Richard Williams and Pound House blue plaque

This blue commemorative plaque records: The Pound House. An Act of 1563 was an early step towards national poor relief in England. A later Act in 1723 empowered churchwardens to provide poor houses or work houses. On this site in the 1700s stood a cottage called the Pound House, possibly named after the nearby Pound for straying animals. The churchwardens of Pagham leased it in 1747 as an additional poor house. The 1851 census records a Richard Williams and family a living here. The cottage was closed in 1913 as unfit for human habitation. Recorded plaque organisation: Aldwick Parish Council.

Richard Williams lived in the Pound House in Pagham during the early 19th century; the house served as an additional poor house leased by churchwardens to provide shelter for the impoverished, reflecting broader historical efforts to address poverty in England.