To begin a history of St- John's School and Almshouses one cannot do better then quote from the original deeds of the Stephen Nicholson Charity :-

"By indentures of lease and release, dated 20th and 21st November, 1837. Stephen Nicholson of Round-hay conveyed to the Rev. J. A. Rhodes and three others, to the use of them and himself and their heirs, a site with six almshouses and a master's and mistress's house and a schoolroom erected thereon etc."

The almshouses were to be used for the old servants of the Nicholson family, or persons residing in the townships of Roundhay, Shadwell, Chapel Allerton or Potternewton, "with a preference for the first class." Dwellers in the almshouses had to observe certain rules :-

1. To attend service at Roundhay Church twice every Sunday.
2. To keep the inside of their houses in good repair.
3. To pay all rates chargeable thereon
4. Not to attend the worship of other denominations of Christians, or other religious bodies during the hours of divine service at Roundhay Church.

Stephen Nicholson directed that the income from £4,500, three pounds ten shillings per cent, reduced bank annuities, which he had placed in the hands of the said trustees, should be applied towards keeping the premises in repair, supplying coal and furniture for the schoolroom and master's house etc., then in paying to the almspeople 'such annuities as they should think fit.' In 1884, we find that the annuity was £10, to be paid monthly.

From correspondence between the almspeople and trustees during the latter half of the last century it was discovered, that in addition to the rules mentioned above there were other regulations to be observed. One dweller was informed that he had again broken the rules by allowing more than the alloted number to sleep in his house, and should it be found that more than himself, his wife and two younger children were sleeping there, he would be requested to leave. The trustees also wished him to see that his children gave more heed to cleanliness than they were doing!. On another occasion a dweller was reprimanded for spend-ing a night away from his house without permission.

Vacancies in the almshouses, for many years, were advertised locally in the townships mentioned above, the posters specifying the qualification's required from candidates. Appointments were made by the trustees at a special meeting, after the receipt of applications written on forms provided by the trustees. In and after the year l890 the vacancies were advertised in the 'Leeds Mercury' and 'Yorkshire Post.'

In April 1881 solicitors for the trustees informed the Charity Commissioners, that it was their desire to hand over the administration of the trust to the Commissioners. By an Order of the Charity Commissioners dated 16th November 1881 the. funds of the trust were handed over to the official trustees of Charitable Funds. In April of the following year three new trustees were appointed, one of them being the Rev. Thomas Davis, Vicar of Roundhay. In another Order of the Commissioners, dated 12th August, 1884, Messrs. Sykes and Hudson, two of the new trustees, were discharged at their own request, and a completely new scheme was established for the management of the Charity.

There were to be seven trustees of the foundation, two of whom namely the Vicar and Churchwarden of Roundhay Church, were ex-officio trustees, and five were non-official members of the Church of England, resident in or near Roundhay. The regulations for the new scheme followed closely those prescribed by the founder, except that in addition to the original qualifications for an almshouse, applicants must now be persons who, from age, ill-health, accident or infirmity, were unable to maintain themselves by their own exertions. By the year 1894, the number of non-official trustees had dropped to three.

From a report to the House of Commons on endowed charities in the parish of Barwick-in-Elmet, dated August 1896, we learn that the almshouses were effectually shut off from the school by a high wall and that the buildings themselves were "better found than is usual in the West Riding." In the same report it is stated that water was led into each house although this was not so originally. When the school was enlarged in 1885, by the addition of a classroom at the rear (described elsewhere in this account), the well which had previously provided the almspeople with water, was covered by the new building. Other arrange-ments were then made with the assistance of the local authority. Some years ago, workmen laying a new floor in the school, uncovered the well, which was found to be thirty feet deep and had water in it to a depth of fifteen feet As its position is approximately under the centre of the classroom, it was, needless to say, carefully re-covered with large stone slabs!

The enlargement of the school, with an increased number of children, meant that the playground space was inadequate and in 1908 as a result of pressure from the West Riding Education Authority, the almshouses walls at the rear of the premises were knocked down to provide more playing accommodation.

The School house, which is larger than the others, having three rooms and a kitchen, compared with two rooms and a kitchen of the others, was used by the school from time to time for various types of activities. A log-book entry for 1913 refers to the girls using the house for cookery, laundry and house-wifery. It was also used by the boys for light woodwork. The two end houses, whilst having no more rooms than the others are slightly larger. Mr J. L. Crossland, whose death occured in 1951, and who will be remembered by many in Roundhay, was the last schoolmaster to occupy the house. Since his death the School House has bean occupied by a succession of Vergers.

A feature of the story of the almshouses is, that for well over a hundred years, no important structural alterations or additions were made. During 1961 however, the first break in this run was made, when, during a change in vergership, a bath and hot water geyser were added to the School House. This was followed by a much more ambitious addition when in 1962 and 1964, the Church Council, with the aid of a grant from the local authority was able to improve four of the six almshouses. These improvements consisted of the addition of a bathroom with a toilet included and the cost of the first two, completed early in 1963 was £1,486.7.2., of which the Corporation paid £796. Early in 1964 the work on the third and fourth almshouses was begun, to be followed on their completion in September of that year by the alterations to the school. The cost of improving almshouses three and four was £1,975.13.2. and this time the grant from the Corporation was £800.

Early in 1968 the improvements to the remaining two almshouses were carried out at a total cost of
£2,500