Wynards Almshouses

A wealthy Exeter citizen of the 15th Century, William Wynard, a Recorder of Exeter, founded the Wynards Hospital in 1435, just outside the city wall, to provide homes for twelve poor and infirm people. He also founded the attached chapel of the Holy Trinity and Maison Dieu. The buildings were damaged in the Civil War by the construction of the city's defences, and restored in 1675.

In 1789, the almshouses were purchased by William Kennaway, a wealthy wine merchant based at Palace Gate. George Kennaway rebuilt them in 1856, and they owe more to the Victorian idea of medieval England than the real thing.

Edward Ashworth, the ecclesiastical architect and Harry Hems, the Exeter based sculptor were both involved in the restoration. There are several memorials to the Kennaways in the chapel, including a carved marble and mosaic work to Harriet Codrington (Codrington Street is named after her); Kennaways wife who died in 1861.

In 1914 each inmate received from 2s a week to 5s a quarter.

The almshouses came under the control of the Exeter Municipal Charities in 1950, who applied to demolish them in 1967. The Council stepped in and when the buildings became redundant in 1972, the city architect was brought in to convert them into a base for the Citizens Advice Bureau, and other charitable organisations. From Magdalen Street, Wynards presents a Heavitree red stone façade with a central doorway. The entrance opens into an internal, cobbled, courtyard.

The buildings were sold by the City Council in May 2001, and converted into 12 two and three bedroom dwellings and put up for sale in 2002. It was hoped that guided tours from the Redcoats would continue, but they do not appear to include the almshouses and chapel in their schedule. They are Grade II* listed buildings.

A Case of Piracy
It is interesting to note that William Wynard owed some of his fortune, which he used to endow the almshouses, to piracy. A Spanish barge was taken by pirates based in Exmouth. The authorities arrested one of the pirates, a victualler, on the vessel. On the way to the home of Baron Carewe, the men escorting the arrested pirate were attacked, and the merchant, who was travelling with the party, to whom the ships cargo belonged, fearing for his life, dropped the case. Later the case was resumed at the Court of Chancery, and at the hearing it was revealed that one of the recipients of the stolen cargo was William Wynard. He was not the only upstanding citizen of Exeter who gained from piracy at this time, with several mayors, merchants and aristocrats adding to their fortunes by such means.

Source: Piracy story - The Involvement of Exeter and the Exe Estuary in Piracy by  S Bhanji.