CHARITIES FOR THE POOR
CHARITIES FOR THE BOROUGH.
Almshouses. (fn. 88)
St. Mary Magdalen Hospital
(fn. 89) was
re-established by charter in 1610 for a master,
who was also to be rector of St. Mary Magdalen's church, and five poor single or widowed
people of Colchester. The master, appointed by
the Lord Chancellor, was to choose the inhabitants of the hospital and to pay each of them a
yearly stipend of 52s. A test suit in Chancery
1831-3 and a decree of the court in 1836 established that the almspeople were entitled only to
the weekly stipend and that the remaining income of the charity, then amounting to £382 a
year, belonged to the master, who was, however,
to be resident. In 1837 the almspeople, all
women, received a yearly supply of fuel in
addition to the stipend. (fn. 90) By 1952 the fuel
allowance was paid in cash, each almsperson
receiving £1 4s. every six months, (fn. 91) but in 1985
neither stipend nor fuel allowance was paid. (fn. 92)
The endowment of the charity consisted in
1837 of over 50 a. of land in St. Mary Magdalen's
and adjoining parishes, 3 a. in Ardleigh, 7 a. in
Layer-de-la-Haye, and c. 49 a. in Stanway. In
1818 the Board of Ordnance paid £5,000 for the
use of c. 17 a. which were returned to the charity
before 1833. (fn. 93) Between 1899 and 1932 all the
land and houses owned by the charity, except
the master's house and the almshouses, were
sold and the proceeds invested. Problems arose
in the 1940s over the division of income between
the hospital and the rectory of St. Mary Magdalen, both still served by the same man, and in
1951, when the mastership and living fell vacant,
the Charity Commissioners held an inquiry (fn. 94)
which, in 1953, resulted in an Act of parliament
abolishing the mastership, establishing new
trustees, and apportioning the assets of the
charity between the hospital and the benefice. (fn. 95)
In 1985 the charity had an income of £642. (fn. 96)
The 17th-century hospital building, adjoining
St. Mary Magdalen's churchyard, was demolished in 1832 and rebuilt as six dwellings under
one roof, one of which, with an upper storey,
was probably for the master. (fn. 97) The houses were
empty in 1987, awaiting repair or rebuilding. (fn. 98)
A separate master's house, built about 1880, was
compulsorily purchased by the Great Eastern
Railway in 1900. Its replacement was sold in
1924, when no. 24 New Town Road was bought
and conveyed to the hospital. (fn. 99) The house was
assigned to the church in 1953. (fn. 1)
Arthur Winsley, by will proved 1727, gave
Brickhouse Farm in St. Botolph's parish to be
converted into almshouses for 12 Colchester
men over 60 years old 'that had lived well and
fallen into decay'. For the maintenance of the
almsmen and of his monument in St. James's
church he gave the land of Brickhouse farm,
Bocking Hall farm in West Mersea, and the rents
of his house on East Hill. After a Chancery suit
against the founder's brother Richard, brought
in 1730 by the other trustees, the almshouses
were established in the main block of the house
in 1734. (fn. 2) By the later 18th century wives but not
widows of almsmen were allowed to live in the
almshouses. (fn. 3)
Winsley's benefaction had included a weekly
stipend of 2s. 6d. for each almsman, 36 bu. of
coal a year, and, on New Year's Day, a sermon
in the almshouse chapel followed by a dinner. (fn. 4)
The stipend rose to 10s. in 1879, but was
reduced when income was insufficient to meet
expenditure, and was finally discontinued in
1956. The gift of coal ceased in 1958. The
sermon continued in 1987, but the New Year
dinners were replaced in 1873 by gifts of 3s. to
each almsman, changed to 25p. in 1972. (fn. 5) In 1986
the residents paid weekly contributions towards
maintenance, hot water, and central heating. (fn. 6)
The sale of 23 a. of land to the Barrackmaster
General in 1805 raised £2,793 which was invested, and the surplus income, by Chancery
