The Hospital of St John, Heytesbury is a charity and almshouse, which provides affordable housing for people in need but who wish to live independently.
Located in the historic rural village of Heytesbury in Wiltshire the Hospital of St John is on a site of approximately two acres. There are 37 units of accommodation in total, of which two are allocated to staff, one is a guest flat and one is the office. The types of accommodation are shown on the Accommodation page.
The Hospital of St John has a Chapel, a Residents' Hall with kitchen for communal use, a laundry room, and a double guest flat for residents' visitors.
The Almshouses were founded in 1449 and endowed in 1472, in the reign of Edward the IV, by Lady Margaret Hungerford in memory of Walter her father in law the 1st Lord Hungerford and her husband Robert. Originally the establishment was to “house twelve poor men and one woman, who would act a house-keeper, with an ordained priest known as the Custos”. The Custos would “administer the hospital, celebrate divine services and teach the poor children of Heytesbury”.
We have moved on and in 2018 our “Scheme” or governing document was amended to reflect the way in which we now operate in the 21st century. You can view the 2018 Scheme on this website here or on the Charity Commission website along with our Annual Reports to that overseeing organisation by using our Charity No of 200669.
Our entry in the Charity Commission web site here: The Hospital of St John, Heytesbury