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The History of Elizabeth Court
250 years ago the Piggott family donated part of their Victoria Road estate to the parish for use as a workhouse. A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded the workhouse was fully operational with 50 adult occupants.
In 1849 the buildings were adapted to include a Poor Law Board school for the children. And in 1858 an inspector recorded there were 69 boys and 86 girls attending. He also reported that the girls performed all the household duties including laundry, kitchen and dairy. The boys cultivated the adjacent fields and the report states they looked after four cows and a number of pigs and chickens.
In due course the school outgrew the Victoria Road site and the older children moved to a purpose-built school building on School Hill in 1862 (the present Robert Piggott Junior School). In 1931 the Council used a part of the land to house a newly acquired fire engine. The Girl Guides were also able to have their HQ located in a wooden hut and they remained there until they relocated to a new brick building on the Recreation Ground. The infants remained on the Victoria Road site until their school moved to Beverley Gardens.
In 1961 the Wargrave Residents' Association was formed, following a suggestion made by the Reverend William Llewellyn-Jones, Vicar of St Mary's. They identified the, now derelict, Victoria Road location as a possibility for housing development. The Parish Council suggested the Residents' Association buy this land and build some flats for the elderly. The Residents' Association had no funds and experts advised that such a project was not feasible and the idea was shelved.
In 1967, a group of Wargrave residents met to discuss the Victoria Road site proposal. A Management Committee was formed and at the inaugural meeting set the objective 'To provide for aged persons in need thereof, housing and any associated amenities specially designed to meet the requirements of such persons'. And on 28 November The Wargrave-on- Thames Housing Association Limited - Elizabeth Court was formally registered as a charity. The Trustees were P E Axon, M D 6ymms, J McDonell and G R Bramall.
It was quite a challenge for the Management Committee to organise the finances required to purchase the land. To help achieve this, a fundraising leaflet was circulated throughout the village. To their credit, Wargrave residents and their friends rallied to the cause and without such magnificent support the Association would never have achieved its aims. The land was purchased from the Parish Council and the initial plan submission provided for a laundry and 25 flats with underfloor central heating (very innovative in those days .
An article in the parish magazine invited applications from residents of Wargrave who would be interested in renting 'Flats for elderly or retired people, to be available 1969'. The Wargrave-on- Thames Housing Association was officially opened by Dr Black and was a great success. By the middle of 1971 all the flats were occupied and soon a considerable number of people were on the waiting list.
In June 1973 the District Council asked the Association if it would be prepared to purchase some adjacent land and extend Elizabeth Court with the condition that a new medical centre for the village be incorporated in the plans.
The Trustees of Elizabeth Court accepted the challenge and soon plans were approved by the Department of the Environment and planning permission granted. The
project was funded with a loan from Wokingham District Council plus a grant from the National Housing Association.
Building of the second stage and the medical centre started in January 1975 and was completed by the end of 1976. In 2016 an additional 4 studio flats were added, giving a total of 39 studios and 10 one-bedroom apartments, plus the doctors' surgery. It was 50 years since the first Wargrave resident entered Elizabeth Court and, to mark this key milestone, the lounge was completely redesigned to increase floor space and provide an extended kitchen area. The entrance was upgraded and the Manager's office relocated within the main reception area. There was also an extensive upgrade of all external paving and landscaped areas.
More recently, to reflect the current trend of modern life, there has been an extensive program to convert studios to one bedroom apartments so that in 2024 the estate comprises of 4 studios, 37 one bedroom apartments, and 1 two bedroom apartment. Planning permission has also been obtained to build 5 additional apartments on the site occupied by Wargrave Fire Station.