Blue House, Frome

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The Blue House
The Blue House, Frome - geograph.org.uk - 866369.jpg
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Location within Somerset
General information
Town or city Frome
Country England
Coordinates 51°13′50″N2°19′12″W / 51.2306°N 2.320°W / 51.2306; -2.320 Coordinates: 51°13′50″N2°19′12″W / 51.2306°N 2.320°W / 51.2306; -2.320
Completed1726

The Blue House in Frome, Somerset, England, was built in 1726 and has been designated as a Grade I listed building. [1]

Frome town and civil parish in eastern Somerset, England

Frome is a town and civil parish in eastern Somerset, England. Located at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, the town is built on uneven high ground, and centres on the River Frome. The town is approximately 13 miles (21 km) south of Bath, 43 miles (69 km) east of the county town, Taunton and 107 miles (172 km) west of London. In the 2011 census, the population was given as 26,203. The town is in the Mendip district of Somerset and is part of the parliamentary constituency of Somerton and Frome.

Somerset County of England

Somerset is a county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the south-west. It is bounded to the north and west by the Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel, its coastline facing southeastern Wales. Its traditional border with Gloucestershire is the River Avon. Somerset's county town is Taunton.

Listed building Collection of protected architectural creations in the United Kingdom

A listed building, or listed structure, is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland.

The Blue House, located adjacent to the town bridge, was formerly the Bluecoat School and Almshouses, so named due to the colour of the school uniforms.

Almshouse charitable housing

An almshouse is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community. They are often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain forms of previous employment, or their widows, and at elderly people who can no longer pay rent, and are generally maintained by a charity hi or the trustees of a bequest. Almshouses were originally formed as extensions of the church system and were later adapted by local officials and authorities.

Built in 1726 at a cost of £1,401 8s 9d, it replaced a previous almshouse dating from 1461 (and rebuilt in 1621). The Blue House provided accommodation for 20 female widows, and schooling for 20 boys, and the front of the building is adorned by two statues, one of a man, colloquially known as "Billy Ball", and one a woman called "Nancy Guy", indicating the building's dual role. Its role as a school ceased in 1921, and it now provides studio and one bedroom flats for 17 elderly residents. [2]

See also

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References

  1. "The Blue House". Images of England. Retrieved 2007-08-29.
  2. Goodall, Rodney. The buildings of Frome, 2nd Ed. Frome: Frome society for local study. p. 149. ISBN   0-9510157-5-3.