decree, was used to build three new almshouses
in 1808 and three more in 1811. (fn. 7) In spite of
reduced income caused by the agricultural depression, the trustees built four more houses in
1845, and later legacies paid for two houses in
1861, and a further 34 between 1900 and 1940,
including 14 provided for almsmen's widows by
George Rose in 1936 and 1940. The almshouses
were remodelled between 1952 and 1962, increasing the accommodation. Ten bungalows
were built in 1968, and 11 in 1975, (fn. 8) and in 1985
the charity owned 85 almshouses. (fn. 9)
In 1811 the charity bought Barn Hall farm,
adjacent to Brickhouse farm; (fn. 10) parts of it were
sold in 1899 (fn. 11) and 1931, and the remainder in
1945. The land of Brickhouse farm was sold for
building between 1893 and 1914; the southern
part of the faremhouse, which had been separated from the almshouses and used to house the
tenant farmers, was demolished in 1966. Bocking Hall farm was sold in 1916, and Winsley's
house on East Hill in 1951. (fn. 12) In 1985 the charity
still owned 15 a. in Elmstead, bought by the
trustees in 1735. (fn. 13)
John Winnock, (fn. 14) by indenture of 1679, conveyed the six houses which he had built in St.
Giles's parish in trust for aged poor people of
Colchester. The charity was endowed with a
yearly rent charge of £41 from Winnock's land
and houses in St. Peter's parish, an estate which
the trustees had aquired by 1697. Gifts and
legacies augmented the charity in the later 18th
century, including those of Mrs. Simpson (£200
in 1760) and Hannah Nuthall (£500 in 1779).
Further sums totalling £300 were received from
Henry Dobby in 1786, Mary Poyner (d. 1810),
and Francis Freshfield (d. 1808).
In 1815 the charity housed eight women and
its gross income was £135. By 1825 twelve
women were living in the original buildings,
each occupying a single room, and in 1826 a new
building to house four more was built, partly
with money given by Mary Barfield. In 1840
another two new dwellings were built. In 1909
four rooms were added at the rear of the existing
buildings in Military Road, and in 1914 two
houses were built on land bought by the charity
on the opposite side of the road. Gifts and
bequests enabled two more houses to be built in
1922, and another two in 1931. Between 1933
and 1934 George Rose built and endowed nine
almshouses, six in New Square; the last two to
be built were endowed with six cottages owned
by Rose in Magdalen Street. In the 1950s, with
the aid of ministry and local authority grants, an
extensive programme of conversion, renovation,
and rebuilding was carried out, resulting in the
number of almshouses being reduced to 33 in
1954 and to 28 in 1961.
The original terms of the charity allowed each
almswoman a stipend of 2s. a week and an annual
gift of coal. The stipend rose steadily to 4s. a
week in 1921, but in 1954 it was reduced to 2s.
for the occupants of the 18 older houses, and
discontinued for those of the 15 newer ones.
Stipends ceased altogether in 1958, when contributions of not more than 5s. a week were
requested from the almspeople. The gift of coal
ceased in 1955.
John Kendall and his wife Anne, by indenture
of 1791, bought and conveyed to trustees a piece
of land and a house for eight poor women aged
60 or over, priority to be given to widows of
Winsley's almsmen, who were not allowed to
remain in Winsley's almshouses. (fn. 15) In 1809 John
Kendall requested that three of the seven trustees should be Quakers.
A public appeal for an endowment raised
£1,045, and in 1793 stipends of 1s. a week and
an annual coal allowance were paid to the almswomen. The coal allowance ceased in 1962; the
stipend ceased for new tenants in 1958 and
altogether in 1965. From 1958 new tenants, and
from 1965 all tenants, paid 2s. a week towards
the maintenance of the almshouses, and a
Charity Commission Scheme of 1974 enabled
charges to be made towards maintenance and
heating costs.
