Foster's Almshouses
Grade II* listed buildings and historical landmark
Foster’s Almshouses and the Chapel of the Three Kings of Cologne are located in the centre of in Bristol, England. They were founded in 1492 by John Foster, a merchant, Mayor of Bristol and parliamentarian, to provide accommodation for Bristol's disadvantaged and poor elderly.
The Chapel of the Three Kings
The chapel is the only church in the UK dedicated to the Three Kings. They are the Three Wise Men who, according to the Gospel of Matthew, came from the east with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh for Jesus. There was a cult of worship of the Three Kings in the late medieval period. After John Foster visited Cologne Cathedral, where the bones of the three Magi are housed in an ornate reliquary, he returned to the Bristol and built the Chapel of the Three Kings of Cologne for the spiritual health of the almshouse’s residents.
Foster's Almshouses on Christmas Steps are primarily private residences, so you cannot tour the living areas. The Chapel of the Three Kings may be accessible at certain times.
The exterior architecture and surrounding area are easily viewed.
