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Title: Abbott's Homes, Halifax - DPC00137
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Title
Abbott's Homes, Halifax - DPC00137
Description
Just a short distance from Halifax’s busy town centre sits John Abbotts Ladies Home, the complex of Grade II listed buildings set around landscaped gardens at Skircoat Green Road is part of the Almshouses Association. There are 14 properties in all and work will commence soon to increase that to 15.
To be eligible to live at John Abbotts home, ladies must already be living in the former county Borough of Halifax or in an area of the ancient Parish of Halifax. There is no rent paid as such but a monthly contribution towards maintaining, repairing and operating the site is required. Ladies are responsible for the interior of their houses and a small area of garden around it.
It was a delightful paradox for his friends when the name of John Abbot, a severe Halifax bachelor known for his dislike of women, was perpetuated in a private trust establishing a home for “ladies by birth and education”. Abbott died well over a century ago and, despite the amusement invoked at the time, John Abbott’s Trustees Ladies’ Home has been a real benefit to dozens of elderly women. The trust was financed from Abbott’s £60,000 estate, mainly property in New Zealand and Australia. The home consists of two detached bungalows and ten semi-detached houses lying in the tranquillity of neat shrubberies and lawns.
In January, 1877, the first occupants moved into 12 houses at Skircoat Green purchased with a porter’s ledge for £17,879. The homes were designed for women who had retained a modest source of income and most of them were able to afford a maid. The three principal qualifications of residence still apply. These are that a “lady” occupier must be a spinster or widow; she must be over 50; and she must be a lady by birth and education.
To be eligible to live at John Abbotts home, ladies must already be living in the former county Borough of Halifax or in an area of the ancient Parish of Halifax. There is no rent paid as such but a monthly contribution towards maintaining, repairing and operating the site is required. Ladies are responsible for the interior of their houses and a small area of garden around it.
It was a delightful paradox for his friends when the name of John Abbot, a severe Halifax bachelor known for his dislike of women, was perpetuated in a private trust establishing a home for “ladies by birth and education”. Abbott died well over a century ago and, despite the amusement invoked at the time, John Abbott’s Trustees Ladies’ Home has been a real benefit to dozens of elderly women. The trust was financed from Abbott’s £60,000 estate, mainly property in New Zealand and Australia. The home consists of two detached bungalows and ten semi-detached houses lying in the tranquillity of neat shrubberies and lawns.
In January, 1877, the first occupants moved into 12 houses at Skircoat Green purchased with a porter’s ledge for £17,879. The homes were designed for women who had retained a modest source of income and most of them were able to afford a maid. The three principal qualifications of residence still apply. These are that a “lady” occupier must be a spinster or widow; she must be over 50; and she must be a lady by birth and education.
Creator
Grosvenor Series
Source
Dave Pearson
Date
1903, 1900s
Rights
PHDA - Dave Pearson Collection
Relation
Pennine Horizons Digital Archive
Identifier
DPC00137.tif
Collection
Citation
Grosvenor Series, “Abbott's Homes, Halifax - DPC00137,” Pennine Horizons Digital Archive, accessed April 18, 2024, https://penninehorizons.org/items/show/26455.
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