Land adjoining the almshouse was bought in
1798, and in 1806 accommodation was built for
another eight women. Between 1799 and 1830
the charity received legacies of over £1,400 from
Kendall (d. 1815) and fellow Quakers, and by
1837 the investment income was £140 10s. a
year. George Rose built four bungalows in 1933
and a further ten in 1935, endowing them with
£5,000 and farms in East Mersea and Lexden.
None of them was to be occupied by a widow
from Winsley's almshouses. Between 1935 and
1949 the charity received legacies totalling
£4,200, including £100 towards a common room
which was opened in 1951.
Under a Scheme of 1976 Winnock's and Kendall's charities were administered and managed
as the Winnock's and Kendall's Combined Almshouse Charity. (fn. 16) In 1984 there were 27 people in
Winnock's almshouses and 29 in Kendall's, and
the charity had an investment income of
£10,889. (fn. 17)
In 1896 Charlotte Eleanor Cooper, in memory
of three sisters, Elizabeth Cooper, Margaret
Round, and Charlotte Borthwick, (fn. 18) built Berryfield Cottages for 12 poor people aged 60 or more,
resident in Colchester and preferably in St.
James's parish. She maintained the cottages
until her death in 1899. By her will, proved 1900,
she established the charity and endowed it with
£6,000 to provide, among other things, a weekly
stipend of 3s. and an annual coal allowance for
each almsperson. A meeting room and kitchen
for the almshouses were built on adjacent land
by Amelia Green, and conveyed to the trustees
in 1901. By 1968 the residents contributed towards the maintenance, and by 1982 to the
heating. In 1982 the charity had assets of
£14,014. (fn. 19)
OTHER CHARITIES.
Sir Thomas White founded
a charity in 1566 for the benefit of Bristol and
24 other towns and cities. (fn. 20) Colchester, at 24 year
intervals, received £104 from which loans of £25
were made to young freemen. Loans were made
until 1735, and again in 1766. (fn. 21) The charity then
apparently lay dormant until 1846 when 15
trustees were appointed under a revised Scheme;
in 1849 ten loans, totalling £525, were granted.
£710 was available for loan in 1870, but very few
freemen were entitled to benefit. In 1924 the
terms of the charity were extended to include
non-freemen, nevertheless, of 23 applications
received in 1938 only one fulfilled all the qualifications. Efforts were again made to revive the
charity in 1971 when there were assets of over
£1,500 and a mortgage invested in Colchester
corporation. Five new trustees were appointed
in 1973. In 1987 the borough council agreed to
take over the management of the charity and was
negotiating new terms with the Charity Commission. (fn. 22)
John Hunwick, (fn. 23) by will dated 1593, gave £300
to the poor of Colchester with the proviso that
every fifth year the income should be given to
the poor of Ipswich, Sudbury, and Maldon.
From 1595 the capital was lent to Colchester
tradesmen at 10 per cent interest. (fn. 24) The corporation had great difficulty in recovering the
money owed, and from 1643 borough revenues
were used regularly to make up the arrears. (fn. 25)
Distributions of the charity continued in 1741
and perhaps later, (fn. 26) but had probably ceased by
1782 when Ipswich demanded arrears of £110.
In 1837 the charity was deemed to be lost. (fn. 27)
Mary, widow of Sir Thomas Judd, lord mayor
of London, known as Lady Judd, by indenture
of 1591, gave to the bailiffs and commonalty
£100 to buy flax and other materials to set the
poor to work. The profits were to be used to help
the aged poor and those unable to work. Money
was distributed regularly until 1619. (fn. 28) The corporation was taking steps to recover lost capital
in 1667, (fn. 29) but no further reference to distribution
of the charity has been found. Thomas Ingram,
by indenture of 1602, gave to the bailiffs and
commonalty £100 to be lent at 5 per cent interest
to provide wool for setting to work the poor of
St. Peter's parish; the interest was to be distributed among those unable to work. The
money was being so used in 1605 (fn. 30) and possibly
until 1660 by which time part at least of the
capital had been lost. (fn. 31) In 1674 a committee was
set up by the corporation to inquire into the
charity, and in 1697 and 1698 St. Peter's was
being paid £20 a year out of the borough
revenues. (fn. 32) The state of those three charities was
the subject of several corporation inquiries until
c. 1846, but no record of further payments has
been found. (fn. 33)
By will proved in 1631, William Turner
(fn. 34) gave
to the aged poor of Colchester the rent of a house
and land at the Hythe, which he held on a lease
from the bailiffs and commonalty. Between 1633
and 1653 distributions of £7 were made reasonably regularly twice a year, but only six
payments were made between 1659 and 1693,
and the last was recorded in 1699. Later attempts
to revive the charity, culminating in a Chancery
suit in 1835, were unsuccessful.
