Lady Anne Middleton

Here is a closer look at the statue from yesterdays post. Skelderdale House is now part of a modern hotel but a much older building on this site was a  hospital was funded by an endowment given by Dame Anne Middleton in 1659, the wife of Peter Middleton, the then Sheriff of York. 
It was originally built as a refuge for twenty widows of the Freemen of the City of York. The hospital was later rebuilt and extended in 1829 at the expense of the Corporation of York as stated in the inscription. In 1906 there were 19 occupants and in 1908 each received a pension of £6 yearly, and the use of one room. The hospital was modernized in 1939 to house 10 people and a warden.