noun
- a charitable institution or almshouse where poor or elderly people were housed and supported, often with the expectation that residents would pray for their benefactors
Usage: archaic; chiefly British; historical
Examples
- The wealthy merchant endowed a beadhouse for the elderly poor of the parish.
- She spent her final years in the beadhouse, supported by the charity of the local gentry.
- Medieval beadhouses were common in England, providing shelter and sustenance to those in need.
- The residents of the beadhouse were expected to recite prayers daily for the souls of their donors.