William Whorlow Bunting, (fn. 35) by will proved
1922, left to trustees, all deacons of Lion Walk
Congregational Church, the land and buildings
of the Bunting Institute in Culver Street for the
benefit of the young men of Colchester. In 1984
the investment income of £264 was supplemented by rent received for the premises.
The original hall, built in 1906 as a gymnasium,
was sold to developers in 1984, and a new hall
built in Lion Walk.
By deed of 1939, George Rose
(fn. 36) gave £6,000 to
provide coal for the elderly poor, preferably
widows. The charity was to be administered by
the trustees of Winnock's charity, but separately
from it. In 1985 eleven applicants each received
300 kg. of coal, and the cash balance of the
charity was £900.
A Lying-in charity, supported by subscriptions, was founded in 1796 and endowed with
£50 stock in 1835. (fn. 37) It lent to poor married
women bedlinen and baby clothes, and gave
them a small sum of money for food. Further
donations and legacies had increased the investment income to £39 by 1887. With the advent
of the National Health Service in 1948, there
were very few applications for help from the
charity and a Scheme of 1953 allowed larger
grants of money to be made. In 1963, after only
four grants had been made in five years, a new
Scheme altered the terms of the charity to
include unmarried mothers. No suitable applications for grants were received between 1973
and 1980, but ten grants of £30 and five of £40
were made in 1985-6.
PAROCHIAL CHARITIES.
All Saints'.
Matthew Stephens, by will proved in 1599, left
to the poor of the parish £10 a year charged on
his house in East Hill. In 1639 the occupant,
George Gilbert, conveyed the house to 18 trustees
who were to distribute 16s. a year to the poor of
All Saints' and give 12d. and a penny loaf to 12
aged poor. The buildings were destroyed during
the siege of 1648, and the site was let in 1654 to
a saymaker for 99 years, 1s. a year to be paid to
the parish. There is no further record of the
charity. (fn. 38)
Charles Gray, by indenture enrolled in
Chancery in 1772, gave £10 10s. yearly to the
rector of All Saints' for the use of the poor on
condition that he serve the parish himself for at
least two months a year, otherwise on the same
conditions to be divided between the rectors of
St. James's and St. Runwald's parishes. In 1837
the payment was charged on the Castle estate in
Colchester. (fn. 39) The charity was being distributed
regularly in 1886, (fn. 40) but no later record of it has
been found.
William Goodwin, by will dated 1828, left to
the minister and churchwardens £100 for the
upkeep of his family vault and three other
graves, the residue to be used for the poor.
About £3 a year was usually distributed in
bread, coals, and money. John Green Glandfield,
by will proved in 1845, left to the rector £100
to be invested for the upkeep of his family vault,
surplus income to be used for the relief of the
poor of the parish. James Watts, by will dated
1875, made a similar gift also of £100, the
residue to be distributed to the poor in bread on
25 October each year. (fn. 41) In 1886 the combined
yearly income of the three charities was £8,
distributed in bread and coals; in 1986 it was
£46, used for general help to the needy. (fn. 42)
HOLY TRINITY.
