The Douglas Soup Dispensary was a soup kitchen located in Myrtle Street, Douglas, Isle of Man.[1] [2] [3]
The original dispensary was opened in [4] and was situated at numerous venues until it was replaced by a permanent building known as Noble's Hall. This was paid for with a bequest from the Henry Bloom Noble Trust, and built in 1908 on land which had been owned by Henry Noble.[1] [2] [3] The dispensary provided, free of charge, a nourishing meal to the poorer inhabitants of the town between 12 noon and 1 o'clock each day across the winter months from the beginning of November until the week before Easter.[1] [2] The dinners cost about 2d each to produce and cook, amounting to about £200 over the winter period.[5] Over a typical winter the dispensary would serve in the region of 8,000 quarts of soup, together with 3,000 loaves of bread.[6]
By with the introduction of the Welfare State the requirement for the soup kitchen had started to ease, and the dispensary's opening times changed from daily to specific days: these were Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday only.[7] It still offered an invaluable service, particularly to elderly people, many of whom continued to use the service.[7]
The dispensary was operated by a Charitable Committee run by volunteers, and was funded partly by a farthing levied on the town's rates; the remainder came from charitable donations.[1] [2] [3] [5] [7]
In addition to the Noble Trust, some other notable benefactors were the island's Lieutenant Governor, and High Bailiff Samuel Harris.[1] [2] [3]