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Cross Keys Yard, SLEAFORD, NG34 7DH

Yard off Eastgate in Sleaford

Seen from The National Centre for Craft and Design. Looking towards the parish church which is dedicated to St Denys.

Running south from East Gate, opposite the parish church. 'Cross Keys' usually indicates a dedication to St Peter, but the parish church is dedicated to St Denys.

Also known as Carre's Hospital. Founded in 1636 to house and support 12 [later 18] local men. The east [left] wing was built in 1830, the south [right] wing in 1841-6.

The almshouse provision (a 'hospital') was founded by Sir Robert Carre, a major local landowner, in 1636 to house and support 12 poor local men. The present buildings are mid 19th century.

Tudor Gothic almshouses built by Charles Kirk in 1830 to a design by H.E.Kendall. The Hospital was founded in 1636 by Lord of the Manor Thomas Carre to house twelve local men

Almshouses dating from 1841-6. This is an extension to earlier building (out of the picture the left).

The east range of the Carre’s Hospital Almshouses, seen on the left, were built in 1830 whilst the south range - directly ahead - were built between 1841-6. The almshouses were built on the site of the former Carres family home. They were bequeathed by Robert Carre to accommodate 12 poor men, although this was increased to 18 in 1872. The Carres were one of the most prominent families in Sleaford in the C16th and C17th. Originally from Northumberland, George Carre, a wool merchant, had settled in Sleaford by 1522. His son, Robert (died 1590), went on to purchase the castle and manor of New Sleaford from Lord Clinton. His eldest surviving son, also Robert (died 1606), founded the town's Grammar School in 1604. There were several rebuilding phases and the chapel during the C19th. These almshouses are Grade II* listed.

Grade II Listed this building is probably unique in being the only example of specially built Company Offices to exist on a rural waterway. It was finished in 1839 and consisted of an office for the Clerk with the weighing machine in it, a Committee Room for meetings and two upstairs rooms that were to provide accommodation for the Clerk. A small brick extension was later added at the back. After the Sleaford Navigation Company was wound up in 1878, Navigation House continued to be used as a dwelling until the 1950’s when the building gradually fell into disrepair. The building escaped demolition in the 1970s thanks to the Sleaford Navigation Society and with help from the Heritage Lottery and Sleaford Pride it opened as a visitor centre for the Sleaford Navigation in 2005.

Navigation House - once connected with Sleaford's Navigation Canal - is now a museum which speaks of local history, especially in relation to industry and canal transport.