Mary (d. 1644), wife of Thomas Darcy, earl Rivers, (fn. 43) known as Lady Darcy,
built for the poor of the parish eight brick
almshouses in Eld Lane; at least four of them
were built by 1635. (fn. 44) Before 1748, when the
buildings were used as a workhouse, the parish
had added two more houses. They seem to have
been used as pauper housing in the early 19th
century but had reverted to almshouses by 1886,
apart from one house which was used for a
school. All the houses were maintained by the
vestry, and the rector and churchwardens were
trustees of the charity. (fn. 45) Six of the houses were
rebuilt between 1897 and 1905; the four remaining 17th-century houses were demolished in
1964 and their site was sold in 1971. (fn. 46) In 1987
ten new homes, built on East Hill, were given
to the charity and the old almshouses in Eld
Lane were redeveloped as part of the town centre
modernisation. (fn. 47)
In the earlier 18th century the almshouses were
said to be unendowed, but by 1782 the vestry
was leasing 'land belonging to the poor houses',
and by the early 19th century two rents of £3
from plots of land adjoining the almshouses had
been assigned to the charity. (fn. 48) Cottages were
built on one plot, fronting Lion Walk, c. 1836,
and a hall, Darcy Hall, was built on the other c.
1910. The cottages were sold in 1955 and 1956
and the hall in 1970. (fn. 49)
Rachel, wife of Sir Ralph Creffield, known as
Lady Creffield, by will proved in 1735, left £3 a
year, charged on her house in Culver Street, to
the poor of the parish at Christmas. The charity
was so distributed in the 19th century, but by
1955 it was being added to the income of Lady
Darcy's almshouses, and the arrangement was
made permanent in 1958. The rent charge was
redeemed in 1972 for £43.50. (fn. 50)
The charities are governed by a Scheme of
1959 which requires the almspeople to be resident in the borough of Colchester, preferably in
Holy Trinity parish. The six surviving houses
were still occupied as almshouses in 1984, and
the charity's investment income that year was c.
£2,660. (fn. 51)
ST. BOTOLPH'S.
Jeremiah Daniell, by will dated
1695, left £10 a year, charged on land in St.
Botolph's and St. Giles's parishes, for coal for
the poor of four Colchester parishes: St. Botolph's, St. Giles's, St. Mary's-at-the-Walls, and
St. Peter's. (fn. 52) The rent charge was paid by the
War Office from c. 1888 until 1912 when it was
redeemed. (fn. 53) St. Botolph's parish received £2 a
year which was distributed regularly as coal until
1940. (fn. 54) In 1985 the parish held £60 stock, the
income from which, c. £3, was used in the vicar's
discretionary fund. (fn. 55)
By 1734 the parishes of St. Botolph and St.
Giles were each receiving £2 12s. a year known
as the Poor Widows' Gift out of a house and 42
a. in Little Totham, Great Totham, and Goldhanger. The payments were confirmed by a
Chancery decree in 1740. (fn. 56) In 1851 the charity
bought bread for 12 widows in each parish. (fn. 57)
Money was received as late as 1958, (fn. 58) but no
further reference to the charity has been found.
By will dated 1857, Mrs. Mary Thorley left
£100 to buy blankets or coal for the poor. The
money appears to have been invested and the
interest allowed to accumulate until 1885 when
a percentage of the accumulated dividend was
used as intended. (fn. 59) In 1985 the income of
£2.50 was used in the vicar's discretionary
fund. (fn. 60)
ST. GILES'S.
The parish shared in Jeremiah
Daniell's charity, receiving £3 a year which
appears to have been combined with the Poor
Widows' Gift from 1855 or earlier, when the
income was distributed in bread and coals. (fn. 61)
Distribution continued in the 1920s but no later
record has been found. (fn. 62)
ST. JAMES'S.
