William Candler, a master grocer, died in 1907, leaving a bequest of £5,000 to build six almshouses for poor elderly widows and spinsters aged over 60, who had lived in the parish of Twickenham for 25 years without receiving parish relief.

He lived in the borough all his life, originally in Twickenham, then Hampton, and then Richmond until his death in 1907. He is buried in Richmond Cemetery.

His will stated :-

“I give the sum of five thousand pounds unto my trustees in trust that the said trustees shall therewith establish six Alms Houses for poor and deserving widows and spinsters who have resided in the parish of Twickenham aforesaid continuously for twenty five years without having received Parish relief and of the age of sixty years or upwards in manner following that is to say My said trustees shall with the sanction of the Court or a Judge thereof of the Charity Commissioners under Section 8 of the Mortmain and Charitable Uses Act 1891 apply a competent part of the said legacy in purchasing a piece of land in the said parish as a site for the said Alms Houses and shall expend a further part of the said legacy in erecting suitable buildings on the said piece of land and shall invest the remainder of the said sum of five thousand pounds and which remainder I desire should not be less than two thousand five hundred pounds in any investment authorised by law for Charitable Trust Funds and when the said Alms Houses shall have been erected my trustees shall convey the same and transfer the invested fund so that the same shall vest in the Vicar and Churchwardens of the Parish of Twickenham or other local authority and so that they shall have power to vary the investment of the trust fund from time to time and shall with and out of income arising from such investment shall keep the said Alms Houses in proper repair and insured against fire and shall apply any surplus of the said income in making a weekly allowance to each of the inmates of the said Alms Houses. . .”  (1)

Sadly, the construction of the almshouses was delayed owing to the embezzlement of  £5000 by the solicitor dealing with the will.

The Richmond Herald carried a full report of the proceedings at Richmond Police Court regarding the embezzlement of William Candler’s estate and other charges: a detailed report of the proceedings appeared in The Richmond Herald each week from 17th March 1917 to 28th April 1917. The Bench committed the accused to the Central Criminal Court. A report of the Criminal Court proceedings appeared in The Richmond Herald on 19th May 1917 and Arthur James FURBANK, 61, a solicitor, was sentenced to three years penal servitude. 

In 1935 the old Twickenham almshouses in School Alley, managed by the parish, were replaced by new buildings in Amyand Park Road.

 Five new almshouses were built by the Twickenham and United Charities and, at the same time, five more by the trustees of the Charity of William Candler for Almshouses.

The ten single-storey, single bedroom almshouses were arranged in a semi-circle formation around a grassy courtyard. They were known collectively as the Candler Almshouses and are located at 79 Amyand Park Road, Twickenham, TW1 3HJ

In 2002 planning permission was granted for a major refurbishment of the buildings, to provide individual bathrooms for each almshouse (each pair of bungalows shared a bathroom, hence only women were admitted as residents).

Between 2010 and 2017 the work was finally carried out to refurbish the almshouses; each dwelling was fitted with its own bathroom.

Current status

The almshouses have been graded as Buildings of Townscape Merit. They are managed by the Richmond Charities. Applicants must be over 65 years of age.

Chronology

1841 Census : Aged 15 and living in Hanworth (now Staines) Road, Twickenham with parents and siblings.  Also listed in Church Street, Twickenham with the Stedwell family.

1851 Census : Married to Susan and living in Teddington Road, Hampton with daughter Susan, and Aunt Mary.

1871 Census : Aged 45 and living with parents William (77) and Mary (69) in Amyand Terrace, Twickenham. Also daughter Mary Ann, and grandson Herbert.

No mention of wife Susan and first daughter Susan.

1891 Census : Aged 64, occupation Retired Grocer, with Wife Mary Ann (50) living in St James Villas, 2 Kings Road, Richmond.

1901 Census : Aged 75, still in St James Villas, living with sister Emma (67) and servant Elizabeth Gill (58).

(1) Thanks to Peter Alexander, great nephew of William Chandler for his research, published in The West London Family History.