Almshouses still offer elderly a 'forever home' nearly a century later

UNIQUE ACCOMMODATION IS LIKE A 'LITTLE VILLAGE'

- By GEORGE PALMER-SOADY

WHEN thinking about Nottingham's busy Derby Road, a peaceful haven might not be the first thing that springs to a mind.

The major route into the city centre is known fior gridlocked traffic, disruptive roadworks and the Queen's Medical Centre.

But hidden just off the main road, away from the hustle and bustle, are the John and Eliza Jelley Almshouses.

Built almost 100 years ago, the 27 properties provide safe, secure and affordable housing for older residents.

After a prosperous building career, John Jelley died in 1914, leaving £30,000 - roughly £3.5m today.

Before his death, he asked that money to be used “for the building and endowment for the building of almshouses for people in reduced circumstances”.

And the homes still serve that purpose nearly a century later. Residents, many unable to work due to age or ill health, pay rents of between £93 and £109 a week.

"I was living in Beeston and the landlord decided he had to sell, so I got evicted and found shelter here,” says Graham Taylor. Previously a music journalist for magazines like the NME, Graham moved to Nottingham to do a PhD and became an academic.

One of the newer residents, the 77-year-old moved in last year and says he's felt “so much more secure” since. “You know the landlords aren't out for profit so they're not going to throw you out and put the rent up,” he says.