better known as St. Mary’s Almshouses. They were founded in the reign of
Edward IV., about 1461, by Degory Water, a draper of Shrewsbury, who was
admitted a burgess in 1404 and lived in the “hall house” or centre house
among the poor. He died in 1477. He made no respect of persons in St.
Mary’s Church, but set an example almost in anticipation of the modern
“open-pew” system by accompanying the poor people to church and kneeling
among them in a “long pew in the quire.” The original almshouses were
taken down in 1825, and the present comfortable buildings erected by the
Drapers’ Company at a cost of upwards of £3,000.
On the south-west side of the churchyard is the DRAPERS’ HALL, which is
supposed to have been erected about 1560. The interior is wainscotted
with oak, and the floor was formerly rich in emblazoned tiles. The
members of the Drapers’ Company feasted at the north end, and on the
opposite side is a fine old chest, above which are portraits of the first
steward of the company, Degory Water, and his wife. Edward IV. was a
patron of the Company, and his patronage is gratefully recorded in some
quaint lines under his portrait, which adorns the east side.