College of Matrons  The College of Matrons (or Matrons' College) is a residential building and charity within the Salisbury Cathedral Close. Wiltshire, UK. It was constructed in 1682 by Seth Ward as an almshouse for ten widows of clergy ordained within the diocese of Salisbury. It is situated on the extension of Salisbury High Street that enters the cathedral close through the North Gate. It was listed a Grade I building in 1952. Bishop Ward gave properties, including Whaddon Farm in the parishes of Alderbury and West Grimstead to generate rent to fund the almshouse and to provide the widows with a small income. In the early years the widows received a weekly pension of 6 shillings. To be eligible to live in the college widows must be at least 50 years of age and have an annual income of less than £10 a year. Should there be insufficient candidates within the Salisbury Diocese then applicants from the Diocese of Exeter would be considered. Among the early rules of governance tenants were required to attend two divine services each day in the cathedral and must not be absent from the cathedral close for more than a month in each year. When the charity was first established the selection of the tenant widows was the responsibility of Bishop Ward, on his death the task fell alternately to the bishop and the dean and chapter. Over the intervening centuries the charity has benefited from the wills of various individuals, for example, William Benson Earle who left 2000 guineas in 1796, Thomas Henry Allen Poynder from Hartham Park in Corsham gave 1,000 guineas in 1865, Helen Nevill, who bequeathed £1,000 in 1929 and Mary Fletcher, who bequeathed £1,500 in 1953. The College of Matrons also derived income from various property rents in Middlesex, London, Sussex, Cambridgeshire and Berkshire; in 1883 these rents totalled about £28 per year. However, by the end of the 19th century many of these farm rents had been redeemed and by 1958 the charity was only receiving £13 per year from farm rents. Since the inauguration of the charity the monetary limits have increased to reflect financial inflation. From the original 6 shillings a week paid to the first occupants the yearly pension had risen to £40 per year (15 shillings a week) in 1833, and the qualifying limit of income for residency had risen to £20 per year.