Queen's Road 81 & 83, "Park's Almshouses"
Road: Queen's Road, Teddington
Property: Park's Almshouses
The Park's Almshouses were built in 1900 by Cornelius John Park (1832-1909) in fulfilment of a £1000 bequest by his father, John Cornelius Park (1805-1887). There seem to have been legal difficulties with the terms of the bequest in the will which may only have been settled with the Charity Commission in 1896. In any case, the Park's Almshouses Trust was established in 1900 with "Two almshouses to be occupied as residences by persons being Peculiar or Calvinistic Baptists of good character and above the age of 60 years who have resided in the parish of Teddington for at least 2 years prior to the date of election and are not receiving, and have never received, parochial relief."
When he died in 1909, Cornelius John Park left a further £500 to the Trust for the benefit of the residents. It was invested with the income being used for the maintenance of the Almshouses and for support of their residents.
For many years the Park's Almshouses Trust existed as an independent charity (formally registered as charity number 248015 in 1966) with the trustees coming from Teddington Baptist Church. In the 1990s, it was transferred to the management of the Richmond upon Thames Churches Housing Trust and in 2007 was amalgamated with four other small local housing charities to become the Quintus Housing Trust (charity number 265192). The provision giving preference to Baptists for residentce in the almshouses remains in place.
The original benefactor, John Cornelius Park, was a prominent builder and land owner. He was born in Wootton-under Edge, Gloucestershire but by the 1851 Census was living in Teddington. He bought the Lordship of the Manor of Sunbury in 1852 and he is said to have built Teddington Hall. He lived in Broom Hall, Teddington (1856), Broomfield House, Teddington(1861 Census), Broom Lodge, Teddington (1863), and then in Auckland House, Hampton Road, Teddington for many years (ref: 1871 Census and 1881 Census). His gravestone in Teddington Cemetery says he died on 4 Jan 1887 aged 80 but his 1823 christening record (St Mary Newington) gives his birthday as 13 May 1805.
Although not a member of Teddington Baptist Church, John Cornelius Park appears to have been sympathetic to that Church (his father, Cornelius Park may have been an independent minister of religion) and gave it a concessionary rent when it used Craig Hall in the period 1880-1884 before it moved to its site at the junction of Church Road, Teddington and Walpole Crescent.
This page is part of the Directory of Buildings of Townscape Merit in Teddington assembled by the Planning Group of The Teddington Society. Copyright for the material on this page rests with the contributor.