished homes. The conversion requires significant investment.

We’re not asking for special treatment

Almshouses should be properly governed and residents should be protected. But a charity managing a handful of homes shouldn’t necessarily have to operate under exactly the same framework as an organisation managing thousands simply to be recognised within the affordable-housing system.

The Almshouse Association is campaigning for almshouse charities to be recognised as affordable housing without requiring every charity to become a Registered Provider.

What could change?

Recognition could help charities access appropriate affordable-housing support, make better use of developer contributions and remove barriers to creating more homes — while retaining safeguards appropriate to the almshouse model.

You can help

Warmington is represented in Parliament by Lee Barron, MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire. If you agree that properly governed almshouse charities should be recognised within the affordable-housing system, you can write to your MP and ask them to support change.

Write to Lee Barron MP

Find your MP

Small charities. Local homes. Lasting impact.

Further reading

Read the Almshouse Association MP briefing →

Read the Government’s affordable-housing definition →

26 Sep · 1 Church Lane — Phase One complete — two new almshouses take shape

A major milestone at 1 Church Lane. Phase One has transformed the original property into two separate almshouses as we move from three homes to five.

Phase One of the 1 Church Lane project has now been completed, marking a major milestone for Warmington Almshouses Charitable Trust.

The work has transformed the original property into two separate almshouses and brings our ambition to increase the number of almshouses in Warmington from three to five significantly closer to reality.

The first phase included dividing the property into two homes, creating a new shower room, installing a new kitchen and converting the former outhouse into a bedroom.

On 26 September 2026, trustees, supporters and people involved in the project came together at 1 Church Lane to celebrate the completion of this important stage and recognise the contribution of everyone who has helped make the project possible.

Celebrating the milestone

1of38

Help us complete two more homes for Warmington

Phase One has brought us a major step closer. Whether you can offer practical help, professional expertise or make a financial contribution, your support can help us complete the two new almshouses.

I’d like to help

Donate to the project