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Drawing of almshouses in Rochford, 1787

Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people (typically elderly people who can no longer work to earn enough to pay rent) to live in a particular community. They are often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain forms of previous employment, or their widows, and are generally maintained by a charity or the trustees of a bequest.

European[link]

Many almshouses were European Christian institutions though some are secular [1]. Alms are, in the Christian tradition, money or services donated to support the poor and indigent. Almshouses were established from the 10th century in Britain, to provide a place of residence for poor, old and distressed folk. The first recorded almshouse was founded in York by King Athelstan; the oldest still in existence is the Hospital of St. Cross in Winchester, dating to about 1132. In the Middle Ages, the majority of European hospitals functioned as almshouses.

Continuity[link]

Almshouses have been created throughout the period since the 10th century, up to the present day. Many of the medieval almshouses in England were established with the aim of benefiting the soul of the founder or their family, and they usually incorporated a chapel. As a result, most were regarded as chantries and were dissolved during the Reformation, under an act of 1547. Religion is less important now than it was in Mediaeval times and the Christian side of almshouses no longer applies to all voluntary sector housing, some maintain a Christian tradition. Almshouses tend to be characterised by their charitable status and by the aim of supporting the continued independence of their residents.

There is an important delineation between almshouses and other forms of sheltered housing in that almshouse residents have no security of tenure, being solely dependent upon the goodwill of the administering trustees.

Physical form[link]

The almshouse at Woburn, Bedfordshire

In physical form, and owing in part to the antiquity of their formation, almshouses are often very dated buildings comprising multiple small terraced houses or apartments, and providing accommodation for small numbers of residents; some 2,600 almshouses continue to be operated in the UK, providing 30,000 dwellings for 36,000 people. In the Netherlands, a number of hofjes are still functioning as accommodation for elderly people (mostly women). The economics of almshouses takes the form of the provision of subsidised accommodation, often integrated with social care resources such as wardens. The basis for modern civil almshouses and workhouses came into being in 1597 when the English Poor Laws were enacted. These institutions underwent various population, program, and name changes, but by 1900 the elderly made up 85 percent of the population in these institutions (Day 2009).

See also[link]

• Blockley Almshouse
• Carroll County Almshouse and Farm, Westminster, Maryland
• Halfway house
• Hostel
• List of British almshouses
• Poorhouse

Further reading[link]

• Heath, Sidney (1910). Old English houses of alms: a pictorial record with architectural and historical notes. London: F. Griffiths. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924015418241. 
• Rothman, David J., ed. (1971). The Almshouse Experience. Poverty USA: The Historical Record. Arno Press. ISBN 0-405-03092-4. 
• Caffrey, Helen (2006). Almshouses in the West Riding of Yorkshire 1600-1900. Kings Lynn: Heritage. ISBN 1-905223-21-8. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Almshouses

• The Almshouse Association
• The Almshouse Residents Action Group
• List of English Almshouses associated with monastic institutions. (From Public Domain text, English Monastic Life.')
• Medieval Hospitals (Almshouses) of England, by Rotha Mary Clay. (Public Domain text, including daily life, care, and the 'Office at the Seclusion of a Leper'.)
• What Are Almshouses

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DJ SS
DJ SS performs at a rave.
Background information
Birth name	Leroy Small
Also known as	Leon Small
Born	(1970-08-27) 27 August 1970 (age 41) Leicester, England
Genres	Electronica Drum and bass
Occupations	Producer Disc Jockey
Labels	Benz-Street

DJ SS (born Leroy Small, 27 August 1970, Leicester, England) is an English drum and bass DJ and record producer. SS is short for Scratchenstein, which is a name he used when he was a hip hop scratch DJ, and a part of the hip hop act, The Formation Five, whose name inspired the name of his record label. Has two children, Parris and Jordan and is married to wife, Tania who runs the artist management agency, UMC (Underground Music Collective). His siblings include Pam, Melanie and Fitzroy.

Originally a breakdancer, DJ Stratchenstein began playing electro music as a teenager in the early 1980s. He then played hip hop and rare groove before turning to producing in 1988 initially acid house, hardcore, breakbeat and finally drum and bass tracks.

