IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Barchester Road, SLOUGH, SL3 7HA

These almshouses stand on the north side of the churchyard, while the somewhat older Kederminster almshouses stand on its south side http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2309292. The two sets of buildings are generally similar - redbrick cottages, with gabled dormers. An inscription on the Kederminster buildings dates them to 1617, while these are said to date from the 1670's and 80's http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-38733-12-14-16-18-20-22-slough. For a view from the churchyard see: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2310827

These little 17th century cottages (they date from about 1680) still serve much their original purpose - as accommodation for old people. Architecturally, the red-brick parts are vernacular in style, much as they would have been if built a century earlier. The chimney stacks are set diagonally, as they would have been in Tudor times. But the doorways and the two-storey porch are a bit more 'architectural' - there is some Classical influence. Those down-pipes seem a bit out of character - mightn't it be better to paint them black ? In earlier days there may have been chutes projecting from the eaves to throw rainwater clear - as at Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire: Image For a view from the road see http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2309314

Seen from the churchyard. I don't know who manages these almshouses these days, but they seem to be in use as sheltered accommodation for active old folk - not so very different from their original purpose. This is the porch at the middle of the row - I can see a red umbrella, and it looks as if somebody likes a bit of gardening. My only reservation is this: when you get old, would you choose to wake up each morning looking out at the churchyard ?

Viewed from the north.

The south transept of the church houses the Kederminster Chapel. This must date from the early 17th century: 'A grant for the Kederminster Chapel was obtained from the Dean and Chapter of Windsor in 1613', according to Pevsner ('The Buildings of England: Buckinghamshire'). But for the tombstones you would take this to be part of a domestic building. Plain rectangular windows are seldom seen in churches - of any date.

The central porch of these early-17th century almshouses. This is the north-facing side of the building, seen here from the churchyard. The tablet over the entrance carries an inscription, but is quite badly weathered. I could make out little other than that the language is Latin, and the date - A.D. 1617. For a general view of the almshouses see http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2309292

On a sunny summer's afternoon.