The site of Nash's Almshouses The red slabs set into the pavement mark ou the floor plan of a terrace of nine almshouses which were built in the 1830s. Almshouses were provided by charities for housing the poor. These almshouses were built by the charity founded by Alderman John Nash in the 1600s. The houses were very small with one downstairs room and a bedroom upstairs. The whole terrace shared one outside water pump and two privies (toilets). These almshouses were demolished in the 1970s.