When travelling along the old Great North Road (A1) it is always worthwhile checking to see how the light is cast over the former Almshouses. I don’t suppose for one moment that the original inhabitants ever considered how the place looked in the face of the direction of the sunlight; but they must have been very pleased that the old place afforded them shelter in a less hospitable world than the one we live in today! Well the shot above benefits from the opportunity to catch the building almost carless, as well as the light creating sufficient detail across the main elevation without too many long shadows. The yellow car adds to the picture as it is a 1960-70’s Triumph Spitfire, with a bold black stripe over the centre of the car; very sporty!
I printed the original image as an A3+ and it looks really good. The almshouses provided accommodation for eight couples, each gable end either side of the main entrance being a small living unit. The residents ate and worshipped in the end rooms, the south I think was the chapel and the north end was the dining room! Within each residental unit was a very small spiral staircase up to the first floor bedroom. These are still in place but were dismissed behind modern partitians when the building was converted in the 1990’s. Perhaps at night ghostly figures can be seen slipping through the wall and travelling upstairs to the first floor! I bet the office workers have no idea of what lies hidden in the old building!