CHARITIES FOR THE POOR

Municipal charities, p. 462 (Alms-houses, p. 462; Apprenticeship charities, p. 463; Loan charities, p. 463; Other municipal charities, p. 465). Parochial charities, p. 468. Other charities, p. 473. Charitable societies, p. 475.

MUNICIPAL CHARITIES.

Until 1836 the corporation administered a large group of charities, mostly given for the benefit of freemen or their families; some were vested in the corporate body and were administered by the council, but many were at the disposal of the thirteen, other combinations of councillors, or even the whole body of freemen. Such distinctions were not always strictly observed, but a division was maintained between the charities in which the full council retained control and those administered by the mayor's council. (fn. 1) By the end of the 17th century the municipal charities for the poor yielded over £200 a year and there was over £2,000 in the loan charities; (fn. 2) by 1822 the income had risen to c. £1,500 and there was still over £2,000 in loan money, although many loan charities had been lost. (fn. 3)

The city administered its charities carefully, keeping a benefactions book from 1630 onwards, (fn. 4) taking sureties for the loan charities, pursuing bad debts, and occasionally refunding money lost through negligence over sureties. (fn. 5) The merging of charitable funds with the general income of the city, however, probably meant that the charities failed to benefit when astute investments were made. (fn. 6) The administration of the charities was improved in 1769 and 1788, (fn. 7) and in 1802 a committee of the council reviewed the charities so thoroughly that the charity commissioners of 1822 relied almost entirely on its report. (fn. 8) Following the committee's recommendations the council allotted to each charity sufficient stock to supply the required income, and from 1806 separate accounts were kept for each. (fn. 9) Oxford was no more successful than other places in preserving its loan charities, and by 1822 losses amounted to more than £1,200, more than half that sum from White's charity alone. (fn. 10) The administration of the surviving charities was criticized in 1835 by the municipal corporations commissioners. (fn. 11)

As a result of the Municipal Corporations Act the council's trusteeship came to an end in 1836, and after prolonged political disputes over the composition of a new body of trustees (fn. 12) the Lord Chancellor appointed two bodies of 21, of whom seventeen were common to both, one for charities confined to members of the Church of England, and the other for 'general' charities. (fn. 13) After similar disputes in the 1850s new trustees were appointed in 1861 and the separation of church charities was abandoned. (fn. 14) In 1884 a Scheme of the charity commissioners settled the number of trustees at 21, nine representative and twelve elective. (fn. 15) Thereafter the survivors of those charities listed below were grouped as branches of the Oxford Municipal Charities and ceased to have a separate history.

The following descriptions of each charity up to 1884 are based, except where otherwise stated, on the Charity Commissioners' report of 1822, (fn. 16) a schedule of the municipal charities in 1861, (fn. 17) and the Scheme of 1884. (fn. 18) Municipal charities for education, prisoners, city lectureships, and church purposes are described elsewhere. (fn. 19)

Alms-Houses.

Although there were alms-houses in Oxford before the .Reformation (fn. 20) none appears to have been connected in any way with the corporation. Perhaps because of the continued existence of St. Bartholomew's Hospital (fn. 21) and the foundation in 1546 of Christ Church alms-houses (fn. 22) the city did not acquire its own until the late 18th century, except that St. Mary's College, given to the city as an alms-house in 1562 by Henry, earl of Huntingdon, was used briefly as the donor intended before being converted into a house of correction. (fn. 23)

Edward Tawney gave to the city in 1797 two houses in St. Thomas's parish, and by will dated 1800 gave stock to rebuild them as alms-houses, to provide £20 each a year for three poor men and three poor women, and to keep the property in repair. The alms-people were to be unmarried, aged 50 years or more, and regular attenders at St. Thomas's church. The pensions remained at £20 a year in 1884, and although the premises appear to have been repaired regularly the endowment had increased, yielding c. £200 a year. The alms-houses, not so used since c. 1900, (fn. 24) are two three-storey buildings (nos. 2-3 Fisher Row) of variegated brick with stone dressings, and an inscription recording the endowment of the alms-houses in 1799.

Herbert Parsons, John Parsons, bishop of Peterborough and master of Balliol College, and James Thompson by deed of 1816 gave to the city eight alms-houses recently built in accordance with the wishes of Alderman John Parsons (d. 1814) (fn. 25) in Grove Place (later Kybald Street), and an endowment of £900 in shares for the upkeep of the building for four almsmen and four almswomen. Rules laid down by the bishop of Peterborough in 1817 gave preference to church-going, single persons under 40, with incomes below £40 a year, no preference being given to freemen. The almspeople were to attend St. Mary the Virgin church each Sunday, and receive pensions of £30 a year. In 1822 the income was c. £300 a year, but pensions were cut to £25 a year in 1847 (fn. 26) and £20 by 1861. In 1884, in addition to the shares, there was stock worth c. £65 a year. The alms-houses, which became part of University College in 1959, (fn. 27) comprise a stone building of four bays in Tudor style, with an inscription recording the details of the foundation.

Apprenticeship Charities.

William Thomas of St. John's College, Oxford, by will proved 1639 gave a rent-charge of £20 a year to apprentice two sons of poor Oxford parents. The charity continued to yield £20 gross in the 19th century and, as in 1822, the income was probably merged with other similar charities to produce adequate premiums.

Robert Nicholls by will dated 1651 charged property in St. Ebbe's (fn. 28) with £10 a year, of which £5 was to be used for apprenticing a boy from St. Ebbe's, St. Peter-le-Bailey, St. Thomas's, or St. Mary Magdalen parish, and £4 13s. 4d. was to go to two poor freemen. The property, apparently ruinous, did not yield the expected income and in 1753 the owner granted it to the city on condition of being quit of all arrears. After 1802 the income of £10 was secured by the allotment of stock. In 1822 the doles were being paid to two freemen, but the apprenticeship fees were not being disposed of regularly. Thereafter the charity was operated as intended and in 1884 was yielding £14 12s. a year.

Zachary Bogan by will dated 1659 gave £500, the interest to be used in apprenticing poor children of St. Ebbe's, St. Peter-le-Bailey, St. Thomas's, St. Mary Magdalen, and St. Giles's. In 1664 the charity, along with other municipal charities, was secured by a purchase of land at Garsington. (fn. 29) In 1668 five boys were apprenticed for £5 each, (fn. 30) and £25 out of the Garsington rent continued to be set aside until, after 1802, that sum was secured by an assignment of stock. In 1810, after an increase in the Garsington rent, a further £10 a year was assigned, raising each apprenticeship fee to £7. In 1884 the charity was unchanged, with stock yielding £25 and an annual payment of £10 from the corporation.

The apprenticing charities of Joan Nixon and Catherine Mather, John Wall, and Anne Lloyd are described elsewhere.

Loan Charities.

Sir Thomas White by will dated 1566 directed that Oxford, with 23 other corporations, should receive £104 every 24 years from property which he gave to the city of Bristol. Oxford was to provide four interest-free loans of £25 for ten years to young freemen, preferably clothiers, retaining the residue for administrative expenses. The first payment from Bristol was made in 1590 and by 1822 Oxford had received ten sums of £104. Much had been lost, for although the council had repaid loans lost through inadequate security in 1769, some £300 or £400 had been spent on a prolonged suit with Bristol corporation. The endowment by 1884 comprised £850 stock. The last payment from Bristol was made in 1953, and by a Charity Commission order of 1974 future payments were able to be redeemed. (fn. 31)

John Whistler, recorder, executor of the will of Eleanor Whistler, gave c. 1638 £120 of Eleanor's money and £80 of his own for loans of £25 for five years to freemen who had served as constable; each loan was to yield 8s. 4d. a year interest most of which was to be paid to poor kin of the donors. No loans are recorded after 1717, and in 1769 the remaining capital was turned into stock producing £3 6s. 8d. a year. (fn. 32) Payments to donor's kin were made from time to time in the 19th century, (fn. 33) but by 1884 the stock had increased to £250.

Jane Wickham gave in her lifetime, shortly before 1655, (fn. 34) £50 to be lent interest-free to five young freemen for ten years. By 1822 only one sum survived and by 1861 the charity had been merged with the similar charity of William Adams. (fn. 35)

George Potter by will dated 1657 gave a house in St. Michael's parish, the rent to be lent out every two years interest-free for seven years to a freeman who was a tailor, a shoemaker, or a glover, and preferably from All Saints or St. Michael's parish. The property was apparently not acquired until the death of Potter's wife in 1686. (fn. 36) The rent rose from £8 in the early 18th century to £125 in 1884. (fn. 37) In 1769 three loans of £20 each were made, and in 1822 there were twelve sums of £30 on loan. By 1861 the accumulated capital was £1,200.

