Biographical material for
Roger Pemberton
The Pemberton Almshouses in
St. Albans,
Hertfordshire, England
There are in Saint Albans six
almshouses, founded and provided for in the 1627 last will and
testament of Roger Pemberton, then High Sheriff of Hertfordshire. The
houses were reputedly built as atonement for an accident when Roger
Pemberton killed a poor widow with a bow and arrow. There is a metal
arrowhead at the top of the entrance arch with an inscription that
reads: "With Five Pounds Pr. Annum Each // Out of the Mannor of
Shelton in Bedfordshire // By ROGER PEMBERTON of St. Albans Esqr. //
Who was bury'd in the Church of St. Peter // Novr. 20th. 1627"
Today these house are the
oldest surviving brick buildings in Saint Albans.
Vignette from the book "Historic St. Albans", by C. R. Swift. Photo courtesy of Gary Houston.
Roger Pemberton Memorial in
Saint Peter's Church,
Saint Albans, Hertfordshire, England
"Here lieth Roger Pemberton Esqre sometime high sheriff of this County, who by his last will ordained six almshouses to be built near this church for six poor widows; and hath given out of his manor of Shelton, in the County of Bedford, thirtye pounds per annum for their maintenance: to whose pious memory, ex his loving wife and Ralph Pemberton their dutyful son, mayor of this town, executors of his last will, have dedicated this remembrance. He lived well and departed this life the 13th of November 1627, in the 72d year of his age. Here now his body rests, in expectation of a joyfull ressurection.
|
Filii dicti Rogeri et Elizabethæ |
Filiæ dicti Rogeri et Elizabethæ |
|
Ralph, Robert, et Johannes |
Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Tecla" |
Inscription on the Memorial Brass of Roger Pemberton, Esq. in Saint Peter's Church, Saint Albans, Hertfordshire, England.
