Who we are

In his will of the 13th October 1690, the Rt. Rev Hugh Gore Bishop of Waterford and Lismore gave a bequest of £1,200 towards ‘the building of an almshouse in Waterford, for ten poor Ministers’ widows’, and for the ‘purchasing of lands for their maintenance’. Following his death on 27th March 1691, a site was identified facing the west gate of the Cathedral, on which stood a building that was being used at the time as a stable. The site itself was a historic one, as it was where King John resided when he came to Waterford in 1210.

A lease was signed between Bishop Nathaniel Foy, and the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral, and the new almshouses were opened in 1703. The first resident was Mrs Dalton, widow of the Rev. John Dalton, late Dean of Waterford.

On old maps the building is referred to as the ‘widows apartments’. The trustees have since broadened the aims of the charity to cater for people of either sex and all denominations.