Edward Prince of Barbados by will proved 1691 gave £500 to be lent interest-free to five poor freemen of the mercers' company for seven years, with preference to donor's relatives; the freemen at large made the elections and the poll sometimes lasted two days and cost candidates considerable sums. (fn. 38) Presumably after the mercers' company was dissolved in the mid 19th century the loans were made to freemen generally. In 1884 the capital was £511 in stock and £100 on loan.

William Adams by will dated 1725 gave £20 to be lent to two members of the smith's company for ten years, to be repaid at £1 a year. By 1773 one of the loans was lost, and in the 19th century the remainder was merged with the charity of Jane Wickham. (fn. 39) In 1884 the joint charity comprised £40 on loan.

John Taylor of Woodstock (d. 1745) by will gave £100 to be lent interest-free to four poor industrious trading freemen for five years. By 1822 half the capital was lost and by 1861 a further £25.

Charles Collins by will dated 1794 gave a reversionary interest in £694 stock, the dividends, whenever reaching £100, to be lent interest-free to a poor freeman, for ten years. The city did not acquire the stock until 1829 and the first loan was made in 1831. (fn. 40) In 1884 the capital was £755.

Andrew Harvey (d. 1816) by deed of 1815 directed that £100 be given to the city after his death, to be lent interest-free for seven years to four freemen who had been admitted by purchase or patrimony. In 1861 three sums of £25 survived but by 1871 the charity appears to have been lost.

The following loan charities were lost before 1822, most of them before the mid 18th century. Dame Margaret Northern, relict of William Northern (d. 1383), mayor of Oxford, left £40 to found a loanchest for freemen, who might borrow up to £3. (fn. 41) The chest, available by 1420, (fn. 42) was augmented by Cecily Herberfield (d. 1448) and many others, by occasional levies in the 16th century on the council as a whole, and by fines. (fn. 43) In the 15th century it was controlled by 'the keepers of the common chest' and later by 'moneymasters', who by the late 17th century were the bailiffs for the year. (fn. 44) The fund amounted to c. £71 in 1583, and £88 in 1611, thereafter remaining unchanged. (fn. 45) Loans were usually small, carefully secured, and short-term, since the moneymasters handed over the whole sum to their successors each autumn. (fn. 46) Occasionally the council borrowed money from the chest. (fn. 47) In 1718 £88 was still being transferred, at least nominally, from old to new bailiffs, and moneymasters were appointed into the 19th century. (fn. 48) Evidently the fund had been long defunct, probably from the mid 17th century, since there is no record of loans or any other usage of the money; the ancient chest once containing the money had apparently fallen out of use long before 1585. In 1787 the freeman's oath was altered to exclude a traditional commitment to resist any decrease of 'a coffer called Dame Margaret Northern and Cecily Herberfield'. (fn. 49) Thomas Mallinson, alderman, by will dated 1557 bequeathed £200 as a stock to be 'occupied' either by William Tilcock, mayor, for ten years, or another person engaged in the cloth trade for eight years; the holder was to use Mallinson's fulling mill at Rewley for dressing cloth and was to celebrate his obit. (fn. 50) The charity was more than a simple loan charity, for in 1558, whilst attempting to recover part of the legacy from one of Mallinson's debtors, Tilcock claimed that it had been given to set the poor on work. (fn. 51) The charity may never have been established, for in 1562 the city appointed attornies to recover the bequest against Tilcock. (fn. 52) John Hartley (d. 1596) (fn. 53) gave £10 to be lent interest-free to weavers, fullers, and other freemen. Dr. John Case (d. 1600) (fn. 54) gave £20 to be lent interest-free to two freemen for six years. Jane Fulsey (d. 1603) (fn. 55) gave £40 to be lent interest-free to four poor tradesmen for three years. Matthew Harrison, during his mayoralty in 1611, gave £20 to be used for loans or for setting the poor on work. The capital was intact in 1631 when the chamberlains paid it to the master of the workhouse. (fn. 56) Dr. Richard Kilby, rector of Lincoln College (d. 1620), (fn. 57) gave £20 to be lent interest-free for five years to two men, one a parishioner of All Saints, the other of St. Michael's; the electors were the mayor and the rector of Lincoln College. John Wardell by will proved 1627 gave £20 to be lent to two young tradesmen for five years, until a hospital for the poor was built in the city, and then to be used for the poor there. Wardell also gave £20 to the city chamberlains, the profits to be distributed to the poor in St. Bartholomew's Hospital and in Bocardo. (fn. 58) Margaret Brookes gave during her life c. 1630, (fn. 59) £100 for interest-free loans of £5 and £10 for five years to twelve citizens, one from each city parish, (fn. 60) engaged in certain trades, including most of the handicrafts then practised in Oxford. Ann Lloyd, before 1633, by will gave £40 which her executors gave to the city for interest-free loans for eight years to three freemen, who should in return take an apprentice. (fn. 61) Henry Bosworth (d. 1634) gave £30 to be lent interest-free for ten years to five tradesmen. When last recorded in 1703, however, 20 marks of Bosworth's money was lent for only seven years and the recipient also agreed to take an apprentice. (fn. 62) William Wright, Oliver Smith, and others (c. 1636) gave £25 to be lent in the same way as Sir Thomas White's charity. (fn. 63) Robert Wilson by will proved 1641 gave the reversion of £20 to be lent interest-free for seven years in two, three, or four portions to citizens and widows. Dr. John Wilkinson by will proved 1650 gave £100 for charitable purposes, and his relict stipulated that it should be lent for ten years to ten poor men, not ale-house-keepers, and be repaid at £1 a year. (fn. 64) William Chillingworth in 1652 gave £20 to be lent interest-free to two young freemen, a mercer and a shoemaker, for ten years. Thomas Mayo in 1654 gave £10 to be lent for five years to two freemen carpenters. Charles Russell in 1656 gave £6 13s. 4d. to be lent for seven years to any honest tradesmen. (fn. 65) Mary Brett of Elsfield in 1656 gave £50 to be lent for seven years to five citizens. (fn. 66) John Keene in 1669 gave £10 to be lent for five years to two poor freemen. Nicholas Robinson before 1670 gave £20 to be lent for ten years to four poor freemen, who should repay it at 2s. 6d. a quarter. (fn. 67) Griffiths Jones in 1670 gave £10 to be lent for five years to two poor men. Miles Chilmeade before 1681 gave £5 to be lent for five years to a freeman. (fn. 68)

The loan charities of John Harris, Toldervey, and Yeats are described below.

Other Municipal Charities.

By will dated 1557 John Howell left a house in St. Thomas's parish known as St. Catherine's (fn. 69) to be divided among 'the four beadsmen commonly called the Trinity men'. The Trinity men existed by the 1540s when the lessee of the site of the Trinitarians' house at the east gate was paying rent to the city towards their relief, and they were allowed to go begging in white coats resembling the Trinitarians' habit. (fn. 70) A rent of 13s. 4d. from that property had been paid since 1314, (fn. 71) perhaps for city almsmen: in 1582, for example, the council granted such a sum to the Trinity men. (fn. 72) In 1563 the city appointed the four Trinity men as beadles of beggars in the four wards, charged with reporting to the constables the movements of beggars and vagabonds, and allowed to gather 'the devotion of the houses' each Friday and also a quarterly payment. (fn. 73) Apparently the Trinity men used some traditional form of prayer in begging, and in 1658 were ordered to stop the practice, probably because it was considered superstitious. (fn. 74) The men were appointed for life, nominally by the mayor but usually by an act of common council; they were to be freemen, and were to attend the city church on Sundays wearing a brown gown and a badge. (fn. 75) In 1575 Robert Linke gave the Trinity men the reversion of properties in St. Mary Magdalen parish, not finally secured until 1660, when they were worth £35 a year. In 1787 the city sold them and purchased stock yielding £30 5s. a year. The property in St. Thomas's parish, derelict in 1822, was producing only £2 13s. 4d. a year plus a renewal fine every fourteen years (£65 in 1820). In 1853 the annuity given to each man was increased from £11 to £12. (fn. 76) In 1884 the stock was yielding c. £32 a year and the St. Thomas's property £20.

William Palmer of South Stoke by will dated 1596 gave a sum from which £2 was to be paid to Oxford to be distributed at Easter and Christmas by the vicechancellor and parish ministers. (fn. 77) The money seems to have been paid intermittently by the owners of South Stoke, (fn. 78) until in 1660 the council agreed to acquit future payments for a sum of £30. (fn. 79) In 1669 the council appears to have bound itself to pay £2 a year to the vice-chancellor (fn. 80) but no further reference to the charity has been found.

