Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people (typically elderly people who can no longer work to earn enough to pay rent) to live 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 are generally maintained by a charity or the trustees of a bequest.
Alms are, money or services donated to support the poor and indigent. Almshouses were established from the 10th century in Britain, to provide a place of residence for poor, old and distressed folk. The first recorded almshouse was founded in York by King Athelstan; the oldest still in existence is the Hospital of St. Cross in Winchester, dating to about 1132. In the Middle Ages, the majority of European hospitals functioned as almshouses.
An incomplete list of British Almshouses can be found at Link
TR1457 : Canterbury The building is known as "the old weavers house". Built in 1507, it takes its name from the Flemish and Hugenot weavers who fled from France to escape religous persecution in the 16th and 17th Centuries. The Flemish refugees were welcomed by Elizabeth I who gave them the right to trade in Canterbury. She also offered them a special place of worship in the Cathedral, and a Hugenot chapel is still there today.