Elizabeth Jacobs, by will dated
1801, left £125 stock and Susannah Hammant,
by will proved in 1826, left £130, both sums to
provide bread yearly at Christmas for the poor
of the parish. In 1837 dividends of £10 and £4
10s. respectively were distributed in bread. (fn. 63) A
Scheme in 1900 combined the charities for the
general benefit of the poor, and in 1985 the
incomes were £46 and £12 respectively. (fn. 64) By
will proved 1887, Margaret Round left £1,500
from the income of which £10 was to be used
annually to buy clothes for the poor. (fn. 65) In 1985
the combined income of the three charities was
used to help the needy. (fn. 66)
ST. LEONARD'S.
Before 1766 an unknown donor
founded a Bread Charity, giving the rent from
1 a. of land in the parish to buy bread for poor
unmarried people of the parish; (fn. 67) in 1864 the
land was sold and the proceeds were invested,
providing an annual income of £5 6s. 8d. (fn. 68) In
1985 income was £5.32. Charles Parker-Jarvis,
by will proved in 1840, left £100 to provide coals
for poor sailors of the parish. Emily Nicholls, by
will proved 1918, left £500 to buy blankets and
coal at Christmas for the poor of the parish. By
will proved 1936, Elizabeth Everitt left £100 in
memory of her son, John Paxman Everitt, for
the poor of the parish. (fn. 69) In 1986 the income from
all four charities, c. £60, was combined and used
by the rector of New Town parish, which included the former St. Leonard's parish, to help
those in need. (fn. 70)
ST. MARTIN'S.
None known.
ST. MARY'S-AT-THE-WALLS.
By will proved
1689, Joseph Cox left £100 to buy land, the rents
and profits to be distributed at Christmas to the
poor of the parish. In 1711 his executors bought
8 a. of arable land in St. Mary's parish producing
£5 10s. a year. In 1825 the land, then valuable
building land, was exchanged for 28 a. in Mile
End. (fn. 71) Some land was sold in 1878 and the rest
before 1931. (fn. 72) In 1855 and again in 1931 the
charity was distributed only to poor widows who
had lived in the parish for at least a year, but in
1909 recipients included the sick and poor of
both sexes. (fn. 73) In 1986 the income of £47 was
distributed to widows at Christmas. (fn. 74)
The parish also shares in the charity of Jeremiah Daniell, and holds £80 stock, the income
from which was not distributed in 1986. (fn. 75)
ST. NICHOLAS'S.
Ralph Finch, (fn. 76) by will proved
1552, devised in trust the four almshouses which
he had built in the parish for the use of four poor
men or women of the parish, priority being given
to Finch's kinsfolk. Each almsperson was to
receive 6d. a week, to be paid out of a rent of £6
6s. 8d. a year charged on a brewhouse and land
on Balkerne Hill and land in King's meadow and
Fordham. After payment of 6s. 8d. to the trustees, any surplus was to provide firewood for the
almspeople. Each almsperson was to leave a
'reasonable' part of his goods towards the maintenance of the almshouse.
By 1809, the full £6 6s. 8d. was charged on the
land on Balkerne Hill, which was bought by the
trustees in 1827. A strip of the land was taken
by the corporation in 1936 to widen Sheepen
Road, and in 1963 the remainder was sold to the
Borough Council for £11,000.
Legacies enabled stipends to be raised to 7d.
in 1791 and to 1s. 6d. in 1827 when an annuity
of £262 10s., part of a bequest from William
Goodwin, was received. The remainder of
Goodwin's bequest, £900 stock to be used to
endow four more almshouses, was received in
1835. The trustees demolished the four old,
dilapidated houses, and built eight new ones on
the same site in Culver Street the following year.
By then all eight almsfolk were women, mostly
tradesmen's widows; each paid 12s. on admission instead of leaving goods at her death.
Stipends of 2s. were paid to those who had
occupied the four original houses, the four new
inhabitants had only 1s. 6d. each, and all received
a yearly allowance of coal. In 1857 stipends,
which had risen to 2s. 6d. for all, were cut to 2s.