Henry Ball's charity, although not originally vested in the corporation, was being administered by the trustees of the municipal charities by 1877 (fn. 81) and was included in subsequent Schemes. By will dated 1608 Ball left the residue of his goods, two-thirds of the interest to be distributed annually among the poor of Oxford, the rest going to Totnes (Devon). Sir Thomas Bodley (d. 1613), administrator of Ball's will, left a rent-charge of £40 to be divided as Ball wished, stipulating that no trustees should be townsmen. A Chancery decree of 1670 assigned 40 marks a year to the mayor to give to the rector of Exeter College; such payments were being made in 1679 and 1877. (fn. 82) In the early 19th century, apart from between £3 and £5 distributed by the rector himself, the money was usually given to the Anti-Mendicity Society, but in 1877 the net sum of £21 6s. 8d. was distributed to eleven poor persons. (fn. 83)

John Wall of Christ Church, Oxford, by deed of 1664 gave £1,040 to provide £40 a year to be distributed equally among seven poor resident widows and three poor old men, and another £10 to apprentice two fatherless children. In 1666 Wall offered to double the endowment, (fn. 84) which evidently he did, for thereafter £100 a year was distributed to twenty beneficiaries. After 1802 that income was secured by the assignment of stock, and in 1884 was unchanged.

John Harris by will dated 1672 gave an estate in Garsington to provide pensions of £4 a year for four poor freemen aged over 50, at least two to be members of the tailors' company and one to be from St. Michael's parish, another from St. Peter-in-the-East. The pensioners were to attend St. Martin's church wearing gowns and badges (with the arms of the tailors' company). (fn. 85) Harris also gave £200 for interest-free loans of £10 to 20 Oxford tradesmen, repayable at £1 a year; at least six recipients were to be free of the tailors' company and two were to be inhabitants of each of the parishes mentioned above. By the early 19th century Harris's estate was merged with other charity land at Garsington, but £18 a year was guaranteed by the assignment of stock; the pensioners were still paid £4 each, and £1 each for gowns every alternate year. The loan charity was in difficulties by 1700 when several sums were said to 'lie very hazardous'. The charity was changed by agreement with Charles Harris, John's son and executor, who handed over the £200 to the city, which agreed to pay £4 a year to two tradesmen. (fn. 86) That income also was secured by an assignment of stock in the early 19th century when one pensioner was always from St. Michael's parish, the other from St. Peter-in-the-East. In 1884 the charity was unchanged.

Catherine Seyman by will proved c. 1680 gave £100, the income to be distributed each year to two poor widows of Oxford freemen, one to be resident in St. Martin's parish, the testator's birth-place. (fn. 87) In 1769 payments were reduced from £2 10s. each to £2, but were raised again in the early 19th century. In 1884 the charity was unchanged.

John Toldervey by will proved c. 1681 gave £130 to buy land yielding £6 a year to be distributed quarterly to four poor widows, one from each of the parishes of All Saints, St. Michael, St. Mary Magdalen, and St. Peter-in-the-East. He also left £60 for interest-free loans of £10 to two chandlers, two glovers, and two cordwainers for ten years. The loan charity was lost in the 18th century, (fn. 88) but 30s. doles were still paid in 1884 to four widows.

Robert Whorwood by will proved c. 1688 gave £100 on the same terms as £100 already given by him c. 1678: (fn. 89) £10 a year interest from the £200 was to be allotted to two maid-servants, preferably daughters of freemen, who had been in one service for seven years. The doles were reduced to £4 in 1769, but by the early 19th century were £5 again. The charity was unchanged in 1884.

Richard Hawkins (d. 1699) gave £100 in 1694, the interest of £4 a year to be divided between two poor freemen over 60, one from All Saints parish, the other from St. Peter-in-the-East, or, in default, to similarly qualified widows of freemen, or freemen and widows of other parishes. Hawkins also gave, by will, (fn. 90) the reversion of property in St. Peter-le-Bailey parish, the profits to pay the doles granted in 1694 and £1 each to the parishes of All Saints and St. Peter for a bread charity; most of the residue was to be divided among the almsmen of St. Bartholomew's Hospital. The premises, then ruinous, were sold in 1770 and after 1802. stock was allotted to pay the doles and 10s. 8½d. each to the three parishes. The charity was unchanged in 1884.

Thomas Reeve by will dated 1697 gave a house and garden in High Street, half the rent to provide pensions for three poor church-going widows, born or living for 20 years in St. Thomas's parish, the reversion of the other half to provide for three similarly qualified freemen. Coats and gowns were to be provided for the pensioners every two years. Pensions rose from £2 in 1788 to £6 in 1861; clothing was not provided in the early 19th century, but had been a century earlier (fn. 91) and was said to be in 1861. In 1884 the endowment comprised the property, let at £60, and stock yielding £63 a year.

The Berkshire Charity was founded by deed of 1701, reciting that the natives of Berkshire living in Oxford (later the Berkshire Society) had given £100, gathered at their annual feast, to be used to provide doles of £1 for four poor Berkshire men resident in Oxford. By 1822 the endowment was represented by stock yielding £4 and the society usually nominated two freemen and two non-freemen for the charity, which remained unchanged in 1884.

Under Robert Boyle's will, dated 1691, his executor assigned rents of £15 16s. 8d., payable by Lancaster corporation, from which £10 was to go to either the corporation of Oxford or the Merchant Taylor's Company for distribution in sums of 25s. to four poor freemen over 60 and four poor widows of freemen over 50. The residue was to be used for charitable purposes in either Oxford or Bridport (Dors.). In the event the whole sum (£12 8s. a year net in 1822) appears to have been paid to Oxford and dispersed in eight doles of 25s., the residue usually being given to one poor man. Although the charity commissioners in 1822 criticized the distribution of the residue as irregular the practice continued, and indeed the same man received it for many years both before and after 1822. (fn. 92) In 1884 Lancaster corporation was still paying the rent-charge.

Henry Cherry of Wokingham (Berks.) by will dated 1708 endowed a charity for three young men of Oxford, preferably kin of the founder, (fn. 93) but otherwise qualified by apprenticeship to handicrafts and regular church-going. The charity was not discovered by the city until 1863; c. £504 was then handed over and from 1866, when twelve gifts were made, the income of c. £21 a year was distributed in three gifts of £7 each. (fn. 94)

Charles Harris by will dated 1713 gave the reversion of lands in Lenborough (Bucks.) and a house in All Saints parish to provide £30 a year to Balliol College and pensions of £4 each to four freemen aged 50, who, like the pensioners of the donor's father John (fn. 95) were to attend St. Martin's church gowned and badged. Any residue was to be a bread charity for poor freemen. In 1786 the house in All Saints was sold and in 1822 the whole charity produced £146 a year, of which the city's share was c. £105 net: pensioners received £4 and a gown worth 10s., so the bread charity was substantial. In 1884 the Lenborough estate was let for £130 a year.

Three gifts towards building a new town hall were used for some time in the 18th century to provide doles. In 1725 Benjamin Sweet gave £200 stock for a new town hall, the interest of £5 a year to be distributed among ten poor families; it so continued until the hall was built in 1751. (fn. 96) Thomas Rowney (d. 1727) by will gave £300 for a new hall, specifying that it should be used for no other purpose; from 1733 until 1751 the interest was given in sums of 10s. to 25 families. (fn. 97) Money given by Philip Herbert, M.P., was from 1748 similarly given in sums of 10s. to 28 families. (fn. 98)

John Holman (d. 1781) by will gave the reversion of £1,500, two-thirds of the interest to be divided annually among two church-going tradesmen, one free, one privileged, shopkeepers for at least three years; the other third was to be given to two poor church-going spinsters over 55, preferably parishioners of St. Mary the Virgin or St. Peter-in-the-East. The charity was not received until after 1822; in 1861 it was producing doles of £10 and £35 16s., and spinsters' pensions of £11 a year each.

Thomas Walker, town clerk, in 1787 gave stock yielding £10 a year, to be distributed in bread and coal to twelve freemen, their widows, or daughters, over 50. From at least 1804 twelve sums of 16s. 8d. were given to each of the aldermen and assistants to distribute as they thought fit. (fn. 99) By 1822 the charity was merged with others distributed on St. Thomas's day, and was given out in cash. In 1884 it was unchanged.

Charles Hughes by will proved 1799 gave £200 to William Fletcher for charitable purposes; Fletcher gave it in 1802 to provide doles for two poor widows over 50, preferably parishioners of St. Peter-le-Bailey, one to be a freeman's widow. In 1822 the charity was yielding £10 15s. a year but by 1884 only £6 6s.

