The new almshouse to be built on Southwark Park Road will be named the Appleby Blue Almshouse, United St Saviour’s Charity has announced.

The new almshouse will be called Appleby Blue in recognition one of the charity’s earliest benefactors, Dorothy Appleby, and in a nod to the nearby Blue market.

Funded by the developers of luxury housing on Bankside near Tate Modern, the new almshouse will provide 57 homes in a modern, independent sheltered housing .

Martyn Craddock, CEO of United St Saviour’s, said: “The launch of Appleby Blue is a hugely exciting day for us, marking the beginning of an important new chapter in our history which has been years in the planning. Our aim is to provide exceptional housing for Southwark’s older people and to demonstrate the positive contribution that older people bring to the community and place they live. It is a true legacy for future generations and we are incredibly proud of it.”

Dorothy Appleby’s 1681 bequest “for the teaching children reading, writing, and cyphering” in Southwark is one of many historic endowments now administered by United St Saviour’s which has recently widened its remit from north Southwark to cover the whole of the modern borough.