They were discontinued in 1948 but by 1970
occupants received £5 a year at Christmas, a gift
which continued in 1987. (fn. 77) Legacies of £100
from James Watts in 1875 and of £50 from
Sophia Ruffles in 1916 were invested.
In 1970 the redevelopment of the town centre
led to the demolition of the almshouses in Culver
Street and their reconstruction by the developers, Frincon Holdings Ltd., as single-storeyed
centrally-heated dwellings on the Riverside estate in St. James's parish. In 1983 the charity,
administered under a Scheme of 1926, had a
total income of c. £3,000. (fn. 78)
Robert Franckham, by will dated 1577, gave to
the poor of the parish 13s. 4d. a year charged on
a house and lands in West Bergholt. A Chancery
decree in 1603 vested the rent in 10 trustees. (fn. 79)
The money was apparently paid in 1766 and
possibly as late as c. 1800, (fn. 80) but had been lost by
1837.
George Wegg, by will dated 1745, left 40s. a
year charged on 5 a. in St. James's parish to buy
bread monthly from October to March for the
poor of St. Nicholas's parish. The wording of
the will was apparently insufficient in law, and
so by an indenture of 1748, George Wegg, son
of the testator, granted the rent charge to the
rector of St. Nicholas's. (fn. 81) In 1898 the full £2
was spent on bread for poor widows. (fn. 82) Under a
Scheme of 1945 the charity was administered
separately by the trustees of Finch's almshouses. (fn. 83) In 1986 the income of £2 was used by
the rector of the combined parishes of St. James,
All Saints, St. Nicholas, and St. Runwald to
assist the poor and needy as occasion arose. (fn. 84)
John Lyon, by will proved 1800, gave £5 a year
to Finch's almshouse charity, and instituted a
weekly bread charity which provided 3d. loaves
to each of 12 poor widows and widowers, including the almsfolk who attended St. Nicholas's
church, and to 12 who attended the Methodist
meeting house in the Castle bailey. (fn. 85) The bread
charity was commuted in 1943 to £15 a year in
cash, half of which was paid to the almsfolk, half
to the trustees of the Methodist church. From
1945 the almsfolk's share was used for the
general expenses of the almshouses. (fn. 86) After the
closure of the charity Sunday schools in 1812, (fn. 87)
the c. 18s. a year which John Lyon had left to
them was applied to the almshouses. In 1983
Finch's almshouses received dividends of £45
from John Lyon's bequest. (fn. 88)
ST. PETER'S.
Agnes Dister or Leach (d. 1553),
daughter of John Woodthorpe, gave an unknown
sum of money to be distributed yearly to the
poor of the parish. Payment was made in 1786
but was lost by 1837. (fn. 89)
In 1570 George Sayer built four almshouses in
Lower Balkerne Lane. They had no endowment
and had been partly demolished by 1748 and
completely so by 1768. (fn. 90)
The parish share in Jeremiah Daniell's charity,
£3 a year, was allowed to accumulate in the 19th
century; in 1985 the parish held £120 stock. John
Moore, by will proved 1810, left £200 to buy coal,
bread, and meat every New Year's Day for 20
poor people and to provide snuff and tobacco for
the old in the workhouse. Only £54 was received,
which yielded £2 9s. 6d. a year. John Mills, by
will dated 1822, left £166 13s. 4d. from the income
of which £2 10s. a year was to provide bread and
money yearly at Christmas and Easter for 12 poor
widows, and £1 5s. a year was to be used for the
general relief of the poor of the parish. In 1863
the proceeds of the three charities provided bread
and alms for 26 widows and 100 poor people. In
1985 the interest on all three, c. £8, was used for
the general relief of the sick and poor. (fn. 91)
A Charity Commission Scheme of 1905 directed that part of the c. £9 income of the Sears
Family Fund, established by David Sears of
Boston, U.S.A., in 1853, be used to help maintain buildings or institutions used in parochial
work with the poor, (fn. 92) but there is no evidence
that the poor have ever benefited from the
charity.
ST. RUNWALD'S.
None known.