Edward Tawney, who had earlier given alms-houses to the city, (fn. 1) by will dated 1800 gave stock yielding £21 a year to be given to four poor free tradesmen, preferably from St. Thomas's parish. The charity was unchanged in 1884.

William Haynes by will dated 1806 gave the reversion of £1,266 13s. 4d. stock, the income to be divided between four blind persons of Oxford, chosen for life. The charity took effect in 1818 and thereafter preference was given to church-goers living within four miles of Oxford. (fn. 2) In 1884 the charity was producing £38 a year.

Christopher Yeats by will dated 1807 gave the reversion of £1,000 stock, the dividends to be divided annually between three freemen and three widows of freemen over 60, preference to be given to one freeman and one widow of St. Michael's parish. In 1822 the doles were £5 each and the charity was unchanged in 1884. By the same will Yeats gave the reversion of another £1,000 stock, the income, each time it amounted to £30, to be loaned to a poor freeman for seven years. The city should have received the charity c. 1822 and when it did so in 1849 it probably acquired accumulated income also, (fn. 3) since by 1884 the yield was £64 10s. a year.

Sarah Roberts (d. c. 1810) in her lifetime gave to John Cox £100, the interest to be given annually to a poor man over 50 resident in St. Peter-le-Bailey parish. In 1811 Cox gave the capital to the city and it was thereafter disposed of as directed, in 1822 yielding £5 but by 1884 only £3 3s.

Sir W. E. Taunton by deed of 1814 gave stock yielding £12 a year, for doles, after his death, of £2 each to six poor church-going widows over 60 of decayed free tradesmen, or, in default, to any poor widows; preference was to be given to at least two residents of St. Aldate's parish. By his will dated 1825 Taunton left further stock yielding £8 for buying greatcoats, four for poor freemen over 60 and four for parishioners of St. Aldate's. (fn. 4)

Robert Wace in 1820 gave £100, the interest to be divided yearly between five poor widows. In 1822 the charity was yielding £5 but by 1884 only £3 3s.; by 1861 only four widows were receiving doles.

Sir Edward Hitchings in 1820 gave stock yielding £6 a year to provide doles for six poor families. The charity was evidently increased later, since in 1861 it provided 13s. 6d. each for six families, three from St. Giles's and three from St. Aldate's, and also c. 16s. each for four poor aged tailors, two from each of those parishes.

William Fletcher in 1823 (fn. 5) gave stock yielding £65 a year for charitable purposes in Oxford and Yarnton; the city portion comprised £20 a year to be given to a poor young freeman qualified by apprenticeship and a year's trading, and £15 a year to be divided among three poor widows of freemen, aged 50 or more, one from each of the parishes of St. Mary Magdalen, St. Peter-in-the-East, and St. Michael. In 1861 the charity was unchanged.

William Tubb by will dated 1824 (fn. 6) gave stock yielding £6 a year to be divided between two poor freemen's widows aged 60 years or more, residents and church-goers of St. Michael's or, in default, of St. Mary Magdalen parish. The charity was unchanged in 1884.

Andrew Bridgewater by will proved 1859 (fn. 7) gave £200 in shares, the income to buy coal for five poor familes of St. Ebbe's and five of St. Clement's. In 1871 mishandling of the distribution caused a minor riot among the poor of St. Ebbe's. (fn. 8) The charity was unchanged in 1884.

Richard Wootten (d. 1867) left stocks and shares yielding c. £550 a year for pensions of 14s. a week for fourteen persons over 66, ten to be residents of Oxford, four of Launton. The charity was unchanged in 1884.

Elizabeth Woodington by will proved 1879 gave £300 to provide a pension for a blind person resident in or near Oxford, preferably in St. Ebbe's parish, and £250 to support a coal charity for eight old persons from the same area. (fn. 9)

The charities of Faulkner, Harrison, and Whistler are described elsewhere.

The Scheme of 1884 (fn. 10) divided the Oxford Municipal Charities into four branches, for loans, apprenticeship, alms-houses and annuities, and general purposes. The loan branch was to provide, from a fund of £1,500, interest-free loans of £50 to £100 to residents, preferably freemen, under 25; in 1894 the age limit was increased to 30 and in 1907 the loan fund was reduced by transfer to other branches. The residual income had from 1884 been transferred to the apprenticeship branch. Although the loan branch appeared separately in Schemes as late as 1972 its income was slight and no loans appear to have been made after the First World War. (fn. 11)

The apprenticeship branch in 1884 was for apprenticing children of poor Oxford residents or the educational advancement of schoolchildren over twelve by paying exhibitions or buying outfits; half the recipients were to be, if possible, freemen's children. In 1907 the branch was renamed the apprenticeship and advancement in life branch; its endowments were greatly augmented from the loan branch, but reduced by the creation of an education branch, which was to pay exhibitions to Oxford children at schools and universities. The apprenticeship branch to some extent overlapped with the education branch since it continued to provide exhibitions as well as apprenticeship premiums, which were increased, but much more strictly regulated, by a Scheme of 1932. The education branch was controlled by the Board of Education from 1907 and the apprenticeship and advancement branch by the Ministry of Education from 1950. In 1972 both branches were merged again in the Oxford City Charities.

The alms-house and annuity branch in 1884 was to maintain the Tawney and Parsons alms-houses, paying 8s. to 10s. weekly to seven single men and seven single women, resident at least five years in Oxford and members of the Church of England. From 1904 the Tawney alms-houses were let and the income was paid to six Tawney pensioners; (fn. 12) in 1969 the property was sold. (fn. 13) The Parsons alms-houses usually housed eight people until in 1959 the building was sold to University College, which paid for eight new Parsons almshouses on land acquired from, and next to, Stone's Hospital in St. Clement's. The hospital, founded in 1700, (fn. 14) had been controlled by the trustees of the municipal charities since 1958. In 1964 the trustees used an anonymous donation of 1962 to build eight flatlets, known as the Mary Duncan alms-houses, on the St. Clement's site; the almspeople, like those of Stone's, were not necessarily Oxford residents. (fn. 15) In 1970 there were in all 23 almspeople in the three alms-houses, each receiving 8s. weekly. (fn. 16) The remaining income of the branch in 1884 was to provide annuities; in 1970 the branch was paying only 18 pensioners compared with 41 in 1939. (fn. 17)

The general branch was to support deserving poor residents in ways 'most conducive to the formation of provident habits', such as hospital and friendly society subscriptions, nursing or emigration costs, the supply of clothes, tools, medicine, or temporary cash relief. A Scheme of 1894 allowed payments for the benefit of the poor of Oxford generally: among such payments in 1904 were those to hospitals and to the Sisters of St. Thomas the Martyr towards the cost of a new orphanage; in the 1930s regular large payments were made to the Oxford District Nurses and the Cutler Boulter Provident Dispensary. (fn. 18)

In 1959 the municipal charities were renamed the Oxford City Charities, and a Scheme of 1972 united all the charities which from various dates had been administered by the municipal charity trustees, namely those of Cutler Boulter (since 1884), (fn. 19) St. Bartholomew's Hospital (since 1900), Frederick Williams (since 1901), Jephson Pension (since 1904), Ann Kendall (since 1909), Thomas Hodgkins and William Rixon (since 1909), Francis Hunt (since 1921), Joseph Leech (since 1928), Oxford Benevolent Society (since 1931), and the St. Michael's Parochial Charities for the poor, which had been used to augment the almshouse and annuity branch since 1961. (fn. 20) The education and apprenticing and advancement in life branches were restored to the trustees, along with the associated educational charities of Joan Nixon and Ann Kendall. (fn. 21) Separate arrangements were made in the 1972 Scheme for the educational charities, parts of the Ann Kendall charity, the Launton part of the Wootten charity, the Cutler Boulter, and the Haynes and Woodington charities. The rest, named the City of Oxford Charities (1971), were to be used to support the alms-houses, to provide relief in need for Oxford residents, and to promote the education and advancement of residents under 25: in 1971-2 c. £8,200 was spent out of an income of c. £12,700, chiefly on the alms-houses and relief in need. (fn. 22)

PAROCHIAL CHARITIES.

All Saints.

