Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh: The Tudor almshouse: continuity or change?

Saturday 29 April, 11.30am - 12.30pm, OS.0.19, Mabb Lovell court lecture room, Old Sessions House

This talk will explore the development of almshouses in Tudor England to see how much they changed from their medieval predecessors in light of the Reformation and ideas about charity and the poor. While I will set the Tudor almshouse within the national context, much of the talk will draw on the rich evidence from Kent to highlight how and why founders and supporters sought to supply such charitable provision. We will also explore what we know about some of the recipients and what this can tell us about the challenges faced by those from the lower ranks of early modern society.

Sheila Sweetinburgh is a Co-Director of the Centre for Kent History and Heritage and has been lecturing at the universities of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church for over twenty years. Her research uses a microhistory approach to investigate a wide range of topics in medieval and early modern studies, deploying the rich archival sources for Kent. Among her numerous publications are works on medieval hospitals, fishing communities and provision for the poor.