SS got his big break DJ'ing at the big British raves of the early 1990s such as Telepathy. Since then he has gone on to DJ world wide. His biggest hit came in 2002 with "The Lighter", reaching number 63 on the UK Singles Chart.^[1]

SS is the co-founder and head of the Formation Records label, and has released over 100 tracks using a number of aliases. These include the "Color Series" and the "Country Series", MA3 "Those DJs", the piano-theme-from-Love Story-sampling "Lighter" (the label's biggest hit) plus many popular drum and bass tunes. He has also remixed "No Good (Start the Dance)" by The Prodigy. He has featured on radio shows such as BBC 1Xtra's D&B M1X, on which he put together an hour-long mix of Formation tracks and was interviewed about his career.^[2]

The Formation label has become a stable for new drum and bass producers such as John B and Twisted Individual.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Shapiro, Peter (1999) "DJ SS / Formation Records", in Drum 'n' Bass: The Rough Guide, Rough Guides, ISBN 978-1-85828-433-0, p. 211-3

External links[link]

• DJ SS discography at Discogs
• DJ SS at rolldabeats

This article on a British electronic musician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Lady Saw
Lady Saw performing in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Marion Hall
Born	(1968-07-12) 12 July 1968 (age 43) Galina, Saint Mary, Jamaica
Origin	Kingston, Jamaica
Genres	Reggae Dancehall Reggae fusion
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Divas Records/Toasting Music VP Records
Website	www.ladysaw.com

Lady Saw (born Marion Hall,^[1] 12 July 1968, Galina, Saint Mary, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae singer, known as the queen of dancehall.

Biography[link]

Hall began performing with local sound systems at the age of fifteen.^[1] She went on to work with the Stereo One system in Kingston.^[2] Her performances brought her to the attention of record producers and she recorded her first single for producer Piper, and "Love Me or Lef Me", produced by Olive Shaw received significant airplay.^[2] She had her first hit with "If Him Lef" and she topped the Jamaican charts with "Good Man".^[2]

She soon became known for her slack style, with songs such as "Stab Up De Meat". Her performances were banned in some parts of Jamaica, though equally lewd male performances were not.^[1] This prompted her to record "Freedom of Speech" in protest.^[1] She enjoyed a big hit in Jamaica with "Hardcore" in 1985, and followed it with "Welding Torch."^[1] She also recorded "Condom," warning girls of the dangers of unprotected heterosexual sex.^[1] She recorded duets with several other major stars, including Beenie Man, Luciano, Dennis Brown, Bounty Killer and Beres Hammond.^[2]

By the mid-1990s she had moved towards "conscious" lyrics.^[1] In 1999 she had a major hit in the United States with "Smile", recorded with Vitamin C, which peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, also a major hit in New Zealand and Canada, and certified gold with over 500,000 sales.^[2] In 2002, her collaboration with No Doubt, "Underneath It All", which reached number three in the US and sold more than three million copies, reaching triple platinum certification.^[2] The track won a Grammy Award for 'Best Performance by a Duo or Group'.^[2]

She is the first female deejay to win a Grammy Award and to be certified as a triple-platinum artist.^[3] She is also the first woman to headline dancehall shows outside her native Jamaica. She launched her own record label, Divas Records, in January 2010.^[3]

Awards[link]

Performing in Kingston in 2007

• Lady Saw received a gold certification from the R.I.A.A. for "Smile" with Vitamin C.

• Lady Saw received a triple-platinum certification from the R.I.A.A. for "Underneath It All", her 2003 collaboration with No Doubt.

• In 2002, Lady Saw earned a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Duo or Group for her featured performance on No Doubt's single "Underneath It All".

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 1994 Lover Girl
• 1996 Give Me A Reason
• 1997 Passion (Album)
• 1998 Raw, the Best of Lady Saw
• 1998 99 Ways
• 2004 Strip Tease
• 2007 Walk Out
• 2010 My Way

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• Toasting Music
• Interview at britishhiphop.co.uk, January 2008
• Lady Saw Interviews with Red Carpet Shelley - May 2010