Harpers, Marsh And Crumps Almshouse Charity
Charity 217193
Overview
Summary
Harpers, Marsh And Crumps Almshouse Charity appears to occupy a focused, place-based role in supporting older people through housing rather than through a broad package of care or community services. Its significance may lie in providing a stable physical foundation for later life: accommodation that can help older residents remain secure and connected to a locality. The limited evidence points to a specialised housing asset, but leaves its scale, accessibility and relationship to wider older-people support unclear.
Operational geography
Evidence and reasoning
Supporting evidence
Quinton
Confidence: medium
Lench's Trust identifies 80 Ridgacre Road, Quinton as its head office and states that it manages and oversees Harpers, Marsh & Crumps Almshouse Charity as part of the Walsall Almshouses partnership. This supports an administrative and management presence in Quinton, although the evidence does not show that housing services for this charity are delivered there.
- Lench's Trust, Walsall Almshouses
The page states that Lench's Trust manages and oversees four Walsall almshouse charities, including Harpers, Marsh & Crumps Almshouse Charity, and gives its Head Office address as 80 Ridgacre Road, Quinton, B32 2AQ. - Charity Commission Register, charity 217193
The current charity record gives its contact address as Head Office, William Lench Court, 80 Ridgacre Road, Quinton, Birmingham, B32 2AQ.
Remaining uncertainties
- The available evidence indicates that the charity's direct housing provision is in Walsall rather than Birmingham: the Charity Commission describes it as managing 13 almshouses in Walsall and records Walsall as its area of operation.
- Quinton is evidenced as the office base of Lench's Trust, which manages the charity's Walsall almshouses. It is not clear whether the charity itself has a separately occupied, tenant-facing or service-delivery site at that address.
- No current evidence identifies any almshouse, resident service, or other direct beneficiary-facing activity of this charity within Birmingham.
Additional evidence needed
- A current management agreement or the charity's latest trustees' annual report confirming the scope and location of administrative functions undertaken by Lench's Trust.
- Confirmation from the charity or Lench's Trust of whether any charity-specific meetings, resident support, repairs administration or other operational activity takes place at William Lench Court in Quinton.
Areas of work
- Accommodation/housing
Who they help
- Elderly/old People
How they help
- Provides Buildings/facilities/open Space
Discoveries involving this organisation
The Atlas has not published any Discoveries involving this organisation yet.
Observations
A highly focused later-life housing role
The charity appears to concentrate on one specific contribution: providing accommodation or housing for elderly people, using buildings, facilities or open space as its principal means of help.
Why it matters
This suggests a distinct operating model centred on maintaining housing provision rather than delivering varied frontline services. Understanding that focus helps identify the charity as a potential anchor within the local ecosystem of support for older residents.
Show evidence
“Who the charity helps: Elderly/old People.”
Source:Charity Commission“What the charity does: Accommodation/housing.”
Source:Charity Commission“How the charity helps: Provides Buildings/facilities/open Space.”
Source:Charity Commission
Housing may be its main pathway to wellbeing
The available evidence suggests the charity may support older people indirectly through the security and suitability of physical accommodation, rather than through explicitly recorded care, advice or social activities.
Why it matters
This distinction matters because residents may depend on other local organisations for health, care, transport, social connection or advocacy. It raises a useful question about whether the charity is connected to those complementary forms of support.
Show evidence
“How the charity helps: Provides Buildings/facilities/open Space.”
Source:Charity Commission“What the charity does: Accommodation/housing.”
Source:Charity Commission
- The number, location and type of homes or facilities provided are unknown.
- It is unclear whether residents receive any support beyond accommodation.
- There is no evidence of referral routes, local partnerships or eligibility criteria.
Remaining uncertainties
- The charity's governing objects, annual report and accounts.
- Information on properties, resident eligibility, rents or grants, and support arrangements.
- Evidence of relationships with local health, care, housing and community organisations.