In this talk, Robert will look at the history of almshouses, starting in the Byzantine era. But for the bulk of the talk he will concentrate on almshouses which survive to this day, and all the examples he will give will be from Nottinghamshire/Leicestershire. Some are well known listed buildings, but others are conventional houses, though often with an interesting back-story. You may be surprised at how many still exist, and what a vital role they still play in providing social housing.

Robert Mee is a regular on the local history speaker circuit, with over 25 talks, mainly covering the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire areas. He holds an MA in English Local History from the University of Leicester, and has published a couple of books on his home town of Heanor.