The Church Houses charity (fn. 23) by the early 17th century included provision for poor-relief, but low profits during the 19th century made the charity insignificant. From 1926 a pension of between £25 and £50 was paid to one or two poor persons, and by a Scheme of 1941 half the rent of the parish properties and part of the income from stocks were reserved for the poor of Oxford, preferably of All Saints, to be spent in various ways ranging from hospital or provident club subscriptions to small allowances and pensions, which were raised by a Scheme of 1962 to a maximum of 15s. a week. (fn. 24)

Mrs. Matthew, probably Mary Matthew (d. c. 1587), (fn. 25) charged her house in the parish with 6s. 8d. a year, half for church-repair, half for the poor. By 1822 it was uncertain which of two such sums, one lost, represented Matthew's charity. (fn. 26)

Henry Southam (d. 1659) gave £40, the interest to provide 6s. 4d. for the poor and other sums for church purposes. By 1822 the capital was lost but the churchwardens continued to make the payments, distributing the poor's share in bread. (fn. 27)

A loan fund was established in the 17th century by the undated charities of Robert Barton (£7), Michael Page, and Jane Jackson (£5 each), and of Robert Whorwood (d. 1688), who gave £5, all the sums to be lent interest-free for five years to tradesmen. In 1789 the capital was invested and the income lent as before. By 1941 £80 was available for loans. (fn. 28)

William Rixon by will dated 1734 left property to be sold to provide pensions for poor decayed tradesmen over 60, preferably householders of All Saints. By 1822 the charity was yielding three pensions of £9 a year. (fn. 29) A Scheme of 1909 combined it with Hodgkins's charity, and pensions of 5s. a week were paid to two tradesmen. In 1972 the joint charity was incorporated with Oxford City Charities. (fn. 30)

Mary Hayes by will dated 1799 gave to All Saints and St. Martin's parishes £100, secured on the tolls of Botley turnpike, to provide annual doles for one poor widow over 50 from each parish. (fn. 31) The capital was invested c. 1839, and in the 1950s was yielding c. £2 15s., out of which two widows were paid. (fn. 32)

William Taylor by will dated 1805 gave the rever sion of £200 for a coal charity, which was not received until after 1822 and in the 1950s yielded c. £5 8s. a year. (fn. 33)

Charities lost before 1822 included those of John Newton (£10, by will of 1664), Jane Southam (£8, c. 1664), (fn. 34) and Robert Whorwood (£2, c. 1688), all for distribution to the poor. (fn. 35) The parishioners shared in the municipal charities of Potter, Kilby, Brookes, Toldervey, and Hawkins.

Holy Trinity, Blackfriars.

Mary Jane Kemp by will proved 1914 left a house in Commercial Road to provide 10s. a year for poor widows. The house was sold in 1915 and the profit invested. In 1932 six widows were given 10s. each. A Scheme of 1968, after the union of the parish with St. Aldate's, placed the charity under the control of the St. Aldate's charity trustees. (fn. 36)

St. Aldate's.

Although from at least the late 16th century the Church Houses charity was partly for the poor, its income until well into the 19th century was insufficient for church-repair, which was given priority. (fn. 37)

Thomas Faulkner by will dated 1609 gave £20 loan capital, from the interest of which the city chamberlains were to give 6s. 8d. to the city and 29s. to St. Aldate's for distribution in sums of 6s. 8d. each to a poor fatherless child of St. Aldate's, St. Michael's, and South Hinksey parishes, and the remainder for the repair of Grandpont and for administrative expenses. The endowment produced only 19s. by the 18th century and the children received proportionately smaller sums; in the early 19th century it was decided that since Grandpont was part of a turnpike trust the money previously given to it should be distributed among the children. (fn. 38)

John West by will proved 1687 left a rent-charge for three sermons in St. Aldate's church, and to pay £1 in bread to poor children attending the first sermon, poor women the second, and men the third. (fn. 39)

Francis Willis of Virginia in 1689 gave £100, the interest to be distributed to the poor. In 1694 the capital was invested, with £30 from the Church Houses charity, in property in Pembroke Street which became merged with the other church houses property, yielding £5 a year to Willis's charity. (fn. 49)

Catherine Robinson by will dated 1700 left £100, the interest to be used, whenever £10 had accumulated, to apprentice a poor child. John Hall, rector, also gave £100 to buy clothes for the poor. The joint capital was used in 1707 to buy rents in Barford of £9 5s. 4d., half for apprenticing, half for clothes. (fn. 41)

John Rush by will dated 1711 left a tenement in St. Aldate's for the use of the poor. The rent of £5 was used in aid of the rates (fn. 42) until 1847 when the parish attempted to recover it from the Board of Guardians; after 1851 the money was distributed by the parish. (fn. 43)

By a Scheme of 1886 the above charities were united, with Elizabeth Radford's church charity, (fn. 44) as the St. Aldate's Parochial Charities; part of the income was to be used for church purposes, part to meet certain fixed payments in respect of the charities described above, the remainder to pay pensions of between 7s. and 10s. a week to six poor people, and between £50 and £75 a year for the general benefit of the poor. A Scheme of 1937 allowed the residue of the Church Houses charity to be used for the poor of Oxford, preferably inhabitants of St. Aldate's, and a Scheme of 1960 set up a fund to provide alms-houses and gave the trustees wider powers. (fn. 45)

The parishioners shared in the municipal charities of Brookes, Taunton, and Hitchings, in John Baker's charity, given to Aynho (Northants.) in 1816 (in default of suitable applicants from that parish), and in Francis Hunt's charity. (fn. 46)

St. Cross.

William Merriman (d. 1628) left £10, John Smith (d. 1680) £5, and William Strike, at an unknown date, £5, the interest to be distributed annually among the poor. The capital was used in 1711 to build the churchyard wall, the parish thereafter paying 20s. a year to the poor in cash or bread; (fn. 47) in 1881 the money was usually taken out of the offertory, (fn. 48) but the charity was lost later.

Margery Coxeter by will proved 1710 left £40, the interest to maintain poor fatherless girls of the parish until they were old enough to go into service. In 1746 part of the capital was lost and the remainder used for church purposes, but the charity was supported from church funds until 1753, (fn. 49) and again from church rates between 1822 and 1869. (fn. 50) Benjamin Haynes by will proved 1817 left the reversion of stock yielding £10 a year as a bread charity. The legacy was received in 1828. (fn. 51) Henry Purdue by will of 1869 left £868 5s. 5d. consols in reversion, effective only in 1932, for poor parishioners, particularly old widows. In 1962 four widows received £5 each from the charity. (fn. 52) George Hanks by deed of gift of 1874 gave c. £210 consols for bread and coal for the poor of the parish. (fn. 53)

A Scheme of 1886 combined the charities of Haynes, Purdue, and Hanks with the church charity of Louisa Elvey, to form the Holywell Parochial Charities. Elvey's charity was to be governed, if possible, by the terms of her will, while the others provided hospital and provident club subscriptions, and clothes, bedding, and fuel to a maximum of £5 a year temporary relief. (fn. 54) A Scheme of 1931 broadened the terms of the charity. (fn. 55) A Scheme of 1969, after the union of the parish with St. Peter-in-the-East, united the charities of the two parishes and provided that, subject to certain payments to the vicar, clerk, and sexton, the income was to be used to relieve needy persons resident in the new ecclesiastical parish, or, failing such, in the city of Oxford. (fn. 56)

St. Ebbe.

Part of the Church Houses charity was for poor-relief, but the income was insufficient for church repair, which was given priority. (fn. 57) Ann Bowell by will dated 1679 left £20 to be lent interest-free in three equal parts to three parishioners for five years. (fn. 58) Robert Whorwood (d. 1688) gave a rent-charge of 2s. a week to be distributed to twelve poor persons; in 1822 it was distributed in bread to the same persons each week. (fn. 59) Michael Cripps by will proved 1723 left to the poor of the parish a rent-charge of 10s. a year as a bread charity. (fn. 60) Elizabeth Palmer by will proved 1825 left £100, the interest to be given annually to two women servants who had served one household for at least seven years, and £50, the interest to be given annually to two old women parishioners. (fn. 61) By a Scheme of 1884 all the above charities were united as the St. Ebbe's Parochial Charities. One-third of the income of the Church Houses charity and the whole income of the others was for poor-relief, except for £3 to be given to two servants. The trustees were empowered to make payments for the general as well as the individual benefit of the poor. (fn. 62)

Margaret Stanley before 1696 gave £6 for a bread charity for twelve poor widows; it was lost between 1822 and 1884. (fn. 63) The parishioners shared in the municipal charities of Nicholls, Bogan, Brookes, Bridgewater, and Woodington, and in Francis Hunt's charity.

St. Giles.

