The Trustees of the Blue House Almshouse, one of the town's two grade 1 listed buildings and which dates from 1726, are pleased to announce the completion of works to renovate the garden bedsit into an attractive and more spacious one bedroom flat for occupation by a local person aged 55 or over, defined as being in housing need in the Frome area, at an affordable monthly charge which includes heating and energy costs.

There are 17 flats in the Blue House which are occupied on this basis by local people.

The works have taken over three years from inception to completion, involving planning appeals to the Planning Inspectorate, following Mendip's failure to decide the Trustees' applications for planning and listed building consent in 2019. Chris Murcott and his team at BSG Builders know the Blue House well and have carried out the work to their usual high standard, but were delayed during the Covid pandemic by building materials supply issues, particularly the matching Crittall French windows, which repeat those of the ground floor of the main house.

The History of the Blue House

The house adjacent to the town bridge, was formerly the Bluecoat School and Almshouses and was named due to the colour of the school uniforms.

Built in 1726 at a cost of £1,401 8s 9d, it replaced a previous almshouse dating from 1461 (and rebuilt in 1621).

The Blue House provided accommodation for 20 female widows, and schooling for 20 boys, and the front of the building is adorned by two statues, one of a man, colloquially known as "Billy Ball", and one a woman called "Nancy Guy", indicating the building's dual role. It stopped being a school in 1921