CHARITIES FOR THE POOR.
The earliest
known charity in which Hayes was concerned was
the Emmanuel Hospital in Tothill Fields, Westminster, which was founded by the will of Anne,
Lady Dacre, in 1594. (fn. 16) One man and one woman
from Hayes were allotted places as almspeople in the
hospital, (fn. 17) as well as a boy and a girl to attend the
school which she also founded. The school was not
established until 1736, but two Hayes children were
selected thereafter. (fn. 18)
Thomas Triplett's charity was founded by a deed
of 1668 securing property in Suffolk to pay, among
other charitable donations, £15 a year for apprenticing the poor children of Hayes. During the early
18th century the charity appears to have been unpaid although the trustees were receiving the profits
from the estate. The irregularities were settled in
1757 and thereafter the charity was regularly paid
and unapplied income was generally invested in
stock. The normal apprenticeship fees in the early
19th century were £15 for a boy and £10 for a girl. (fn. 19)
The paying of these fees appears to have lapsed
when the school was opened in 1861; (fn. 20) this may not
in fact have been the case, however, since the charity
supplied an endowment of £100 a year to the school
but also received a third of the school pence. (fn. 21)
Roger Lea, by will dated 1661, left a rent of 10s.
a year charged on land in Hayes. The distribution of
Lea's gift was later linked with Blencowe's charity.
Two cottages with ground attached were given to
the poor in 1720 by Robert Cromwell to provide 6
blue cloth gowns for widows every Michaelmas. (fn. 22)
In 1820 the cottages were in good repair, the gardens
being small orchards, and some 11 gowns of blue
serge were distributed annually. (fn. 23) By 1858, however, the cottages were dilapidated and were considered an example of discreditable management by
the parish officers. After being condemned by the
authorities, the buildings were finally sold and demolished in 1926. (fn. 24) The Revd. William Blencowe
founded a coal charity in 1810, by will dated 1802,
out of the income from £500 stock. The distribution
of this was linked with the Lea charity, and the
amount spent, which often exceeded the income,
was made up by the Blencowe family. (fn. 25) Other charities were founded by the will of Elizabeth Parker,
dated 1824, who left £1,000 stock, and by the will of
the Hon. Juliana Curzon, dated 1834, who left £400
stock for coal and blankets at Christmas. (fn. 26) In 1857
these five charities were consolidated as the Hayes
Amalgamated Charities by a Middlesex County
Court Scheme. (fn. 27) In 1894-5 there was a bitter local
dispute when an attempt made by the newly formed
parish council to take control of the parish charities
was strongly resisted by the trustees. (fn. 28) Other coal
charities, each of £500 stock, were founded by the
will of Emma Rousby Thompson, dated 1899, and
by the will of Ann Fleet, dated 1912. The latter,
however, was abated and only £110 stock was finally
acquired in 1926. Louisa Davis gave £100 for stock
to provide grey calico sheets for the poor in 1889. In
1958 the income from the five Hayes Amalgamated
Charities amounted to £79, which was distributed in
50 gifts of coal, 26 of money, 6 blankets, and 4 blue
gowns. (fn. 29)