William Handy by will dated 1622 endowed a sermon and service and an associated bread charity worth 10s. The capital was invested in property in Witney, and any surplus profit was also given to the poor. The property was sold c. 1920 for £1,155. (fn. 64) Richard Brainthwaite by will dated 1643 left a rentcharge of £13 a year to support a weekly bread charity. The rent-charge was redeemed in 1917 for £550, which was invested. (fn. 65)

By the same will Richard Brainthwaite left £50 for the poor. William Juxon, archbishop of Canterbury and a former vicar of St. Giles's, by will dated 1664 left £100 for the poor. Thomas Rowney before 1671 gave £20, the interest to be given annually to the ten poorest and most laborious church-going parishioners. Christopher Paul by will dated 1669 left £30 to buy land, two-thirds of the profit to be distributed to ten poor people of St. Giles's, one-third to the poor of Brightwell Baldwin. Rachel Paul by will dated 1669 gave £30 to buy land, the profits to be distributed to ten poor church-going people of the parish. James Paul before 1671 gave £40 on the same terms, half the profits to be given to ten poor people of St. Giles's, half to the poor of Brightwell Baldwin. (fn. 66) The capital of all six charities was invested in 1671 in land at Eynsham. In 1797 the profits were divided into 27 parts, three to be paid to Brightwell Baldwin and the rest to be given on four days in the year to 30 poor people of St. Giles's for life. By 1822, when the parish charities of Handy, Turner, and Gibbons were distributed at the same time, 70 or 80 people benefited. (fn. 67) The Eynsham land was sold in 1931. (fn. 68)

Peter Nicholls of Merton College (d. 1678) left £100 to endow a sermon, a dinner for the parish officers, and distributions of 50s. to widows and fatherless children, and 20s. to poor householders. In 1822 the total income was only c. £4 14s. and payments were reduced accordingly. (fn. 69) Mrs. Turner, relict of W. Turner, at an unknown date gave £20, the interest to be given yearly to four poor widows. In the early 19th century the widows usually received 4s. 8d. (fn. 70) William Gibbons of St. John's College by will dated 1729 gave £40 for the poor. (fn. 71)

Elizabeth Rowney before 1763 (fn. 72) gave £50, the interest to be used for educating poor children and clothing a poor girl for service. By the early 19th century £2 was usually given to girls who had been in service for a year and gained a settlement outside the parish, but surplus income had accumulated. After 1822 the donor's wishes were respected. By a Scheme of 1906 the educational part of the charity was transferred to the Ministry of Education. (fn. 73)

Bridget Gardner by will dated 1780 left £100, the interest to be used to clothe or educate poor children. In 1822 the income of c. £4 14s. was spent on two poor girls. (fn. 74) Benjamin Haines by will of 1817 gave £200 as a clothing charity. (fn. 75) Thomas Betts before 1837 gave £100, the interest to be given to the poor. In 1827 and 1844 both money and clothes were distributed. (fn. 76) Isabella Kidd (d. 1874) gave the reversion of £300, not received until 1894, for nursing and relieving the sick poor. (fn. 77)

By a Scheme of 1906 £40 was to be paid from the St. Giles's charities to the poor of the daughter parishes. A Scheme of 1934 divided the charities into two branches. The ecclesiastical branch comprised the sermon charities, which were to continue as before, and those of Rowney and Rachel and James Paul, specifically for the church-going poor, which were to be used to give aid in kind or temporary financial aid. The remaining charities were to be used in donations to hospitals and provident societies, in nursing and travelling expenses for the sick, and in equipping young people for trade. Of the total income, which in 1961-2 was £114, £13 10s. was to be spent on the modern ecclesiastical parish, the remainder on the ancient parish. (fn. 78)

Charities lost by 1822 included those of Catherine Willis, who by will dated 1622 gave 40s. to be lent to two poor widows for two years, (fn. 79) and Rachel Paul, who by will dated 1669 gave £100 to apprentice poor girls, which was often used in conjunction with the municipal charity of Bogan to apprentice boys. The capital was let out at interest, but payment appears to have ceased in 1811. (fn. 80) The parishioners shared in the municipal charities of Bogan, Brookes, and Hitchings.

St. John, Summertown.

Owen Grimbly by will proved 1891 left £1,000 (of which £900 was received) as a coal charity for the poor. By 1968 the income of c. £61 was distributed in cash. William Holiday by will proved 1913 gave £500 (of which c. £403 was received), the interest to be paid to poor people over 65. In 1967 the income was £13 10s. (fn. 81)

St. Martin.

Although part of the income of the Church House charity left by William Fleming (1540) (fn. 82) was for the poor, there is no evidence that it was ever so used. Ursula Walker by will dated 1708 left £30 for two sermons with an associated bread charity of 10s. a year. (fn. 83) Richard Wace by will dated 1796 left £10, the interest to be given to a poor spinster over 50; 10s. a year was given, but between 1814 and 1822 there was no suitable applicant. (fn. 84) Both charities appear to have been lost before the closure of St. Martin's in 1895. Two loan charities of £5 each given by Margaret Yate by will dated 1583 and Thomas Richardson at an unknown date were lost before 1822. (fn. 85) The parishioners shared in the All Saints charity of Mary Hayes and in the municipal charities of Brookes and Seyman.

St. Mary Magdalen.

Although part of the income of the Church Houses charity given by George Owen and William Martin in 1551 was for the poor, it was not so used until modern times. (fn. 86) Mrs. Striplin c. 1633 and Mr. Hill c. 1701 each gave £20 to endow a bread charity. The capital of both charities was used, apparently before 1786, to buy parish property, the churchwardens continuing to pay the interest. (fn. 87) John Poole by will dated 1643 devised three houses to provide pensions of £1 each to six named legatees, the residue to be distributed among the aged poor of the parish. Three of the pensions, after the deaths of the named legatees, were to be allotted by the parish. The houses, on the site of the Clarendon Building, were sold to the university in 1668 for a quit-rent of £14 a year. Thereafter £1 a year was paid to each of fourteen poor widows. (fn. 88)

John Morris by will dated 1715 devised three houses in George Lane which he leased from the city, the profits to apprentice a poor boy to a handicraft trade. In 1822 the property yielded £7 a year. (fn. 89) Francis White by will dated c. 1718 and John Taylor by will dated 1745 each left £100, the interest to apprentice poor children. From 1726 White's money was used to repair parish property subsequently sold for £34, which in 1775 was amalgamated with Taylor's £100, which had been invested since 1746. (fn. 90) In 1822 the joint income of £4 a year was carried to an apprenticeship fund, supported by part of Daniel and Hody's charity described below and the parish's share in the municipal charities'of Nicholls and Bogan. (fn. 91)

Edith Hody by deed of 1736 gave an estate in Wootton and Boars Hill (Berks.), purchased partly with a charitable bequest of her sister Elizabeth Daniel; of the profits £5 was for clothing six poor widows or old maids, £10 for apprenticing a poor boy, £2 for four poor families, and £2 for the prisoners in Bocardo. (fn. 92) In 1822 a disproportionate amount was being given to the apprenticeship fund. (fn. 93) By a Scheme of 1886 the income was divided into 49 parts, of which 21 were for the poor, 20 for apprenticing, four for the girls' school, and four for discharged prisoners. The land was sold in 1965. (fn. 94)

Mary Ridges by will dated 1826 left £200 stock (of which £180 was received) to provide gowns and greatcoats for poor men and widows. (fn. 95) Richard Wright by will proved 1831 left £300, the interest to apprentice a poor boy. (fn. 96) Ann Lydia Dry (d. 1898) by will left £1,200 for the aged poor. By a Scheme of 1898 four pensioners aged at least 65, who had lived in the parish at least ten years, were to receive 10s. monthly. (fn. 97)

A Scheme of 1936 for the St. Mary Magdalen Parochial Charities preserved the distinction between the apprenticeship charities and the remainder, which were to be used in a wide variety of ways to aid the sick and the poor. (fn. 98)

Charities lost before 1822 included those of Lucas Eaton, who by will of 1621 devised goods and tenements for the use of the poor, (fn. 99) and William Handy, who by will of 1622 left £40 to support a bread charity of 10s. a year and a sermon and service. (fn. 1) The parishioners shared in the municipal charities of Nicholls, Bogan, Brookes, Toldervey, Fletcher, and Tubb, and that of William Phipps.

St. Mary The Virgin.

