500-year-old Coventry city centre building gets a makeover

[dutchman]

Work at Ford’s Hospital, in Greyfriars Lane, has finished after 18 months



An Almshouse dating back nearly 500 years has been renovated and re-established as flats in the city centre.

The work at Ford’s Hospital, in Greyfriars Lane, has finished after 18 months and the Mayor of Coventry, Coun Hazel Noonan, had the honour of cutting the ribbon at the Grade I listed building.

Built in the early 1520s, the Tudor building was the result of an endowment made by the will of William Ford, a wool merchant and former Mayor of Coventry, and acted as an Almshouse to house several families.

The building was hit during the Blitz on October 14 1940, which saw the matron, her assistant and six residents killed.

Ford’s Hospital remained a ruin until being renovated in 1953 and restored to its original design. It was officially reopened in June 1953 by Sir Alfred Herbert.

And now, having been given another makeover which saw the number of flats reduced from seven to five, the building is open once more.