About this objectThese bills are for repair work done at some of the charitable houses for the poor in Hitchin, such as The Biggin which housed ‘Kempe’s Old Ladies’.
North Hertfordshire Museum's first virtual volunteer Jennie Gillons chose to research this object as part of a task to research five objects that interested her, in January 2022. She said "The Biggin, first built in 1361, was owned by a Joseph Kempe in the 17th century. He died in 1654, stipulating in his Will that the Biggin should in part house ‘ten poor, ancient or middle-aged women’: Kempe’s Widows/Old Ladies. The Biggin housed ‘Kempe’s Widows’ until 1960. The price for the work on this bill, 5 shillings, would be worth roughly £30 now."