In 1615 the Church Houses charity was partly for poor-relief; the churchwardens in the 17th century occasionally distributed something from the balance of their annual account, presumably in recognition of the charity, but otherwise the poor did not benefit until modern times. (fn. 2) John Goore by deed of 1574 gave a house in Catte Street to provide 13s. a year for the poor and the rest for church repairs. The property was sold in 1720 and most of the capital used for church purposes in 1794; £15, however, from that and other parish money was invested to provide 13s. 4d. a year for the poor. (fn. 3)

Ann Sambach by will dated 1657 left to the parishes of St. Mary the Virgin, St. Peter-in-the-East, and St. Peter-le-Bailey two sums of £100, one to provide annual doles for widows, the other to apprentice a poor boy. Land was purchased in Charlton-onOtmoor, and in the early 19th century St. Mary's received a sixth of the rent each year to distribute among three or four poor widows, and half the rent every third year for apprenticing. The charity was regulated by Schemes of 1894 and 1933, and in 1967 St. Mary's share was £17. (fn. 4)

John Newton by will dated 1664 gave £10, Sir Sampson White by will dated 1684 £5, Anne Elliot by will dated 1686 £50, and Francis White in 1714 £20, all for the use of the poor. The whole capital was invested in the late 18th century and was yielding £3 9s. 6d. in 1822. (fn. 5)

William Hopkins by will dated 1681 left £300 to endow a bread charity for the poor of any Oxford parish who attended evening service at St. Mary's on Saturdays. The money was spent on land at Henley, which was sold in 1881. By 1822 the bread was distributed after Sunday evening service. (fn. 6)

By a Scheme of 1894 the charities were united with others for church purposes as the St. Mary the Virgin Parochial Charities; half the income of the Church Houses charity and the whole income of the other charities described above was to be used for the poor in various ways, after £10 had been set aside to apprentice or outfit children for a trade or for exhibitions at a technical school. (fn. 7)

A charity left by George Clarke by will dated 1734 and codicil of 1736, a rent-charge of 30s. a year from Horspath to pay for the maintenance of a church monument and for a bread charity, was lost in 1856; in 1822 £1 2s. 6d. was given in bread to c. 18 people. (fn. 8) The parishioners shared in the municipal charities of Brookes and Holman.

St. Michael At The North Gate.

The Church Houses charity was partly for the poor but in 1822 all the profits were used for church-repair. (fn. 9) John Massey by will proved 1586 devised a tenement in St. Peterle-Bailey parish for the use of the poor, either in payments of their fifteenths or other ways. Until 1725 the income (£3 in the early 17th century and unchanged in 1822) was paid to the overseers but thereafter was used for church expenses, until the Charity Commissioners in 1822 ordered it to be used as the donor wished. Charles Crooke by will dated 1617 left £100 and Hugh Barker at an unknown date £20 for the use of the poor. In 1633 the money from both was invested in property near Kennington (Berks.), the profits of which were paid to the overseers until 1725 and to the churchwardens until 1822, when the Charity Commissioners directed that the rent of £10 10s. a year should be given to the poor.

Henry King by deeds of 1627 and 1639 gave £30 to be lent freely in two equal parts to two masters who would take boys as apprentices for seven years, the money to be repaid at the end of the term. Ralph Snowe by will dated 1708 left £100 for the use of the poor, which was lent to the corporation at interest to be distributed to the poor. Robert Gilkes by will proved 1727 left £30 as a bread charity for three poor families. John Barker by will dated 1732 gave £100 for poor or decayed housekeepers. The capital of all four charities was used in 1741 to buy property in Cornmarket Street, which in 1822 was yielding £20 a year to the churchwardens, and in 1855 £80. (fn. 10)

Samuel Cripps by will dated 1723 left the reversion of a rent-charge of £14 a year, of which the parish's share was £6, to clothe poor, labouring, church-goers in gowns and coats faced with black. (fn. 11) William Gardner by will dated 1815 left £100 for a bread charity, which was yielding c. £5 10s. in 1822. (fn. 12)

A Scheme of 1885 divided the parochial charities into a church branch (the Church Houses charity) and a general branch; £45 of the general branch income was to be for educational purposes, up to £125 for pensions of £15 to £25 a year to five poor men and women residents, and the residue for aiding the sick and poor in various defined ways. The educational sections of both church and general branches were united in 1905 to form the parochial educational foundation. A Scheme of 1961 divided the educational charities from the poor branch and ordered the latter to be used in augmentation of the Oxford City Charities, with which it was merged in 1972. (fn. 13)

Lost charities included those of Miles Windsor, who by will dated 1624 left a loan charity for two parishioners, which was lost c. 1728 and John Newton, who by will dated 1664 gave £10 for the poor, which was lost c. 1674. (fn. 14) The parishioners shared in the St. Aldate's charity of Faulkner and the municipal charities of Potter, Kilby, Brookes, John Harris, Toldervey, Yeats, Fletcher, and Tubb.

St. Paul.

Frances Sarah Kidd by will proved 1871 left £500, the income to supply nurses for the sick poor of the parish; in 1895 £450 was invested. C. J. Moss by will proved 1914 left £1,000, either to augment Kidd's charity or to give other assistance to the sick poor. In 1962 the income of £37 was distributed, with Kidd's and part of the St. Thomas's charity of Kendall, among 35 persons in cash and coal. (fn. 15)

St. Peter-In-The-East.

Part of the income of the Church Houses charity was for the poor but was not apparently so used. (fn. 16) Simon Perrot by deed of 1584 gave to University College property in Woodstock and Waterstock on trust to pay a member of the college for a sermon in St. Peter-in-the-East, and £1 a year to the poor of the parish. Payments were made regularly in the 19th century. (fn. 17)

Jacob Bobart by will proved 1714 gave a rent from Oseney meadow to pay £1 for a sermon and the rest to the poor not receiving alms. In 1822 the doles were given away indiscriminately in sums of 1s. to 5s. The land was leased to the city in 1912 for £50 a year. (fn. 18) Ann Elliott by will dated 1686 left £100 to buy land for the use of the poor; in 1692 land in Oving (Bucks.) was bought with the help of money from another source, on trust that half the profits should be used for the poor. The money continued to be distributed throughout the 19th century. (fn. 19)

Benjamin Cutler gave £5 for the poor in 1710, Francis White £40 in 1715, Joseph Watkinson £10 in 1720, and Charles Aldsworth £10 in 1722. (fn. 20) In 1727 the whole capital was spent in converting the vicarage-house into a workhouse, but the churchwardens continued to pay the interest. In 1802 the capital, which had been recovered, was invested in stock held in trust by Merton College, which throughout the 19th century paid £3 a year, usually distributed to poor widows. (fn. 21)

The parish charities were united by a Scheme of 1926, and amalgamated in 1969 with those of St. Cross; after payments to the church for Bobart's and Perrot's charities the income was to be applied to the relief of needy residents of the new ecclesiastical parish, or, in default, to residents of Oxford. (fn. 22)

The parishioners shared in the charity of Ann Sambach (St. Mary the Virgin parish), the municipal charities of Brookes, John Harris, Toldervey, Hawkins, Holman, and Fletcher, and in William Phipps's charity.

St. Peter-Le-Bailey.

John Swinton, rector, by will dated 1773 left the reversion of £100 stock, the interest to be given to the poor. During the 19th century c. £3 a year was distributed in cash and kind. (fn. 23) Israel Taylor by will dated 1780 left the reversion of his estate to pay apprenticeship premiums of £12 each to five boys each year, and pensions of £10 a year to as many poor men and women over 60 as possible. In 1820 stocks worth £4,560 were received. In the early 19th century only one boy was apprenticed each year, (fn. 24) but numbers increased later. In 1912 it was agreed that £60 might be used for educational purposes if not required for apprenticing. Under a Scheme of 1941 the residue of the apprenticing charity was paid to the municipal charities. A Scheme of 1962, after the union of the parish with St. Ebbe's, allowed pensions to be paid, in default of suitable applicants, to persons outside the former parish of St. Peter. (fn. 25)

William Simmons by will dated 1819 left £200 stock, the interest to be given to the poor in bread and meat. The charity yielded £6 a year in the mid 19th century. (fn. 26) S. M. Barkworth, curate in 1846, gave £24, the interest to be distributed to aged men and women; in 1962 the income was 17s. 6d. (fn. 27)

The parishioners shared in the charity of Ann Sambach (St. Mary the Virgin parish), the municipal charities of Nicholls, Bogan, Brookes, Hawkins, Hughes, and Roberts, and William Phipps's charity.

St. Thomas.

