Almshouses in Belvedere Road, SE19
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Almshouses in Belvedere Road, SE19 by Stefan Czapski as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Image: © Stefan Czapski Taken: 11 Feb 2015
I'll admit that at the time of taking the photograph it didn't occur to me that the dwellings in the long low terrace might be almshouses - I learnt that later, from the Listing: http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-358338-11-25-belvedere-road-se-19-greater-londo The listing suggests a date of about 1850, which (without knowing the detailed history of the area) is later than I might have guessed. I noticed the 'label moulds' - little hoods (with drop-ends) - over the first-floor windows. That seemed to me a 'Gothick' feature - more typical of the Gothic revival of the early decades of the 19th century. The design of the ground-floor windows (sorry, hidden behind the hedge) confirms the Gothick impression. But - for whatever reason - the design of almshouses often lagged generations behind mainstream fashion. So perhaps 1850 is as likely a date as any. Label moulds can be seen more clearly in my photo of the Langland almshouses in Henley - known to date from 1830: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3066061