Ann Kendall by will of 1714 left sums of £700 and £220 to be spent on land, the former to pay pensions of £4 a year to six old, poor widows or spinsters, the latter to pay sums to the church and school, (fn. 28) the residue of both to be given to the poor. Land bought in Cumnor (Berks.) was subsequently exchanged for land in South Hinksey (Berks.); in the late 18th century and early 19th the income was used much as intended. (fn. 29) A Scheme of 1863 increased the pensions to £8, set aside £50 a year to support schools within the ancient parish, and directed that the residue should be used, two-thirds by the incumbent of St. Thomas's, one-third by the incumbent of St. Paul's, in support of clothing, coal, and benefit clubs. The charity was further regulated by Schemes of 1907 and 1909; by a Scheme of 1972 it was incorporated with the Oxford City Charities and divided into six parts, a sermon charity, a clerk and sexton charity, an educational foundation, and charities for the poor of St. Thomas's, St. Paul's, and Oxford generally. (fn. 30)

Mary Farebrother by will proved 1953 left £30 a year for the poor, to be given at Christmas to women communicants of St. Thomas's church. (fn. 31)

Lost charities included those of William Woodliffe and Robert Burton, vicar (d. 1640), who each gave £10 to be lent interest-free in sums of 50s. to poor inhabitants, and of Catherine Willis, who gave £2 to be lent freely to two poor widows; all were lost by 1822. Ann Bowell by will dated 1679 left £20 to be lent freely for five years to three parishioners, and Timothy Stevens by will dated 1816 left £20 for a bread charity; both were lost after 1822. (fn. 32) The parishioners shared in the municipal charities of Tawney, Nicholls, Bogan, Brookes, and Reeves, and in the Jephson Pension charity.

OTHER CHARITIES.

St. Bartholomew's Hospital, 1½ mile east of the city, (fn. 33) was founded as a leper hospital by Henry I and endowed with £23 0s. 5d. from the farm of Oxford; (fn. 34) from 1536, when a settlement was reached between the city and Oriel College, which had been granted the hospital in 1327, St. Bartholomew's became in effect a city alms-house. (fn. 35) The settlement reduced the city's annual contribution to £19 and allowed the corporation to nominate freemen of three years' standing (a qualification frequently ignored thereafter) (fn. 36) to vacancies among the hospital brethren. Under rules of 1367 Oriel paid eight brethren 9d. weekly and 5s. a year for clothes, and also provided a chaplain; except for a small increment for fuel granted in 1663 to compensate for a grove cut down in the Civil War the stipends were unchanged in 1890. The college restored the buildings in 1600 and 1635 and largely rebuilt them in 1649 after damage during the Civil War. A chaplain appointed by the college was saying a weekly service in 1617, but by the 18th century services were held only rarely and by the 19th century not at all. By 1773 the almsmen usually lived in the town since the stipend, although supplemented by small gifts from university men when they took degrees, was inadequate to support them in residence; by 1855 no one had resided within memory. Complaints that the college, while profiting from the increasing value of the hospital's possessions, paid stipends considered appropriate centuries earlier were dismissed by Commissions of Charitable Uses in the 17th century, aired later by parliamentary candidates for the city, (fn. 37) supported energetically by the town clerk, G. P. Hester, in the 1840s and 1850s, dismissed by the Charity Commission in 1868, and finally, after pressure from the new city council of 1889, investigated at length in the 1890s. (fn. 38) By a Scheme of 1900 the charity was placed under the municipal charity trustees; Oriel retained the chapel and a rood of land adjacent but gave stock yielding £60 a year, which with the £19 a year from Oxford corporation, £21 a year from the alms-house branch of the municipal charities, and small payments from some Oxford colleges, made up the income of the charity. Pensioners or brethren were to be poor men aged over 60, resident five or more years; if possible, half were to be freemen. The pensions were between 5s. and 7s. weekly, renewable every three years: in the 1960s the income was c. £110 a year and in 1970 four men were receiving 7s. a week. By a Scheme of 1972. the charity was incorporated in the Oxford City Charities. (fn. 39)

The hospital buildings comprise a chapel and two detached ranges of building. The chapel is a small rectangular early-14th-century rubble building without structural division between chancel and nave. In the 15th century some windows and doorways were rebuilt or inserted and a roof of three bays was built below the surviving high-pitched 14th-century roof. An oak chancel screen was given by Oriel College in 1651. St. Bartholomew's Farm, west of the chapel, is a two-storey rubble and slate building with attics and cellars, comprising a central 16th-century block with a 16th-century addition to the south, and later additions at each end. North of the chapel is a stone and slate alms-house of two storeys with attics, built by Oriel in 1649 as four tenements. (fn. 40)

Thomas Hodgkins by will proved 1686 gave £400 to provide pensions for widows of four college manciples. Land purchased at Marston was let for £16 a week in 1690, £30 in 1833, and £25 in 1909. The charity was joined with the All Saints charity of Rixon in 1909, and was to provide two pensions of 5s. a week to widows of manciples or college servants. The land was sold in 1921. In 1972 the joint charity was incorporated with Oxford City Charities. (fn. 41)

William Phipps by will dated 1702 gave the reversion of the residual profits of a lease as a bread charity for four aged inhabitants of St. Mary Magdalen, St. Peter-in-the-East, or St. Peter-le-Bailey. The charity was established by 1705 (fn. 42) but has not been traced thereafter.

The Revd. George Powell by will proved 1830 left money to the Oxford Savings Bank to be applied for the benefit of such poor who showed, by making deposits in the bank, that they were trying to help themselves. The funds survived the closure of the bank in 1864, and by a Scheme of 1899 the income of c. £70 a year was used in donations to provident individuals or to provident clubs.

Frederick Williams by will proved 1901 left the reversion of his estate to the municipal charity trustees, the interest to be given in pensions to six men and six women aged over 60. The charity was operative from 1915; in 1963 the income was c. £248 but in 1970 only three pensioners were receiving 6s. a week.

By a declaration of trust in 1904 stock yielding £71 a year was given by Harry Webb to be used by the municipal charity trustees to pay three pensions of 9s. weekly called the Mary, Sarah, and Prudence Jephson pensions. The pensioners were to be church-going single women resident in St. Thomas's parish for five or more years. Three pensioners were being paid weekly in 1970. In 1972 the charity was incorporated with the Oxford City Charities.

Laura Hunt by will proved 1917 gave stock and the reversion of a moiety of her residuary estate to found a charity, named after her father Francis Hunt, for the sick and aged poor of St. Ebbe's and St. Aldate's. By a Scheme of 1921 the municipal charity trustees were to administer the charity. Most of the residuary estate was received in 1935 and in 1963 the gross income was c. £382; in 1970 six pensions of 7s. 6d. a week were being paid. In 1972 the charity was incorporated with the Oxford City Charities.

Joseph Leech by will proved 1928 gave his residuary estate to the trustees of the municipal charities to provide pensions of 5s. a week for poor persons aged 60 years or more, residents of Cowley St. John for ten years or more. In 1963 the income was £137, and in 1970 five pensions were being paid. In 1972 the charity was incorporated with the Oxford City Charities.

J. T. Dodd by a trust deed of 1927 gave £99, the income to be a contribution to the Oxford City Magistrates Poor Box Fund for the benefit of the poor of Oxford. In 1965 the income was c. £4.

The Oxford and District Good Neighbours Fund was founded by trust deed of December 1939 in which William, Lord Nuffield, and other individuals and companies endowed a charity for helping people living within seven miles of Carfax who were in financial difficulties, especially those suffering because of the war. In 1960 the income was £570 of which £168 was spent in grants and loans.

The Frank Corby Memorial Trust was founded by deed of 1967 when various sums amounting to £570 were used to endow a charity for the poor and deprived children of Oxford. In 1973 the income was c. £36. (fn. 43)

CHARITABLE SOCIETIES.

The Oxford Benevolent Society, supported by public subscription, was founded in 1823 to give temporary relief in kind to the deserving poor in sickness or other unforeseen distress. (fn. 44) George Pinfold of Eynsham, by will dated 1873, left the reversion of £1,000 to the society which, by a Scheme of 1931, was included in the general branch of the Oxford Municipal Charities. (fn. 45)

Among other important charitable societies supported by public subscription was the Anti-Mendicity Society, founded in 1814 as the Society for the Relief of Distressed Travellers and Others. (fn. 46) The society suspended operations in 1826, but was refounded in 1827 as the Oxford Society for the Suppression of Mendicity and the Relief of Distressed Travellers; (fn. 47) in 1873 it amalgamated with the recently formed Charity Organisation Committee to form the Oxford AntiMendicity and Charity Organisation Association. (fn. 48) For much of the 19th century the society played a leading part in poor-relief in the city. (fn. 49) Its work and its support declined in the early 20th century, and by 1923, although not formally closed, it had ceased to function. (fn. 50)

Subscriptions to a fund to provide cheap coal for the poor were being received in 1826, (fn. 51) and a Coal Fund existed continuously from at least 1839 to 1901. (fn. 52) A similar fund to provide clothing was founded in 1827 and survived until at least 1916. (fn. 53) A fund to relieve the poor in the poor parishes of the city was started in 1844 and continued until c. 1933; the money was distributed by incumbents and churchwardens. The Revd. Albert Watson (d. 1904) left to the fund £100 which was invested, and the income added to that from subscriptions. (fn. 54)

Footnotes